Isn’t It Rich? Stephen Sondheim, Dead at 91 – Opinion

West Side Story is the play that sealed Stephen Sondheim’s name recognition as a premiere lyricists, and will always be my personal favorite. Little Night MusicAn Ingmar Bergman-inspired experimental play, titled “The Play of the Dead” Songs of a Summer NightAs second, it would be. The beautifully haunting, “Send In The Clowns” would turn out to be one of Sondheim’s most popular tunes off the Broadway stage, and be sung by a number of premiere vocalists, including Frank Sinatra, Carol Burnett, Barbra Streisand, and the great Sarah Vaughn.

Whether you are a lover of the Great White Way or not, Stephen Sondheim is not just a part of Broadway’s lexicon. He belongs to a select group of composers, such as Irving Berlin and Cole Porter who contributed to the creation of the Great American Songbook.

At his Roxbury home, the prolific composer, lyricist and artist, died abruptly. He was 91.

Today the Broadway world lost a legend. Baruch Dayan HaEmet 🙏🏻#StephenSondheim pic.twitter.com/1z3h8YmmGN

— Justine Brooke Murray (@Justine_Brooke) November 27, 2021

He was loved by vocalists: Bernadette Peters (Sunday in the Park With George),Patti Lupone (Company),Anna Kendrick (Into The Woods).His compositions provided them with a challenge and an opportunity to shine.

A few nights back, I was talking with someone about the joy (and difficulty) of singing Stephen Sondheim. One of my greatest honors in life has been performing his works. A devastating loss.

— Anna Kendrick (@AnnaKendrick47) November 26, 2021

But for the common person who merely listened to his tunes, Sondheim’s music not only shined, but shined a spotlight, and left an indelible impression.

Stephen Sondheim said in one of his many talks about the process of writing that “if you can take the song out, if it doesn’t leave a hole, then the song’s not necessary.”

It is a great loss that he has left. It was so important that he sang.

— Alexandra Petri (@petridishes) November 26, 2021

Start at Variety:

Stephen Sondheim has been taken from us, having been the leading voice of American musical theatre in the second decade of the 20th Century and also the composer who received the most Tony Awards. He was 91. Broadway legend Tony Bennett died at home in Roxbury (Conn) on Friday 26 November. He was 91.

His shows, from the comedic “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” to the ground-breaking “Company” to the operatic “Sweeney Todd” to the experimental “Pacific Overtures,” transformed the Broadway musical stage, influencing and advancing the medium. Sondheim, who was an Oscar Hammerstein II protégé, gradually moved away from the melodic tradition to integrate complex, dissonant themes, structures, and 20th century classic music into his work.

Sondheim received seven Tony Awards, plus the 2008 Special Tony Award for Theater Achievement.

Stephen Joshua Sondheim was conceived in Manhattan on March 22, 1930. Sondheim moved in with his mom to Doylestown after his parents split. Oscar Hammerstein II was a close family friend and became their surrogate father. Sondheim left behind a collection of interviews that detail his creative life. Sondheim claimed that his first musical was presented at age 15. GeorgeHammerstein wanted to hear his thoughts. Hammerstein tore the book to shreds. Sondheim was initially wounded but he was able to recall it.

“I learned more about songwriting the musical theater (that afternoon) than most people learn in a lifetime,” he said.

Sondheim became Hammerstein’s assistant on his musicals, Allegro, South Pacific and King and I. Sondheim graduated from the George School in 1946. From there, he attended Williams College and studied music. Sondheim was awarded the Hutchinson Prize in Composition for his 1950 graduation magna cum merite. He also received a Hutchinson Prize to Music composition, giving him the ability to continue studying music and composition with Milton Babbitt.

Sondheim was a writer between 1948 and 1951 under Hammerstein’s tutelage. All That Glitters, High Tor, Mary Poppins and Climb High.

From Variety:

Sondheim’s Broadway debut came in 1953 with the musical “Saturday Night,” for which he wrote the music lyrics, but the producer died suddenly and so too did its financial backing. Sondheim briefly earned a living in Hollywood as a telescripter for the series “Topper.” He also wrote the incidental music to such plays as “Girls of Summer” and “Invitation to a March.”

Through Arthur Laurents, Sondheim was introduced to Bernstein, who afforded him the opportunity to write the lyrics for his musical updating of “Romeo and Juliet” called “West Side Story” (1957). He later discredit his contribution to the musical but it was a major step in Sondheim’s career.

West Side Story not only launched Sondheim’s career, but gave the world a glimpse of the genius, the unique phrasing, and the social commentary that would mark his future works. When I listen to “Officer Krupke,” from West Side StorySondheim’s song, “The Light of Day,” was almost too dark for me. It was meant to be a light moment in 1957 musical.

In 1961, the musical was adapted to screen, taking Sondheim’s gifts off the Broadway stage and into the stage of everyday life.

Sondheim wrote the lyrics in 1959. GypsyEthel Merman’s great vocal performances carried his lines. This play, which tells the story of Gypsy Rose Lee the stripper, is considered to be one of the greatest musicals. It was made into a 1962 movie.

After this, Sondheim set out to create music and lyrics on his own. One Funny Thing That Happened on the Way to The Forum. Starring Zero Mostel, this was one of Sondheim’s most commercially successful musicals. By the mid-1960s, Sondheim’s critical reception was up and down, and his attempted collaborations after GypsyArthur Laurents’ experiments with music were experimental, but they weren’t well-received.

In 1969, Sondheim was once more on the cutting edge. CompanyA humorous musical commentary on urban marital life. The songs, “Being Alive,” “The Ladies Who Lunch,” and “I’m Not Getting Married Today,” became hits and won Sondheim his first Tony Award. Sondheim was awarded his first Tony Award in 1970. FolliesHe won another Tony Award for this performance.

1973’s Little Night Music, was the zenith of his musical works, and gave the world, “Send in the Clowns.” Sondheim went on to create other critical and audience favorites, including, Sweeney Todd (1979), Merrily we Roll along (1981), Sunday with George in The Park(1984), which earned him a Pulitzer Prize. The Woods (1987).

Sondheim was awarded the Special Tony Award in June 2008 for his lifetime achievements in theatre. Sondheim’s most recent play, Road Show (aka Gold, Wise GuysAnd BounceThe theater was opened in London off-Broadway on October 8, 2008 and reopened in Chicago the following summer.

Sondheim wrote also for the silverscreen. In 1953, his first job was to write scripts for television. Topper. The film was co-authored by Sondheim. Sheila’s Last (1973) and The Play, Murder is not a crime. (1996). He composed the music for many films. Stavisky (1974), and a co-composition on Warren Beatty’s Reds (1981), for which he gave us the song, “Goodbye for Now.” Sondheim also penned songs for The Seven Percent Solution(1976) Dick Tracy (1990). The song, “Sooner Or Later,” which was sung in the movie by Madonna, won the 1999 Academy Award for Best Song.

In 2010, the Henry Miller’s Theater was renamed the Stephen Sondheim Theater in honor of Sondheim’s 80th birthday. Many celebrations, concerts, benefits, and events were held all over the world in honor of this landmark birthday. Sondheim On SondheimSondheim performed the pre-recorded video comment before the live performance.

In 2011, Sondheim was awarded a Special recognition at Britain’s Olivier Awards. Sondheim received an award for his contributions to London’s theater. Barack Obama presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Sondheim in 2015.

In 2013, HBO produced a documentary on the artist’s legacy with, Six from Sondheim.

The body of Sondheim’s works have been lauded for being daring, experimental, and pushing the envelope in terms of what was then traditional Broadway fare. Many credit Sondheim with paving the way for such works as Bob Fosse’s All That Jazz (1979), Cabaret, Chorus LineAnd MietenTo find a spot on Broadway. Sondheim was more concerned about his artistic satisfaction than any commercial success.

He was able to score both.