Eight time Tony Award winning songwriter Stephen Sondheim died November 26, 2021 in his Roxbury, Connecticut home at the age of 91.
With a musical career that spans over 50 years Sondheim has inspired generations of songwriters and creators.
Considered an icon, Sondheim’s view of songwriting was that each song was a short story with every line like a paragraph.
Along with his eight Tony Awards, Sondheim has earned a special Tony for Lifetime Achievement, is a member of the Stongwriters Hall of Fame, seven Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize for “Sunday in the Park with George”, an Academy Award, five Olivier Awards, 15 Drama Desk Awards, a American National Medal of the Arts, and a Presidential Medal of Honour. Sondheim is also a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honours; as well as, a theatre bearing his name.
He wrote the lyrics for two of the biggest hits on Broadway – “West Side Story” and “Gypsy”; it wasn’t until 1962 and “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” that he wrote both lyrics and music. Over the years his collaborators have included Leonard Bernstein, Prince, and James Lapine.
Sondheim made his Broadway debut in 1956 with “Girls of Summer”. The production featured the Sondheim song by the same name. His first Broadway production where he composed all of the lyrics was in 1957 with “West Side Story”. Since that time, Stephen Sondheim has seen dozens of productions and revivals of his creations.
A revival of his musical “Passions” is set to open on Broadway December 9, 2021.
Sondheim made an appearance on “The Simpsons” and appeared in an episode of “Great Performances”.
Sondheim’s music has appeared in over 350 film and television productions, many of which were based on his Broadway musical. Other credits include numerous music and competition shows, “Bewitched”, “That Girl”, “Here’s Lucy”, “Maude”, “All in the Family”, “The Muppet Show”, “Saturday Night Live”, “Dick Tracy”, “The Wonder Years”, “The Birdcage”, “Mystery Science Theater 3000”, “Six by Sondheim”, “Lady Bird”, “The Tonight Show”, “The Simpsons”, numerous Frank Sinatra specials, and a plethora of special and award shows.
He was born Stephen Joshua Sondheim on March 22, 1930 in New York City, the only son of a dress manufacturer. At age 10 his parents divorced and he moved to Doylestown, Pennsylvania where he met Oscar Hammerstein who went on to mentor the young Sondheim. Attending Williams College, he majored in music. He began his musical and writing career creating scripts for television,
Stephen Sondheim’s Broadway Credits:
“Gypsy”
“Invitation to a March”
“A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” “Anyone Can Whistle”
“Do I Hear a Waltz?”
“Company”
“Follies”
“Twigs”
“A Little Night Music”
“Candide”
“Pacific Overtures”
“Sweeney Todd”
“The Madwoman of Central Park West”
Merrily We Roll Along”
“Sunday in the Park with George”
“Into the Woods”
“Passion”
“Getting Away with Murder”
“Putting it Together”
“Matters of the Heart”
“Assassins”
“The Frogs”
Special Broadway Events:
“Side by Side by Sondheim”
“Barbara Cook: A Concert for the Theatre”
“Jerome Robbins’ Broadway”
“Mostly Sondheim”
“Celebrating Sondheim”
“Elaine Stritch at Liberty”
Barbara Cook’s Broadway”
“Chita Rivera: The Dancer’s Life”
“Sondheim on Sondheim”
“Prince on Broadway”
“Sondheim: A Musical Tribute”
“Jule’s Friends at the Palace”
“Short Talks on the Universe”
“Children and Art”
feature photo credit: [[File:Stephen Sondheim – smoking.JPG|Stephen_Sondheim_-_smoking]]