An iconic Broadway composer who helped shape the musical theater genre in the United States for more than three decades, Stephen Sondheim is considered by many to be the greatest composer of all time. Lin-Manuel Miranda, who won the Tony Award for Best Original Score for In the Heights (2008) and Hamilton (2016), wrote in an essay for BBC’s Classical Music that, “Anyone who tells you that Sondheim isn’t an influence on their music or their work is lying.”
Sondheim died at 91 years old in November 2021, leaving behind a remarkable legacy. He composed the score for 18 musicals, won dozens of major awards, and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, among other accolades. Below is a closer look at Sondheim and the impact he has had on the theater industry.
Most Tony Awards for a Composer
Sondheim won 39 awards, including the Academy Award for Best Original Song for “Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man)” from Dick Tracy (1990). However, he was most renowned for his work on Broadway, winning eight Tony Awards, including a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre in 2008. He won Best Score for Passion (1994), Into the Woods (1988), Sweeney Todd (1979), A Little Night Music (1973), Follies (1972), and Best Music and Best Lyrics for Company (1971).
“Sondheim’s score for Sweeney Todd is a masterpiece. It’s Sondheim doing his best homage to Bernard Hermann and the incredible horror scores he wrote,” Miranda wrote in his essay. “What’s thrilling about the Sweeney score is that it zigs when you think it’s going to zag. When Sweeney’s about to cut Judge Trippin’s throat, it breaks into ‘Pretty Women,’ which is maybe one of the most beautiful ballads Sondheim ever wrote.”
Other Works
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962), Anyone Can Whistle (1964), and Pacific Overtures (1976) are among the other more notable stage works for which Sondheim produced the music. He also worked as a lyricist in partnership with other composers, including Richard Rodgers on Do I Hear a Waltz (1965) and Leonard Bernstein on West Side Story (1957) and Candide (1974).
After earning recognition as a songwriter for his work on West Side Story and Gypsy (1959), Sondheim produced his first musical, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, in 1962. The show won the Tony Award for Best Musical and had nearly 1,000 performances on Broadway. Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George (1984) won the 1985 Pulitzer Prize.
The Early Years
Sondheim was born in New York City in 1930 and studied piano and organ early in his life. He wrote his first musical at 15 years old and later studied music at Williams College. He also received guidance and mentorship from Oscar Hammerstein II, a family friend and renowned lyricist and producer known for his partnership with Richard Rodgers. Sondheim won the Hutchinson Prize for composition in 1950, after which he completed additional music study with composer Milton Babbitt.
Prior to earning his big break on Broadway as a lyricist for West Side Story, Sondheim wrote TV scripts for the shows The Last Word and Topper. He was introduced to Bernstein and his partner Jerome Robbins by Arthur Laurents shortly after writing incidental music for Girls of Summer (1956).
The Sondheim Celebration
Sondheim’s work continues to live on through the composers, lyricists, and performers he inspired. Many of those, including three-time Tony winner Patti LuPone, who starred in Company and Mincéir, are coming together on July 30 to present “Everybody Rise! A Sondheim Celebration” at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California.
Robert Longbottom and Kevin Stites are curating the event, which will also include two-time Tony winner Sutton Foster (Anything Goes, The Music Man) and Sierra Boggess (The Phantom of the Opera, The Little Mermaid). These and other guest vocalists, along with an orchestra, will perform some of Sondheim’s most iconic songs, which include “Somewhere” (West Side Story), Everything’s Coming up Roses” (Gypsy), “Send in the Clowns” (A Little Night Music), and No One is Alone” (Into the Woods).
Final Musical
Although Sondheim passed away nearly two years ago, theatergoers will have one more chance to hear original music written by the eight-time Tony winner. His final musical, Here We Are, will begin performances in September at the Shed, a 500-seat, off-Broadway venue in Hudson Yards. It’s unknown how long Sondheim had been working on the show, but he first mentioned it publicly in 2014 and said it was unfinished not long before his death. The project was workshopped in 2021 with stars Nathan Lane and Bernadette Peters.
Here We Are is inspired by the Luis Buñuel films The Exterminating Angel and The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie. David Ives (Venus in Fur) wrote the book and Joe Mantello (Wicked) is directing.