The Legendary Stephen Sondheim Has Died
Well, this one has hit me hard. Stephen Sondheim, one of the kings of Broadway and master of musical theater, died this morning at his home in Roxbury, Connecticut. He was 91. There really are no words for a man who knew how to use them more than well.
According to Deadline, Stephen Sondheim’s lawyer, F. Richard Pappas, said that he celebrated Thanksgiving with his friends yesterday. And then he died this morning. Richard didn’t say his cause of death but said it was sudden.
Many people have deep scratches in their ear dreams from me yodeling out a Sondheim song because his songs were not only a pleasure to listen to but they were a pleasure to sing along to as well (even if you had no business doing that like me). Stephen Sondheim was born in NYC and began his love for musical theater as a kid. When he was 10 years old, he became friends with James Hammerstein, the son of Oscar Hammerstein II. Oscar became Stephen’s mentor. After Stephen graduated from Williams College, he wrote the lyrics to West Side Story, which opened on Broadway in 1957. A minute later, he thought, “Well, why don’t I write the lyrics for another future classic,” and wrote the lyrics for Gypsy, which debuted on Broadway in 1959.
In 1962, Sondheim’s first full Sondheim Broadway musical (aka a Broadway musical he wrote the music and lyrics for), A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, opened. That was followed by the lovable flop Anyone Can Whistle (1964), Do I Hear A Waltz? (1965), and Company (1970), which a revival of is currently running on Broadway and stars Patti LuPone. After Company, the masterpieces kept coming from Follies (1971) to A Little Night Music (1973) to Pacific Overtures (1976) to Sweeney Todd (1979). Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along opened on Broadway on November 16, 1981 and closed a little over a week later. Merrily flopping shook Stephen Sondheim and he thought about quitting musical theater. But thankfully, he decided to keep on making musicals and met writer James Lapine.
Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s first collaboration was Sunday in the Park with George (1984). They won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for it. They went on to create Into the Woods (1987) and Passion (1994). Here’s Stephen singing Move On from Sunday at the memorial of Michael Bennett:
And on top of all those brilliant musicals I just typed above, Stephen Sondheim also wrote the music and lyrics for Saturday Night, The Frogs, Assassins, Evening Primrose, and Road Show.
Stephen Sondheim was an E away from EGOT. He won several Tony Awards (including a Lifetime Achievement Award), several Grammys, and an Oscar in 1990 for writing Sooner or Later from Dick Tracy.
Stephen Sondheim is survived by his husband, Jeff Romley.
Since Stephen Sondheim was a Broadway icon who changed musical theater, the tributes are coming in, but there’s just one person whose Twitter account I ran immediately to. And that’s the Twitter account of Bernadette Peters who brought Sondheim’s lyrics to life like no other:
I am so so sad to lose my friend Steve Sondheim He gave me so much to sing about ♥️♥️I loved him dearly and will miss him so much Thank you for all the gifts you gave the world Steve♥️
— Bernadette Peters (@OfficialBPeters) November 26, 2021
When I was in high school and was really into musical theater, a friend of a friend sold me a “rare bootleg recording” of Sunday in the Park with George starring Bernadette Peters and Mandy Patinkin. I cherished it and thought I was such a badass musical theater queen for owning a rare bootleg of one of my favorite musicals. And then I learned it wasn’t a rare bootleg! It was a regular recording that you could buy anywhere. You can even stream it now. My stupid ass deservedly got snowed! But yes, I think I still have it and if I do, I will be going to Best Buy this weekend to ask a salesperson to please direct me to the ancient artifacts part of the store because I need to buy a VHS player to play my “rare bootleg” of Sunday.
Rest in peace, Stephen Sondheim. And thank you.
Pic: Getty