As one of my most dreaded days has finally come to pass, I thought it only fitting for it to be the subject of one of my final blogs this semester.
On November 26 of this year, Stephen Sondheim passed away.
In case you don’t know who he is, Stephen Sondheim was (Note: I did in fact have to go back and change that to past tense and it felt like a little stab inside) a legendary composer and lyricst in musical theatre. He is one of the greatest figures in American musical theatre and certainly an icon of the 20th and 21st century musical theatre. This goes to the extent that in many musical theatre curriculums, while the history and genre of musical theatre is split into terms like the Golden Age, Pre-Contemporary, and Post-Contemporary, there is often an entire genre or era purely dedicated to Sondheim. Over the course of his life, he won 8 Tony awards (including a Lifetime Achievement Award), an Academy Award, 8 Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize, a Laurence Oliver award, and a 2015 Presidential Medal of Freedom. He also has 2 major theaters named after him, one on Broadway and the other in the West End.
Sondheim wrote music for his entire life, developing a love for musical theatre from a very young age. From when he was 10 years old, he became close friends with James Hammerstein and was mentored by James’ father, Oscar Hammerstein II. If you don’t know who that is, just think The Sound of Music, Oklahoma, South Pacific, or Carousel. Another one of the greatest figures in musical theatre history. Oscar Hammerstein II took a liking to Sondheim and became a surrogate father to him, commiting his love and shaping his perspective towards musical theatre. After experiencing many obstacles from his personal and professional lives alike, he hit success when he was at a party with Arthur Laurents, who invited him to work on a musical version of Romeo and Juliet with the composer, Leonard Bernstein. This evolved into the legendary show, West Side Story, his first success on Broadway. After the show took off, Sondheim continued to create some of the most iconic shows in American musical theatre.
Some of Sondheim’s most well-known works include West Side Story, Gypsy, Into the Woods, Company, Assassins, Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Merrily We Roll Along, Sunday in the Park with George, Anyone Can Whistle, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Follies, and more. He is known for “re-inventing musical theatre” by tackling unexpected and dark themes of humanity. His ability to use musical motifs to weave in secret character meanings and relationships throughout pieces and create a variety of tones that serve to provoke different interpretations of complex scenes provided him some of the most nuanced and sophisticated musical storytelling available in the modern world.
It’s difficult to explain on paper without being able to play specific excerpts of music, but two of my favorite examples of this are Into the Woods and Sweeney Todd. Please do not associate this with the film adaptations of these shows! It is one of the most irritating subjects to me as the films often cut out this incredible musical storytelling for the sake of run times or odd plot changes. The OBCR (Original Broadway Cast Recordings) of these shows are incredible ways to understand this as they encapsulate Sondheim’s power of storytelling, especially in his notoriously long intro and outro songs. What’s incredible though, is that without needing to see the actual production onstage, you can feel the entire pulse of the story just by listening to the OBCR. From the shrill and haunting whistle in Sweeney Todd’s oven that marks the death of another person to the repeated musical motifs between the Into the Woods intro and outros that give an entirely new meaning to “the woods,” analyzing his music becomes addictive and fun, demonstrating the core power that musical theatre provides through musical storytelling.
On a personal note, Sondheim’s death hit me in a shocking and slightly weird way. While he had lived a pretty long life, passing away at the age of 91, some part of me chose to ignorantly believe that he would always be here. I’m not entirely sure why. It defies all reason or logic, but I always just thought he’d live through everything. I hoped that I would be able to meet him one day and convey my gratitude and love towards his work. When I first saw news of his death on Instagram, I genuinely didn’t believe it. The thought caused too much cognitive dissonance, and the acceptance of it caused too much sadness. Nevertheless, all I can hope is that he had a peaceful passing and wish the best to his family.
As a musical theatre geek, musician, playwright, director, and producer, Sondheim has continuously been an immense source of inspiration for me. From referencing him in my sophomore year One Act to drawing him as one of my role models in art class, I have and will always look up to him as an artistic legend and icon. His unique, complex, and compelling style of musical storytelling will always stand out in my heart and remind me of my love for musical theatre. So in the end, thank you Sondheim, and rest in peace.
Be First to Comment