Legendary composer Stephen Sondheim passed away at 91 the Friday after Thanksgiving in his Connecticut home. It was sudden–Sondheim wasn’t known to be ill. The cause of death was determined to be cardiovascular disease. He is survived by his husband, actor Jeff Romley. Sondheim was a revolutionary artist, who changed the landscape of musical theatre for over five decades.
Sondheim was born in New York City in 1930, where he attended Fieldston Lower. His home life was unstable–his father left when he was very young, leaving him alone with his emotionally abusive mother. In the early 1940s, he began an apprenticeship with another giant of musical theater, Oscar Hammerstein II, who became a surrogate father to him. Under Hammerstein, Sondheim learned how to compose creatively and passionately, creating adaptations of plays he enjoyed.
His first musical was titled Saturday Night, commissioned by a playwright named Lemuel Ayers. It was slated to open in 1954, however, Ayers passed away due to leukemia before concrete plans could be made. As a result the production was halted and the play didn’t open until nearly 50 years later. However, another composer, Leonard Bernstein, had seen an audition for Saturday Night and was awed by Sondheim’s talent. He asked Sondheim to write some lyrics for an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, which would later become West Side Story. Sondheim ended up writing nearly all the lyrics.
After writing the lyrics for West Side Story, Sondheim went on to write the music and lyrics for 14 different musicals, including Gypsy, Sweeney Todd, Company, Sunday in the Park with George and Into the Woods. Sondheim ended up winning eight Grammys, seven Tony Awards and an Academy Award for his work on these productions. He was also awarded a Tony for Lifetime Achievement. Additionally, he mentored Jonathan Larson, the creator of Rent and tick… tick… Boom! and worked briefly with Lin Manuel Miranda on a revival of West Side Story.
A hallmark of his musical style is the intricate vocal harmonies he weaves into ensemble numbers. For example, in Into the Woods, he takes the leitmotif of “I wish”, introduced in the very first song, and carries it subtly throughout the show to convey different tones and changes in character. He creates characters with strong thematic throughlines. An especially remarkable example of this is his 1990 musical Assassins, which makes the audience simultaneously empathize with and revile the actions of the nine individuals who have attempted to assassinate United States presidents. Each assassin carries a thematic motive explored through their character, whether it be desperation for attention, idealism or political zeal. Sondheim was an expert at forming people from nothingness–entire compositions from just two words.
It’s impossible to sum up the life and work of Stephen Sondheim, or express the sheer influence he had on the landscape of Broadway. He was a brilliant man, and with his loss the community is forever changed. He was solitary and introverted, but collaborated frequently with both famed composers and unknown ones. He was a transmuter of characters and songs, writing heartbreaking reprises to upbeat showstoppers and turning cruel characters into people audiences could connect with on a deep level. He reinvented the musical and shaped modern Broadway by hand. His legacy will live on, undoubtedly, within the hearts and minds of the theatre community. Sondheim will be dearly missed and warmfully remembered.
