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Stephen Sondheim

スティーヴン・ソンドハイム

Sutīvu~n Sondohaimu

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1930-03-22 （New York City）
Died
2021-11-26 （Roxbury, Connecticut） age 91
Nationality
American
Languages
English
Religion
Judaism
Residence History
Upper West Side, Manhattan, New York City → Farm near Doylestown, Pennsylvania → Turtle Bay, Manhattan, New York City → Roxbury, Connecticut

Career

Occupations
Composer, Lyricist
Active Years
1952-2021
Affiliations
Dramatists Guild President (1973-1981), American Theater Hall of Fame (1982)
Memberships
American Theater Hall of Fame, American Academy of Arts and Letters
Influenced By
Oscar Hammerstein II, Milton Babbitt, Leonard Bernstein
Influenced
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jonathan Larson

Education

Williams College
Music
Degree: BA
Period: 1946-1950
Year of Graduation: 1950
Country: United States
Graduated magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa
George School
Period: 1942-1947
Year of Graduation: 1947
Country: United States
Quaker preparatory school
New York Military Academy
Period: 1940
Country: United States
Ethical Culture Fieldston School
Country: United States

Awards

Tony Award
1971
Work: Company
Category: 最優秀ミュージカル
Organization: American Theatre Wing
Result: 受賞
Tony Award
1973
Work: A Little Night Music
Category: 最優秀ミュージカル
Organization: American Theatre Wing
Result: 受賞
Tony Award
1979
Work: Sweeney Todd
Category: 最優秀ミュージカル
Organization: American Theatre Wing
Result: 受賞
Academy Award
1991
Work: Dick Tracy
Category: 最優秀主題歌 (Sooner or Later)
Organization: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Result: 受賞
Pulitzer Prize
1985
Work: Sunday in the Park with George
Category: 劇
Organization: Columbia University
Result: 受賞
Presidential Medal of Freedom
2015
Organization: President of the United States
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

West Side Story

1957 Musical

Modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet amid gang rivalry. Sondheim wrote lyrics.

LoveFateSocial issues
Adaptations
  • [Film] West Side Story / Robert Wise & Jerome Robbins (1961)
  • [Film] West Side Story / Steven Spielberg (2021)

Gypsy

1959 Musical

Semi-autobiographical musical about stripper Gypsy Rose Lee. Lyrics by Sondheim.

AmbitionFamily
Adaptations
  • [Film] Gypsy / Mervyn LeRoy (1962)

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

1962 Musical comedy

First Broadway show where Sondheim wrote both music and lyrics, based on Plautus farces.

ComedyFarce
Adaptations
  • [Film] A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum / Richard Lester (1966)

Company

1970 Musical

Innovative musical exploring marriage and relationships.

MarriageLonelinessFriendship

Follies

1971 Musical

Reunion of Ziegfeld Follies performers.

PastRegret

A Little Night Music

1973 Musical

Based on Ingmar Bergman's film Smiles of a Summer Night.

LoveDesire
Adaptations
  • [Film] A Little Night Music / Hal Prince (1977)

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

1979 Musical thriller

Story of a vengeful barber.

RevengeMadness
Adaptations
  • [Film] Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street / Tim Burton (2007)

Sunday in the Park with George

1984 Musical

Inspired by Georges Seurat's painting.

ArtCreation

Into the Woods

1987 Musical

Mash-up of Grimm fairy tales.

Fairy talesMorality
Adaptations
  • [Film] Into the Woods / Rob Marshall (2014)

Adaptations

  • Many musicals adapted to film

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Complex rhyme schemesSophisticated melodiesAmbivalence
Recurring Motifs
Dark human experiencesComplex relationshipsShadows of the past

Legacy

Regarded as reinventor of American musical theater, theaters named after him on Broadway and West End.

Museums

  • Stephen Sondheim Theatre New York City Opened in 2010
  • Sondheim Theatre West End, London Opened in 1996

Archives

  • Library of Congress

In Popular Culture

  • Desperate Housewives episode titles reference his lyrics

Quotes

  • Art is something worked out.
    Source: Williams College anecdote (1950)
  • Content Dictates Form.
    Source: Finishing the Hat (2010)

Trivia

  • Created cryptic crosswords for New York magazine
  • Estranged from mother
  • Came out as gay at 40, married in 2017