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Although he was 91 years old, the death of composer Stephen Sondheim last week shocked theatre fans. In fact, the multiple Tony winner had given an interview to the New York Times five days prior in which, despite a sprained ankle, he was “playfully pugnacious.”
Sondheim’s influence on musical theatre is impossible to overstate — even when his shows weren’t blockbusters, they became part of the canon — but even taking that into account, the late Pulitzer winner seems to be having a pop culture moment right now.
Opening Dec. 10 is director Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story, featuring Sondheim’s lyrics set to Leonard Bernstein’s music. The 1957 theatrical production was Sondheim’s first foray onto Broadway; he was 25 years old. Although he’s criticized his own work in the show bitterly over the ensuing six decades, he told the NYT last week that he approved of the new film, adding: “The great thing about it is people who think they know the musical are going to have surprises.”
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FILE – Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim poses after being awarded the Freedom of the City of London at a ceremony at the Guildhall in London, on Sept. 27, 2018. Sondheim, the songwriter who reshaped the American musical theater in the second half of the 20th century, has died at age 91. Sondheim’s death was announced by his Texas-based attorney, Rick Pappas, who told The New York Times the composer died Friday, Nov. 26, 2021, at his home in Roxbury, Conn. Pappas did not return calls and messages to The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
While Lin-Manuel Miranda’s uplifting new musical — currently streaming on Netflix — is an adaptation of Rent composer/lyricist Jonthan Larson’s autobiographical Tick Tick… Boom, the work is also a bit of a love letter to Sondheim. Larson’s songs were heavily influenced by his hero, who, if the film is to be believed, had kind and encouraging words for the fledgling young writer when he was working on his first show.
Sondheim is portrayed by Bradley Whitford, while Andrew Garfield is garnering Oscar buzz for his exuberant portrayal of Larson, who died at 35 before seeing Rent become a megahit.
Just want to immerse yourself in Sondheim’s best songs? The NYT has collected 20 of his “most brilliant and surprising” Broadway tunes, ranging from 1954’s What More Do I Need? to 2008’s Isn’t He Something? (Yes, Send in the Clowns is included.) Winnipeg-born Len Cariou can be heard duetting with Angela Lansbury in the deliciously witty A Little Priest from 1979’s cast recording of Sweeney Todd.
Finally, streaming service Crave has the Peabody-winning 2013 HBO documentary Six by Sondheim, directed by his longtime collaborator James Lepine. It’s rich with archival interviews (Sondheim is, not surprisingly, very articulate about his process), legendary performances and new short films of some of his most beloved tunes.
“To make art sound effortless takes a lot of effort,” he says, before revealing that he writes using pencils with the softest lead, so he can waste a lot of time sharpening them.
Got a favourite Sondheim song? Tips on upcoming events, concerts, exhibitions? Drop me a line at jill.wilson@winnipegfreepress.com.
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