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Stephen Sondheim

Writer

Stephen Sondheim

Born March 22, 1930 in New York City, New York, USADied November 26, 202161 films

Stephen Joshua Sondheim (/ˈsɒndhaɪm/; March 22, 1930 – November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. Regarded as one of the most important figures in 20th-century musical theatre, he is credited with reinventing the American musical. With his frequent collaborators Harold Prince and James Lapine, Sondheim's Broadway musicals tackled unexpected themes beyond the genre's traditional subjects while addressing darker elements of the human experience. His music and lyrics are tinged with complexity, sophistication, and ambivalence about various aspects of life.

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Sondheim's interest in musical theatre began at a young age, and Oscar Hammerstein II mentored him. He started his career by writing the lyrics for West Side Story (1957) and Gypsy (1959). He transitioned to writing both music and lyrics for the theatre, with his best-known works including A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962), Company (1970), Follies (1971), A Little Night Music (1973), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1979), Merrily We Roll Along (1981), Sunday in the Park with George (1984), and Into the Woods (1987).

Sondheim's numerous awards and nominations include eight Tony Awards, an Academy Award, eight Grammy Awards, an Olivier Award, and the Pulitzer Prize. He also was awarded the Kennedy Center Honor in 1993 and a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015. A theatre is named after him both on Broadway and in London's West End. Film adaptations of his works include West Side Story (1961), Gypsy (1962), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966), A Little Night Music (1977), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street(2007), Into the Woods (2014), and West Side Story (2021).

Description above from the Wikipedia article Stephen Sondheim, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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The best way into Stephen Sondheim's work
West Side Story posterFirst watchWest Side Story19617.2In Manhattan’s Upper West Side, rival gangs of Polish-Americans and newly arrived Puerto Ricans clash for control of the neighborhood, even as two young members from opposite sides fall…View film

Essential films

Ranked by acclaim and reach
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street poster7.2Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street2007West Side Story poster6.9West Side Story2021Into the Woods poster5.8Into the Woods2014The Last of Sheila poster7.0The Last of Sheila1973Into the Woods poster8.1Into the Woods1991Gypsy poster6.4Gypsy1962

Filmography

61 films
  1. TBAMerrily We Roll AlongMusical
  2. TBAFolliesLyricist
  3. 2028National Theatre Live: West Side StoryLyricist
  4. 2025Merrily We Roll AlongLyricist
  5. 2025West Side StoryLyricist
  6. 2024Into The Woods (AUS Productions)Writer
  7. 2023CandideLyricist
  8. 2022Becoming Benanti: The Role of a LifetimeLyricist
  9. 2021West Side StoryLyricist
  10. 2021Simply SondheimWriter
  11. 2020Chita: A Legendary CelebrationLyricist
  12. 2017National Theatre Live: FolliesMusical
  13. 2016Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened...Lyricist
  14. 2015GypsyMusical
  15. 2014Into the WoodsMusical
  16. 2014Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – In Concert with the New York PhilharmonicMusical
  17. 2013FolliesLyricist
  18. 2013Six by SondheimWriter
  19. 2013Merrily We Roll AlongLyricist
  20. 2013Sunday In the Park with GeorgeMusical
  21. 2012Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet StreetWriter
  22. 2011CompanyLyricist
  23. 2011Into the WoodsMusical
  24. 2009Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet StreetWriter
  25. 2008Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet StreetWriter
  26. 2008Company: A Musical ComedyLyricist
  27. 2007Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet StreetMusical
  28. 2007CandideWriter
  29. 2005PassionWriter
  30. 2005CandideLyricist
  31. 2004AssassinsLyricist
  32. 2003Leonard Bernstein: CandideWriter
  33. 2002A Little Night Music: Ravinia Festival ConcertLyricist
  34. 2002Merrily We Roll AlongOriginal Film Writer
  35. 2001Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in ConcertWriter
  36. 2001Putting It TogetherMusical
  37. 1996CompanyMusical
  38. 1996PassionMusical
  39. 1995Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet StreetLyricist
  40. 1995Anyone Can Whistle: Live at Carnegie HallLyricist
  41. 1995A Tribute to Stephen SondheimLyricist
  42. 1994GypsyLyricist
  43. 1992Gypsy: Live from the Southern Arizona Light Opera CompanyWriter
  44. 1992Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie HallLyricist
  45. 1991CandideLyricist
  46. 1991Into the WoodsMusical
  47. 1990New York City Opera: A Little Night MusicLyricist
  48. 1990Into the Woods: A ConversationpieceWriter
  49. 1989Leonard Bernstein - Bernstein - CandideLyricist
  50. 1986CandideWriter
  51. 1986Sunday in the Park with GeorgeMusical
  52. 1986Follies: In ConcertLyricist
  53. 1982Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet StreetMusical
  54. 1980Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – Scenes from the Making of a MusicalLyricist
  55. 1977A Little Night MusicLyricist
  56. 1976Pacific OverturesMusical
  57. 1973The Last of SheilaWriter
  58. 1970Original Cast Album: CompanyLyricist
  59. 1966Evening PrimroseWriter
  60. 1962GypsyLyricist
  61. 1961West Side StoryLyricist