Stephen Sondheim was an American composer and lyricist whose most acclaimed works include 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), Sunday in the Park with George (1984), and Into the Woods (1987). He is also notable as the lyricist for West Side Story (1957) and Gypsy (1959).
Major works
| Year | Title | Music | Lyrics | Book | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | Saturday Night | Stephen Sondheim | Julius J. Epstein | Based on the play Front Porch in Flatbush by Epstein and his brother Philip | |
| 1957 | West Side Story | Leonard Bernstein | Stephen Sondheim | Arthur Laurents | Based on Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare |
| 1959 | Gypsy | Jule Styne | Stephen Sondheim | Arthur Laurents | Based on the 1957 memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee |
| 1962 | A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum | Stephen Sondheim | Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart | Based on the farces of the ancient Roman playwright Plautus, specifically Curculio, Pseudolus, Miles Gloriosus, and Mostellaria | |
| 1964 | Anyone Can Whistle | Stephen Sondheim | Arthur Laurents | ||
| 1965 | Do I Hear a Waltz? | Richard Rodgers | Stephen Sondheim | Arthur Laurents | |
| 1966 | Evening Primrose | Stephen Sondheim | James Goldman | Based on a John Collier short story published in the 1951 collection Fancies and Goodnights | |
| 1970 | Company | Stephen Sondheim | George Furth | ||
| 1971 | Follies | Stephen Sondheim | James Goldman | ||
| 1973 | A Little Night Music | Stephen Sondheim | Hugh Wheeler | Inspired by the 1955 Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night | |
| 1974 | The Frogs | Stephen Sondheim | Burt Shevelove | Based on the Ancient Greek comedy The Frogs by Aristophanes; the book was revised in 2004 by Nathan Lane | |
| 1976 | Pacific Overtures | Stephen Sondheim | John Weidman | ||
| 1979 | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street | Stephen Sondheim | Hugh Wheeler | Based on the 1970 play Sweeney Todd by Christopher Bond | |
| 1981 | Merrily We Roll Along | Stephen Sondheim | George Furth | Based on the 1934 play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart | |
| 1984 | Sunday in the Park with George | Stephen Sondheim | James Lapine | Inspired by Georges Seurat's painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte | |
| 1987 | Into the Woods | Stephen Sondheim | James Lapine | ||
| 1990 | Assassins | Stephen Sondheim | John Weidman | ||
| 1994 | Passion | Stephen Sondheim | James Lapine | Based on the film Passione d'Amore by Ettore Scola | |
| 2008 | Road Show | Stephen Sondheim | John Weidman | Inspired by the lives of brothers Addison Mizner and Wilson Mizner | |
| 2023 | Here We Are | Stephen Sondheim | David Ives | Based on the films The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie and The Exterminating Angel by Luis Buñuel | |
Revues and anthologies
The following are revues of Sondheim's work as composer and lyricist, with songs performed in or cut from productions.
| Year | Title | Music | Lyrics | Book | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Side by Side by Sondheim | Stephen Sondheim (with selections by Jule Styne, Leonard Bernstein, Richard Rodgers, and Mary Rodgers) | Stephen Sondheim | Ned Sherrin | |
| 1980 | Marry Me a Little | Stephen Sondheim | Craig Lucas, Norman René | Setting of songs cut from Sondheim's better-known musicals, as well as Saturday Night | |
| 1993 | Putting It Together | Stephen Sondheim | Stephen Sondheim, Julia McKenzie | ||
| 2010 | Sondheim on Sondheim | Stephen Sondheim (with selections by Jule Styne, Leonard Bernstein, Richard Rodgers) | Stephen Sondheim | James Lapine | |
| 2022 | Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends | Stephen Sondheim | Cameron Mackintosh | ||
Jerome Robbins' Broadway features "You Gotta Have a Gimmick" from Gypsy, "Suite of Dances" from West Side Story and "Comedy Tonight" from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. The 2010 revue Classic Moments, Hidden Treasures was conceived and directed by Tim McArthur, first produced at the Jermyn Street Theatre. Sondheim's "Pretty Women," "Don't Laugh," and "Everybody Ought to Have a Maid" are featured in The Madwoman of Central Park West.
Film and TV adaptations
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | West Side Story | Robert Wise Jerome Robbins |
Film adaptation |
| 1962 | Gypsy | Mervyn LeRoy | |
| 1966 | A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum | Richard Lester | |
| 1966 | Evening Primrose | Paul Bogart | Television musical |
| 1977 | A Little Night Music | Harold Prince | Film adaptation |
| 1993 | Gypsy | Emile Ardolino | Television adaptation |
| 2007 | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street | Tim Burton | Film adaptation |
| 2014 | Into the Woods | Rob Marshall | |
| 2021 | West Side Story | Steven Spielberg | |
| TBA | Merrily We Roll Along | Richard Linklater |
Other works
Theatre
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | By George | First complete musical | Written while a student at the George School in Newtown, PA. |
| 1951 | I Know My Love | Christmas carol arrangement | |
| 1955 | A Mighty Man is He | "Rag Me That Mendelssohn March" | |
| 1956 | Girls of Summer | Incidental music | |
| 1957 | Take Five | Revue | |
| 1960 | Invitation to a March | Incidental music | |
| 1962 | The World of Jules Feiffer | Incidental music | |
| 1966 | The Mad Show | "The Boy From…" (lyrics) | |
| 1967 | Illya Darling | "I Think She Needs Me" (lyrics; unused) | |
| 1971 | Twigs | "Hollywood and Vine" (music) | |
| 1973 | The Enclave | Incidental music | |
| 1974 | Candide | New lyrics | |
| 1975 | By Bernstein | Additional lyrics | |
| 1996 | Getting Away with Murder | Co-writer with George Furth | |
| 2007 | King Lear | Incidental music for Public Theater production |
Film and television
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1953 | Topper | Co-writer of eleven episodes |
| 1973 | The Last of Sheila | Co-writer with Anthony Perkins |
| 1974 | June Moon | Plays the role of Maxie Schwartz on PBS television version |
| Stavisky | Score (Alain Resnais film) | |
| 1976 | The Seven-Per-Cent Solution | Wrote "The Madam's Song", also known as "I Never Do Anything Twice" |
| 1981 | Reds | Music for and includes "Goodbye For Now" |
| 1990 | Dick Tracy | Wrote five songs |
| 1996 | The Birdcage | Two songs for the film: "It Takes All Kinds" (unused) and "Little Dream" |
| 2003 | Camp | Cameo as himself |
| 2007 | The Simpsons | Guest appearance as himself, Episode: "Yokel Chords" |
| 2013 | Six by Sondheim | HBO documentary by James Lapine |
| 2016 | Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened | Documentary about original Merrily We Roll Along production |
| 2021 | Tick, Tick... Boom! | Vocal cameo as himself |
| 2022 | Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery | Cameo as himself (Posthumous release) |
Unproduced works for theatre
| Year | Title | Music | Lyrics | Book | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | All That Glitters | Stephen Sondheim | Based on the 1924 play Beggar on Horseback by George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly. Wrote five songs "When I See You", "I Love You, Etc.", "Let's Not Fall in Love", "I Need Love", and "I Must Be Dreaming". | ||
| 1953 | Climb High | Stephen Sondheim | |||
| 1953 | The Legendary Mizners | Stephen Sondheim | Based on the 1953 biography of the same name by Alva Johnston. The basis for what would eventually become Road Show. | ||
| 1956 | The Last Resorts | Stephen Sondheim | Jean Kerr | Based upon the social study of the same name written by Cleveland Amory. Wrote three songs, "High Life", Pour le Sport", and "I Wouldn't Change a Thing". | |
| 1957 | Ring Around the Moon | Stephen Sondheim | Arthur Laurents (unwritten) | Based on the play Invitation to the Castle by Jean Anouilh | |
| 1962 | Passionella segment of The World of Jules Feiffer | Stephen Sondheim | Jules Feiffer | ||
| 1968 | A Pray by Blecht | Leonard Bernstein | Stephen Sondheim | John Guare | Based on the play The Exception and the Rule by Bertolt Brecht |
| 1994 | Muscle | Stephen Sondheim | James Lapine | Based on the memoir Muscle: Confessions of an Unlikely Bodybuilder by Samuel Fussell | |
Unproduced works for television
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1953 | The Man with the Squeaky Shoes | Non-musical teleplay |
| 1954 | The Lady, or the Tiger? | Music and lyrics co-written with Mary Rodgers. Based on the eponymous 1882 short story by Frank R. Stockton. |
| 1956 | I Believe in You | Incidental music. Wrote one song, "They Ask Me Why I Believe in You". |
| 1958 | The Jet-Propelled Couch | Musical adaptation of the story by Robert Lindner |
| 1960 | Do You Hear a Waltz? | Musical adaptation of Arthur Laurent's play The Time of the Cuckoo, later redeveloped as Do I Hear a Waltz? in 1965 |
Unproduced works for film
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1969 | The Thing of It Is... | Unproduced screenplay by William Goldman based on his novel. Wrote one song, "No, Mary Ann". |
| 1992 | Singing Out Loud | Unproduced film musical with a screenplay by William Goldman. Wrote six songs, "Dawn", "Looks", "Lunch", "Sand", "Singing Out Loud", and "Water Under the Bridge". |
| 1995 | Into the Woods | Unproduced screen adaptation of the original stage musical in collaboration with The Jim Henson Company. Wrote two new songs, "I Wish" and "Rainbows". |
Books
Sondheim's 2010 Finishing the Hat annotates his lyrics "from productions dating 1954–1981. In addition to published and unpublished lyrics from West Side Story, Follies and Company, the tome finds Sondheim discussing his relationship with Oscar Hammerstein II and his collaborations with composers, actors and directors throughout his lengthy career". The book, first of a two-part series, is named after a song from Sunday in the Park With George. Sondheim said, "It's going to be long. I'm not, by nature, a prose writer, but I'm literate, and I have a couple of people who are vetting it for me, whom I trust, who are excellent prose writers". Finishing the Hat was published in October 2010. According to a New York Times review, "The lyrics under consideration here, written during a 27-year period, aren't presented as fixed and sacred paradigms, carefully removed from tissue paper for our reverent inspection. They're living, evolving, flawed organisms, still being shaped and poked and talked to by the man who created them". The book was 11th on the New York Times' Hardcover Nonfiction list for November 5, 2010.
The sequel, Look, I Made a Hat: Collected Lyrics (1981–2011) with Attendant Comments, Amplifications, Dogmas, Harangues, Digressions, Anecdotes and Miscellany, was published on November 22, 2011. Continuing from Sunday in the Park With George, the book includes sections on Sondheim's work in film and television.
Musicologist and Library of Congress curator Mark Eden Horowitz conducted a series of in-depth interviews with Sondheim, published in 2003 as Sondheim on Music: Minor Details and Major Decisions.
References
- Gans, Andrew. "London's Jermyn Street Theatre to Offer Secret Sondheim with Cutko, Armstrong and McArthur" Playbill May 27, 2010.
- "Review: Classic Moments – Hidden Treasures, Jermyn Street Theatre". There Ought To Be Clowns. 2010-07-13. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
- "'The Madwoman Of Central Park West' cast album list". Castalbumcollector.com. Archived from the original on June 5, 2010. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
- "By Bernstein". Sondheimguide.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
- "'Getting Away With Murder' Listing". Sondheimguide.com. Archived from the original on August 28, 2013. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
- Champion, Lindsay. "HBO to Air Six By Sondheim Documentary, Featuring Jeremy Jordan, Audra McDonald, Darren Criss & More" Archived December 13, 2013, at the Wayback Machine broadway.com, July 26, 2013
- McNulty, Charles. Review: HBO's 'Six by Sondheim' is a stylish salute to a Broadway legend" Archived December 22, 2013, at the Wayback Machine LA Times, December 6, 2013
- "::: A t l a s m e d i a . T v". Archived from the original on September 11, 2018. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
- Filsinger, Jack (November 30, 2021). "Tick, Tick…Boom! Where To Spot Stephen Sondheim's Secret Cameo". Screenrant. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
- Hetrick, Adam."Stephen Sondheim and James Earl Jones Set for TimesTalks This Fall" Archived October 18, 2012, at the Wayback Machine playbill.com, August 16, 2010
- "Table of Contents". Randomhouse.com. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
- Haun, Harry."Exclusive! Sondheim Explains Evolution from Bounce to Road Show" Archived December 29, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. Playbill.com, August 12, 2008
- Gardner, Elysa. "Sondheim sounds off about writing songs" Archived March 5, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. USA Today, October 9, 2008
- Brantley, Ben. (21 October 2010). "Sondheim's Rhymes and Reasons". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 29, 2015. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
- "Hardcover Nonfiction list". The New York Times. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
- Jones, Kenneth."Stephen Sondheim's "Look, I Made a Hat", Part Two of His Career in Lyrics, in Stores Nov. 22" Archived August 26, 2013, at the Wayback Machine playbill.com, November 22, 2011
