Stephen Sondheim

Stephen Joshua Sondheim (born March 22, 1930) is an American composer and lyricist known for his work in musical theatre.

One of the most important figures in 20^th-century theatre, Sondheim has been praised for having “reinvented the American musical“[1] with shows that tackle ”unexpected themes that range far beyond the [genre’s] traditional subjects“[2] with ”music and lyrics of unprecedented complexity and sophistication.“[3] His shows have been acclaimed for addressing ”darker, more harrowing elements of the human experience,“[4] with songs often tinged with ”ambivalence“[5] about various aspects of life.

His best-known works as composer and lyricist 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 known for writing the lyrics for West Side Story (1957) and Gypsy (1959).

He has received an Academy Award, eight Tony Awards (more than any other composer),[6] a Special Tony Award, eight Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize, a Laurence Olivier Award, and a 2015 Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 2010, the former Henry Miller’s Theater on Broadway was renamed the Stephen Sondheim Theatre; in 2019, it was announced that the Queen’s Theatre in the West End of London would be renamed the Sondheim Theatre at the end of the year.[7] Sondheim has written film music, contributing ”Goodbye for Now“ for Warren Beatty’s 1981 Reds. He wrote five songs for 1990’s Dick Tracy, including ”Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man)", sung in the film by Madonna, which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Film adaptations of Sondheim’s work include West Side Story (1961), Gypsy (1962), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966), A Little Night Music (1977), Gypsy (1993), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), Into the Woods (2014), West Side Story (2021), and Merrily We Roll Along (TBA).

Plays authored

Past productions

Music and lyrics, The Frogs, House on the Hill Productions 14^th March – 8^th April 2017, Jermyn Street Theatre, London.
Music and Lyrics, Anyone Can Whistle, The Phil Willmott Company 8^th February – 11^th March 2017, Union Theatre, London.
Music and lyrics, Sweeney Todd, David Adkin in association with Twickenham Theatre 10^th September – 10^th October 2014, Twickenham Theatre.
Music and lyrics, Pacific Overtures, Sasha Regan and Paul Callen for Union Theatre 2^nd July – 2^nd August 2014, Union Theatre, London.
Lyrics, Do I Hear a Waltz?, Charles Court Opera 5^th – 30^th March 2014, Park Theatre, London.
Music and lyrics, Merrily We Roll Along, Menier Chocolate Factory 16^th November 2012 – 23^rd February 2013, Menier Chocolate Factory, London.
Music and lyrics, Road Show, Menier Chocolate Factory 6^th July – 18^th September 2011, Menier Chocolate Factory, London.
Music & Lyrics, Sweeney Todd, Lace Market Theatre 19^th – 24^th July 2010, Lace Market Theatre, Nottingham.
Music and lyrics, Company, Sasha Regan for the Union Theatre 20^th May – 13^th June 2009, Union Theatre, London.
Music and lyrics, Saturday Night, Primavera 10^th February – 14^th March 2009, Jermyn Street Theatre, London.
Music and lyrics, Follies, Landor Theatre 21^st September – 14^th October 2006, Landor Theatre, London.
Composer, Sunday in the Park with George, Chocolate Factory Prod. [David Babani/Danielle Tarento] 18^th November 2005 – 2^nd September 2006, Menier Chocolate Factory, London and Wyndham’s Theatre, London.
Composer, Company 7^th March – 29^th June 1996, Albery Theatre (now Noël Coward Theatre), London.
Composer, Passion 1995 – 1996, Queen’s Theatre, (Shaftesbury Ave) London (now Sondheim Theatre, London).
Composer, A Little Night Music, National Theatre 18^th September 1995 – 1996, National Theatre – Olivier, National Theatre.
Composer, Anyone Can Whistle 1994 – 1995, LAMDA 1, London.
Lyrics, West Side Story, N P Theatre Company 9^th – 19^th February 1994, Rhoda McGaw Theatre, Woking.
Composer, Sweeney Todd, Royal National Theatre 16^th – 20^th November 1993, Theatre Royal, Bath.
Composer, Sweeney Todd, National Theatre started 22^nd May 1993, National Theatre – Cottesloe Theatre (now National Theatre – Dorfman), National Theatre, London and National Theatre – Lyttelton, National Theatre.
Composer, Assassins 22^nd October 1992 – 9^th January 1993, Donmar Warehouse, London.
Composer, Into the Woods 25^th September 1990 – 23^rd February 1991, Phoenix Theatre, London.
Composer, Sunday in the Park with George, National Theatre 3^rd March – ? 1990, National Theatre – Lyttelton, National Theatre.
Composer, A Little Night Music 11^th October 1989 – 17^th February 1990, Piccadilly Theatre, London.
Music & Lyrics, Sunday with Sondheim, Cameron Mackintosh and Theatre of Comedy 27^th March 1988, Shaftesbury Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, London 1963 – Present Day.
Composer, Sweeney Todd 1987 – 1988, Bristol Old Vic – Theatre Royal.
Composer, Follies 4^th July 1987 – 4^th February 1989, Shaftesbury Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, London 1963 – Present Day.
Composer, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum 1986 – 1987, Little Theatre, Bristol.
Composer, Follies 1984 – 1985, Forum Theatre, Wythenshawe, Manchester.
Composer, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Bristol Old Vic Company 19^th May – 12^th June 1982, Bristol Old Vic – Theatre Royal.
Composer, Side By Side By Sondheim 16^th May – 16^th June 1979, Bristol Old Vic – Theatre Royal.
Composer, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum 1978 – 1979, Little Theatre, Bristol.
Composer, A Little Night Music 15^th April 1975 – 3^rd April 1976, Adelphi Theatre, London.
Composer, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum 1973 – 1974, Congress Theatre, Eastbourne.
Composer, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum 1973 – 1974, Theatre Royal, Newcastle upon Tyne.
Composer, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum 4^th October – 4^th December 1965, Bristol Hippodrome, Pavilion Theatre, Bournemouth, and other locations.
Lyrics, West Side Story, H M Tennent Ltd, Robert E Griffiths and Harold S Prince 12^th December 1958 – 3^rd June 1961, Her Majesty’s Theatre, Haymarket, London (now His Majesty’s Theatre, Haymarket, London).
Lyrics, West Side Story, H.M. Tennent Ltd./Robert E. Griffith/Harold S.Prince started 12^th December 1958, Her Majesty’s Theatre, Haymarket, London (now His Majesty’s Theatre, Haymarket, London).

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Photographs

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