Stephen Sondheim was an American composer and lyricist whose most famous work includes 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).
| Year | Title | Music | Lyrics | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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. | |
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. [1] [2] Sondheim's "Pretty Women" and "Everybody Ought to Have a Maid" are featured in The Madwoman of Central Park West . [3]
| 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 |
| 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 | [4] |
| 1996 | Getting Away with Murder | Co-writer with George Furth | [5] |
| 2007 | King Lear | Incidental music for Public Theater production | |
| 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 [6] [7] |
| 2016 | Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened | Documentary about original Merrily We Roll Along production [8] |
| 2021 | Tick, Tick... Boom! | Vocal cameo as himself [9] |
| 2022 | Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery | Cameo as himself (Posthumous release) |
| 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 | |
| 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 |
| 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". |
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". [10] [11] 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". [12] [13] 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". [14] The book was 11th on the New York Times' Hardcover Nonfiction list for November 5, 2010. [15]
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. [16]
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.
A Little Night Music is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Inspired by the 1955 Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night, it involves the romantic lives of several couples. Its title is a literal English translation of the German name for Mozart's Serenade No. 13, K. 525, Eine kleine Nachtmusik. The musical includes the popular song "Send In the Clowns", written for Glynis Johns.
Follies is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman.
Into the Woods is a 1987 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine.
Stephen Joshua Sondheim was an American composer and lyricist. Regarded as one of the most important figures in 20th-century musical theater, he is credited with reinventing the American musical. With his frequent collaborations with Harold Prince and James Lapine, Sondheim's Broadway musicals tackled unexpected themes that ranged beyond the genre's traditional subjects, while addressing darker elements of the human experience. His music and lyrics were tinged with complexity, sophistication, and ambivalence about various aspects of life.
Company is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by George Furth. The original 1970 production was nominated for a record-setting 14 Tony Awards, winning six. Company was among the first book musicals to deal with contemporary dating, marriage, and divorce, and is a notable example of a concept musical lacking a linear plot. In a series of vignettes, Company follows bachelor Bobby interacting with his married friends, who throw a party for his 35th birthday.
Saturday Night is a 1955 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Julius J. Epstein, based on the play, Front Porch in Flatbush, written by Epstein and his brother Philip.
Bernadette Peters is an American actress, singer, and children's book author. Over a career spanning more than six decades, she has starred in musical theatre, television and film, performed in solo concerts and released recordings. She is a critically acclaimed Broadway performer, having received seven nominations for Tony Awards, winning two, and nine Drama Desk Award nominations, winning three. Four of the Broadway cast albums on which she has starred have won Grammy Awards.
Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh is a British theatrical producer and theatre owner notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "the most successful, influential and powerful theatrical producer in the world" by the New York Times. He is the producer of shows including Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Miss Saigon, Mary Poppins, Oliver!, and Hamilton.
Do I Hear a Waltz? is a musical with a book by Arthur Laurents, music by Richard Rodgers, and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. It was adapted from Laurents' 1952 play The Time of the Cuckoo, which was the basis for the 1955 film Summertime starring Katharine Hepburn.
James Elliot Lapine is an American stage director, playwright, screenwriter, and librettist. He has won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical three times, for Into the Woods, Falsettos, and Passion. He has frequently collaborated with Stephen Sondheim and William Finn.
Michael Cerveris is an American actor, singer, and guitarist. He has performed in many stage musicals and plays, including several Stephen Sondheim musicals: Assassins, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Sunday in the Park with George, Road Show, and Passion. In 2004, Cerveris won the Tony Award as Best Featured Actor in a Musical for Assassins as John Wilkes Booth. In 2015, he won his second Tony Award as Best Actor in a Musical for Fun Home as Bruce Bechdel.
Jenna Russell is an English actress and singer. She has appeared on the stage in London in both musicals and dramas, as well as appearing with the Royal Shakespeare Company. She performed the role of Dot in Sunday in the Park with George in the West End and on Broadway, receiving the Tony Award nomination and the 2006 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role. She has also appeared in several television series, including Born and Bred and EastEnders.
Julia Kathleen Nancy McKenzie is an English actress, singer, presenter, and theatre director. She has premièred leading roles written by both Alan Ayckbourn and Stephen Sondheim. On television, she is known for her BAFTA Award nominated role as Hester Fields in the sitcom Fresh Fields (1984–1986) and its sequel French Fields (1989–1991), and as Miss Marple in Agatha Christie's Marple (2009–2013).
John Francis McMartin was an American actor of stage, film and television.
Marry Me a Little is a musical with lyrics and music by Stephen Sondheim, conceived by Craig Lucas and Norman René. The revue sets songs cut from Sondheim's better-known musicals, as well as songs from his then-unproduced musical Saturday Night, to a dialogue-free plot about the relationship between two lonely New York single people, who are in emotional conflict during an evening in their separate one-room apartments. Despite knowing of the other's existence, they never get up the courage to talk to each other, though they imagine what such an encounter might be like.
Norm Lewis is an American actor and baritone singer. He has appeared on Broadway, in the West End, film, television, recordings and regional theatre. He’s also noted for his wide vocal range. Lewis was the second African-American actor after Robert Guillaume to perform in the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera and the first one to do so in the Broadway production. In 2023, he reprised the role in the show's sequel, Love Never Dies, in London's West End.
Eric D. Schaeffer is an American theater director and producer based in Arlington, Virginia.
Warren Carlyle is a British director and choreographer who was born in Norwich, Norfolk, England. He received Drama Desk Award nominations for Outstanding Choreography and Outstanding Director of a Musical for the 2009 revival of Finian's Rainbow.
Sondheim on Sondheim is a musical revue consisting of music and lyrics written by Stephen Sondheim for his many shows. It is conceived and directed by James Lapine. The revue had a limited run on Broadway in 2010.
Lauren Ward is an American singer and actress. She has appeared in Broadway, Off-Broadway and West End musicals and plays. Ward originated the role of Miss Honey in the original Stratford-Upon-Avon, West End, and Broadway productions of the musical Matilda, and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance.
