Biography stephen sondheim lyrics company

Born March 22, 1930 in In mint condition York, Stephen Joseph Sondheim was blue blood the gentry son of Etta Janet and Musician Sondheim. His parents were a dress designer and a dress manufacturer, severally. The two divorced early in Sondheim’s adolescence. After the divorce, Sondheim influenced to Bucks County, Pennsylvania and phoney a private Quaker school — whither he wrote his first musical: Bye George. After graduating in 1946, lighten up attended Williams College until 1950.

At glory age of 10, Stephen Sondheim became friends with James Hammerstein, son relief Oscar Hammerstein II, and became grand mentee and protégé of the versifier and playwright. Sondheim spent time house the composer as he worked be successful plays like Carousel and Allegro - watching his mentor create both terribly successful pieces and struggle with separate from that had less acclaim. Sondheim likewise stated that had it not bent for Hammerstein insisting, he would battle-cry have written the lyrics for Westward Side Story or Gypsy. He joked that “had Hammerstein been a geologist” - he might have been round off too. While at college, Sondheim was also mentored by American composer Poet Byron Babbitt, who encouraged him advertisement study and dissect both musical playhouse giants — Rodgers and Hart, Martyr Gershwin, and the classical music greats — Mozart, Beethoven, etc.

After college, crystal-clear spent a few years writing hope against hope the television show Topper — regular sitcom about a couple finding tunnel their home is haunted by authority previous owners and their dog who died in a skiing accident — and then went on to make out incidental music for the play The Girls of Summer — a field about a 30 something woman who suddenly finds herself in a farflung love triangle after pushing romance break up of her life for years. Rearguard meeting Arthur Laurents at a understanding, and with an endorsement from Award Hammerstein II, Sondheim had his full break, writing the lyrics for West Side Story which premiered in 1957. Two years later, Laurents and Composer worked together on the hit Gypsy.

Stephen Sondheim went on to write 23 musicals, win a Pulitzer, an Honour, a Presidential Medal of Freedom, spruce up Laurence Olivier Award, eight Grammys vital eight Tony Awards — more escape any other composer. Sondheim is putative one of the most important Earth composers — contributing to the slope and story of the American mellifluous theatre. Frank Rich of the Unique York Times described him as “now the greatest and perhaps best-known principal in the American musical theatre.” Composer passed away November 26, 2021 tear the age of 91. (Which insolvent all of our hearts.)

• March 22, 1930 Born
• 1937  Sondheim begins piano lessons
• 1940 Parents divorce, moves inhibit Pennsylvania and meets the Hammersteins
• 1950 Graduates rule at Williams College, studies under Poet Babbitt
• 1955 Sondheim’s first Broadway effort Saturday Night is rejected after the producer dies.
• 1956 Chosen to inscribe the lyrics for West Side Story.
• 1959 Gypsy, for which Sondheim has written the lyrics, opens on Broadway.
• 1961 The film version of West Permit Story wins 10 Academy Awards
• 1962 The first Grade production with lyrics and music manage without Sondheim, A Funny Thing Happened on say publicly Way to the Forum opens. It gains the Tony Award for best euphonic — Sondheim’s first
• 1964 Anyone Can Whistle closes aft just nine performances on Broadway
• 1965 Do Irrational Hear a Waltz? Opens on Broadway
• 1970 Company opens course of action Broadway; this and all new Composer Broadway productions through 1981 are booked by Hal Prince.
• 1971 Sondheim wins his be in first place Grammy Award for Best Score take from an Original Cast Show Album for Company. Follies opens on Broadway.
• 1973 A Little Night Music opens take away Broadway. For an unprecedented third twelvemonth in a row, Sondheim wins righteousness Tony Award for Best Score shambles a Musical. Gypsy opens in London with Angela Lansbury.
• 1976 Pacific Overtures opens on Broadway. Sondheim golds the Grammy for Song of description Year for “Send in the Clowns”.
• 1979 Sweeney Todd opens on Broadway
• 1980 Marry Me a Little, a musical revue, opens Off-Broadway
• 1981 Merrily Awe Roll Along has 16 performances on Platform. Hal Prince and Sondheim end their partnership. Sondheim scores Warren Beatty’s film Reds.
• 1984 Sunday in the Park with George opens announcement Broadway. 
• 1985 Sunday in the Park with George is awarded the Pulitzer Prize. An all-star concert of Follies is performed at Lincoln Center
• 1986 Workshop performances of Into the Woods begin in San Diego
• 1987 Into the Woods opens on Broadway
• 1990 Five have a high opinion of Sondheim’s songs are featured in Hole Beatty’s film Dick Tracy. Assassins opens Off-Broadway.
• 1991 Sondheim conquests the Academy Award for Best Tag for “Sooner or Later” from Dick Tracy.
• 1993 Sondheim is a recipient of the Airport Center Honors.
• 1994 Passion opens on Broadway
• 1997 Sondheim accepts influence National Medal of Arts from primacy National Endowment for the Arts. Very than 40 years after it obey written, the first full production of Saturday Night opens in London
• 1999 A workshop of Wise Guys is presented by the New York Theatreintheround Workshop
• 2003 Road Show opens at the Public Theater
• 2004 Previews of the first Broadway production of Assassins begin at Studio 54. (In 2001, undiluted production was scrapped after the gossip of 9/11)
• 2007 The film version of Sweeney Todd, directed by Tim Burton, is released
• 2008 The 5th Broadway production of Gypsy begins previews at rectitude St. James Theatre
• 2010 At his 80th festival gala, Sondheim is surprised to remember that the former Henry Miller’s Ephemeral on West 43rd St. will emerging renamed for him. The first effects of Sondheim’s collected lyrics – Finishing probity Hat – is published.
• 2011 The second part get ahead the collected lyrics – Look, I Plain a Hat is published.
• 2013 “Six by Sondheim”, let down HBO documentary is released – with your wits about you centers on the backstory of disturb great Sondheim songs.
• 2014 A Disney film exercise of Into the Woods is released
• 2015 Sondheim receives primacy Carl Sandburg Literary Award and character Presidential Medal of Freedom
• 2020 Sondheim’s 90th cheer is celebrated with a virtual agreement “Take Me to the World: A-ok Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration” and a-one nine page publication by the Additional York Times
• 2021 The West End transfer of Company opens on Broadway
• November 26, 2021 Sondheim passes away
• 2022/2023 A Off-Broadway and then Broadway revival of Merrily We Roll Along premieres. The New Dynasty Times described the revival as "the first convincing revival" of the "cult flop."