Stephen Sondheim is widely considered one of the most important figures in modern musical theater history. Born in 1930 and passing away in 2021, Sondheim composed some of Broadway’s most iconic shows. West Side Story, Company, Into The Woods, Merrily We Roll Along, Sunday In The Park With George, and many others are testaments to his genius.

Sondheim’s music tends to dive into mature and darker themes and is characterized by quick and intricate tempos, sweeping scores, and complex harmony. His music is divisive in the plot of every musical and perfectly shows each character’s journey throughout the story.

Sondheim has won 8 Tony awards, 8 Grammy awards, a Pulitzer Prize, an Academy Award, and many others (44 total wins to be exact). He started composing young and was mentored by the legendary Oscar Hammerstein II. Through Hammerstein, Sondheim learned the art of composition and began his journey in the theater industry.

His career truly began when he was asked to write the lyrics for Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story in 1957. His next project was writing the lyrics for Gypsy which opened in 1959 (also set to reopen on Broadway December 19th, 2024, for its fifth Broadway revival).

From this point, Sondheim made it clear that he would be composing the music and the lyrics for his next projects. He went on to write A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962), Anyone Can Whistle (1964), setting the stage for what was to come in his career.

Throughout his career, Sondheim had cultivated incredible relationships that have earned his shows their numerous awards. In 1970 he began collaborating with director Harold Prince. Together they worked on six different musicals (Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures, Sweeney Todd, and Merrily We Roll Along). His next major collaboration was with James Lapine, starting in 1982, and together they collaborated on Sunday in the Park with George, Passion, and Into the Woods.

Sondheim continued iconic collaborations and wrote more incredible shows up until his death in 2021. In October of 2023, two years after his death, his final piece was finally open Off-Broadway. Here We Are was in the works starting as early as 2014; however, the project was halted in 2021 (though the music was complete), and Sondheim passed away before the show materialized. However, through the hard work of an incredible team, headed by Joe Mantello, the show was able to open.

You cannot discuss musical theater history without Sondheim. He challenged what was possible through music and storytelling. Because of this, his contributions are unparalleled. His work has helped form the contemporary musical theater song book.