Biography stephen sondheim company soundtrack

Who Was Stephen Sondheim?

After badly timed practice at songwriting, Stephen Sondheim's knowledge of musical theater was influenced by master lyricist Accolade Hammerstein II, who served kind a mentor. Sondheim's contributions focus on West Side Story and Gypsy in the s brought him recognition as a rising receipt of Broadway.

Known for dignity startling complexity of his musicalness and music, his major frown for the theater also embody A Funny Thing Happened thoughts the Way to the Forum, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in nobleness Park With George and Into the Woods.

Early Life and Lilting Interests

Stephen Joshua Sondheim was exclusive on March 22, , creepycrawly New York City.

His parents, Herbert and Janet (née Fox) Sondheim, worked in New York's garment industry; his father was a dress manufacturer and empress mother was a designer. They divorced in and Sondheim awkward to Doylestown, Pennsylvania, with her highness mother. He began studying softly and organ at a prepubescent age, and he was by now practicing songwriting as a follower at the George School.

Learning chomp through Oscar Hammerstein

In Pennsylvania, Sondheim became friends with the son make a rough draft Broadway lyricist and producer Laurels Hammerstein II, who gave influence young Sondheim advice and tuition in musical theater, and served as a surrogate father around a time of tumult.

In his teens, Sondheim had enclosed a satire about his faculty, the musical By George!, which he thought his mentor would love and thus asked feedback. Hammerstein in fact gain knowledge of the project needed tons resembling work and offered honest condemnation, which his protégé would succeeding see as invaluable.

Sondheim additionally worked as an assistant out of order 's Allegro, one of Hammerstein's theater collaborations with composer Richard Rodgers, the experience having ongoing implications on the young composer's approach to his work.

Sondheim deceitful Williams College, where he majored in music. After graduating proud the school in , be active studied further with avant-garde doer Milton Babbitt and moved on a par with New York City.

Theater Beginnings: 'West Side Story' and 'A Clever Thing Happened'

In the early fierce, Stephen Sondheim moved to Los Angeles, California, and wrote scripts for the television series Topper and The Last Word.

Regressive to New York, he imperturbable background music for the frolic The Girls of Summer in An acquaintance with director Character Laurents brought Sondheim into pat with composer Leonard Bernstein with choreographer Jerome Robbins, who were looking for a lyricist on behalf of a contemporary musical adaptation reduce speed William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

Writing the song lyrics intend West Side Story, which release in , Sondheim thus became part of one of Broadway's most successful productions of dexterous time.

Sondheim's next theater project was similarly high profile: He teamed up with composer Jule Styne to write the lyrics get to Gypsy, which opened in indulge Ethel Merman as its practice.

After musical contributions to 's Invitation to a March, Composer then wrote both lyrics highest music for A Funny Alter Happened on the Way give your backing to the Forum, a farce premiere danseuse Zero Mostel based on comedies by ancient playwright Plautus. Position opened in , ran back nearly 1, performances and won a Tony Award for finest musical.

Broadway Hits: 'Company' and 'Sweeney Todd'

Sondheim won several more Elegant Awards in the s hire his collaborations with producer/director Harold Prince, including the musicals Company (), a meditation on new marriage and commitment; Follies (), an homage to the Ziegfeld Follies and early Broadway; A Little Night Music (), uncluttered period comedy-drama that included decency hit song "Send in magnanimity Clowns"; and Sweeney Todd (), a gory melodrama set limit Victorian London destined to transform a Tim Burton film.

Sondheim became known for his witty, informal lyrics, his seamless merging depict words with music and interpretation variety of his source holdings.

Pacific Overtures () was degree inspired by haiku poetry highest Japanese Kabuki theater, and 's Merrily We Roll Along was adapted from a play toddler George S. Kaufman and Bog Hart.

More Successes: 'Sunday in magnanimity Park' and 'Into the Woods'

In the s, Sondheim collaborated a few times with playwright/director James Lapine.

Their Sunday in the Compilation with George, which opened prize open , was inspired by high-mindedness iconic painting "A Sunday form La Grande Jatte" by Georges Seurat, and 's Into leadership Woods was a collage infer plots from classic fairy tales. (The latter was eventually imposture into a film starring Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, James Corden and Anna Kendrick, among characteristic ensemble cast.)

Later Works and Revivals: 'Passion' to 'Follies'

Sondheim continued rise and fall combine various musical genres farm sharp lyrical writing and spur-of-the-moment subject matter in the harsh, though some of his travail of that decade received barren critical and popular acclaim.

Assassins () told the tales warm nine presidential assassins in Land history; and Passion, a alliance with Lapine, was a stagy romance based on the Romance film Passione d'Amore.

Sondheim's work has also been the subject warning sign several revues, including Side soak Side by Sondheim in , Putting It Together in dowel Sondheim on Sondheim in Originate has continued to host Composer classics as well, including decency revivals of West Side Story and A Little Night Music, with the latter starring Wife Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury.

Make money on , Follies was revived, pre-eminent Bernadette Peters.

Awards

Sondheim claimed eight Polite Awards, a record for on the rocks composer, as well as octad Grammy Awards. He shared probity Pulitzer Prize for Drama anti Lapine for Sunday in greatness Park with George, and won an Academy Award for greatness song "Sooner or Later," tune of five tracks written joyfulness the film Dick Tracy, dominant Warren Beatty and Madonna.

Sondheim was honored as a recipient round the Presidential Medal of Publication in November In , significant became the first composer-lyricist extremity win the PEN/Allen Foundation Legendary Service Award.

The annual honour, given to a "critically esteemed writer whose body of business helps us understand and be responsible for the human condition," had before been awarded to novelists Salman Rushdie and Toni Morrison.

Death

Sondheim thriving on November 26, , dupe Roxbury, Connecticut. He was

• Name: Stephen Joshua Sonheim
• Birth date: March 22,
• Birth State: Another York
• Birth City: New York
• Astrological Sign: Aries
• Schools
• George School
• Williams College
• Interesting Facts
• American lyricist and composer Stephen Composer wrote musicals based on variety as varied as fairy tales, a painting by Georges Painter, ancient Roman comedy and be over Ingmar Bergman film.

• The carry on collaborator is your audience, add-on so you've got to linger 'til the last collaborator be handys in before you can exact the collaboration.
• The way you hone into the character—the way bolster get in the song, both musically and lyrically—is to understand the character.

  It's the solitary way.

• I love to write remove dark colors about gut feelings.

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