Sondheim’s legacy certain to endure
When one of the greats in any field of endeavor passes away, it’s only natural to focus much of our attention on the accomplishments that made them famous.
That’s entirely appropriate. But often there are other aspects of the person’s life that should be noted, especially when there are lessons to be learned that apply to the rest of us who lack the extraordinary gifts of the departed individual.
Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim, who died Friday at 91, offers a sterling example of this.
Of course the conversation has to begin with his monumental achievements in the world of musical theater.
Those who don’t know Sondheim’s name likely are familiar with his work. He wrote the lyrics for the beloved “West Side Story” and composed the hit song “Send in the Clowns.” Major movies were made from his “Sweeney Todd” and “Into the Woods.” Sondheim’s musicals won numerous Tony Awards along with a Pulitzer Prize and an Oscar for best song.
Sondheim was famous for ingenious wordplay in his lyrics and great originality and complexity in his music. His canon is filled with songs that are witty, heartbreaking and deeply thought-provoking.
He played a crucial role in steering the Broadway musical from the golden age that ended in the early 1960s to a new era.
Sondheim reached his peak in the 1970s with a series of inventive musicals. Among them were “Company,” “Follies,” “A Little Night Music” and “Sweeney Todd.” His most popular work, “Into the Woods,” is still performed on countless school and community theater stages. Like so many of his other works, it’s a show that’s enormously entertaining but challenging as well, and full of surprises.
But the work Sondheim left behind is just part of his legacy.
Sondheim’s remarkable story began during time he spent as a teenager in Bucks County, where he met Doylestown-area resident Oscar Hammerstein II, a lyricist, playwright and theatrical legend. Hammerstein played a key role in turning the Broadway musical into a serious vehicle for storytelling with landmark works such as “Show Boat” and “Oklahoma.” He took the young Sondheim under his wing and tutored him in the art of creating original, meaningful and entertaining musical theater. Sondheim would write, and Hammerstein would critique.
Sondheim was forever grateful for this remarkable opportunity, and he devoted himself to doing the same for other up-and-coming theater artists throughout his life.
The new Netflix movie “Tick, Tick … BOOM!” makes much of Sondheim’s role in supporting the work of the late Jonathan Larson, who struggled for years before writing the modern Broadway classic “Rent.” “Hamilton” mastermind Lin-Manuel Miranda, who directed the movie, is another artist who benefited from Sondheim’s tutelage. Miranda shared a message he sent to the legendary composer after hearing the theater community’s reaction to the film’s release:
“I wrote him to say his ears must be burning from the countless Sondheim kindnesses being shared from the generations of writers he mentored. Steve, you repaid your debt to Oscar 1,000 times over.” Sondheim replied: “It’s an aspect of my life I’m proud of. I feel as if I’ve repaid (partially at least) what I owe Oscar.”
Any of us who were fortunate enough to have great mentors in our lives should be able to relate to this. It’s vital that we take the idea of “paying it forward” beyond just a nice sentiment and put it into action. You don’t have to be a great artist to follow Sondheim’s excellent example in some manner.
We can also learn from Sondheim’s extraordinary zest for life in old age. He was still developing new work in his final years. In the days preceding his death he sat for an interview with The New York Times and attended new productions of two of his works in New York.
Yes, audiences are still enjoying his work and that of the artists he influenced. Though the world has lost a great genius and an admirable individual, it’s clear that his legacy will endure in so many ways.