Stephen Sondheim

Stephen Joshua Sondheim ( ; March 22, 1930November 26, 2021) was an American composer, songwriter and lyricist. One of the most important figures in twentieth-century musical theater, Sondheim was credited for having "reinvented the American musical" with shows that tackled "unexpected themes that range far beyond the [genre's] traditional subjects" with "music and lyrics of unprecedented complexity and sophistication". His shows addressed "darker, more harrowing elements of the human experience", with songs often tinged with "ambivalence" about various aspects of life.

Sondheim began his career by writing the lyrics for ''West Side Story'' (1957) and ''Gypsy'' (1959), before eventually devoting himself solely to writing both music and lyrics. His best-known works include ''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).

Sondheim's numerous accolades include eight Tony Awards (including a Lifetime Achievement Tony in 2008), an Academy Award, eight Grammy Awards, a Laurence Olivier Award, a Pulitzer Prize, a Kennedy Center Honor, and a Presidential Medal of Freedom. He has a theater named for him both on Broadway and in the West End of London. Film adaptations of Sondheim's work include ''West Side Story'' (1961), ''Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'' (2007), ''Into the Woods'' (2014), and ''West Side Story'' (2021).

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