SONDHEIM: Irony of Ironies

 

The theatrical world was shocked by Stephen Sondheim’s death on November 26, and immediately the media was awash in a tsunami of praise and tributes. Professionals and fans from all walks of life described Sondheim as the greatest writer of Broadway musicals, ever.

Although Sondheim was 91, his passing was still a surprise.  Up until the very end, Sondheim was seen attending theater, working on the revival of his landmark show Company and appearing on TV. He seemed vigorous and sharp.

Ever since first hearing the soundtrack album of Company in 1970, I have been a fan. I found the new show so current, so hip, so real, and so witty. Like nothing I had ever heard before. Indeed, it has been said that Company revolutionized musical theater. It was nominated for the most Tony awards of any musical (14 nominations, 6 wins), a record that held until The Producers (2001)

It was so different, that I didn’t even realize that Company was written by the same guy who penned the lyrics for Gypsy and West Side Story, let alone Funny Thing Happened on The Way to The Forum, his only hit before Company in which he wrote both music and lyrics.

But Company was indeed the threshold through which the rest of Sondheim’s memorable shows passed. It introduced us to the quirky elements that came to identify his musicals.

·      Little or no dancing
·      Little or no chorus singing (Sondheim scoffed at this musical staple saying, how could everyone in the crowd be thinking the same thing at the same time?)
·      No corny love songs
·      Lyrics filled with impossible rhymes and word play
·      Melodies that were angular and devilish to sing
·      Songs filled with cynicism and people who just can’t make up their minds. (example: “Sorry Grateful” from Company).
·      Story lines that were philosophical and thoughtful.

But the huge irony about Sondheim is this: Stephen Sondheim is revered by the theater community as its most esteemed hero.  He has personally won 11 Tony awards and has been honored in every way possible, with even a Broadway theater named after him.  But with all of these accolades, his shows were not all that successful financially. And his individual songs never became popular.

The only “hit” song he wrote was “Send in the Clowns”, a song that few people even understand its meaning and even fewer saw the show from which it came (A Little Night Music).

The fact is, Sondheim never wrote a song on its own without it being engulfed in a story. He spoke about how he could not write a song if he didn’t understand the character and the situation he was in.  What was the character thinking about?

Although Sondheim was mentored by Oscar Hammerstein, he looks back on his master’s beloved lyrics with surprising criticism. He questions how all of Hammerstein’s characters in all of his musicals can sing about the same things: nature, birds, oceans and such.

But he was also critical of his own early lyric writing, even in the legendary West Side Story.  He often said that he cringes when hearing the rhyme from “I Feel Pretty”; “It’s alarming how charming I feel”.  C’mon, he says, would a Puerto Rican girl in New York really say something like that?    

The show that had the longest initial run was A Funny Thing, a bawdy vaudeville-type show that starred Zero Mostel.  It was made into a successful movie, but strangely they removed all of Sondheim’s songs for the film. What - a musical without music? Crazy.

The sum of Sondheim’s output was truly remarkable. In the decade  beginning in 1957 Sondheim wrote six shows. Then, the 70’s was a like a racetrack of writing:  Company (70), Follies (71), A Little Night Music (73), Frogs (74), Pacific Overtures (76), and Sweeney Todd (79).

The final third of his career didn’t have quite the productivity as the fist two thirds, but the quality didn’t lessen. His final shows were Merrily We Roll Along (81), Sunday in the Park with George (84), Into the Woods (87), Assassins (90) and Passion (94).

An absolutely stunning yield of creative material. By comparison, Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote In The Heights in 2008 and Hamilton in 2015. Nothing since.

Although many of Sondheim’s shows are heralded as brilliant and great creative achievements in the theater, most did not enjoy long stays on Broadway during their initial runs. Most of his big hits only lasted two years, barely time to earn enough to recoup the investments. Sondheim shows don’t even appear in the lists of Broadway’s longest running shows, despite his reputation as the greatest.

Lion King, Phantom of the Opera, Wicked, Chicago and others have been on Broadway for tens of years, earning billions of dollars.

Since his shows were so sophisticated and filled with adult themes, endless word play and unusual harmonies, it often took more than one listening to truly appreciate them.  For this reason, the musicals were often revived and had a solid business with community and educational theater.

Sondheim didn’t write musicals; he wrote musical theater.  He wanted the audience to be stunned, surprised and sometimes frightened.  And he wanted his characters to struggle with the questions of life and love.

Thankfully, Sondheim was a gregarious man, and many of his extensive interviews are online plus he wrote two large books (Look, I Made a Hat and Finishing The Hat). Included in his book are the lyrics that fly by in a flash.  Reading over those tongue twisters reveal his true genius with words.  

Through the interviews especially, generations of future theater lovers will be able to listen to his thoughts about creativity. He is straightforward, truthful, funny, and often self-deprecating.

One can sense Sondheim’s great love of theater and of the community of theater. He lived for the intense collaborations he had in creating his shows and support young talent. Many writers and actors treasure the notes that he sent to them after seeing new shows in New York.

What will Broadway be without him?