Stephen Sondheim

We journeyed into the forest of Into the Woods with five straight rehearsals devoted to the beast that is the show's score (that's to say, all music). Stephen Sondheim really didn't hold anything back composing the music for the show's intertwine string of fairy tales.

Oh, who is Stephen Sondheim? So glad you asked.













1

Sondheim was born in 1930 and is "widely acknowledged as the most innovative, most influential and most important composer and lyricist in modern Broadway history."2

Growing up, Sondheim was friends with Jimmy, son of famous librettist Oscar Hammerstein, and would use this friendship and his relationship with Jimmy's father to develop a love of theater, going on to write the music and lyrics for the following productions:

West Side Story (lyrics only). Gypsy. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Company. Follies. Sweeney Todd.

These are only some of the shows he's responsible for, along with Into the Woods. Staying prolific into his 70's (his age, not saying he "owned" the decade), Sondheim has also written the scores for Bounce and The Frogs since 2000.

Later this week, a look at the book's librettist, James Lapine, as well as a look into the staging part of our rehearsal process and the world that's being created with the show's mash-up of fairy tales.

1 Photos courtesy of theatermania.com and broadwayworld.com
2 Bio at sondheim.org - The Stephen Sondheim Society