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Stephen Sondheim

Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March22, 1930November26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. Regarded as one of the most important figures in 20th-century musical theater, he is credited with reinventing the American musical. He received numerous accolades including eight Tony Awards, an Academy Award, eight Grammy Awards, an Olivier Award, and the Pulitzer Prize. He was inducted in the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1982, and awarded the Kennedy Center Honor in 1993 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015.

Sondheim was mentored at an early age by Oscar Hammerstein II and later frequently collaborated with Harold Prince and James Lapine. Sondheim's Broadway musicals tackled unexpected themes that ranged beyond the genre's traditional subjects, while addressing darker elements of the human experience. His music and lyrics are tinged with complexity, sophistication, and ambivalence about various aspects of life.

He began his career by writing the lyrics for both ''West Side Story'' (1957) and ''Gypsy'' (1959). He transitioned to writing both music and lyrics, including for five works that earned Tony Awards for Best Musical: ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' (1962), ''Company'' (1970), ''A Little Night Music'' (1973), ''Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'' (1979), and ''Passion'' (1994). He is also known for ''Follies'' (1971), ''Pacific Overtures'' (1976), ''Merrily We Roll Along'' (1981), ''Sunday in the Park with George'' (1984), ''Into the Woods'' (1987), and ''Assassins'' (1990).

A theater is named after him both on Broadway and in the West End of London. He won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Sooner or Later" from ''Dick Tracy'' (1990). Numerous projects of his have been adapted for film including ''West Side Story'' (1961), ''Gypsy'' (1962), ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' (1966), ''A Little Night Music'' (1977), ''Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'' (2007), ''Into the Woods'' (2014), and ''West Side Story'' (2021). He published three books including two involving his collected lyrics. Provided by Wikipedia Read More