ArchiveFM

The Daily

The Life and Legacy of Stephen Sondheim

Stephen Sondheim died last week at his home in Roxbury, Conn. He was 91. For six decades, Mr. Sondheim, a composer-lyricist whose works include “Sweeney Todd” and “Into the Woods,” transformed musical theater into an art form as rich, complex and contradictory as life itself. “For me, the loss that we see pouring out of Twitter right now and everywhere you look as people write about their memories of Sondheim is for that person who says yes, devoting yourself to writing or to dancing or to singing or to composing — or whatever it is — is a worthwhile life,” Jesse Green, The Times’s chief theater critic, said in today’s episode. “And there really is no one who says that as strongly in his life and in his work as Sondheim does.” Today, we chart Mr. Sondheim’s career, influence and legacy.
Duration
38m
Broadcast on
03 Dec 2021
Audio Format
other

Stephen Sondheim died last week at his home in Roxbury, Conn. He was 91.

For six decades, Mr. Sondheim, a composer-lyricist whose works include “Sweeney Todd” and “Into the Woods,” transformed musical theater into an art form as rich, complex and contradictory as life itself.

“For me, the loss that we see pouring out of Twitter right now and everywhere you look as people write about their memories of Sondheim is for that person who says yes, devoting yourself to writing or to dancing or to singing or to composing — or whatever it is — is a worthwhile life,” Jesse Green, The Times’s chief theater critic, said in today’s episode. “And there really is no one who says that as strongly in his life and in his work as Sondheim does.”

Today, we chart Mr. Sondheim’s career, influence and legacy. 

Guest: Jesse Green, the chief theater critic for The New York Times.

Sign up here to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. 

Background reading: 

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This podcast is supported by TikTok. Sometimes the most interesting discoveries are the ones you weren't looking for. That happens every day on TikTok. A science experiment can spark a whole new interest. A recipe you stumble upon can become a meal you make for the people you love. And a restaurant you've never heard of might become your new favorite spot. That's the thing about TikTok. Follow your curiosity and see where it leads. Your next discovery is waiting on TikTok. From New York Times, I'm Michael Labaro. This is a daily. One of the first things you have to decide on with a musical is why should there be songs? Today. You can put songs in any story. But what you have to look for is why are songs necessary to this story? For six decades until his death last week, Stephen Sontan transformed musical theater into an art form as rich, complex, and contradictory as life itself. If it's unnecessary, then the show generally turns out to be not very good. I spoke with my colleague, theater critic Jesse Green, about Sontan's career, influence, and legacy. It's Friday, December 3rd. (gentle music) Jesse, what are your earliest memories of Stephen Sontan? What was your first real encounter with his work? I suppose it was when I was about 11. And my parents, who used to go from where I lived in the suburbs of Philadelphia to New York, now and then to see shows. My mother had been really turned on by hair. (laughing) As whose was not really-- Hair, the hair, the musical, not the-- Not my father's hair, no. And they came back one night late from seeing something which they were still talking about. And this would have been after a two-hour drive home. And they were like, oh my God, this was incredible. I'd never heard them talk about a show as if it were, say, a novel. And so which show had they just seen?

Transcription truncated.

Stephen Sondheim died last week at his home in Roxbury, Conn. He was 91. For six decades, Mr. Sondheim, a composer-lyricist whose works include “Sweeney Todd” and “Into the Woods,” transformed musical theater into an art form as rich, complex and contradictory as life itself. “For me, the loss that we see pouring out of Twitter right now and everywhere you look as people write about their memories of Sondheim is for that person who says yes, devoting yourself to writing or to dancing or to singing or to composing — or whatever it is — is a worthwhile life,” Jesse Green, The Times’s chief theater critic, said in today’s episode. “And there really is no one who says that as strongly in his life and in his work as Sondheim does.” Today, we chart Mr. Sondheim’s career, influence and legacy.