Stephen Sondheim

Epic card · No. 14565

Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March 22, 1930 – November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. Considered one of the most important figures in 20th-century theater, he is credited with reinventing the American musical. He received numerous accolades, including eight Tony Awards, eight Grammy Awards and five Olivier Awards. He was inducted into 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 by Oscar Hammerstein II and later frequently collaborated with Harold Prince and James Lapine. His Broadway musicals tackle themes that range beyond the genre's traditional subjects, addressing darker elements of the human experience. His music and lyrics are characterized by their complexity, sophistication and ambivalence. Sondheim started by writing the lyrics for West Side Story (1957) and Gypsy (1959). He transitioned to writing both music and lyrics, including five works that earned...

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