Oscar Profile #576: Stephen Sondheim

Born March 22, 1930 in New York, New York, Stephen Sondheim was raised in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where his close friendship with Oscar Hammerstein II’s son led to his apprenticeship to Hammerstein under whose tutelage he began his legendary musical theater career.

This is, of course, well-known to anyone who has followed his career, or at least read his obituary after his death on November 26, 2021 at 91.

What is lesser known is that Sondheim’s professional career did not begin with the lyrics to Leonard Bernstein’s music to the 1957 Broadway musical, West Side Story. It began with the 1953-1955 TV series, Topper starring Anne Jeffreys, Robert Sterling, Leo G. Carrol, and Lee Patrick in the roles played in the 1937 film by Constance Bennett, Cary Grant, Roland Young, and Billie Burke, for which he wrote 11 of the 39 episodes of the series’ first season. His best-known writing, however, was the screenplay for 1973’s The Last of Sheila which he co-wrote with actor Anthony Perkins.

Sondheim’s first composition for Broadway was the title song from the 1956 play, Girls of Summer. Then came West Side Story for which he received his first Tony nomination for Best Musical for his lyrics. His second was for Gypsy two years later, also for his lyrics. He won his first and only award for Best Musical for 1962’s A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum for which he wrote both music and lyrics. Although he would win an additional six competitive Tonys, they were for his scores only, with the Best Musical award when given to one of his works it was given to the show’s producers. He was next nominated along with composer Richard Rodgers for the 1965 musical, Do I Hear a Waltz? , his last job as a lyricist for hire. From then on, he wrote both music and lyrics for all his shows.

The composer-lyricist won separate Tonys for both for 1970’s Company, then won the combined award for Best Score for 1971’s Follies and 1973’s A Little Night Music. He was nominated for the same award for 1976’s Pacific Overtures and won again for 1979’s Sweeney Todd. He was then nominated for 1982’s Merrily We Roll Along and 1984’s Sunday in the Park with George and won again for 1988’s Into the Woods and 1994’s Passion. That’s fourteen nominations and eight wins, a record for a composer.

At the 2008 Tonys, Sondheim was given a Special Award for Lifetime Achievement.

On screen, Sondheim wrote the instrumental scores for 1974’s Stavisky and 1981’s Reds. His song, “Sooner or Later” from the 1990 film, Dick Tracy won him an Oscar on his first and only nomination.

While several of Sondheim’s shows were filmed for television, only a handful have been filmed for the big screen. Those that have are West Side Story (winner of 10 1961 Oscars) Gypsy, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, and West Side Story for a second time.

ESSENTIAL FILMS

WEST SIDE STORY (1961), directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins

Nominated for 11 Oscars, and winner of 10, this long cherished film version of Sondheim’s first musical for which he supplied the lyrics to Leonard Bernstein’s music, remains fresh. A modern take on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Natalie Wood is Maria, the young Puerto Rican immigrant who falls in love with Tony, the Polish American Richard Beymer. The principal cast also includes Russ Tamblyn as Tony’s friend and Jets gang leader Riff, Oscar winner George Chakiris as Bernardo, Maria’s brother and Sharks gang leader, Oscar winner Rita Moreno as Tony’s girl and Maria’s friend, Anita. Ned Glass plays the drugstore owner.

GYPSY (1962), directed by Mervyn LeRoy

3 Oscar nominations went to this under-rated adaptation of the frequently revived Broadway musical about the life of Gypsy Rose Lee from tomboy to child star to legendary burlesque star. Rosalind Russell won a Golden Globe for her portrayal of the star’s manipulative stage mother but failed to receive an Oscar nomination in a highly competitive year. Fans of original star Ethel Merman’s performance made much of the fact that Russell couldn’t sing the high notes so that several of her songs had to be blended with the voice of Lisa Kirk. Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly, Bernadette Peters, and Patti LuPone have since revied it on Broadway.

SWEENEY TODD (2007), directed by Tim Burton

Nominated for 3 Oscars and winner of one for its art direction, this dark musical subtitled The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is also playful and melodic. Johnny Depp received a Best Actor nomination for the title role created on stage by Len Cariou while Helena Bonham Carter essayed the role of Mrs. Lovett, his partner in crime, originally played by Angela Lansbury as the maker of “The Best Pies in London” made from the flesh of Todd’s murder victims. Set in 1840s London, it co-stars Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jamie Campbell Bower, and Ed Sands. Songs include “Not While I’m Around”.

INTO THE WOODS (2014), directed by Rob Marshall

3 Oscar nominations went to Sondheim’s excursion into the dark side of children’s fairy tales, including one for Meryl Streep as the witch, a role generally considered one of the musical’s leads. It was the 19th of her 21 nominations to date. The film version, unlike the stage version which has a separate narrator, is narrated by James Corden as the baker whose character ties it all together. Emily Blunt is the baker’s wife, Anna Kendrick is Cinderella, Chris Pine is Cinderella’s prince, Billy Magnussen is Rapunzel’s prince, and Johnny Depp is Little Red Riding Hood’s wolf. Songs include “No One Is Alone” and “Children Will Listen”.

WEST SIDE STORY (2021), directed by Stephen Spielberg

Spielberg has always wanted to make a film musical. Why he chose to remake an iconic one that still holds up is anyone’s guess, but early word is that he has succeeded brilliantly. Will it earn 11 Oscar nominations and 10 wins as the earlier version did sixty years ago? We’ll have to wait a few months to find out. In the meantime, you can check out this version for yourself beginning on Christmas Day, 2021. Filling the shoes of the earlier actors are Rachel Zegler as Maria, Anson Elgort as Tony, Mike Faist as Riff, David Alvarez as Bernardo, and Ariana DeBose as Anita with 90-year-old Rita Moreno back to sing “Somewhere” as the drugstore owner.