Stephen Sondheim - Biography Stephen Sondheim was born on 22 March 1930, the son of a wealthy New York dress manufacturer. But, when his parents divorced, his mother moved to Bucks County, Pennsylvania and young Stephen found himself in the right place at the right time. A neighbour of his mother's, Oscar Hammerstein II, was working on a new musical called Oklahoma! and it didn't take long for the adolescent boy to realise that he, too, was intrigued by musical theatre. Although he subsequently
Stephen Sondheim is a well-known musical theatre composer who has been quite successful with his work. This world-renowned composer has had many prosperous musicals such as West Side Story, Sunday in the Park with George, Assassins, Gypsy, Sweeney Todd, and Into the Woods. These are only a few out of over twenty of the other musicals he has written. This man’s music is very different from music written by other composers. This certain kind of music has a unique sound that has clashing notes, yet
Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, ‘West Side Story’ is a classic American musical based on William Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’. The through-composed score and lyrics are used to portray different characters and their cultures, the rivalry between the Jets and Sharks, and the emotions felt as the story progresses. This essay will be exploring the music and how effective the score is in realising the world and characters of the musical. Furthermore, it will discuss how Bernstein and Sondheim relate characters’
Based on a series of Brothers Grimm fairy tales, Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods (1987) focuses on fairy tale characters such as Cinderella, Jack and Little Red Riding Hood’s wish of life fulfillment. Numerous fairy tales are intertwined with one new tale in attempt to carry the childhood stories into an adult realm without ridding of their child-based sensibilities. (Knapp, 2009.) Little Red’s song, “I know things now” is performed after she escapes the wolf’s belly. It is a reflection song on
Issues of Family in Into The Woods by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine For most people family is one of the most important parts of life. For they are the people who raised you and taught you things needed in life. For most of us we have a connection with are family that is unparallel in life, which is the reason for are undying love. At times though there is a point at which we take are family for granted like they will always be around. Parents might do things that are not agreed upon by
Prince or Princess you deserve to be. With Into the Woods, Lapine and Sondheim sought out to explore what could go wrong with “happily ever after.” Effectively leaving the audience with the adage, “be careful what you ask for…” Into the Woods was written by James Lapine with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The partnership of the two writers came off the break-up of the duo of Sondheim and Hal Prince (Stempel, 544). Sondheim recalls how the difference impacts his writing and what comes out of
CHAPTER NINE STUDY QUESTIONS – The Musical Theatre (Pgs. 243-259/247-261) 1. Describe some of the facts concerning the musical on Broadway (p. 244) (248). Broadway musicals can be characterized by aspects such as having multiple performances nearly every day of the week, having productions that tour the nation in hopes of attracting more audiences, and having large casts and orchestras (Cohen 248). 2. Who was Florenz Ziegfeld and what were his productions like? (p.245) (249) Florenz Ziegfeld is
The Lives and Accomplishments of Rodgers & Hammerstein Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein were both writers and producers in the theatre, but, their collaborative venture in the 1940’s introduced a new era of musical theatre. First, they wrote the first musical in which every element: music, lyrics, narrative, and even dance contributed to telling the story, each part blending and woven into the whole. Their new idea was a huge sensation with audiences, and brought with it, new recordings
West Side Story The Musical *No Works Cited West Side Story is one of the most influential musicals of all time. It's integration of dance and song into the plot was very innovative, because even though it had been done before, it had never been done this well. Jerome Robbins had thought of an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet to a Broadway musical in 1949. He began discussions with librettist Arthur Laurents and composer Leonard Bernstein of a musical called East Side Story, with a plot concentrating
Going back to the idea of surrealism, Stephen Sondheim would be the perfect candidate to compose and lyricize such musical. His own surrealistic views are portrayed in his works including Into the Woods (1987), Follies (1971), and A Little Night Music (1973). Emotion also plays a large role in the success of a Broadway production, specifically regarding the content of a show like TWINS. This proves Sondheim as a viable composer because, in the words of Ben Brantley, journalist
“Into the Woods” entails a song done by Stephen Sondheim and later written as a book by James Lapine. It has won several awards in Tony Awards i.e. Best Book, Best Score, and Best Actress in a Musical. The awards came when the industry was dominated by The Phantom of the Opera. Bernadette Peters' performance as the Witch and Joanna Gleason's portrayal of the Baker's Wife brought acclaim to the production during its original Broadway run. The lyrics are at tribute to the lifestyle of the singer where
the painting style, or the ideological perspective it is intended to garner, there is a connection between the painting and the viewer. This connection is lasting, and deeply personal. In the concept musical of Sunday in the Park with George, Stephen Sondheim uses this quite literally. He tells a story about a man named George Seurat. George is a nineteenth century painter, obsessed with his work. And in Act II, he is his great-grandson, also named George, and also an artist. However, these similarities
Hugh Wheeler was one of the most unique playwrights of all time. He was innovative in his storytelling skills and could challenge the most prolific writer. In his life, he wrote numerous plays and over 30 mystery novels under three different pseudonyms. However, his award winning works included the play Sweeney Todd, Candide, and A Little Night Music. Take a look at Wheeler’s life and also, look at each of these works. See inside the man and the brilliant playwright. Hugh Wheeler was born on
crisis can be instructive”: Into the Woods as Allegory Into the Woods was Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s second venture into the world of musical theatre as a collaborative pair. The musical, which opened on Broadway at the Martin Beck Theatre in November of 1987, concerns itself with a variety of characters and plot structures from Brothers Grimm fairy tales, all of which revolve around and are tied into a story Sondheim and Lapine concocted themselves – a baker and his wife wish for a child
Realities of West Side Story Filmed in 1961, West Side Story is a modern-day telling of Romeo and Juliet. Two youths struggle with their forbidden love as two gangs, the Jets and the Sharks, duel. At the end of the film, Maria says, “You all killed him […] with hate!” This is a universally acknowledged theme that hate can kill. West Side Story is said to be a “morality play about “our” everyday problems: racism, poverty, and the destructiveness of violence” . Shortly after 1949 had been rung
musical West Side Story is based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. This musical was possible due to the efforts of four people, Leonard Bernstein, the composer, Jerome Robbins, the director and choreographer, Arthur Laurents, the playwright, and Stephen Sondheim, the lyricist. After Rodgers and Hammerstein II’s Oklahoma! , West Side Story is considered as the most significant musical. The theme of this musical was different than the contemporary comical musicals in the sense that the plot had a tragic
What is critically known as the best American musical, Gypsy provides American musical theatregoers with dynamic characters, a captivating story and extraordinary music. Gypsy is an American musical that is based on the self-written book, “The Memoirs of ‘Gypsy Rose Lee’”. It is often referred to as, Gypsy: A Musical Fable. The musical made its debut on May 21, 1959 at The Broadway Theatre in Manhattan. The characters have been subject to many in depth analysis throughout its lifetime, adding a lot
Commencement Speech Lin-Manuel Miranda is an American Composer who is worldly recognized for his musical named “In The Heights.” Throughout his life, he’s won a variety of awards which leaves him only one Oscar away from achieving EGOT status. EGOT represents that a person has won all four of the major entertainment awards such as an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony. (Liebman Entertainment LLC) Due to the fact of his accomplishments, Miranda was chosen to speak at the University of Pennsylvania
On the 16th of January in the year 1980, a future inspiration was born. Lin-Manuel Miranda is a 38 year old man, known for not only his skills as a composer and playwright, but also for using those skills to inspire others to learn more about the world around them. His mother was a psychologist and his father was a consultant to the mayor of New York, so Miranda knew what hard work means. Puerto Rican man born in the city of New York brought the past into the present with his world renowned musical
numbers that used themes in counterpoint. In class, Jonathan studied the theatre of Bertolt Brecht and Peter Brook. Among his musical influences were JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, the Beatles, Prince, and the Police, but the writer he admired most was Stephen Sondheim, to whom he wrote during his last year in college. The distinguished composer-lyricist answered him and became an adviser to the young songwriter. After graduation, Jonathan moved to Manhattan, went on acting auditions, performed in a nightclub