Stephen Sondheim's Company appeared in 1970, and the American
musical theatre has never been the same. The adventures of a
bachelor and his married friends, Company exploded the musical's
traditional business model of romantic tales with a beginning,
middle, and end (in that order) and neatly packaged songs. In
Sondheim's shows, the music flows in and out of the stories, often
completely taking over, and romance may be overshadowed by doubt.
Moreover, Follies (1971) skips the beginning, Sunday in the Park
With George (1984) lacks a middle, and Merrily We Roll Along (1981)
has an end, a middle, and a beginning in that order. As Ethan
Mordden explains it, Stephen Sondheim is a classical composer who
happens to write musicals, which explains why the center of gravity
in his scores is so elevated. But more: Sondheim has
intellectualized the musical by tackling serious content usually
reserved for the spoken stage: nonconformism (in Anyone Can
Whistle, 1964), history (in Pacific Overtures, 1976), a serial
killing spree and cannibalism (Sweeney Todd, 1979). Yet these are
above all theatrical shows, produced with flair and brilliance,
whether in the lush operetta of A Little Night Music (1973) or the
quixotic fairy-tale magic of Into the Woods (1987). Mordden has
pitched his tone to address the newcomer and the aficionado alike,
with fresh insights and analysis of every single Sondheim show,
from his first hits (West Side Story, 1957; Gypsy, 1959) to his
most recent titles (Passion, 1994; Road Show, 2008). Each musical
gets its own chapter, with articles as well on Sondheim's life and
his major influences. Comprehensive bibliographical and
discographical essays place the Sondheim literature and recordings
in perspective. Writing with his usual blend of the scholarly and
the popular-with a wicked sense of humor-Ethan Mordden reveals why
Stephen Sondheim has become Broadway's most significant voice in
the last fifty years.
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