How Stephen Sondheim Took Us Into The Woods AND Out Of The Woods

My social media feeds are blowing up with Sondheim quotes and I have no complaints, except one. A legend has died.

I have to have a bit of perspective- he was 91. He was not known to be sick, and his death was sudden, but a death at 91 can only be considered so distressing to the general public. As a musical theatre fanatic, I'd love to have kept Sondheim on this earth until 150, but that would have been unrealistic.

Outside of my logical perspective, I feel a pain in the pit of my stomach- a sadness, a longing, a feeling quote similar to what us actors call on in our "I Want" song, a trope Sondheim helped to create in his many hits, and even in his flops.

Though the busiest days of Sondheim's career as a composer wrapped up in the 90s, his work is no less relevant today. West Side Story, directed by Steven Spielberg, is opening in theatres in just a few days...

Another Sondheim hit, Company, is currently in previews on Broadway, set to open next month.

In an age of contemporary shows, with Mrs.Doubtfire (based on the 1993 movie) currently running on Broadway alongside Come From Away, a show set during the 2001 terrorist attacks, it's notable when a composer manages to stay so present.

We're not just sad. We're feeling our feelings. A lot of us learned how to do that because of Sondheim. I remember being 10 years old watching "Into The Woods"- one of my favorite Sondheim shows- hearing the lyric:

"Oh if life were made of moments...even now and then a bad one. But if life were only moments, then you'd never kno you had one."

That's a sentiment Sondheim taught us over and over, giving us lessons about how "being alive" can really only be accomplished by opening your heart. Teaching us that "no one is alone."

For those who are like, wtf with all the similar statuses on facebook and twitter, or who are wondering why the name Stephen Sondheim is all over the major news outlets... think about your hero. It might be a football or basketball player. Maybe it's a scientist or political figure. For theatre kids, we have had a few true legends, and it's hard to get to a higher status than Stephen Sondheim.

It would have been easy for him to have failed to get recognition, but it was only a year ago that Sondheim was honored with a big TV special celebrating his 90th. I'm glad we didn't wait till his 100th; unfortunately, making it that far is just not something everyone gets to do. Especially in the entertainment industry, sometimes we lose people sooner than we anticipate.

There was no alternate future where any of us would be ready to lose Stephen Sondheim, even if he had lived to be 100 or even 150. Living during a pandemic, death has been a more common occurance in many families and social circles than in the past. But Sondheim himself gave us many words for this situation.

Some of my favorites:

"Sometimes people leave you halfway through the wood. Do not let it grieve you, no one leaves for good. You are not alone."

Sondheim's human body may not have lived up to his legend status, but his musicals certainly will. His body may not turn 100, but his musicals will likely be produced until the end of time.

So, did he finish the hat? Sort of. But mostly, I think he did something even better- he built us a hat with room to grow so we could keep putting it together.

Not a Sondheim fan yet? Into The Woods and Sweeney Todd are two great starting points, even for not-so-serious Musical theatre fans. What's your favorite Sondheim musical??