Vale Stephen Sondheim

The lights will dim on Broadway for the biggest writing star of all. Music theatre writer and composer Stephen Sondheim has passed away at the age of 91. To honour his extraordinary talent, we republish an article from Coral Drouyn from a concert Sondheim attended in Melbourne in 2012, during his last visit to Australia coinciding with a production of A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum.

We’re used to the words Superstar and Genius being bandied about in this day and age. Usually they describe over-rated pop singers or bankable film actors – even footballers get the tags - or once in a while deservedly for someone like another SS – Steven Spielberg, or even a race horse like Black Caviar. But a guy who writes stage shows…..musical ones at that? He doesn’t even act in them….the acting parts are usually taken by…er…..superstars! Geoffrey Rush is a Superstar – but for all his talent, he too must worship at the throne of Stephen Sondheim. Of course, we could bandy the words Doyen, Maestro, Dean, Eminence, Maven (I admit I got that one from Google) - but why bother? Stephen Sondheim is a Super Star – and the closest thing to a God you will find in Musical Theatre. To see him in person is an event, and I was so excited I could hardly breathe.  As I explained to my grand-daughter, “It’s like when you went to see Lady Ga-Ga….except the music is better.”

And so the pilgrimage of devotees and neophytes made its way to Mount Olympus (formerly ‘The Maj’) to worship at the feet of Zeus (generally ‘Steve or Mr Sondheim.’) There were young theatre students and old stars (Barry Humphries and Nancye Hayes); the gay, the straight and the bent; some of the latter almost too infirmed to walk to their seats. Sondheim has, after all, been the major influence in Musical Theatre for over half a century. And although it was “One Afternoon with Stephen Sondheim”, it was part of fund raising for The Rob Guest Endowment and offered the great talents of Christie Whelan-Browne, Mitchell Butel, Silvie Paladino, Martin Crewes, Hugh Sheridan, and even a guest appearance by Geoffrey Rush himself.

We all rose to our feet as he entered…no, not Geoffrey; Zeus….er….Mr Sondheim. Ably presented by Classical ABC FM’s Christopher Lawrence who had clearly done his homework well; Sondheim himself looks remarkably fit for a man of 82, full of ebullience and passion for life; two pre-requisites for eternal youth. Yes, we’d heard or read most of the anecdotes before, but it didn’t matter. This was straight from the mouth of His Eminence, and we hung – rightly so – on every word. Songs were sung – all performances were good (well, they’re Sondheim songs after all) but Hugh Sheridan gave a lovely rendition of “Anyone can Whistle” from Stephen’s first “flop” of the same name; and Silvie Paladino brought tears to the Maestro’s eyes with her rendition of “Not a Day Goes By” the staggering big ballad from the equally unsuccessful (16 performances to “Whistle’s” 9) Merrily We Roll Along. Yes, even the greatest theatre composer in the world can miss sometimes, but it’s not because of the quality of the songs. Our “Living Treasure” Geoffrey Rush joined the party to talk about what it’s like to perform in a Sondheim show…..and a young, overly made-up “ensemble” aspirant near me sat with tears in her eyes and biting her tongue at the very thought of such a possibility. Sometimes our wildest dreams are achievable.

Strangely enough, it’s those anecdotes I hadn’t heard before that have stayed with me as my clearest memory of the afternoon: Like Sondheim and Jimmy Hammerstein as 15 year olds going to a 7pm screening of “Hanover Square”, with a score by the great Bernard Herrmann. Sondheim was bowled over by the main theme, played by the crazed concert pianist character in the film. Sondheim said, “There’s a 3 second shot…that’s all - 3, maybe 4 seconds….of the sheet music on the piano.” Stephen said goodnight to young Hammerstein then went back to the 9pm showing to see that one shot again and memorise the music. And we got to hear it played!

Sondheim doesn’t orchestrate. 1) he doesn’t have time; and 2) there are people better at it. So the songs are always rehearsed the way he wrote them, just with piano. He describes them as a “black and white pencil sketch”, and then….the first time he hears them with a full orchestra, “Like technicolour….Judy Garland arriving in Oz.” That’s a wonderful simile which will stay with me always.

He talks about the importance of the opening number and how it has to set the scene for audience expectations. In the “Old” (pre-Sondheim) days, opening numbers were always light and happy, and filled with pretty girls – the whole idea was to make the audience relax, feel happy, forget the trials of the day. Yet at the opening of West Side Story, with Stephen in his customary position adjacent to the last row of the stalls, the curtain went up on six gang members clicking their fingers! A businessman in that last row got up and pushed past other audience members, propping as he reached Stephen and saying - “Don’t ask,” before leaving. At least the song did its job…it told the man he was NOT going to like the show. A delicious and priceless admission ….thank heavens we’ve all grown up in storytelling terms.

It was an afternoon of smiles and tears, gasps of admiration and an overwhelming desire to hug the ageless grizzled Teddy Bear in the velvet chair; a unique experience. Chances are we will never have that opportunity again, so every word was precious. Sondheim has frequently said that “The more you write, the better you get” – which explains why he’s working on a new show, despite his fractured wrist. But he also says “less is more” as advice to newer writers, those still trying to make it, and there were many in the audience. I think his best advice comes from his lyrics, most notably from the stunning song “Move On” from what is arguably his masterpiece “Sunday in the Park with George”

“Stop worrying if your vision is new / let others make that decision, they usually do.”
“Anything you do / let it come from you / then it will be new.” 

Stephen Sondheim is always new, always magic, always a Superstar. Thank you for the music SS.

Coral Drouyn

Stephen Sondheim had been working on his last musical called Square One. He was interviewed on The Late Show about the new work,  the return of Company to Broadway and imminent release of a new movie adaptation of West Side Story.

Musical Theatre stars celebrated Stephen Sondheim's 90th Birthday during lockdown in 2020 with this online concert.