Composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim was born March 22, 1930 and would have turned 92 this year. In celebration of his work, Playbill takes a look back at 20 shows Sondheim brought to Broadway. The full extent of his work and contributions to the arts can be read in his obituary.
The legendary composer-lyricist has provided Broadway with a large collection of work including West Side Story, Gypsy, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Anyone Can Whistle, Do I Hear a Waltz?, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures, Sweeney Todd, Merrily We Roll Along, Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, Passion, Getting Away With Murder, Putting It Together, and Assassins among others.
West Side Story Playbill - September 1958
Carol Lawrence in West Side Story
Gypsy Playbill - Feb 1960
Ethel Merman in Gypsy
Friedman-Abeles / The New York Public Library
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum Playbill - July 1962
Ernie Sabella, Jim Stanek, Nathan Lane, and cast in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Anyone Can Whistle Playbill - April 1964
James Frawley, Angela Lansbury, and Arnold Soboloff in Anyone Can Whistle
Do I Hear a Waltz Playbill - Opening Night, March 1965
Jack Manning , Madeleine Sherwood, Sergio Franchi, and Elizabeth Allen in Do I Hear a Waltz?
Larry Fried
Company Playbill - Dec 1970
Larry Kert, Charles Braswell, and Elaine Stritch in Company
Follies Playbill - May 1971
Kathie Dalton and Fifi D'Orsay in Follies
Martha Swope
A Little Night Music Playbill - Sept 1973
Glynis Johns and Len Cariou in A Little Night Music
Martha Swope/©NYPL for the Performing Arts
Pacific Overtures Playbill - Jan 1976
A scene from Pacific Overtures
Martha Swope / The New York Public Library
Side by Side by Sondheim Playbill - March 1978
The company of Side By Side by Sondheim
Photo by Photo by Lois Tema
Sweeney Todd Playbill - Feb 1979
Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou in Sweeney Todd
Merrily We Roll Along
Sally Klein, Jason Alexander, Lonny Price, Jim Walton, and Ann Morrison in Merrily We Roll Along
Martha Swope / The New York Public Library
Sunday in the Park with George Playbill - May 1984
Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters in the original Broadway production of Sunday in the Park with George
Martha Swope/©Billy Rose Theatre Division, NYPL for the Performing Arts
Into the Woods
Chip Zien, Joanna Gleason, and Bernadette Peters in Into the Woods
Martha Swope/©NYPL for the Performing Arts
Passion Playbill - Oct 1994
Jere Shea and Donna Murphy in Passion
Joan Marcus
Getting Away With Murder
A Scene from Getting Away With Murder
Putting It Together
Carol Burnett and the company of Putting It Together
Photo by Photo by Joan Marcus
Assassins Playbill - Opening Night, April 2004
Neil Patrick Harris and company in Assassins
The Frogs
A scene from The Frogs
Sondheim on Sondheim
Norm Lewis, Vanessa Williams, Matthew Scott, and Euan Morton in Sondheim on Sondheim