#InTheLoop | Musical Relates Early Life of Great Broadway Lyricist Stephen Sondheim
BY QEDC It's In Queens
Stephen Sondheim was a tireless composer and lyricist who worked on such blockbusters as West Side Story, Gypsy, and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum over a seven-decade career that reinvented the American musical.
Find out more — and enjoy some great song-and-dance — when Plaza Theatrical Productions presents Sondheim: The Early Years on three consecutive January Saturdays at Queens Public Library branches. Roughly 90 minutes, this fast-paced spectacle is an informative and entertaining tribute to Sondheim’s creative genius.
All shows start at 2 pm. Here’s the schedule: Jan. 7, Forest Hills, 108-19 71st Ave.; Jan. 14, Astoria, 14-01 Astoria Blvd.; Jan. 21, Seaside, 116-15 Rockaway Beach Blvd.
Born in New York City in 1930, Sondheim fell in love with musicals after watching Very Warm for May on Broadway at age nine. About a year later, the only child befriended James Hammerstein, whose father was Oscar Hammerstein II, a famous lyricist and playwright who actually created the libretto for Very Warm for May. Hammerstein II became the boy’s mentor, introducing him to many show business luminaries and encouraging his creative growth. Eventually, Sondheim graduated magna cum laude from Williams College and won a two-year Hubbard Hutchinson Memorial Fellowship to study music.
He had early Broadway success in the 1950s, before his career skyrocketed in the 1960s. He wrote music and lyrics for countless productions, frequently collaborating with Hal Prince and James Lapine. When he died on Nov. 26, 2021, Sondheim’s trophy case featured eight Tonys, eight Grammys, an Oscar, a Pulitzer, a Kennedy Center Honor, and a Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Sondheim: The Early Years is free and open to the public.
Founded in 1983, Plaza Theatrical introduces children and young adults to live musical theater. Expect the Long Island-based troupe to present works on Leonard Bernstein and Judy Garland over upcoming months.