Stephen Sondheim (Magill Book Reviews)

At a glance:

Meryle Secrest’s biography of Stephen Sondheim stresses the influence of his formative years, the “institutionalized” childhood he endured with an absentee father and a dominating mother whose behavior Secrest describes as incestuous. Sent off to summer camps and private schools, Sondheim was a precocious loner who early demonstrated his musical talent. A pivotal point in his early life was his meeting with the legendary theatrical figure of Oscar Hammerstein, who became his surrogate father, mentor, and critic. Hammerstein gave direction to Sondheim’s work (which Secrest regards as autobiographical), gave him employment, and helped him make the contacts to succeed in the theatrical world.

Following his graduation from prestigious Williams College, Sondheim worked on a film in Italy, wrote several scripts for the TOPPER television series, and got his break on Broadway when he co-scripted with Leonard Bernstein the lyrics for WEST SIDE STORY (1957). From Secrest’s perspective Sondheim was an innovative musician ahead of his time, and despite his work on GYPSY (1962) and A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM (1962), his talents were not properly acknowledged until he wrote COMPANY (1970), the first of a series of musicals that radically changed the Broadway musical in form and content. With SWEENEY TODD (1979), a bleak attack on industrialism, and INTO THE WOODS (1987), a two-act musical in which fairy tales are subjected to harsh reality, Sondheim became the darling of critics but had limited popular appeal.

Besides tracing Sondheim’s career Secrest places his work in a theatrical context, discusses the operatic nature of the musicals, explains how his childhood shaped his music, and provides her readers with details about his friendships, his financial situation, and his homosexuality, which she implies was caused by his mother. Although the book is not “scholarly,” Secrest uses scholarship supplemented with anecdotal information from countless theatrical figures, including Sondheim, to provide a fascinating account of America’s premier musical composer.

Sources for Further Study

The Advocate. May 12, 1998, p. 79.

The Economist. CCCXLVIII, September 12, 1998, p. S14.

Library Journal. CXXIII, May 15, 1998, p. 87.

The Nation. CCLXVII, October 5, 1998, p. 39.

The New Republic. CCXVIII, June 29, 1998, p. 23.

The New York Times Book Review. CIII, July 19, 1998, p. 7.

Opera News. LXIII, October, 1998, p. 82.

Publishers Weekly. CCXLV, May 4, 1998, p. 193.

The Times Literary Supplement. October 9, 1998, p. 23.

The Washington Post Book World. XXVIII, September 6, 1998, p. 7.