CRITICISM

Adler, T. P. “Musical Dramas of Stephen Sondheim: Some Critical Approaches.” Pop Culture 12 (Winter 1978): 513–25.

Adler explores various critical approaches to Sondheim's work.

Banfield, Stephen. Sondheim's Broadway Musicals. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1993, 453 pp.

Banfield examines Sondheim's background and discusses each of his Broadway musicals from West Side Story to Into the Woods.

Flatlow, S. “Making Connections.” Opera News 50 (November 1985): 18.

Flatlow examines the characteristics that Sondheim's musicals share with opera.

Garebian, Keith. The Making of “West Side Story.” Toronto: ECW, 1995, 160 pp.

Garebian discusses the creation and production of West Side Story.

Gordon, Joanne Lesley. Art Isn't Easy. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1990, 343 pp.

Gordon provides an analysis of Sondheim's musicals from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum to Into the Woods.

Gottfried, Martin. Sondheim. New York: Abrams, 1993, 192 pp.

Gottfried discusses and interprets Sondheim's lyrics with a critical overview.

Griffiths, Paul. “Sunday in the Park with George.” Times Literary Supplement, No. 4538 (23 March 1990): 320.

Griffiths gives a negative assessment of Sondheim's Sunday in the Park with George, claiming that Sondheim missed “endless opportunities for irony.”

Harris, John. “Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall.” Christopher Street, No. 1835 (21 July 1992): 9–11.

In this review of a production paying tribute to Sondheim, Harris tempers praise for the individual performances with condemnation of the overall lack of excitement elicited by the tribute.

Kaplan, James. “The Cult of Saint Stephen Sondheim.” New York (4 April 1994): 48–54.

Kaplan discusses Sondheim's departure from conventional Broadway productions and considers whether Passion will be a monetary success.

Kramer, Mimi. “Point Blank.” in New Yorker 66, No. 52 (11 February 1991): 68–69.

In this negative review of Assassins, Kramer condemns the plot as predictable and finds that the work as a whole lacks structure and cohesion, and possesses a superficial, amateur quality.

Kroll, Jack. “You Gotta Have Heart.” Newsweek 123, No. 21 (23 May 1994): 62.

Kroll gives a mixed assessment of Passion, commenting that the show would have been improved “if the musical fabric were stronger.”

Looms, Jeffery B. “‘White’ versus arranged ‘Shadows’: Aesthetic Physics and Metaphysics in Museum and Sunday in the Park.” Studies in the Humanities 21, No. 2 (December 1994): 96–104.

Looms analyzes the artistic dynamic in Sunday in the Park with George.

Schiff, Stephen. “Deconstruction Sondheim.” in New Yorker 69, No. 3 (8 March 1993): 76–87.

Schiff discusses an interview with Sondheim, focusing on Sondheim's revolutionary modernist style and themes, techniques he uses to compose, his use of variation to achieve dynamic progression, his ability to tailor his songs to individual characters, and his belief that art is achieved through effort as much as by talent.

Secrest, Meryle. Stephen Sondheim: A Life. New York: Knopf, 1998, 461 pp.

Secrest provides an overview of the life and works of Stephen Sondheim.

Stoddart, Scott F. “Ever After? Marriage in Company and Woods.” Sondheim-Review 2, No. 2 (Fall 1995): 19–23.

Stoddart discusses the disillusionment toward love and marriage expressed in Sondheim's Company and Into the Woods.

Sullivan, Kathleen. “Stephen Sondheim.” In American Playwrights Since 1945: A Guide to Scholarship, Criticism, and Performance. edited by Philip C. Kolin, pp. 437–46. New York: Greenwood Press, 1989.

Sullivan examines Sondheim's achievements, reputation, production history, influences, and analyses of his plays. It also provides further bibliographic references.

Zadan, Craig. Sondheim and Co. New York: Harper & Row, 1986, 408 pp.

Zadan discusses Sondheim's successes and failures, focusing on the process of production.

Additional coverage of Sondheim's life and career is contained in the following sources published by the Gale Group: Contemporary Authors, Vol. 103; Contemporary Authors New Revision Series, Vol. 47, 67; Authors and Artists for Young Adults, Vol. 11; Discovering Authors: Dramatists Module; and Literature Resource Center.