STEPHEN SONDHEIM (1930-LIVING)

STEPHEN JOSHUA SONDHEIM

Born: March 22nd 1930 (New York)

Died: LIVING

Interesting Fact: He was taught by Broadway legend, Oscar Hammerstein II

Successful Era: Known more for his Broadway contributions, he has been successful from the early sixties to our current time.

Awards: He won the Oscar for Best Music on "Dick Tracy" (1990). For the same film he was nominated for two Grammy's & two Golden Globes. In 1974 he won a Edgar Allen Poe award for the film "The Last of Sheila." He also has five Tony Awards.

My Favorite Film: "West Side Story" (1961) has my favorite lyrics out of all his work. The "Jet Song" & "Cool" is especially amazing 'from the womb to the tomb.'

I've chosen to post on Stephen for two reasons: One, I seem to have been following a pattern of Lyricist rather than composers and two, it's his Birthday. After he wrote his first musical, he played it for his friends father, Oscar Hammerstein II. Hammerstein was unhappy with the music and proceeded to educate him on how to write a musical. He later said that he learned more in those moments than all the schooling he had dedicated to it.

"Cool"

WEST SIDE STORY (1961)

Studio: United Artists

Producer: Robert Wise

Director: Robert Wise

Music: Leonard Bernstein (Music) & Stephen Sondheim (Lyrics)

Awards: "West Side Story" was a big hit at the Oscars, winning ten of the eleven awards they were nominated for: Best Supporting Actor (George Chakiris), Best Supporting Actress (Rita Moreno), Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Music, Best Picture & Best Sound. The Best Writing Oscar that they were nominated for, went to "Splendor in the Grass" (1961). It has also been awarded fifteen other achievements, up to date, with nominations for an additional six.

Interesting Fact: To keep tension high during production, the actors in the rival gangs were separated and encouraged to play pranks on the others off the set.

My Favorite Scene: Every song is catchy and every scene is moving, but the sequence of "Somewhere" has a close resemblance to the sacred sonnet's of "Carousel" (1956), "The Student Prince" (1954) and "Fiddler on the Roof" (1971). It is my favorite scene to watch and listen too.

There have been other adaptations of Shakespeare's work, but none of them have been as original and successful as West Side Story's twist on Romeo & Juliet. The film has a large cast of who's who. Some of them are as popular as Russ Tamblyn who was in "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" (1954) seven years earlier, while others like George Chakiris can be discovered under a keen eye as a back-up dancer on "White Christmas" (1954) which was also seven years earlier.

The film has heart and strength and proves once and for all that guys can dance and they can dance really well. Who could of ever thought that snapping could have gotten any cooler.

Trailer

"Somewhere"