Stephen Sondheim's Musical Puzzles
"All art—symphonies, architecture, novels—it’s all puzzles...It’s the creation of form out of chaos."
If Oscar Hammerstein had been an astronaut, Stephen Sondheim (1930-2021) would have devoted his life to outer space.1 Instead, Hammerstein was a lyricist—best known for Oklahoma!. Under his mentorship, Sondheim discovered musical theater and embarked on a lifetime of writing lyrics, musical sketches, and puzzle-like drafts.
After his parents’ divorce, Son…
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