So many worth exploring...
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Here, our essays and interviews are arranged (where possible) by show.
Sweeney Todd
Essays:
Sweeney Todd: Prelude | An unholy trinity of self, death, and family
No Place Like London | A musical tale of two cities
The Worst Pies in London | Meat and greet: first encounters with Mrs. Lovett
Green Finch and Linnet Bird | Johanna’s doctrine of second freedoms
I Feel You, Johanna | Love at first sight in Sweeney Todd and beyond
Soon Will Come, Soon Will Last | Sondheim and the art of patience
Kiss Me | Passion, panic, and parallel plots in Sweeney Todd
Britten, Stravinsky, and Sweeney Todd | Music as drama
It’s A Hit? Sondheim & The New York Times (Part II) | includes Sweeney Todd
Interviews:
Jeremy Secomb | on the pie shop Sweeney Todd, and spilling blood on Sondheim
DeAndre Simmons | on starring in Sweeney Todd, and working with Barbara Cook
Dotty Petersen | on overseeing hair & makeup for the 2023 Broadway Sweeney Todd
Zachary James | on playing Sweeney and the Judge
John Rapson | on being Broadway’s Beadle Bamford
Merrily We Roll Along
Essays:
Growing Up | Introspection and seduction in Merrily We Roll Along
Feels Like An Ending, But It’s Really A Beginning | Structural musings on Merrily
Now You Grow | The price of maturity (incl. a Frank discussion)
It’s A Hit? Sondheim & The New York Times (Part III) | includes Merrily
Interviews:
Lonny Price | Merrily’s original Charley Kringas
Ann Morrison | Merrily’s original Mary Flynn
Liz Callaway | on being part of Merrily’s original cast
Joel Fram | music director for Maria Friedman’s Merrily
Talia Simone Robinson | Meg in Maria Friedman’s Merrily
Max Rackenberg | Frank Jr. in Maria Friedman’s Merrily
Josefina Gabrielle | on playing Gussie (West End, 2013)
Anastasia Barzee | on playing Beth (Kennedy Center, 2002)
Sunday in the Park with George
Essays:
What The Eye Arranges | Exploring “Beautiful”
Everybody Loves Louis | We lose things, and then we choose things
Studying Seurat | A guide to the real Georges Seurat
An Ordinary Sunday | Exploring the painting at the heart of Sunday
The Work Waits | On intermissions, with Sunday as a case study
It’s Hot Up Here | On Sunday’s Act II opener
It’s A Hit? Sondheim & The New York Times (Part III) | includes Sunday
Interviews:
Ann Hould-Ward | Sunday’s original costume designer
Will Blum | On playing George (and much more besides)
Into the Woods
Essays:
Beans, Beans, and Nothing but Beans? | A comprehensive guide to the “bean theme”
Witches Can Be Right | “Last Midnight” & “No Good Deed” as twin moral reckonings
Running Away—Let’s Do It | Into the Woods and the false freedom of flight
Ever After | Inside ITW’s Act I finale
So Happy? | Musings on ITW’s Act II opener
Now You Grow | The price of maturity (incl. discussion of The Baker)
It’s A Hit? Sondheim & The New York Times (Part III) | includes Into the Woods
Interviews:
Ann Hould-Ward | ITW’s original costume designer
Colleen Fitzpatrick | On being in the original cast of ITW (& Passion, & Road Show)
Here We Are
Essays:
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie | A guide to the film that inspired Act I
The Exterminating Angel | A guide to the film that inspired Act II
Here We Are: A Restaurant Guide | Café Everything, Bistro à la Mode, & Osteria Zeno
The Soldier’s Dream | Romance and reality in Here We Are
What’s Wrong With Superficial? | Surface and substance in Sondheim
To Be… Continued | Reflections on the Bishop and Marianne’s Act II conversation
Matter That Matters | religiosity in Here We Are
Exit Music | Our first recorded taste of Here We Are
It’s A Hit? Sondheim & The New York Times (Part IV) | includes Here We Are
Interviews:
Jesse Tyler Ferguson | on starring in the London production of Here We Are
Sam Pinkleton | on choreographing Here We Are
David Zinn | Here We Are’s scenic and costume designer
Tracie Bennett | on starring in Here We Are
Billy Bustamante | Here We Are’s associate choreographer
Molly Lynch | On playing Marianne and Fritz in Here We Are
A Little Night Music
Essays:
A Wooden Ring | Counts, accounts, and what really counts
A Little Night Reading | Fredrik Egerman’s literary longing
The Miller’s Son | Princes, yes, but maids and servants too
Perpetual Anticipation | Sondheim’s musical canons
An A to Z of Cut Sondheim Lyrics | Lots of ALNM here
It’s A Hit? Sondheim & The New York Times (Part II) | includes ALNM
Interviews:
Mark Lambert | ALNM’s original Henrik Egerman
Ramona Mallory | Broadway’s Anne Egerman (2009), & daughter of the original Anne
Ron Raines & Jeff Berger | on bringing ALNM to Lincoln Center (2024)
Follies
Essays:
The Lives of a Showgirl | Follies and the fate(s) of Ophelia
One More Kiss | Follies, pastiche, and the poetics of parting
Benjamin Stone: American Hamlet? | The time is out of joint…
Now You Grow | The price of maturity (inc. a Sally discussion)
Michael Bennett & Follies | Bennett’s kinetic contribution
An A to Z of Cut Sondheim Lyrics | Lots of Follies here
It’s A Hit? Sondheim & The New York Times (Part II) | includes Follies
Interviews:
Kurt Peterson | Follies’ original Young Ben
Joanna Riding | Sally at the National Theatre (2019)
Leah Horowitz | Young Heidi in Follies on Broadway (2011)
Cameron Menzies | On directing Follies at Northern Ireland Opera (2025)
Liz Callaway | Young Sally at the Lincoln Center (1985)
Anna-Jane Casey | Sally at Northern Ireland Opera (2025)
Jacqui Dankworth | Carlotta at Northern Ireland Opera (2025)
Assassins
Essays:
Assassins: Taking Aim | Passion and dispassion at the outset of Assassins
How I Saved Roosevelt | Assassins’ two Americas
Assassins: Two Days in America | Style, steel, and Stephen Sondheim
Unworthy of Your Love | The number that has to be seen not to be believed
The Ballad of Guiteau | Spectacle and swagger on the scaffold
Glinda and the Balladeer | Assassins, Wicked, and the acoustics of power
It’s A Hit? Sondheim & The New York Times (Part III) | includes Assassins
Interviews:
Charles Gilbert, Jr. | The man who first conceived Assassins
Passion
Essays:
So Much Happiness? | Exploring Passion’s opening duet
Is This What You Call Love? | Passion, compassion, and Baby Reindeer
It’s A Hit? Sondheim & The New York Times (Part IV) | includes Passion
Interviews:
Colleen Fitzpatrick | On being in the original cast of Passion (& ITW, & Road Show)
Melissa Errico | Clara in Passion off-Broadway (2013)
Will Blum | incl. much discussion of Passion
Company
Essays:
Alone Is Alone, Not Alive | C.S. Lewis, Stephen Sondheim, and the risk of love
Give Another Number To Me | Michael Bennett’s kinetic contribution to Company
Perpetual Anticipation | Sondheim’s musical canons
It’s A Hit? Sondheim & The New York Times (Part I) | includes Company
Interviews:
Joel Fram | music director for Marianne Elliott’s Company
Jessie Hooker-Bailey | Sarah (Company national tour)
Britney Coleman | Bobbie (Company national tour)
Pacific Overtures
Essays:
Someone in a Room Where It Happens | Stephen Sondheim, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and the art of historical perspective
The Fiddler and The Floating Kingdom | Pacific Overtures, Fiddler on the Roof, and the art of cultural exposition
It’s A Hit? Sondheim & The New York Times (Part II) | includes Pacific Overtures
Interviews:
Joaquin Pedro Valdes | on playing Manjiro at the Menier Chocolate Factory (2024)
The Frogs
Essays:
It’s Only a Play | Cultural complacency and aesthetic anesthesia in The Frogs
It’s A Hit? Sondheim & The New York Times (Part II) | includes The Frogs
Interviews:
Georgie Rankcom | On directing The Frogs at Southwark Playhouse (2025)
Bounce / Road Show
Essays:
It’s A Hit? Sondheim & The New York Times (Part IV) | includes Road Show
Interviews:
Richard Kind | on originating the role of Addison in Bounce
Colleen Fitzpatrick | On being in the original cast of Road Show (& Passion, & ITW)
Isaac Bernier-Doyle | On Road Show at Upstairs at the Gatehouse (2024)
West Side Story
Essays:
A Boy Like That / I Have A Love | Conflict and common ground in West Side Story
Who is this Santa Evita? | Comparing Eva Perón (Evita) and Maria (West Side Story)
It’s A Hit? Sondheim & The New York Times (Part I) | includes West Side Story
Perpetual Anticipation | Sondheim’s musical canons
Interviews:
Lauren Maria Medina | on her journey playing Maria
Anyone Can Whistle
Essays:
Simple? | How Sondheim weaponizes logic in Anyone Can Whistle
There Are Parades In Town | Parade as metaphor on Broadway
It’s A Hit? Sondheim & The New York Times (Part I) | includes Anyone Can Whistle
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Essays:
It’s A Hit? Sondheim & The New York Times (Part I) | includes Forum
Interviews:
Matthew Gardiner | on Signature Theatre’s Forum
Gypsy
Essays:
It’s A Hit? Sondheim & The New York Times (Part I) | includes Gypsy
Interviews:
Bonnie Langford | on starring in Gypsy with Angela Lansbury
Evening Primrose
Essays:
I Remember Sky | Severance, Evening Primrose, and (in)voluntary confinement
Sondheim’s Old Friends
Interviews:
Beth Leavel | on starring in Old Friends (US)
Bonnie Langford | on starring in Old Friends (UK & US)
Alexa Lopez | on starring in Old Friends (US)
Jeremy Secomb | on starring in Old Friends (UK & US)
Paige Faure | on starring in Old Friends (US)
Joanna Riding | on starring in Old Friends (UK & US)
Alfonso Casado Trigo | Conductor and musical supervisor for Old Friends
General / Miscellaneous
Essays:
Sondheim’s Musical Intervals | A listener’s guide
Sondheim’s Thanksgivings | muscular gratitude: paradox, proportion, persistence
Sondheim & Musical Meter | A listener’s guide
For Good? | Sondheim, Wicked, and the moral texture of influence
You Bid and You Bargain | Inside the Sondheim auction
They Are Your Words | Which Sondheim lyric means the most to you?
They Are Your Words: Lesser-Known Sondheim | Sondheim’s hidden gems
Order Out of Chaos | Pararhyme in Sondheim
Out There in the World | Global perspectives on Sondheim
Into the Woods: Bertrand Russell | Sondheim’s musicals as a map of moral inquiry
Who is this Santa Evita? | Comparing Eva Perón (Evita) and Maria (West Side Story)
Take Me To The World | A mind-bending, Sondheim-blending summer vacation
Gen Z Takes On Sondheim | 11 essays by students at SUNY Fredonia
Stephen Sondheim and Me | a personal essay by Michael Granoff
Taylor Swift’s Eras (Stephen’s Version) | Sondheim through a Swiftian lens
An A to Z of Cut Sondheim Lyrics | Cut, maybe – but still a cut above
Gavin Creel, 1976-2004 | Sometimes people leave you halfway through the wood
Interviews:
Mark Eden Horowitz | author of Sondheim on Music; Senior Music Specialist, Library of Congress
Richard Schoch | author of How Sondheim Can Change Your Life
Joe Iconis | composer/lyricist of Be More Chill (& many more shows)
Daniel Pollack-Pelzner | author of Lin-Manuel Miranda: The Education of an Artist
Natalie Jasso | founder and curator of Sondheim Letters
Tedd Firth | on accompanying Bernadette Peters
Barry Joseph | author of Matching Minds with Sondheim
Julie Klausner | comedian, actor, writer (Difficult People, Schmigadoon)
Dean Drieberg | on Australia’s Sondheim repertory company, Watch This
Ellie Nunn | on solo Sondheim
Jennifer Ashley Tepper | author of Women Writing Musicals
Gabe Mollica | on Sondheim and standup
Grace Yurchuk | composer & singer-songwriter; writing the Caesar musical
Josh Pachter | Sondheim as crime fiction
Olivia Bloom | on Slotted Spoons Don’t Hold Much Soup
Bligh Voth & Joel de Candio | on Sondheim cabarets
Gerard Alessandrini | founder of Forbidden Broadway
Paul Foster | on directing Sondheim
Rick Pender | author of Sweeney Todd: Behind the Bloody Musical Masterpiece
Julian Velard | Songwriting as storytelling, and Sondheim
Travis Moser | Sondheim and the art of the cabaret
Brett Boles | on Sondheim and songwriting
Grace O’Keefe & Jordana Belaiche | on Summoning Sondheim
Anthony De Mare | on reimagining Sondheim at the piano
Katie Kawko & Sophia Rubino | on The Stephens at 54 Below
Madeleine Morgan | Sondheim Society Student Performer of the Year 2024