1. Stephen Sondheim
By: Emma Gibbons

2. Background
Stephen Sondheim was born on March 22, 1930, in New York City
He was influenced by master lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II, who served as a mentor
Sondheim attended Williams College, where he majored in music
Sondheim's contributions to West Side Story and Gypsy in the 1950s brought him recognition as a rising star of Broadway

3. His works Anyone Can Whistle, Company, Do I Hear a Waltz?, Evening
Primrose, Follies,
The Frogs, A Funny
Thing Happened on
the Way to the Forum,
Gypsy, Into the Woods, A Little Night Music, Saturday Night,
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and West Side Story.

4. style
Sondheim became known for his witty, conversational lyrics, his seamless merging of words with music and the variety of his source materials.
He changed the face of the American musicals; before him, its dominant tone was frothy and comic. He gave the form a dark, dramatic edge.

6. Bibliography http://www.biography.com/people/stephen-sondheim-9488709