Stephen Sondheim and Andrew Lloyd Webber
Today Stephen Sondheim turns 89 and Andrew Lloyd Webber turns 71. Sondheim made his Broadway debut at the age of 26 in 1956 , Lloyd Webber at 23 in 1971, and, along with John Kander (who turned 92 four days ago), and Jerry Herman (who turns 88, the number of keys in the piano, on July 10th) they are at the very least the dominant musical theater composers of their generation, inspiring new generations of theater makers, their work continually produced around the world and in New York — Lloyd Webber currently in the long-running The Phantom of the Opera, and until earlier this year School of Rock; Sondheim currently in Merrily We Roll Along.
Stephen Sondheim’s Musicals
- Saturday Night (1954, produced 1997): Book by Julius and Philip Epstein
- West Side Story (1957): Music by Leonard Bernstein, book by Arthur Laurents, directed by Jerome Robbins. Sondheim is the lyricist.
- Gypsy (1959): Music by Jule Styne, book by Arthur Laurents, directed by Jerome Robbins. Sondheim is the lyricist.
- A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962): Book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart, directed by George Abbott
- Anyone Can Whistle (1964): Book and direction by Arthur Laurents
- Do I Hear a Waltz? (1965): Music by Richard Rodgers, book by Arthur Laurents,
- Company (1970): Book by George Furth
- Follies (1971): Book by James Goldman
- A Little Night Music (1973): Book by Hugh Wheeler
- The Frogs (1974): Book by Burt Shevelove (2004 version book by Nathan Lane)
- Pacific Overtures (1976): Book by John Weidman
- Sweeney Todd (1979): Book by Hugh Wheeler
- Merrily We Roll Along (1981): Book by George Furth
- Sunday in the Park with George (1984): Book and direction by James Lapine
- Into the Woods (1987): Book and direction by James Lapine
- Assassins (1990): Book by John Weidman
- Passion (1994): Book and direction by James Lapine
- Road Show (2008): Book by John Weidman (formerly titled Bounce, Wise Guys, and Gold!)
- Work in progress with David Ives, tentatively titled Buñuel
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Musicals
- The Likes of Us (1965): Lyrics by Tim Rice. Not produced until 2005
- Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (1968): Lyrics by Tim Rice
- Jesus Christ Superstar (1970): Lyrics by Tim Rice
- Jeeves (1975): Lyrics by Alan Ayckbourn
Revised in 1996 as By Jeeves - Evita (1976): Lyrics by Tim Rice
- Tell Me on a Sunday (1979): Lyrics by Don Black
- Cats (1981): Lyrics based on Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot. Additional lyrics after Eliot by Richard Stilgoe and Trevor Nunn
- Song and Dance (1982): Lyrics by Don Black (revised by Richard Maltby, Jr. for Broadway). Combination of Variations (1978) and Tell Me On A Sunday (1979)
- Starlight Express (1984): Lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. Later revisions by Don Black and David Yazbek. Inspired by the Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends books by The Rev. W. Awdry.
- Cricket (1986): Lyrics by Tim Rice. First performed for Queen Elizabeth II’s 60th birthday
- The Phantom of the Opera (1986): Lyrics by Charles Hart. Additional Lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. Based on the Gaston Leroux novel
- Aspects of Love (1989): Lyrics by Don Black and Charles Hart. Based on the David Garnett novel
- Sunset Boulevard (1993): Book and lyrics by Christopher Hampton and Don Black. Based on the Billy Wilder film (1950)
- Whistle Down the Wind (1996): Lyrics by Jim Steinman
- The Beautiful Game (2000): Lyrics by Ben Elton. Updated as The Boys in the Photograph (2009)
- The Woman in White (2004): Lyrics by David Zippel. Based on the Wilkie Collins novel
- Love Never Dies (2010): Book & Lyrics by Glenn Slater. Book by Ben Elton & Frederick Forsyth. Additional lyrics by Charles Hart
- The Wizard of Oz (2011): Book by Andrew Lloyd Webber & Jeremy Sams, Music by Harold Arlen, Lyrics by E.Y. Harburg, Additional music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Additional lyrics by Tim Rice. Based on the 1939 motion picture The Wizard of Oz, Based on the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
- Stephen Ward the Musical (2013): Book and lyrics by Christopher Hampton and Don Black
- School of Rock (2015): Lyrics by Glenn Slater, Book by Julian Fellowes. Based on the 2003 film
