A
I recently performed in Sondheim on Sondheim this spring, a musical revue about Stephen Sondheim’ s life and his works( very interesting). I thought it was fit to tell you all about Stephen Sondheim’ s, Burt Shevelove’ s, and Larry Gelbart’ s show A Funny Thing
Funny
Thing
Happ-
Ened
On
The
Sondheim was 31 years old at the time that it opened in the Alvin Theater in New
York City. Stephen Sondheim also wrote some lyrics and / or music for Company, Follies, Into the Woods, Merrily We Roll Along( now on Netflix), Sweeney Todd, and West Side Story, if any of those ring any bells. He died in 2021, just five years ago, credited with“ reinventing the American musical”. He was trul truly a mastermind in his works. He was born into a Jewish family and
Way caught in the middle of familial disputes and tensions, with his parents divorcing. His mother took her feelings of anger and resent-
To ment from her husband on her son, leading to later estrangement and him not attending her funeral. It’ s interesting to see how music and theatrical arts have
evolved from the times of Plautus and Terence to Lin-Manuel Miranda and
The
Stephen Joshua Sondheim, and I encourage you to research more about him if you find this interesting!
Forum
Happened on the Way to the Forum. The show, inspired by Plautus, is about an enslaved person named Pseudolus attempting to win his freedom by helping
his master Hero attract his neighbor, ending in a big, slapstick chase
around the town and big reveals about the characters. It was a huge milestone for Stephen Sondheim, both as his first show writing music and lyrics as well as one of his first
musicals that was a big hit, winning six Tonys. You can find A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum for free on
Youtube, Pluto, Tubi, or with a subscription to Prime, Youtube, and more.
by Arpad Lallement, President & Historian
5