Stephen Sondheim Showed Me the Beauty, Terror and Exquisite Pain of Being Alive

The Theatre Times: What did Stephen Sondheim mean to me? This is an attempt to bring order to the chaos. My first encounter with his work is a rerun of the 1962 film adaptation of West Side Story (1957). I am about 7 or 8. It has an immediate effect on me — the lyrics and book especially. The translation of the familial divide in Romeo and Juliet to a story exploring social disadvantage, racial tensions, and violence. It is thrilling, young as I am.