FSEM 100G3 | Broadway Babies: Stephen Sondheim and the American Musical

Set of texts about Sondheim.

This seminar explores the work of composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim (1930-2021), who is often characterized as the most important figure in the history of the American musical and certainly in the second half of the twentieth century. We will look at how he was influenced, how he was influential (including in popular culture), what characterizes his artistry, and how he captures an array of human experiences in his art. To do so, the seminar will explore in depth five of his musicals: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962 in collaboration with Bert Shevelove and Larry Gelbart), Company (1970 in collaboration with George Furth), Follies (1971 in collaboration with James Goldman), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1979 in collaboration with Hugh Wheeler), and Into the Woods (1987 in collaboration with James Lapine). Although we will look briefly at all his works, with these five shows, we will analyze their books and their lyrics, their collaborative creative processes, their various productions and film adaptations, and their receptions. Finally, given Sondheim’s death in 2021, our class will also be a memorialization of this amazing artist.

Photo of Gary Richards, Professor of English

Gary Richards, Professor of English

I am a professor of U.S. literature with an area of focus on the U.S. South. I’ve published widely in this field, including Lovers and Beloveds: Sexual Otherness in Southern Fiction, 1936-1961, one of the first books to look at sexuality in southern literature. (That’s what my other FSEM focuses on.) More recently, though, I’ve shifted from southern fiction to southern drama with an emphasis on Tennessee Williams and to the Broadway musical. I’ve been at UMW since 2008 and have served as the chair of the Department of English and Linguistics for a decade but will be rotating out of that position in the fall. As far as my theatrical addiction, it started when I saw a high school production of Mame and now includes seeing the original cast of Hamilton, Elaine Stritch in At Liberty, Neil Patrick Harris as Hedwig, and Patti LuPone as Mrs. Lovett, Rose, Helena Rubinstein, and JoAnne.