How Do We Deal With the Legacy of Stephen Sondheim?

With his final musical, Here We Are, now playing off-Broadway, Stephen Sondheim's unparalleled contribution to the art of musical theatre is now complete. This video essay reflects on his life, career, and legacy. What exactly made his work so special? What do we make out of the gifts he left behind? Where does musical theatre go from here?
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Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
1:55 Part 1: The First Romantic
5:20 Part 2: What Makes Sondheim Sondheim
9:00 Part 3: The Birth of the Musical
12:09 Part 4: The State of the Art
15:18 Part 5: Opening Doors

[@vt6593]

To me, Sunday in the park with George is the story of Sondheim. He basically use the music to talk about all he thought about art, his struggle, his fear... also his legacy thanks for making this high quality video!

[@illuminahde]

Well done. Criminally underrated channel my friend. Great script and editing. Very cool.

[@whykevinwhyyy]

thanks for watching!

[@h4zrds]

this video is such a huge diamond in a rough. no way such a well made video isn't more popular as of the time of writing (1 day after publishing). in a week, this video better be over 1k views. it deserves that, and so much more.

[@lucaspena6827]

This is an excellent video. I don't think I've every cried this much to a video essay. Sondheim gave us so much, and this video has inspired me to take what he gave us, learn from it, and turn it into something new. Thank you.

[@Joy-cv1ig]

Such a well spoken and wonderful dedication to sondheim. Super surprised this isn't immensely more popular!

[@whykevinwhyyy]

thank you! every view/like/comment/sub helps.

[@tiagogoncalves3985]

Truly outstanding. Sondheim is impossible to put into words and yet here you are. Sunday at the park with George, now my favorite musical ever that I sing on a daily basis, constantly thinking about it, initially seemed... boring... strange... a bit uninteresting and hard to understand on first viewing. But like all things Sondheim, I needed to work a bit, to reflect a bit, and truly LISTEN. Congratulations for an amazing video. Count yourself one subscriber richer!

[@tafelrunde906]

you have a real talent for putting things so beautifully. great examples, great editing, i'm really impressed! keep it up!

[@TXMusicalNerd]

Brought me to tears. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about Here We Are since I saw it. It’s a gem of a last show. Funny, poignant and beautifully acted.

[@markmasi5219]

This is a truly beautiful look at the work of Sondheim. Just excellent. Looking back now on the Here We Are run at the Shed, I wish I could say that it was a glorious last work, but to me, it just felt like someone made a hat where there shouldn’t be a hat.

[@JohnSpawn1]

This video has the kind of quality one would expect from a channel with +1 million subscribers. Beautifully done!

[@ItsAsparageese]

Downloading rn to watch it later but NOTIFICATION SQUAD WHOO FIRSTIES

[@whykevinwhyyy]

knew i could count on you!

[@audrey4125]

Yet another beautiful video, discussing a topic I am so interested in. I am very excited to see how your channel develops. So far, you have talked about three of my favorite things! Thank you for the video!

[@whykevinwhyyy]

glad to know there are kindred souls out there 🙏

[@quincey5917]

I came here (as many did i assume) from Sagan’s video and I wanted to say how glad I am to have been introduced to your work. Hope you get the recognition you deserve and more, man.

[@yodogyep7898]

This video brought me to tears, thank you

[@santinakjuma]

This. This, this, this. There is SO much that I have to do. So much that I have to write. This video encapsulates it all. Thank you, Sondheim. Thank YOU for this video. I can't wait to become one of the new voices in this world of creation. Perhaps I already am.

[@MichaelYoder1961]

Very well said. Stephen is an idol for me. He gave us so much incredible music and lyrics and his voice is not silenced. ZT'l Stephen.

[@SilverFlames_]

This showed up in my recommendations and I was captured by every second of it. Very well written, well expressed, and the editing is fantastic! Your use of the music throughout was top notch as well, I think I teared up every time those 5 notes from Sunday in the Park were played. I'm looking forward to future videos!

[@whykevinwhyyy]

the Sunday motif is my fave! thanks for watching.

[@kingrichal2104]

Excellent video - thanks so much for making it.

[@ashershectman1954]

What a gem. Instantly subscribed. Keep it up.

[@uncle_will]

A superb essay. This is the sort of intelligent, engaging content that makes KZbin worthwhile.

[@albusseverusprior7708]

What a stunning video! Thank you for all the work and passion put in!!!

[@disgruntledcashier503]

If there's any composer working primarily in the theatre today that gets up to Sondheim's level in terms of innovation and complexity, it's Dave Malloy. Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 is groundbreaking in it's blending of genres and it's adaptation of the source material. Ghost Quartet is a haunting, evocative spiritual experience that melds the forms of concert and theatre. Octet might be the greatest treatise on our relationship with the internet that will ever be written. Right now, he's working on an adaptation of Black Swan that I am *so* excited to see.

[@Dan_G.R.S.]

I would put Annais Mitchell too. The evolution of Hadestown from concept album to the various productions all the way to the 2019 London/Broadway hit is a massive tale of evolving the form.

[@Horroryoga]

Well spoken. Your video moved me to respond, and that’s a first! Our friendship, the time Stephen and I were together is a story I’ve never told, because it’s the thing I treasure the most. Perhaps knowing that will add gravity to a compliment. Videos like yours, the very skillfully done ones, don’t always have much to say. Yours , with unsuspected eloquence, is reaching toward the very complex heart of Stephen Sondheim’s art. If he saw your video he would say to you something he said to me once, “You get it, your really get it!”

[@whykevinwhyyy]

What a beautiful compliment! Thank you for sharing. I only had the privilege of meeting him once, but it was unforgettable.

[@MrJoseGBustos]

This is probably one of the most beautiful pieces of KZbin content I've come across in a long time. Well done, and thank you.

[@josephrosen1160]

Stephen would have loved this.

[@stevepotfora7461]

Such a well-made video. Beautiful graphics, coherent script, even your respectful and delightful personality. You are a positive gem .... and could even have been a viola player~

[@whykevinwhyyy]

don't worry, some of my best friends are viola players 😂

[@willcwhite]

Wow this was extremely well-done, at an informational level, an emotional level, and a technical level. Sondheim would have been flattered, I'm sure! Hope you have a great time at “Here We Are”. I was very happy to get a chance to see it. Bravo all around!

[@jamesagoins]

Brilliant.

[@Robbelox]

What an intriguing video! I love the delivery with the piano! Well done! ❤

[@Donde_Lieta]

Thank you SO much for this video- I’ve thought A LOT about this topic since his passing

[@KunamaElgar]

Brilliant writing and video editing. This was an unexpected gem amongst my scrolling. Subscribed 😊

[@whykevinwhyyy]

thanks for the sub! it really means a lot to me, and every supporter makes it easier for me to keep making work like this.

[@jayden.rainnie]

I LOVE THIS VIDEO. I LOVE SONDHEIM!

[@suk-waicheong5622]

BRAVO! One of the very best expositions ever on Sondheim and the arc of musical theatre 💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩

[@CTRCarvalho]

Amazing work! I loved it.

[@louisrost]

this is great, well done

[@mostlysondheim1930]

GREAT video!!

[@rrrxxxnnnlllz]

How come you have so few followers? Amazing video - and all the others as well!

[@markspano3468]

Spot on. Thank you.

[@watchetboy]

Thank you. I love this.

[@Jacintamusic]

Beautiful, thank you

[@hilarycohen1470]

Re part IV, what about Guettel? Ahrens s & Flaherty? All the guys w 3 names?

[@ArtemisMunoz]

Thanks for this video! I was surprised when I saw the view count. I humbly offer this comment as a sacrifice in hope that more people get to see this.

[@whykevinwhyyy]

may the good lord algorithm smile upon your offering 😌

[@terryhammond1253]

🎹 Bravo Kevin, for a thoughtfully crafted exploration of Sondheim and a concise look at the evolution of music in general. I have become a subscriber to your channel. For me the most radical and ever-enduring musical dramatist has got to be Richard Wagner. And the revolution that Beethoven bought to the symphony... and Wagner brought to opera... Sondheim brought to the American musical. As for those who will succeed Sondheim...who knows? There are a plethora of wannabee's... but only a scant few Titans. Hugs to all.

[@anacarolinatassara4822]

Loved the video! But I have to say that I don't agree with not including Hadestown with the "original musicals". It fits perfectly in, what I believe, what we're looking for in terms of being a original, innovative and objectively good (great even!) musical.

[@goronska]

How about "Epic" or anything that The Mechanics do? :3

[@skyexie]

What an amazing video! I have always thought Sondheim is an absolute genius, and the art form of musical theatre is made for him, but I didn't know how to convey this to other people. Your video put my exact thoughts into words. Brilliant! I want to share it on a chinese video platform called bilibili for those who can't use youtube. So do you mind if I post your video there and add subtitles? Thanks!

[@whykevinwhyyy]

Yes, feel free! I would love it if you sent me the link when it's up. And if there's any way i can assist with the subtitles lmk.

[@skyexie]

@@whykevinwhyyy Also don't have high hopes for the statistics, musical theatre isn't as popular in China as it is in the English speaking world, and the language barrier is a big problem for many Chinese people to understand Sondheim's works, so even less people is into him.

[@skyexie]

@@whykevinwhyyy It seems that I can't send you the link in the comments, search for 我们该如何继承桑德海姆的遗产 in said website.

[@antonspivack3928]

Which musical is referenced with the photo booth at 14:08?

[@whykevinwhyyy]

it's the musical adaptation of Amelie!

[@daviddempsay4930]

When I am asked who my favorite musical composer is (as in at 5:28) I usually say that I am "Bimusical', i.e., I like Sondheim AND Herman.

[@whykevinwhyyy]

I think they world both be happy to hear that! It always seemed to me like their "feud" was something cooked up by the media, and not something either of them was invested in.

[@jamestong8080]

Loved this but disagree on one point. You have a list of shows that you state did not turn a profit. Company was a financial hit. Hal Prince always said Sweeney did eventually pay off backers years later.

[@darwinia55]

You had me until you referred to cast recordings as “soundtracks”. Sheesh!

[@mattbosley3531]

How do we deal with it? That's like saying how do we deal with the legacy of Jerry Herman, or Rodgers and Hart, or Rodgers and Hammerstein, or Lerner and Loewe. You don't deal with it. You enjoy it and you get inspired by it. Jonathan Larson was inspired by Sondheim and others and look what we got from that. Lin-Manuel Miranda too.

[@oliverbrownlow5615]

The Gospel of Sondheim was never to write like Sondheim. It was always to write like yourself.

[@rst7243]

You lost me at "egregious dissonances." Why should we think about dissonance as egregious?

[@whykevinwhyyy]

There are lots of ways to think about dissonance and consonance and this is just one of them. The overall point I was trying to make is that sometimes music that doesn't immediately strike the ear as "pleasant" (especially for someone whose ear is accustomed to poppy show tunes) can actually be the most beautiful and fulfilling stuff if you open your ears up and try to listen on its own terms. Personally, I don't actually find these dissonances (or any dissonances) to be egregious, but I thought it was a useful framing for getting my point across. Did you watch the rest of the intro? If you did I would be curious to know what you thought!

[@Marcel_Audubon]

Sondheim ain't my cup of tea and people who gush and swoon over him ain't either

[@whykevinwhyyy]

Fair enough. I'm happy you're here either way!

[@oliverbrownlow5615]

I suspect that Sondheim would have endorsed this comment more than any other in this comnent section. I'm reminded, however, of what George Bernard Shaw said to a woman who booed him loudly as he was introduced to otherwise thrundrous applause to give a curtain speech on the opening night of his most famous play, *Pygmalion* (later the basis for the musical *My Fair Lady):* "My good woman, I quite agree with you -- but who are we against so many?"