Whether you’re a musical theater fanatic who can recite original cast lists from obscure century-old musicals or you’re someone who knows next to nothing about this very American of art forms, you will be utterly captivated by James Lapine’s fascinating new documentary Six by Sondheim. Opening theatrically today in New York and Los Angeles and airing Monday night on HBO, Lapine’s film paints a portrait of the now 83-year-old Stephen Sondheim, winner of a Pultizer Prize, Oscar, and an unprecedented eight Tony Awards, that is as unexpected as it is delightful. While I always enjoyed Sondheim’s amazing work, which includes writing the lyrics for iconic shows such as West Side Story and Gypsy and the music and lyrics for such classics as Company, Follies, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George and Into the Woods, I knew nothing about his childhood relationship with his all-important mentor, Oscar Hammerstein II or how his early experiences in the business shaped his later career. I had always assumed that Sondheim had a rather prickly personality, but while he may lack the ability to suffer fools, he is clearly one of the most generous people in the theater. His commitment to teaching and to giving back to those who are just starting out is movingly evident in this poignant and wildly entertaining film.
James Lapine obviously has a very clear understanding of Sondheim the Man as well as Sondheim the Cultural Icon. A multiple Tony Award winner himself, Lapine directed several of Sondheim’s most highly regarded musicals and wrote the book for a few of them as well including Sunday in the Park with George and Into the Woods. Lapine creates an intimate and candid look at Stephen Sondheim, based loosely on his own award-winning theatrical piece Sondheim on Sondheim, that is told mostly in Sondheim’s own words through an extremely clever use of archival interviews that span more than half a century.
While many aspects of Sondheim’s life and career are revealed, from his tortuous relationship with his mother to his virtually being adopted by the Hammersteins and the inspiring ways he bounced back from a surprising number of critical failures, the structure of the documentary hinges on revisiting six important Sondheim songs. Some are shown via rarely seen archival footage with the original artists including Bernadette Peters, Elaine Stritch and Larry Kert, but others are recreated in imaginative and exciting new sequences from acclaimed directors that feature current Broadway and Hollywood stars. One of my favorites of these is director Todd Haynes’ unusual take on I’m Still Here (from Follies) featuring Jarvis Cocker of the rock band Pulp. That one may raise a few eyebrows from Broadway purists who may prefer a more traditional version of Send in the Clowns directed by Autumn de Wilde and featuring Audra MacDonald and Will Swenson. That song, from A Little Night Music, was one of the few Sondheim numbers to ever become a popular “hit,” being covered by multiple artists including Judy Collins and Frank Sinatra.
A third and very fun new sequence features America Ferrara, Jeremy Jordan and Darren Criss singing Opening Doors from Merrily We Roll Along, one of Sondheim’s most autobiographical numbers about three writers trying to break into show business. The other highlighted songs in the documentary are Something’s Coming from West Side Story, Being Alive from Company, and Sunday from Sunday in the Park with George.
Six by Sondheim will make you fall in love with Stephen Sondheim all over again and, if you’re anything like me, it will send you scurrying to iTunes to revel in the complete recordings from many of his groundbreaking musicals.
Six by Sondheim is currently playing in New York and Los Angeles and will have its premiere HBO screening on Monday, December 9, 2013.