Title: Stephen Sondheim Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1946-1965

Creator:

• Sondheim, Stephen, 1930-2021

Call Number: U.S. Mss 66AN; M94-241

Quantity: 8.0 cubic feet (11 archives boxes and 9 flat boxes); plus additions of 0.1 cubic feet (1 folder)

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society Archives / Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research
Contact Information

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:

Papers of Stephen Sondheim, a composer and lyricist, consisting of correspondence, scripts and drafts, music and lyrics, manuscripts, and miscellaneous writings. Coverage is best for Do I Hear a Waltz? (1965), Gypsy (1957), and West Side Story (1957), for which Sondheim wrote the lyrics, and for Anyone Can Whistle (1964) and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962), for which he wrote both the music and the lyrics. Also included are small files for several other musicals and television series, both produced and unproduced; a group of miscellaneous songs; and professional correspondence, 1949-1960. Among the prominent correspondents are George S. Kaufman and Oscar Hammerstein II.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-us0066an

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Stephen Sondheim, composer, lyricist, and writer, was born in New York City on March 22, 1930. His father, Herbert, was a manufacturer, and his mother, Janet, a fashion designer. He graduated from the George School in 1946. He majored in music at Williams College, graduating summa cum laude in 1950. After graduation, Sondheim was awarded a Hutchinson Scholarship to study music. He studied musical composition for three years in New York under Milton Babbitt.

Sondheim began writing for the musical stage when he was at the George School. At the same time he began an informal apprenticeship in lyric writing under Oscar Hammerstein II. Having written a school show, he asked Hammerstein, who was a neighbor and the father of a friend, to evaluate the lyrics. With painstaking care Hammerstein examined them, introducing Sondheim to his approach to lyric writing. From Hammerstein, Sondheim learned such principles as “a song should reveal the character to the audience...” and “what counts is what you have to say. It can be said in the simplest rhymes--it has to be. Otherwise it's just cleverness. A lyric must have clarity of sound and clarity of thought.” Sondheim continued to submit his work, from college shows to professional musicals, to Hammerstein until the latter's death. As he acquired experience however, Sondheim developed an individual style. One commentator has pointed out that Sondheim's lyrics tend “toward colloquial, contemporary diction as opposed to Hammerstein's poetic manner.”

In 1953 Sondheim wrote scripts in collaboration with George Oppenheimer for the Topper TV series. In 1954 he was commissioned by Lemuel Ayers to write the music and lyrics for Saturday Night. The death of Ayers shortly thereafter halted production plans. Arthur Laurents, however, had seen Sondheim's work for the show and, liking it, asked him to collaborate with Leonard Bernstein, Jerome Robbins, and himself by writing the lyrics for West Side Story (1957). Two years later Sondheim again collaborated with Laurents by writing the lyrics to Gypsy. William K. Zinsser has said of Sondheim's lyrics for these two shows: “It is because his lyrics so surely fit not only the moment but the total mood and character of the story that West Side Story and Gypsy have an extra unity, maturity, and dramatic strength.”

As a lyricist, Sondheim collaborated with Hammerstein's former partner, Richard Rodgers, for the musical Do I Hear a Waltz? (1965). Rodgers commented on Sondheim's style, “It has a curious way of making people sing as if they were talking.”

Despite these attainments, Sondheim said he did not especially enjoy writing lyrics. Instead, he preferred to write music. He wrote the incidental music for the play The Girls of Summer by N. Richard Nash (1956). He also composed the incidental music for Laurent's play, Invitation to a March (1960).

Sondheim made his Broadway debut as a composer-lyricist with the 1962 A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Writing this score provided him with the opportunity to do what he called “pretentious work.” By this term, Sondheim meant “work that exploits pretence, that attempts to explore new territory.” In A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum the music does not develop character, as it does in the Hammerstein-oriented type of musical, but rather the music emphasizes particular moments in the plot development.

Sondheim wrote both the music and lyrics for the 1964 musical Anyone Can Whistle, which was the product of another collaboration with Arthur Laurents, who wrote the book.

Stephen Sondheim lived in New York City. He was a member of the Council of the Dramatist's Guild, ALA, ASCAP, and WGA. Stephen Sondheim died on November 26, 2021.

The Stephen Sondheim collection is organized in four groups: correspondence, scripts, songs, and miscellaneous writings.

The correspondence, [1949]-1960, contains letters relating to Mr. Sondheim's works. It is arranged chronologically and includes letters from George S. Kaufman and Oscar Hammerstein II.

The scripts are for dramatic, musical, radio, and television plays which Sondheim wrote or on which he collaborated, including music and lyrics for some of the plays. The plays are arranged in alphabetical order by title. The material for the musical plays is arranged in the following order: scripts, music and lyrics manuscripts, piano-conductor parts, and piano parts. The latter two are in reproduced (dechon process) form. Holdings in this series are most extensive for the Broadway musicals Anyone Can Whistle, Do I Hear a Waltz?, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Gypsy, and West Side Story, and the television series Topper.

The songs consist of original manuscripts of music and lyrics for individual songs. There are also songs and incidental music for plays not included in this collection.

The miscellaneous writings consist of an unfinished novel, reviews, articles, and class papers by Mr. Sondheim.

Later papers of Stephen Sondheim at the Library of Congress

Acquisition Information

Presented by Stephen Sondheim, New York, New York, November 22, 1965 and June 2, 1980. Accession Number: M63-116, M65-025, MCHC80-116, M94-241

Processing Information

Processed by KW, 1965; additions interfiled by Carolyn J. Mattern, 1991.

U.S. Mss 66AN	Series: Correspondence
Box   1 Folder   1	1949 June 21-1960 June 15
	Series: Scripts	⇧
	All That Glitters, 1949
Box   1 Folder   2	Lyrics manuscripts, script A
Box   1 Folder   2	Script B
	Anyone Can Whistle, 1964
Box   1 Folder   3	Script A, entitled Side Show: annotated
Box   1 Folder   3	Script B, entitled Side Show, 1963 November 1
Box   1 Folder   3	Script C : rehearsal schedule and cast list, 1963 November 1
Box   1 Folder   3	Script portions
	Act I, music and lyrics manuscripts
Box   2 Folder   1	“Opening-I'm Like the Bluebird,” “The Natives are Restless,” “Me and My Town”
Box   2 Folder   2	“Miracle Song,” “The Lame, the Halt, and the Blind,” “There Won't Be Trumpets,” “A Hero Is Coming”
Box   2 Folder   3	“Interrogation”
	Act II, music and lyrics manuscripts
Box   2 Folder   4	“A-1 March,” “A Parade in Town,” “Come, Play Wiz Me,” “Anyone Can Whistle,” “Everybody Says Don't”
	Act III, music and lyrics manuscripts
Box   2 Folder   5	“Cross Questions,” “I've Got you to Lean On,” “See What it Gets You”
Box   2 Folder   6	“See What It Gets You-reprise,” “Lock 'em Up,” “Cookie Chase Ballet”
Box   2 Folder   7	“There's Always a Woman,” “With so Little to be Sure of” (2 versions)
	Act I, Piano-Conductor Parts
Box   3 Folder   1	“Prelude Act I,” “Overture,” “Stamping Music,” “Opening Act I,” “Bluebird Opening,” “Bluebird Reprise,” “Me and My Town,” “Cora's Play Off”
Box   3 Folder   2	“Miracle Song,” “Pumping Music,” “Fay's Monologue,” “There Won't Be Trumpets”
Box   3 Folder   3	“Hapgood's Entrance,” “Interrogation Lead In,” “Interrogation, Parts 1-6, 8”
	Act II, Piano-Conductor Parts
Box   3 Folder   4	“Prelude Act II,” “A-1 March,” “A-1 March Incidental,” “Lady From Lourdes”
Box   3 Folder   5	“Come Play Wiz Me,” “Come Play Wiz Me-underscore,” “Come Play Wiz Me-playoff,” “Doctor-underscore,” “Anyone Can Whistle”
Box   3 Folder   6	“Pilgrim's March No. 1-2,” “Everybody Says Don't,” “Don't Ballet-Part I,” “Ballet Tag”
	Act III, Piano-Conductor Parts
Box   3 Folder   7	“Corn's Triumphal March,” “I've Got to Lean on You,” “Lean on You-Incidental,” “Double Reprise,” “Cora Chase, Part 1-2”
Box   4 Folder   1	“Cora Chase, Part 3-6, 9, 12,” “Bluebird Incidental,” “With So Little to Be Sure Of,” “Sure of Incidental,” “Finale Ultimo,” “Exit Music”
	Act I, Piano Parts
Box   4 Folder   2	“Opening-I'm Like the Bluebird,” “Me and My Town,” “Miracle Song”
Box   4 Folder   3	“Interrogation, Parts 1-8”
	Act II, Piano Parts
Box   4 Folder   4	“A-1 March,” “Come Play Wiz Me,” “A Parade In Town,” “Anyone Can Whistle,” “Everybody Says Don't,” “Act II Ballet”
	Act III, Piano Parts
Box   4 Folder   5	“I've Got You to Lean On,” “See What It Gets You-Anyone Can Whistle Reprise”
Box   4 Folder   6	“Cora Chase,” “There's Always A Woman,” “With So Little to Be Sure Of”
Box   4 Folder   7	Rejects and revisions
	By George, 1946
Box   5 Folder   1	Script
Box   5 Folder   1	Songs: “The Reason Why,” “Senior Waltz,” “It Must Be Spring”
	Climb High, 1950-1952
Box   5 Folder   2	Script A : annotated
Box   5 Folder   2	Script B : annotated
Box   5 Folder   2	Script C : annotated
Box   5 Folder   2	Script portions : annotated, and lyrics manuscripts
Box   5 Folder   2	Score
Box   5 Folder   2	Songs: “Chris and David”
	Do I Hear A Waltz?, 1965
Box   5 Folder   3	Outline
Box   5 Folder   3	Script A
Box   5 Folder   3	Script B
Box   6 Folder   1	Script C : revised, 1964 September-December
Box   6 Folder   2	Act I, music and lyrics manuscripts: “Someone Woke Up,” “This Week Americans,” “What Do We Do? We Fly,” “Perhaps,” “Someone Like You,” “Piazza Promenade,” “Here We Are Again,” “Two by Two,” “Puccini,” “I No Understand,” “The Emperor's New Clothes,” “Let It Happen”
Box   6 Folder   3	Act II, music and lyrics manuscripts: “Moon In My Window,” “We're Gonna Be All Right,” “Do I Hear A Waltz?,” “Stay and Stay and Stay,” “Perfectly Lovely Couple,” “Everybody Loves Leona,” “Thank You So Much,” “Cuckoo,” “Philadelphia,” “Miscellaneous”
	Act I, Piano-Conductor Parts
Box   6 Folder   4	“New York Overture,” “New Opening,” “This Week Americans,” “What Do We Do? We Fly,” “Someone Woke Up Reprise”
Box   6 Folder   5	“Shop-Cue,” “Someone Like You,” “Transition-Figaro to Promenade,” “Perhaps”
Box   6 Folder   6	“Perhaps-utility,” “New Promenade, Part 1-2”
Box   6 Folder   7	“Thinking,” “Emporor Incidental,” “No Understand,” “No Understand-underscore,” “Take the Moment”
	Act II, Piano-Conductor Parts
Box   7 Folder   1	“New Entre' act,” “Moon In My Window,” “Window-utility,” “We're Gonna Be All Right,” “Leona Gets the Message,” “Do I Hear A Waltz?”
Box   7 Folder   2	“Waltz Dance Tag,” “Perfectly Lovely Couple,” “Everybody Loves Leona,” “Transition-Leona to Pensions,” “Last Week Americans,” “Final Scene Underscore,” “Thank You So Much”
Box   7 Folder   3	Act I, Piano Parts, “Opening-Someone Woke Up,” “This Week Americans,” “Someone Like You,” “Bargaining,” “Here We Are Again,” “Thinking,” “No Understand,” “Take the Moment”
Box   7 Folder   4	Act II, Piano Parts, “Moon In My Window,” “We're Gonna Be All Right,” “Do I Hear A Waltz?,” “Perfectly Lovely Couple,” “Thank You So Much”
Box   7 Folder   5	Rejects
Box   7 Folder   6	Miscellaneous
	The Education of Mr. Blandings
Box   7 Folder   7	Pilot script
	A Funny Coincidence
Box   7 Folder   8	Script and notes : annotated
	A Funny Thing Happened on The Way to the Forum, 1962
Box   8 Folder   1	Script : master , 1958?
Box   8 Folder   2	Script : annotated , 1959?
Box   8 Folder   3	Script, 1959?
Box   8 Folder   4	Script, 1959 October
Box   8 Folder   5	Script, 1960 January 11
Box   8 Folder   6	Script, 1960?
Box   8 Folder   7	Script, 1961 March 1
Box   9 Folder   1	Script, 1961 June
Box   9 Folder   2	Script and revised script, 1961 November
Box   9 Folder   3	Script, 1962 March 1
Box   9 Folder   4	Script : TAB version, 1964 September
Box   9 Folder   5	Revised script portions, 1961
Box   9 Folder   6	Revised script portions, 1962
Box   9 Folder   7	Script, movie, 1965 February
	Music and lyric manuscripts, Act I
Box   10 Folder   1	“Comedy Tonight,” “Love, I Hear,” “Free,” “House of Marcus Lycus”
Box   10 Folder   2	“You're Lovely,” “Pretty Little Picture,” “Everybody Ought to Have a Maid,” “I'm Calm,” “Impossible,” “Bring Me My Bride”
	Music and lyric manuscripts, Act II
Box   10 Folder   3	“That Dirty Old Man,” “That'll Show Him,” “Funeral Sequence,” “Finale”
Box   10 Folder   4-5	Music and lyric manuscripts : unused
	Piano-Conductor Parts
Box   11 Folder   1	“Overture,” “Comedy Tonight,” “Love, I Hear,” “Free”
Box   11 Folder   2	“House of Marcus Lycus,” “Lovely,” “Pretty Little Picture,” “Everybody Ought to Have a Maid,” “That'll Show Him,” “Bring Me My Bride”
Box   11 Folder   3	“Fanfare,” “Entre'acte,” “Opening-Act II,” “Love is Going Around - underscore,” “Back to the Plot,” “That Dirty Old Man,” “Lovely Reprise,” “Finale Act II”
Box   11 Folder   4	Piano-Conductor inserts
Box   11 Folder   5	Piano-Conductor parts - unused
Box   12 Folder   1	Piano Parts
Box   12 Folder   2	Piano-Conductor score - recording session
	Gypsy, 1959
Box   12 Folder   3	Script A
Box   12 Folder   4	Script B
Box   13 Folder   1	Lyric manuscripts
	Piano score
Box   13 Folder   2	“Everything's Coming Up Roses,” “Some People,” “If Mama Were Married,” “Little Lamb,” “Small World,” “Momma's Talking Soft,” “Cow Song,” “Some People,” “Together Wherever We Go,” “Daisies Won't Tell Much,” “Baby June and News Boys,” “Cow Recitation,” “Let Me Entertain You,” “Small World”
Box   13 Folder   3	“Farmdance,” “Let Me Entertain You - scene I,” “Toreadorables,” “Mama's Turn,” “If I Had Three Wishes for Christmas,” “All I Need Is the Girl,” “Farm Sequence,” “You'll Never Get Away From Me”
Box   13 Folder   4	Rejects and miscellaneous
	Happily Ever After
Box   13 Folder   5	Outlines, notes, and script, 1959 July 5
	I Believe In You, 1956
Box   13 Folder   6	Script A : annotated
Box   13 Folder   7	Script B, Act 1, 1956 August 15
	In an Early Winter, 1958
Box   13 Folder   8	Script A : annotated
Box   13 Folder   9	Script B : revised, annotated, and shooting schedule
	Invitation To A March, 1960
Box   13 Folder   10	Script : annotated
Box   14 Folder   1	Music manuscript and recording notes
	The Jet Propelled Couch
Box   14 Folder   2	Outlines and script portions
Box   14 Folder   3	Music and lyrics manuscripts
Box   14 Folder   4	Script for Playhouse 90 : second draft / written by Stanley Roberts, 1957 October 21
	The Lady Or the Tiger
Box   14 Folder   5	Original story and treatment : copy
Box   14 Folder   6	Script portions and lyrics manuscripts
Box   14 Folder   7	Script, Act I
Box   14 Folder   8	Music manuscripts
	The Man With the Squeaky Shoes
Box   14 Folder   9	Script A : annotated, and synopsis, 1953 April 30
Box   14 Folder   10	Script B
	Mary Poppins
Box   14 Folder   11	Treatment
Box   14 Folder   12	Script A, Act I, and script B, entitled Bad Tuesday
Box   14 Folder   13	Script manuscript, notes, music manuscript, script portion Note: Added- music, “The Sun Is Blue” and notebook, volume 1.
	Mizners
Box   15 Folder   1	Outline, music and lyrics manuscripts for a musical play, based on The Legendary Mizners (Alva Johnston)
Box   15 Folder   2	Script and synopsis for Sentimental Guy / by Sam Behrman, 1956 July 24 Note: This musical play, for which Irving Berlin wrote music and lyrics, was also based on The Legendary Mizners.
	Mr. Blandings and the Tree Surgeon
Box   15 Folder   3	Script A : annotated, notes
Box   15 Folder   4	Script B
	The Rats in the Walls
Box   15 Folder   5	Script
	Saturday Night, 1954
M94-241 Folder   1	Script: early draft, copyright 1954 November 1
U.S. Mss 66AN Box   15 Folder   6	Script
Box   15 Folder   7	Lyrics manuscripts
Box   15 Folder   8	Music and lyrics manuscripts
Box   15 Folder   9	Piano score
Box   15 Folder   10	Annotated songs
	Teddy and the Magician
Box   16 Folder   1	Series outline, story outline and treatment, character descriptions
Box   16 Folder   2	Script A : annotated
Box   16 Folder   3	Script B
	Topper, 1953
Box   16 Folder   4	Burglar Episode, 1953 September 2
Box   16 Folder   5	Burglar Episode : revised, 1953 September 9
Box   16 Folder   6	Car Episode, 1953 October 27
Box   16 Folder   7	Decorating Episode : unrevised, undated
Box   16 Folder   8	Decorating Episode : revised, undated
Box   16 Folder   9	Decorating Episode, 1953 October 14
Box   16 Folder   10	Economy, 1953 November 9
Box   16 Folder   11	George's Old Flame : original, undated
Box   16 Folder   12	George's Old Flame : revised, 1953 October 8
Box   16 Folder   13	Hiring the Maid : first draft, 1953 July 13
Box   16 Folder   14	Hiring the Maid : revised, undated
Box   16 Folder   15	Socialite Episode, undated
Box   16 Folder   16	Socialite Episode : revised, 1953 August 18
Box   16 Folder   17	Socialite Episode : revised, 1953 August 25
Box   16 Folder   18	Theatrical Episode, 1953 August 18
Box   16 Folder   19	Theatrical Episode : revised, 1953 October 22
Box   17 Folder   1	Trip to Lisbon : original, 1953 November 6
Box   17 Folder   2	Trip to Lisbon : revised, 1953 November 13
Box   17 Folder   3	Untitled script, undated
	West Side Story, 1957
Box   17 Folder   4	Script, 1956 January
Box   17 Folder   5	Script, 1956 Spring
Box   17 Folder   6	Script, 1956 March 15
Box   17 Folder   7	Script, 1956 Winter
Box   17 Folder   8	Script : revised, 1957 April 15
Box   17 Folder   9	Script : revised, 1957 May 1
Box   17 Folder   10	Script, 1957 June 1
Box   17 Folder   11	Script, 1957 July 19
Box   17 Folder   12	Script portions
Box   18 Folder   1	Lyrics manuscripts
Box   18 Folder   2	Score: “Prologue,” “Jet Song,” “Something's Coming,” “Dance-Hall Sequence,” “Maria,” “America,” “Cool,” “Duet: One Hand, One Heart”
Box   18 Folder   3	Score: “Quintet (Tonight),” “Rumble,” “I Feel Pretty,” “Ballet Sequence (Somewhere),” “Gee, Officer Krupke,” “A Boy Like That,” “Finale”
Box   18 Folder   4	Unused and revised songs
	World of Jules Feiffer, 1962
Box   18a Folder   1	Scripts, untitled
Box   18a Folder   2	“The Explainers,” Script A
Box   18a Folder   3	“The Explainers,” Script B
Box   18a Folder   4	“Passionella,“ script and notes
Box   18a Folder   5	“Passionella,” music and lyrics manuscripts
Box   18a Folder   6	“Passionella,” piano parts
	Series: Songs	⇧
Box   19 Folder   1	Music and lyrics manuscripts: “Christmas Island At Christmas Time,” “The Girls of Summer,” “High Tor” (From High Tor, 1949)
Box   19 Folder   2	Music and lyrics manuscripts: “I'll Meet You at the Donut,” “List A While,” “Lady” (From High Tor, 1949, miscellaneous
Box   19 Folder   3	Music and lyrics manuscripts: “No Sad Songs for Me,” “Pour Le Sport” (from The Last Resort, 1956), “A Star is Born”
Box   19 Folder   4	Music and lyrics manuscripts: “Ten Years Old” (from “Fabulous Fifties,” a television special, 1960), “The Two of You,” Untitled song
	Series: Other Writings	⇧
Box   19 Folder   5	Bequest, novel : annotated
Box   19 Folder   6	The Burglar, outline and notes; Comments of a Comedian; The Forty Million, notes
Box   19 Folder   7	The King of Diamonds, outline; The Last Resort, outline and lyrics manuscripts
Box   19 Folder   8	The Madwoman of Chaillot, notes; Notes and Comment on Aaron Copland With Special Reference to His Suite, “Music For the Theatre,” class paper; On the Waterfront, review
Box   19 Folder   9	Struggling Upward, outline; Two Piano Concertos From the Pen of Maurice Ravel, class paper

• M.E. Barrett and M. Barrett, “Young Man on the Way,” Good Housekeeping, June 1959, pp. 28+.
• Interview on his career, New York Times, March 6, 1960, II, 4:1.
• Prideaux, T., “New Word Man for Rodger's Music in Do I Hear a Waltz?,” Life, 58, March 19, 1965, p. 20.
• Wilson, J. S., “Everything's Coming up Sondheim,” Theatre Arts, 46, June 1962, pp. 64-65.
• Zinser, W. K., “On Stage: Stephen Sondheim,” Horizon, 3, July 1961. pp. 98-99.