The Legacy of Sondheim Since his arrival in the 1950’s Stephen Sondheim’s name has become almost synonymous with musical theater. Since his breakout role as the lyricist for West Side Story, which opened in 1957, Sondheim has gone on to contribute music and lyrics to shows such as Into the Woods, Sweeny Todd and Gypsy. His works earned him a total of eight Grammy Awards, one Academy Award, a Pulitzer Prize and eight Tony Awards, more than any other composer. Considering the span of his career, Stephen Sondheim is on of the most influential figures in musical theater. Sondheim first major work West Side Story was a major Broadway success and has been revived 4 times since its premier, most recently in 2009. It was later made into a film
