Stephen Joshua Sondheim (March 22, 1930 – November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. Regarded as one of the most important figures in 20th-century musical theater, he is credited with reinventing the American musical. He received numerous accolades, including eight Tony Awards, an Academy Award, eight Grammy Awards, five Olivier Awards, and the Pulitzer Prize. He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1982 and awarded the Kennedy Center Honor in 1993 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015.
Sondheim was mentored at an early age by Oscar Hammerstein II and later frequently collaborated with Harold Prince and James Lapine. His Broadway musicals tackle themes that range beyond the genre's traditional subjects, while addressing darker elements of the human experience. His music and lyrics are characterized by their complexity, sophistication, and ambivalence.
Sondheim began his career by writing the lyrics for both West Side Story (1957) and Gypsy (1959).