The Life of Sondheim
Plots, Settings, and Characters
Complete the Lyric
Name the Tune
Notable Collaborators
Awards and Legacy
100

It's the city where Sondheim was born - if he could make it there, he could make it anywere!

What is Manhattan/New York City?

100

The many characters and plotlines of Sondheim's Into the Woods are derived from the works of this folklore-collecting sibling duo.

Who are the Brothers Grimm?

100

"Smoke!  Smoke!  Sign of the Devil!  Sign of the Devil!  ______ ______ ______!

What is "city on fire?"

100

"Don't you love farce?  My fault, I fear - losing my timing this late in my career."

What is "Send in the Clowns" from A Little Night Music?

100

This actress originated the role of Mrs. Lovett is Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street on Broadway.

Who is Angela Lansbury?

100

Sondheim's noteworthy memoire has this title, also the title of a song in Sunday in the Park with George.

What is Finishing the Hat?

200

Sondheim earned his first Tony Award in 1971 for his score of this concept musical.

What is Company?

200

Ingmar Bergman's 1955 film Smiles on a Summer Night provided the basis for this Sondheim musical, whose title references the common English title of a well-known Mozart work for strings.

What is A Little Night Music?

200

"The ______ is on my house.  Only I can lift the ______ - the ______ is on my house!"

What is "spell?"

200

"Look at what you want - not at where you are, not at what you'll be.  Look at all the things you've done for me."

What is "Move On" from Sunday in the Park with George?

200

In addition to writing the lyrics for Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story, Sondheim also provided them for this composer's Gypsy.

Who is Jule Styne?

200

Of the group of awards that make up the acronym EGOT, it's the one which Sondheim never won.

What is an Emmy Award?

300

In his later years, Sondheim was a mentor to this Rent composer.

Who is Johnathan Larsen?

300

Characters in this Sondheim musical include John Wilkes Booth and John Hinckley, Jr.

What is Assassins?

300

'The morning ends.  I ______ ______ ______.  I talk to friends and _____ ______ ______.  And do they know?  It's like I'm losing my mind..."

What is "think about you?"

300

"Pantaloons and tunics!
Courtesans and eunuchs!
Funerals and chases!
Baritones and basses!"

What is "Comedy Tonight" from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum?

300

This actress originated multiple Sondheim role on Broadway during the 1980s, and more recently portrayed Sally in the 2011 Broadway revival of Follies.

Who is Bernadette Peters?

300

In his final film appearance, Sondheim plays an online detective game with Daniel Craig's character and a group of celebrities in this 2022 mystery thriller.

What is Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery?

400

It's the first professional musical for which Sondheim wrote both music and lyrics.  Though Sondheim completed the work in 1955, the original Broadway production was scrapped due to the untimely death of the show's producer.

What is Saturday Night?

400

"The Cookie Jar" in Sondheim's Anyone Can Whistle is one of these medical institutions.

What is a mental hospital/insane asylum?

400

"Not a ______ goes by, not a blessed ______.  But you're still somehow part of my life, and you won't go away!"

What is "day?"

400

"I can dance a tango, I can read Greek - easy.  I can slay a dragon, any old week - easy!"

What is "Anyone Can Whistle" from Anyone Can Whistle?

400

A frequent Sondheim collaborator, this "regal" persona directed and produced several of the his musicals from the 1960s-1980s.

Who is Hal Prince/Harold Prince?

400

To date, Sondheim's Sunday in the Park with George is one of only two musicals - along with this one which premiered on Broadway in 2009 - to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama but not the Tony Award for Best Musical.  

What is Next to Normal?

500

in addition to writing theatrical music and lyrics, Sondheim also had a knack for creating these types of puzzles - a mainstay of the New York Times.

What are crossword puzzles?

500

Sondheim's Passion is set during the Risorgimento, a period of unification in this European country.

What is Italy?

500

"There's another ______ ______ playing - not the one you cheer at the ballpark!"

What is "National Anthem?"

500

"Whence comes this melody constantly flowing?  Is it rejoicing or merely hallo-ing?
Are you discussing or fussing, or simply dreaming?"

What is "Green Finch and Linnet Bird" from Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street?

500

This actor, who appeared in many Disney live-action films, originated the role of Robert in Company on Broadway.

Who is Dean Jones?

500

Sondheim received recognition from the Kennedy Center Honors in this year, one year before his music Passion debuted on Broadway.

What is 1993?