Theatre
Composer
I Know My Love (1951)
Play by S.N. Berman
Christmas Carol [arrangement only]
No known recordings
The Clock (1953, abandoned)
Musical based on the 1945 movie The Clock
New York Song
Sondheim Sings, Vol. II (1946-60)
The Legendary Mizners (1953, abandoned)
Musical based on the 1953 book The Legendary Mizners by Alva Johnston
One song was written before Sondheim learned that the rights had been acquired weeks earlier for a movie that never was made; this would later be the basis for Wise Guys/Bounce/Road Show
Benicia [or "Afternoon in Benicia"]
No known recordings
A Mighty Man Is He (1955, cut)
Play by George Oppenheimer & Arthur Kober
The play was staged in 1960, but the song was cut from the production
Rag Me That Mendelssohn March
No known recordings
The Madwoman of Chaillot (1955, abandonded)
Musical treatment by Stephen Sondheim
Based on the 1943 play The Madwoman of Chaillot by Jean Giraudoux
None known
The Girls of Summer (1956)
Play by N. Richard Nash
Sondheim's first work to be produced on Broadway
Incidental music
The Girls of Summer [lyrics set to incidental music, not performed in the show]
Marry Me a Little: 1981 Original Off-Broadway Cast Album
Marry Me a Little: 2012 Off-Broadway Revival Cast Album
The Last Resorts (1956, abandoned)
Musical with book by Walter and Jean Kerr
Based on the title of a social study by Cleveland Amory
I Wouldn't Change a Thing
Sondheim Sings, Vol. II (1946-60)
High Life
Sondheim Sings, Vol. II (1946-60)
Pour le Sport
A Collector's Sondheim
Marry Me a Little (1981)
Sondheim Sings, Vol. II (1946-60)
Ring Round the Moon (1957, abandoned)
Musical with proposed book by Arthur Laurents
Based on the 1948 play Ring Round the Moon by Jean Anouilh
Hal Prince was to produce but they were unable to get the rights
French Waltz
None
The Jet-Propelled Couch (1958, abandoned)
Musical with book by Stanley Richards
Based on the 1954 story The Jet-Propelled Couch: The Story of Kirk by Robert Lindner and the 1957 television play by Stanley Richards
Sondheim wanted to adapt the television play as a stage musical
Doctor
Nobody Reads Books
Yes
Music used for "Salon at the Claridge 1" in Stavisky
Invitation to a March (1960)
Play by Arthur Laurents
Incidental music
Stephen Sondheim: The Story So Far...
Unsung Sondheim
The World of Jules Feiffer (1962)
Revue of the works of Jules Feiffer
The show included a one-act musical version of Feiffer's cartoon story, "Passionella"
Incidental music
Truly Content
Stephen Sondheim: The Story So Far...
Unsung Sondheim
What Can You Lose: Myrra Malmberg Sings Sondheim
Hot Spot (1963)
Musical with book by Jack Weinstock & Willie Gilbert
Music by Mary Rodgers
Lyrics by Martin Charnin
Sondheim was brought in to help rewrite the opening song
Don't Laugh [or "Show Me"]
Hey, Love: The Songs of Mary Rodgers
Stephen Sondheim: The Story So Far...
That's Good, That's Bad [or "Who Knows? / I Know"]
Hey, Love: The Songs of Mary Rodgers
The Mad Show (1966)
Musical with book by Larry Siegel & Stan Hart
Music by Mary Rodgers
Lyrics by Marshall Barer, Larry Siegel, & Steven Vinaver
Sondheim was asked to help round out the show with lyrics for an additional song; he wrote under the pseudonym Esteban Ria Nido
The Boy From...
Side by Side by Sondheim
The Sondheim Songbook
Stephen Sondheim: The Story So Far...
Ilya Darling (1967, cut)
Musical with book by Jules Dassin
Based on the 1960 movie Never on Sunday
Music by Manos Hadjidakis
Lyrics by Joe Darion
Sondheim was brought in to help doctor the show and provided new lyrics for three songs but the songs were cut before opening at the request of the leading actress
I Think She Needs Me
Opening Number
Piraeus, My Love
A Play by Blecht (1968, abandoned)
Musical with book by John Guare
Based on the 1930 play The Exception and the Rule by Bertolt Brecht
Music by Leonard Bernstein
Alternate titles include The Exception to the Rule and The Race to Urga
The Race Through the Desert
Han
Little Secret
The Suspicion Song
Urga Marches
In There
Coolie's Prayer
Paranoia Song
Don't Give It a Thought
The Year of the...
Twigs (1971)
Play by George Furth
Lyrics co-written by George Furth
Hollywood and Vine
The Enclave (1973)
Play by Arthur Laurents
Incidental Music
Stephen Sondheim: The Story So Far...
Unsung Sondheim
Candide (1974 Revival)
Musical with book by Hugh Wheeler
Based on the 1759 novel Candide by Voltaire
Music by Leonard Bernstein
Lyrics mostly by Richard Wilbur, with additional ones by John La Touche and Leonard Bernstein
Sondheim brought in by Hal Prince to write some new lyrics for the 1974 revival; his lyrics were used in different combinations of songs in subsequent revivals
Life Is Happiness Indeed
Candide: 1974 Broadway Revival Cast Album
Candide: 1982 New York City Opera Revival Cast Album
Candide: 1989 Studio Cast Album
Candide: 1997 Broadway Revival Cast Album
What a Day, What a Day (For an Auto-Da-Fé!)
Candide: 1974 Broadway Revival Cast Album
Candide: 1982 New York City Opera Revival Cast Album
This World
Candide: 1974 Broadway Revival Cast Album
Candide: 1982 New York City Opera Revival Cast Album
Candide: 1997 Broadway Revival Cast Album
Sheep's Song
Candide: 1974 Broadway Revival Cast Album
Candide: 1982 New York City Opera Revival Cast Album
Candide: 1997 Broadway Revival Cast Album
The Best of All Possible Worlds (Reprise)
Candide: 1974 Broadway Revival Cast Album
Muscle (1993, abandoned)
Musical with book by James Lapine
Based on the 1991 memoir Muscle by Sam Fussell
Opening Sequence (Poses)
No Problem
Candide (1997 Revival)
Musical with book by Hugh Wheeler
Based on the 1759 novel Candide by Voltaire
Music by Leonard Bernstein
Lyrics mostly by Richard Wilbur, with additional ones by John La Touche and Leonard Bernstein
Sondheim brought in by Hal Prince to write some new lyrics to the tune of "Life Is Happiness Indeed" for the 1997 revival
Old Lady's Entrance
Candide: 1997 Broadway Revival Cast Album
Old Lady's Second Entrance
Candide: 1997 Broadway Revival Cast Album
King Lear (2007)
Play by William Shakespeare
Music by Stephen Sondheim & Michael Starobin
Comments
Incidental music
Writer
Getting Away with Murder (1996)
Play by Stephen Sondheim & James Lapine
Previously titled "The Doctor Is Out"
Citations
- Gans, A. (2007, January 4). Cerveris and Bryggman to Join Kline in King Lear; Sondheim and Starobin to Score. Playbill. Retrieved April 20, 2023, from https://playbill.com/article/cerveris-and-bryggman-to-join-kline-in-king-lear-sondheim-and-starobin-to-score-com-137475
- Horowitz, M. E. (2010). Sondheim on Music: Minor Details and Major Decisions (2nd ed.). Rowman & Littlefield.
- Hutchins, M. H. (2014, April 23). Unproduced Projects. Sondheim Guide / Unproduced Projects. Retrieved April 18, 2023, from http://www.sondheimguide.com/unproduced.html
- The Jet-Propelled Couch. Sondheim.com. (n.d.). Retrieved April 21, 2023, from http://www.sondheim.com/shows/the_jet_propelled_couch/
- Ring Round the Moon. Sondheim.com. (n.d.). Retrieved April 19, 2023, from http://www.sondheim.com/shows/ring_round_the_moon/
- Sondheim, S. (2011). Look, I Made a Hat: Collected Lyrics (1981-2011) with Attendant Comments, Amplifications, Dogmas, Harangues, Digressions, Anecdotes and Miscellany. United States: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
- Swayne, S. (2010). How Sondheim Found His Sound. Ukraine: University of Michigan Press.