I Do Not Know How To Articulate This In A Concise Way That Does It Justice - Sondheim Would Know, Except

I do not know how to articulate this in a concise way that does it justice - sondheim would know, except he probably would brush away what I’m about to say in the way that he often did praise - part of the loss here is now that we’re forever bereft of an artistic bridge between theatre’s past and its future, and how impactful and part of the fabric of our culture broadway is. steve was mentored by rodgers and hammerstein. oscar was not only a teacher, but a surrogate father to him. he worked with leonard bernstein. he passed on that tradition of teaching and fostering new talent by reaching out to young composers, including jonathan larson (who was taken far too soon, but unquestionably had a permanent influence), including lin-manuel miranda, and that barely scratches the surface of the lives he touched, interacted with, guided and changed. all last night and today, names keep popping into my head of people who I know are grieving him, and they’re legends. they’re luminaries of the theatre. sondheim linked our cultural and musical and literary (because his lyrics ARE literary) past to where we’ve traveled and come, where we might be going. I know he said stop worrying where you’re going, but without the compass he provided, where would we be? stop worrying if your vision is new, but his always was, and its innovation and originality and moving complexity was because he was a keen observer of the current times, but also cherished the lessons he learned from those artists past. there are endless, countless things to say about the history of musical theatre and its composers and lyricists and writers, but no one had the perspective and rich perception of it that he did because he was there. his legacy lit the way because he was a part of artistic history at every turn. so it’s not only his loss as an extraordinary human being, or the realization that we won’t have new creations from him now, it’s also a grief for that piece of the past. his life kept that here with us for so long, and we were better for it.

he loved teaching. he considered it sacred. it’s our job now to keep carrying those memories and lessons on, if we can honor him in any way, it’s to keep teaching one another. his memory IS a blessing and we’ve been entrusted with it. careful the tale you tell, that is the spell. keep telling it.

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