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Fresh Air Weekend: Remembering Stephen Sondheim

Fresh Air | By Terry Gross
Published December 4, 2021 at 9:00 AM EST
Stephen Sondheim poses in April 1976.
R. Jones
/
Getty Images
Stephen Sondheim poses in April 1976.

Fresh Air Weekend highlights some of the best interviews and reviews from past weeks, and new program elements specially paced for weekends. Our weekend show emphasizes interviews with writers, filmmakers, actors and musicians, and often includes excerpts from live in-studio concerts. This week:

'Fresh Air' remembers Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim: Sondheim, who died Nov. 26, was the lyricist and composer who gave us Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods and other shows. In 2010 he spoke about his writing process, from rhyming to finding the right note.

'Original Cast Album: Company' provides a glimpse of Sondheim's perfectionism: In 1970, Stephen Sondheim's comic musical Company broke most of the conventions of American musical theater. Now, a newly restored documentary goes inside the making of the original cast album.

You can listen to the original interviews and review here:

'Fresh Air' remembers Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim

'Original Cast Album: Company' provides a glimpse of Sondheim's perfectionism

Copyright 2021 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air.

Terry Gross
Combine an intelligent interviewer with a roster of guests that, according to the Chicago Tribune, would be prized by any talk-show host, and you're bound to get an interesting conversation. Fresh Air interviews, though, are in a category by themselves, distinguished by the unique approach of host and executive producer Terry Gross. "A remarkable blend of empathy and warmth, genuine curiosity and sharp intelligence," says the San Francisco Chronicle.
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