Introduction: Upon the passing of Stephen Sondheim, I imagine like many of you, Isaac and I spent hours scouring where he came from, learning about his life and of course reading and listening to the many tributes from the famous on Broadway to the less famous but equally affected. We had just watched Tick, Tick... Boom! and learned that the final scene was both rewritten by Sondheim, and that is was the legendary composer’s actual voice in that ending voice mail. No doubt that this is not new news to you, but it is one more testament to the man.

We have been privileged to see and hear so many Sondheim shows performed at camp. Sweeney, Company, Sunday in the Park with George, West Side Story, Forum, Assassins and others - His passing made me think that the French Woods Community could share their thoughts and pay tribute, appreciate, almost like a eulogy – but more - include how this man, his works may have inspired you - even changed you. So here we go – Frenchwoodites from past to present to always: A French Woods Tribute to Stephen Sondheim. - Rose Robinson, French Woods Program Dir.

A great man is no longer with us, but his talent remains. I have directed seven Sondheim shows and each has left its mark with me and the way I look at theater. I am sure that any of you who have worked on his shows feel the same way.

I am more than pleased to announce that this summer we will have three different
performances dedicated to the life and works of Steven Sondheim. Sweeney Todd will be performed in session two and we have changed the stock show to Sunday In The Park With George. In addition, Sondheim works will be featured in our Side By Side Concert with the New York Pops.

A new film version of West Side Story is now in theaters. Most of you know that Sondheim was the lyricist, with music by Leonard Bernstein. I am anxiously waiting to see it. - Ron Schaefer

May your memory and songs be a blessing, Mr. Sondheim. A message to those writers like me who have been moved and shaped by his work: “Anything you do, let it come from you, then it will be new. GIVE US MORE TO SEE.” - Josh Freilich

RIP Stephen Sondheim. You have been such an incredible influence on so many (me included!)! - Carolyn Stock-Chapin

His songs have kept me company when I was lonely and made me a deeper more soulful individual. They have connected me to friends, told great stories and constantly moved me. They were a part of my childhood and now when I listen to them it’s like sitting down with an old friend. RIP Stephen Sondheim. And thank you for the music. - Justine "JC" Brandy

On an ordinary Sunday.
I’ve only been in the same room twice with Sondheim. I usually go up to someone who I admire without thinking about it, but both times I decided not to for two reasons. One, I don’t know if anything I could say would ever amount to the admiration I have. Two, I felt like I should wait until I worked with him.
I never got to work with him. But today — singing "Sunday" standing next to legends and staples in the Broadway community made me feel like I had met him that day. Collectively, we all knew every lyric and harmony of that song. It was like he was speaking through us in that very moment. Or maybe not. Maybe he’s moved on and left us only with his words.
- Michael Kushner

Sondheim literally changed lives, at least his writing did for me. In high school we did a production of Sweeney Todd and the craft, well it was mind blowing. Years later I got to conduct and record the school edition and still the craft and storytelling was mind blowing. As I write this, I am welling up because “life is made of moments” and the moment I encountered a Sondheim score, that was the moment it changed my life. RIP Mr. Sondheim. - David Weinstein

His music will always live in our hearts and souls…. - Lisa Brette Reich

The Sondheim Effect: it was being in the ensemble of Sweeney Todd in 1986 that lead to a late audition for Music and Art, to a BA in theater, to an MFA in performing arts management, to working for the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, to who and where I am today. I would not be the person I am with the life I have if not for Sondheim, and French Woods. - Renee Lasher

This news hit me like a ton of bricks, and actually took my breath away. Stephen Sondheim is my hero. His work considers the totality of what it means to be human, with all of the flaws that come with it, and reflects it back to us with a finesse and precision that renders it clear, yet paradoxical, simple, yet complex, and always achingly beautiful.
To play his incredible music... To coach a performer in bringing his material to life... To watch countless young artists discover the depth, complexity, and ease of interpreting his lyrics... To rediscover the scenes I teach in class time and time again, and to learn new things about them EVERY time... To learn from new and stunning interpretations of his work in the theater time after time... this is the joy and the legacy of this man to me.

Towards the end of Sunday in the Park, Dot asks George to "give us more to see." I thought of this lyric immediately when I heard the news today, initially thinking that Steve no longer has the opportunity to fulfill that directive. But, then it occurred to me that so much of the magic of his work is that it will always be revealing itself to us with new discoveries, insights, revelations, and interpretations.
As devastating as it is that he is no longer with us, I'm certain that Stephen Sondheim will never stop giving us more to see.
One more time, old friend... thank you for the hat. - Matt Stern

A couple of years ago, I sat down at the piano and worked on a little arrangement of some of my favorite Stephen Sondheim tunes. These songs are a part of me. They’re deep in my marrow. My words fail when I try to describe the importance of Sondheim’s art. So I will let his melodies do the work. You can’t hear any of the lyrics in this video. https://youtu.be/uMa7LchJNfQ But the beauty of Sondheim’s music and lyrics is how symbiotic they are. You don’t have to hear the lyrics to know exactly what Sondheim is conveying with his music. We mourn the loss of the physical icon. But something will always be stirring. His art knows no time and will continue to teach, inform, and inspire. I never met you. But thanks, old friend.- Mark Binns

“Today, the world was just an address, A place for me to live in, No better than all right.”
I think that sums up the life of this giant of musical theater, Stephen Sondheim. His contributions to theater were manifold and have created some great experiences in the world of music and theater. His impact on French Woods and its campers has been felt for decades. From the first production of A Funny Thing Happened on The Way to the Forum to the rest of his great lexicon, he brightened the way for many young people who have come through French Woods to pursue a career in the arts, or just simply to make their lives brighter. As a conductor, I live on the periphary of this world of musical theater. It takes me in as an adoptive child. But what it has done is bring me joy as I see young people time and time again, be inspired by the words and music this man brought creation through pen and paper. His words were meaningful and reflective, his music could penetrate your soul. He was the first composer to recognize the importance and value of our youngest children performing his works and because of that, Into The Woods JR. became the first author approved production for middle schools to perform. His vision as an artist and his foresight as a person is what made his passing so bittersweet. He leaves behind a musical photo album of immense proportion that can inspire generations to come. “Art in itself, is an attempt to bring order out of chaos” Rest Well Maestro.- Brian Worsdale

The basis for all musical theater is, well, music. It’s the lyrical melodies, the gorgeous harmonies, and the dramatic atmosphere that music provides that separates a play from a musical. But for me, because of Sondheim, I know a musical can be much more than that. A musical doesn’t just have to be a form of entertainment with whimsical tales and flashy dance numbers. Instead, it can be something that impacts lives, that makes people think. Through all of the Sondheim shows I have been exposed to through French Woods, I have seen a common theme. There are no clear cut heroes or villains. All of his characters, large and small, are flawed. And it’s because of their imperfections that we as an audience can gain insight into our own lives. To me, Sondheim represents that it is okay to have flaws, that it is okay to make mistakes. Because without them, we would never grow into something greater.
- Harry Watkin-Fox

Many of my most favorite French Woods memories are from Sondheim musicals. As a camper, I was lucky enough to play a lonely Brooklynite looking for a date in Saturday Night, an aging Follies performer listening to the "rain on the roof" in Follies, and command a harem of beautiful women as Marcus Lycus in Forum. As a director, I worked on productions of Into the Woods, Sunday in the Park with George, and most memorably Assassins. The humanity displayed in Sondheim's music and lyrics and the ways in which he brought the world to life taught me an immeasurable amount about the kind of art I want to put into the world. For me, it will always be about connection.- Lee Kasper

In my youth, I'd always been more inclined towards dramas and musicals. There was a missing link somewhere that made me unable to consider Musical Theatre as anything other than bad music spoiling a good play or a bad play being spoiling good music. Enter Sondheim. The first musical I ever saw was Sunday in the Park with George in 1999 at NIDA, Sydney. It blew my mind. I didn't make the Sondheim connection until years later. Then a friend of mine got a job as his PA in far-flung, pre-internet New York, and that name began to enter my theatre consciousness. This was someone of note, someone important, someone to seek out and learn from. My next encounter with Sondheim was at French Woods, where I was fortunate enough to direct Forum with a superb cast. I now became immersed in his genius - the missing link was no more. Sondheim, for me, was intelligence, Sondheim was heart. Sondheim was the elan in his music. Sondheim was unabashed joy in creation. His work seemed to come teeming at me, opening up my mind to exciting possibilities in Musical Theatre, the rigour of his form and structure challenging, but rewarding. Collaborative potential is the catalyst that draws me to direct Musical; Sondheim harnessed all of that within his work. He sits atop the canon with the likes of Shakespeare - yes, there was greatness before Sondheim, but after him...nothing can ever be the same again. This year, I directed my first professional musical in a thousand seat theatre in Australia, with 2 more coming in 2022. Without French Woods, I wouldn't have found my way to Musical Theatre; without Sondheim, for me, as well as countless others, Musical Theatre can never be the same again... - Michael McCall

When I think of Sondheim, the first two words that come to mind are “generous” and “inspiring.” I think it bears repeating that his generosity of spirit and his inspiring works have been the building blocks for artists of multiple different generations, my own included.

I can pinpoint the exact moment I decided to pursue musical theater professionally. It was at French Woods doing a Sondheim show. Summer of 2018, Ron entrusted me, a relative newcomer to camp and to theater, with the role of Sweeney. On closing night, as the cast was joyously celebrating a successful performance backstage, Ron came to the back of the Pavilion, grabbed me by the shoulders in typical Ron fashion, and gave me a hug. He said to me: “In all my years, I have never seen a Sweeney like that. I am so proud of you. You should be so proud of yourself.”

Those words meant the world. I’ve spent a good deal of time since Sondheim’s passing reading tributes to him. Across the board, the one thing people were grateful for was the time, mentorship, and heart he showed to every aspiring artist. He replied to every letter and email thanking him. But beyond that, he also spent a great deal of time praising and thanking those who looked up to him. He wanted to pass on kindness at every turn.

Ron did the same for me with his words that night. The material I had been tasked with performing, like all Sondheim shows, wasn’t easy. Ron knew that. The rehearsal process wasn’t exactly breezy. Sweeney being my first substantial role in any production was daunting. However, the trust that Ron had in me, his generosity of spirit, and those words that he’s probably forgotten about have led me down a path that’s been infinitely fulfilling.

I attribute a lot of my current artistic trajectory to Sondheim, French Woods, the opportunities it granted me to challenge myself as a performer with multiple Sondheim shows, and to the great mentors I found there who share the same goal as Sondheim: to uplift future artists. - Ray Kao