I don't have much to say about Stephen Sondheim that others aren't saying. Greatest composer of our lifetimes…greatest composer of all times…the man who made lyrics matter…all of that is true to some extent. I'd write about how he and his work impacted me but everyone who knew his work has their version of that story and no one's is that important. It's the collective impact that matters.
The thing I feel should be underscored is how many actors owe him for the jobs they got…and the witty, meaty roles that came with that employment. When Neil Simon passed, a lot of people said he'd rebuilt the audience for comedy on the legitimate stage. Sondheim surely did the same for musicals. Though he was famously tutored by Oscar Hammerstein, he took the form in which Hammerstein worked and elevated it to new levels, new possibilities, new everything. He had a lot to do with the advancement of musical theater that was not musical comedy.
I remember years ago on a theater discussion group, there was a small group of Sondheim fans who were honestly furious at him for not writing more shows, not giving us more songs, not taking the form to greater and greater heights. Some of us argued back that the guy's only human and we should be grateful for what he did give us. Here's one of the best things he left us…