MUS 23 — Six by Sondheim: The Art of Collaboration
Quarter: Winter
Instructor(s): Joel Phillip Friedman
Date(s): Feb 4—Mar 11
Class Recording Available: Yes
Class Meeting Day: Thursdays
Grade Restriction: No letter grade
Class Meeting Time: 6:00—7:50 pm (PT)
Tuition: $430
Refund Deadline: Feb 6
Unit(s): 1
Status: Registration opens Nov 30, 8:30 am (PT)
Quarter: Winter
Day: Thursdays
Duration: 6 weeks
Time: 6:00—7:50 pm (PT)
Date(s): Feb 4—Mar 11
Unit(s): 1
Tuition: $430
Refund Deadline: Feb 6
Instructor(s): Joel Phillip Friedman
Grade Restriction: No letter grade
Recording Available: Yes
Status: Registration opens Nov 30, 8:30 am (PT)
Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim was a master storyteller whose work reflected both his collaborators and the subjects they chose together. Through six musicals spanning 1959–84, we’ll trace how Sondheim’s restless mind continually reinvented musical theater, adapting his language and style to each collaborator. We’ll explore celebrated, challenging, and initially unsuccessful works as well as musicals that defied audience expectations.
Our repertoire includes Gypsy (1959, Jerome Robbins, Arthur Laurents, and Jule Styne); A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962, Burt Shevelove, Larry Gelbart, and Robbins); Anyone Can Whistle (1964, Laurents); two Hal Prince musicals: Sweeney Todd (1979, Hugh Wheeler) and Merrily We Roll Along (1981, George Furth); and Sunday in the Park with George (1984, James Lapine). Each week, we’ll closely examine a selected musical and its components and construction. Along the way, we’ll consider how Sondheim helped transform what a Broadway musical could be, and how it could be developed and brought to audiences.
Our repertoire includes Gypsy (1959, Jerome Robbins, Arthur Laurents, and Jule Styne); A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962, Burt Shevelove, Larry Gelbart, and Robbins); Anyone Can Whistle (1964, Laurents); two Hal Prince musicals: Sweeney Todd (1979, Hugh Wheeler) and Merrily We Roll Along (1981, George Furth); and Sunday in the Park with George (1984, James Lapine). Each week, we’ll closely examine a selected musical and its components and construction. Along the way, we’ll consider how Sondheim helped transform what a Broadway musical could be, and how it could be developed and brought to audiences.
No musical knowledge is required, but listening to and viewing the musicals beforehand is strongly encouraged.
JOEL PHILLIP FRIEDMAN
Composer and Music Scholar, Catholic University
Joel Phillip Friedman's concert, theater, and film music has been performed worldwide at such venues as Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, in London’s West End, and in off-Broadway theaters. He has taught courses in composition, theory, and history at Swarthmore, Georgetown, Stanford Continuing Studies, and elsewhere. He received a DMA in composition from Columbia, where he was a President’s Fellow. Textbooks for this course:
There are no required textbooks; however, some fee-based online readings may be assigned.