Sondheim Seen in Light and Shadow
Ben BrantleyJuly 7, 2010: So charmingly frolicsome, so scarily intense. Two sides — and two ages — of one man’s life can be discovered roughly 20 miles apart in the Berkshires this week, glowing and glowering across the hills like the bright and hidden sides of the moon. These contrasting aspects of Stephen Sondheim, that most multifaceted of composers of musicals, are embodied by two thoughtfully assembled shows that reflect different chapters in his life. Experienced as companion pieces, they also suggest the extraordinary distance that Mr. Sondheim, who turned 80 in March, traveled in between.
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