This is a person who revolutionised American musical theater.".
Another theater-goer, Austin Philemon, called Sondheim "a monumental figure in music theater history".Born on March 22, 1930 in New York City, Sondheim was involved in musical theater from an early age, even though both of his parents worked in the fashion industry.He started playing piano at age seven and was family friends with Oscar Hammerstein II, half of the famed musical theater writing duo Rodgers and Hammerstein.Throughout his more than five-decades-long career, Sondheim won eight Grammy awards, eight Tony awards -- including the special Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre -- one Academy Award and a Pulitzer."Thank the Lord that Sondheim lived to be 91 years old so he had the time to write such wonderful music and GREAT lyrics!" tweeted singer Barbra Streisand.Thank the Lord that Sondheim lived to be 91 years old so he had the time to write such wonderful music and GREAT lyrics.Broadway actress and singer Lea Salonga also thanked Sondheim for his "vast contributions to musical theater".Rest In Peace, Stephen Sondheim, and thank you for your vast contributions to musical theaterHe was incomparable," the UK-based Stephen Sondheim Society, which is dedicated to promoting and studying his work, tweeted along with three heart emojis, one of them broken