Tributes have been flowing since the news broke that legendary composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim died at his home in Roxburgh, Connecticut on Friday 26 November at the age of 91.

Social media has been flooded with messages from composers, producers, performers and fans honouring the man who is regarded as the most important and influential figure in 20th-century musical theatre.

Stephen Sondheim

Stephen Sondheim. Photo @Everett Collection Inc/Alamy Stock Photo

In March 2020, when Sondheim turned 90, Limelight ran a major feature called Show by Show by Sondheim, which traced his career and charted the extraordinary role he played in revolutionising the American musical. “Anyone with a modicum of interest in musical theatre over the last 65 years will know him as the brilliant star that burst over Broadway with lyrics to West Side Story, then as the composer-lyricist who redefined the art form in works like the mould-breaking Follies, the wistful A Little Night Music and the grisly Sweeney Todd,” wrote Clive Paget.

“As a writer, Sondheim epitomises craft. His lyrics are sharp, smart and immaculately formed, a reassuring trove of eloquence, wit and insight.”

When his death was revealed, the Stephen Sondheim...