| Six by Sondheim | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Documentary |
| Directed by | James Lapine Todd Haynes Autumn de Wilde |
| Starring | Stephen Sondheim Jarvis Cocker Audra McDonald Darren Criss Jeremy Jordan Laura Osnes Jackie Hoffman America Ferrera Will Swenson |
| Theme music composer | Stephen Sondheim |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Editor | Miky Wolf |
| Original release | |
| Release | December 9, 2013 (2013-12-09) |
Six by Sondheim is anHBO televisiondocumentary which pays tribute toBroadway composer and lyricistStephen Sondheim. The film was directed and co-produced byJames Lapine, based on an idea byFrank Rich[1] and "centers on the backstory of six great Sondheim songs".[2]
The film has performances of six of Sondheim's signature songs:
In the documentary, Sondheim himself performs along withAudra McDonald,Jeremy Jordan,Darren Criss,America Ferrera,Jackie Hoffman andLaura Osnes.[4] The documentary contains archival footage as well as footage shot for arevue of Sondheim's music that played on Broadway in 2010 titledSondheim on Sondheim.[5]
The documentary consists of both original short films of several of the songs plus existing material. For example, Lapine directed the part on "Opening Doors" which features Criss, Jordan, Ferrera, and Osnes;Todd Haynes directed the film on "I'm Still Here" which hasJarvis Cocker; andAutumn De Wilde directed McDonald andWill Swenson in "Send in the Clowns."[1] The film was edited by Miky Wolf who gave an interview toThe Red Room Podcast on episode 68. This interview was then published in the Summer 2014The Sondheim Review.
National Public Radio highly recommended the documentary stating thatSix is "a superbly compiled work, overseen by two of the people most intimately familiar with the composer himself...If you're new to the works of Stephen Sondheim, this TV special should entice you. If you're already a fan, it should delight you."[6]TV Guide stated, "Sondheim exults in the 'agonizing fun' of his craft. We can only marvel at the results."[7] The documentary was one of severalPeabody Award winners in 2014.[8]