Perfectionist. Genius. Icon. That was Stephen Sondheim

By MARK KENNEDY
AP Entertainment Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — In 2010, the year he turned 80, Stephen Sondheim had to endure a public fuss when a Broadway theater was being renamed in his honor. At a ceremony outside the 1,055-seat auditorium on West 43rd Street, the composer looked sheepish by the time he got to the podium following gushing words from admirers. He said he was embarrassed, mostly because he hated his own name. He explained: “It just doesn’t sing.” The comment revealed how Sondheim’s brilliant musicality and his perfectionism went hand-in-hand. The theatrical giant, who died Friday at 91, was as complex as his lyrics, dogmatic in his rules and not generous with praise about his work.