Stephen Sondheim was unmistakably Jewish, but did he live a ‘Jewish Life?'
A new biography by Daniel Okrent examines the life of Stephen Sondheim, questioning whether his work and identity can be classified as 'Jewish' despite his lack of religious practice. The book explores how his cultural background influenced his contributions to American musical theater.
Why it matters
It explores the nuances of cultural identity and the challenges of biographical categorization for assimilated public figures.
When Daniel Okrent first proposed writing a biography of Stephen Sondheim for the Yale Jewish Lives series, he had a warning for his publisher.“I would love to write about Sondheim if you're interested, but I have to tell you that he was not in any way, in any remote way, a practicing Jew,” Okrent recalled saying.The people at Jewish Lives were unfazed - that is, until he turned in his manuscript. “They said, 'Could we have a little bit more Jewish stuff in there?'”I can sympathize. It can be tricky to write about famous, highly assimilated Jews like Sondheim, for whom Jewishness did not seem to be a significant part of their private identity or what made them famous.
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