One lyricist who went out on a high note was Dorothy Fields who was 69 when Seesaw opened (she passed away a year later).
I would argue that Assassins is top drawer Sondheim and Passion maybe the next tier down and Sondheim was 64 when the latter opened.
Jerry Herman was only about 50 when his last Broadway show opened!
Cole Porter was still writing fine tunes well into his 60's.
But definitely the years between 30 and 50 seem to be the richest period in a composer/lyricist's working life. Sondheim was fortunate that his work was so often revived, which kept him participating actively into extreme old age.
And we are fortunate to still have such Golden Age giants as Charles Strouse, John Kander, Sheldon Harnick Tom Jones and Lee Adams still with us in their 90's still dispensing wisdom and inspiring younger writers. |
