Honors Program students wrote reflections on Stephen Sondheim that are featured on the Sondheim Hub here.
Thoughts (in excerpted form) of the students who are enrolled in HONR 302: Putting It Together, an upper-level Honors seminar on Sondheim, appear in the Sondheim Hub, which publishes “new essays, interviews & features about the work of Stephen Sondheim,” on Dec. 15.
The class met virtually in October with the Sondheim Hub founder to discuss and shape the collaboration and then capped off their semester-long study with this international publication of their work.
This invited collaboration is the result of Department of English Professor Natalie Gerber's sabbatical, which she spent analyzing Sondheim's lyrics and learning about the distinctions between poetry, her primary research field, and musical-theater lyrics.
Students also enjoyed several other special opportunities spurred by Dr. Gerber's sabbatical activities, which included delivering an initial copy edit of Barry Joseph's forthcoming book, “Matching Minds with Sondheim” (Applause Books, 2025). Mr. Joseph, a game designer and lifelong Sondheim fan, gave a virtual, interactive talk regarding Sondheim's love of puzzles – and how this love intersects with Sondheim's lyric writing.
Cheryl Coons, an award-winning librettist and lyricist whom Gerber took classes from during her sabbatical, also joined the class virtually to share her insights about the song plot of a musical. Ms. Coons, who is also a member of the National Dramatists Guild Council, explained how songs themselves are plotted, from the Act I opener to the closing number, helping to illuminate the dramatic element underlying musicals generally and Sondheim's more specifically.
The Dr. Virginia Schaefer Horvath Endowment for Honors Program through the Fredonia College Foundation supported modest honoraria for the virtual guest talks by Coons and Joseph.
