Stephen Sondheim’s Birthday Prayer for Leonard Bernstein’s 44th birthday
Birthday Prayer was a present given to Leonard Bernstein by Stephen Sondheim for his birthday in 1962. T
The two pages of sheet music at first appear to be a song, with instructions for it to be played “Con Amore,” with love, “cryptically”.
The word “cryptic” is the key that something else is going on here, as Sondheim introduced cryptic crosswords to Bernstein during the creation of West Side Story.
In fact, this is not music at all – it’s an elaborate puzzle, whose lyrics–Sondheim’s Birthday Prayer–can only be known once it is solved.
Which Bernstein did.
That said, the music CAN be played, as demonstrated in the following video by puzzler and music instructor Andrew Parr. Parr transcribed the displayed sheet music; the audio here is the sound of the computer reading that music.
Want to try your hand at it, both matching minds with Sondheim, knowing Bernstein solved it first?
Below are two puzzles made available through Matching Minds. They are now available through special permission exclusively for home printing and solving.
A DEADLY GAME
Among Sondheim’s favorite Mark Halpin cryptic was one entitled “A Deadly Game,” which was inspired by the film The Last of Sheila. “Sondheim was a fan of craftsmanship and precision,” Halpin explained to me, “and the grid for this puzzle is intricate in how it conceals a big secret.” Sondheim appreciated the complexity of both the cryptic’s setup and its construction. He also enjoyed that there was a plot, of sorts, in which the actual theme of the puzzle was revealed layer by layer. “I think it’s this intricacy of construction and the depths that are slowly revealed that make it reminiscent of his own intricate puzzles.”
Stories and Art
Another example of Sondheim’s late-in-life interest and abilities with cryptics occurred in the summer of 2015. The Arden Theatre Company in Philadelphia honored Sondheim with its new Master Storyteller Award. This entailed a fancy dinner with attendees, performances of Sondheim classics… and the presentation of a commemorative crossword puzzle. The Arden originally reached out to Will Shortz, at The New York Times. Shortz directed the theater company to Halpin, who was delighted with the opportunity. The Arden asked him to make the puzzle accessible to a general audience, as they planned to give out copies to those below Sondheim’s puzzling ability (which, in fact, is most of the world). Entitled Stories and Art, the puzzle is comprised of three layers. The first layer is a set of standard cryptic clues. Once this layer is completed, empty circles remain in the grid with no directions on how they are to be filled in. Finally, some of the circles are numbered, 1–18. “Transferring letters from the numbered circles into the appropriate blanks,” the instructions explain, “will reveal a message to Mr. Sondheim on the subject of storytelling.”
The Arden printed out a version of the puzzle, framed it behind glass, and presented it to Sondheim. After the event, Sondheim emailed Halpin to thank him and tell him how nice it was. Then Sondheim had a request: “Can you email me the original so I don’t have to do it in my head?” Halpin knew Sondheim wasn’t joking. “I knew he one 100% could do it.”
The Logic of Putting It Together – opening night gift (1999)
Alan Wasser, a Tony Award honoree and founder of Foresight Theatrical (one of Broadway’s leading management companies), served as general manager for over 60 Broadway productions before he died at the age of 70 in 2019. One of those productions was the 1999 Cameron Mackintosh-produced Sondheim revue Putting It Together. Shown here (perhaps for the first time since opening night) is Wasser’s gift to the cast and crew (the production starred Carol Burnett, George Hearn, John Barrowman, Ruth Henshall and Bronson Pinchot, w/ certain performances by Kathie Lee Gifford as “The Wife.”)
Acquired recently off Ebay (AFTER I published my book), this 8 1/2″ x 11”, 43 page, spiral bound delight — The Logic of Putting It Together — is a series of logic puzzles based on the history of the show’s creation, poking fun at every aspect (producers, actors, and so much more), inspired by Sondheim’s own love of puzzles. Even if you are not a puzzle person, this is still super fun to read as a set of inside jokes from behind-the-scenes of a Sondheim production.
Wasser opens the packet with the following letter:
“One of my minor hobbies is creating and solving logic puzzles, a pastime which I know is also enjoyed by the author of our show, Stephen Sondheim. Therefore, it seemed appropriate to me to create a series of logic puzzles based on Putting It Together, featuring the onstage and offstage antics of the cast, crew, and various behind-the-scenes players, as a way of celebrating our Opening Night. So, it is my pleasure to present to you this collection of logic puzzles, all about our show!
“In the following pages you’ll find a baker’s dozen of these mind-teasers, which range from the relatively easy to the fiendishly difficult. (My own favorite is Send in the Songs, which is the toughest one of all- appropriately, the subject of this puzzle is Stephen Sondheim himself!)
“A word of warning, however: Any similarity between reality and the events described in these puzzles is not only a coincidence, but preposterous! For example, in the puzzle called Between Engagements, Carol Burnett reveals that she once portrayed a vacuum cleaner in a school play – now, you don’t really believe that, do you? Also, the only way to solve these puzzles is by applying logic (no matter how unlikely the outcome may seem), so you should not rely on any “inside” information which you might have about people, places, or events associated with Putting It Together, as it will only lead you astray.
“I hope you have as much fun solving these puzzles as I have had creating them. If you get stumped, you’ll find solutions in the back. Once again, all best wishes for a wonderful Opening Night on Broadway!”