• Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association
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• v.13 no.7
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• pp.15-23
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• 2019

This paper aims to identify the characteristics implied in the process of change of Stephen Sondheim's musical style and to derive the structural communication tools that connect the creator and audience and the implications. The strategies that appear in Sondheim's musical works are the following. First, Sondheim's early musical works follow the principles of book musical and emphasize the integration faithful to the basic elements such as the rhythm and meaning of the lyrics. Second, in the era of early postmodernism, Sondheim attempts the principle of extreme deconstruction through the concept musical Company and pursues rational thought through fragmented dramatic flow. Third, while maintaining dramatic linearity to overcome the lack of immersion caused by extreme deconstruction, Sondheim realizes a more elaborate and formalized fusion style of the principles of integration and deconstruction through the choruses and the songs of the characters in Little Night Music and Sweeney Todd. Finally, Sondheim attempts multiple experiments to break down the boundaries of act and scene and to express new subject matters through his works such as Sunday Park with George and Into the Woods. In conclusion, Sondheim's fusion experiments and strategies are the process of finding a framework and a medium of communication to induce dramatic immersion of audience and at the same time create rational thinking about social problems to deliver the message of the creative work with the leading aesthetics of the modern musical's box-office success.