Treatment of character in the lyrics of Stephen Sondheim: 'A Little Night Music' and 'Pacific Overtures'

This dissertation is an examination of the treatment of character in the lyrics of two works written by Stephen Sondheim: A Little Night Music and Pacific Overtures. It poses the question: How does Stephen Sondheim use source material, the collaborative process and lyric-writing techniques to create characters? This question is addressed through an investigation of the source material, the book, the libretto and the lyrics of the two musicals mentioned above.;In order to locate Sondheim's contributions, the dissertation begins with an examination of the history of character in the American musical theatre. Operetta, musical comedy and revue forms, and the corresponding characters types are considered from the nineteenth century to the present day. This information is applied to A Little Night Music and Pacific Overtures to determine both the uses of tradition and the innovations that were made in terms of character treatment.;The dissertation examines the source material, the use of the source material and the developments made by the creators of A Little Night Music and Pacific Overtures. These considerations are applied to the style, plot, structure, theme and characters of each musical. A detailed examination of Sondheim's lyrics for the two musicals considers the type of characters, the function they serve in the musicals and technical devices through which they are realized.;The study concludes that the creators of A Little Night Music and Pacific Overtures used and expanded the traditions of American musical theatre in their use of character, and that the treatment of character reaches its fullest expression in Sondheim's lyrics for these musicals. An interview with John Weidman and a questionnaire answered by Mr. Sondheim obtained exclusively for the purposes of the dissertation are included in the Appendix.