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For the love of a musical

Photo by Dan Johnson

Paul Salsini, right, shows the research collection to Stephen Hudson-Mairet, chair of performing and media arts.

For more than 40 years, Paul Salsini, Jour '58, Grad '85, has amassed an impressive personal collection about Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim, the composer and lyricist behind such musicals as Gypsy, West Side Story and Sweeney Todd. Salsini, who co-founded The Sondheim Review, recently donated his vast collection — which includes books, magazines, scripts, scores, articles, reviews, programs, CDs, records, audio and video tapes, posters and other memorabilia — to Marquette's Department of Special Collections and Archives. News of the collection was quickly picked up by the WashingtonPost.com, LAtimes.com, PBS.org and Playbill.com, among others. Salsini, an author who also teaches in the Diederich College of Communication, talked to Marquette Magazine about his passion for Sondheim's work.

Why did you decide to donate this collection to the university now?

The collection occupied a large part of my study in the condo where we lived. When we moved to a smaller place, there just wasn't room. I hated to part with it, but it was necessary. I had made arrangements with Matt Blessing, the University's head archivist, a few years ago to donate the collection to Marquette in such an event. I'm delighted that the collection has a home at Marquette.

What is it about Sondheim that has fascinated you for so many years?

I think his originality and incredible daring. I mean, who else would write a musical about the Westernization of Japan or about the people who attempted to assassinate United States presidents? But more than that, even in his more conventional musicals, such as A Little Night Music and Into the Woods, there are so many layers, so many meanings, in his lyrics. I often listen to a song 10 times and find something new each time.

Was there any favorite piece that was particularly tough to give up?

Sondheim is known as the creator of fantastically difficult crossword puzzles and word games. A book called Stephen Sondheim Crossword Puzzles was published years ago but has long been out of print. Amazingly, I found it at a used bookstore in New York. That was hard to give up, but so were a few of the foreign CDs—a Company from Brazil, and another one from Italy, a Sweeney Todd from Germany. I guess they indicate the universality of his work.

What is your favorite Sondheim musical, and why?

Follies, no question. It started my whole fascination with Sondheim. I was blown away when I saw it on Broadway in 1971: the music, the lyrics, the story, the concept, not to mention the sets and costumes and performances. There have been many revivals, and I've seen a lot of them, but none of them can come close to the original.

How and by whom do you hope the collection will be used?

I especially hope students will use the collection. I've been teaching History of the Musical in America and am always surprised by how little students know about Sondheim. They've heard of West Side Story, but little else. So it's fun for me to educate them about his works.