When he was 18, John Bell wrote a fan letter to Stephen Sondheim to tell him how much Sondheim’s music meant to him. Sondheim was so taken with the letter that he wrote back with his phone number and told John to give him a call if he was ever in New York City.

How could John resist? Shortly after that, John and his mother made a trip to NYC and took Sondheim up on his offer. Not only did Sondheim graciously welcome the two of them into his home, but he got tickets for the three of them to see Sondheim’s current show, Sunday In the Park With George. 

As John Bell relates the story on an episode of the “Giants in the Sky” podcast, when the first act came to a close with Mandy Patinkin as George Seurat recreating his most famous painting on stage to Sondheim’s part hymn, part anthem “Sunday”, there was not a dry eye among the three of them, not even Sondheim himself. And there was yet Act II to come. John was completely blown away by the whole experience.

A little later, when John was attending college and Into the Woods was being developed at the Old Globe in California, John had the opportunity to work as Sondheim’s intern (basically a gofer) on that show, and he relates anecdote after anecdote to Ben Rimalower on the podcast.

This is yet another example of Sondheim’s famous kindness. It’s worth pointing out that although John describes his initial letter to Sondheim as a fan letter, it must have been more than that, as Sondheim must have seen something in that letter to offer the invitation.

It’s also worth noting that John Bell has gone on to write Elaine Stritch, the End of Pretend; to co-author Score, Music Theory for Musical Theater; and is the librettist and composer of the musicals River Run Deep and Making Home. He’s currently Professor of Performing Arts at DeSales University.

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