Sondheim was a critical darling. Since his death he has also been a Hitmaker.

Stephen Sondheim, the great musical theater composer and lyricist, was widely praised as a genius, but during his lifetime he had a poor record at the box office, with many of his shows losing money.

After his death, however, his shows flourished.

A revival of “Merrily We Roll Along” — which was so unpopular when it debuted in 1981 that it closed 12 days after opening — is now the hottest ticket on Broadway. A lavish revival of “Sweeney Todd” that opened in March is already turning a profit, at a time when almost everything new on Broadway is failing.

Meanwhile, Sondheim’s unfinished and existentialist final work, “Here We Are,” is now the longest-running show in the short history of The Shed, a performing arts center in Hudson Yards on Manhattan’s West Side, where celebrities like Steven Spielberg and Lin-Manuel Miranda signed on as producers to ensure no expense was spared on the broadcast to Sondheim.

“There just seems to be a boundless hunger for him,” says Alex Poots, artistic director of The Shed.

The posthumous Sondheim bump appears to be the result of a confluence of factors.

The major Broadway revivals feature fan-favorite talent – ​​the cast of “Merrily” includes Daniel Radcliffe of “Harry Potter,” while “Sweeney” is led by celebrated baritone Josh Groban – reflecting the desire of top entertainers to champion , and tackle, Sondheim’s difficult but rewarding work.

Also: the outpouring of praise for Sondheim after his death, when he was hailed as a transformative creative force, seems to have sparked new interest in his work. And his shows, some of which felt like a challenge when they first appeared, are now better known, thanks to decades of stage productions and film adaptations. Moreover, according to most critics, the current revivals are good.

“Sondheim went from being too avant-garde to being a gamble, like doing ‘A Christmas Carol,’” says Danny Feldman, the producing artistic director of Pasadena Playhouse, a Southern California nonprofit that won this year’s Regional Theater Tony . Price. The theater dedicated the first half of 2023 to Sondheim: a production of “Sunday in the Park With George,” a show once seen as esoteric that became one of the best-selling musicals ever, and a production of “A Little Night Music ‘ was not far behind. “The interest was shocking,” Feldman said.

One side effect of its popularity: ticket prices are high. “Merrily” is seeing strong demand from Sondheim enthusiasts and Radcliffe fans, but capacity is limited; it plays in a theater with only 966 seats. That has made it the most expensive ticket on Broadway, with an average ticket price of $250 and a top ticket price of $649 in the week ending December 17. “Sweeney” is also pricey, with tickets for the same week averaging $175 and over at $399. (Both shows offer cheaper tickets, especially after the holidays.)

“We shouldn’t be criticized for being a hit and paying back investors who made a big bet in New York,” said “Merrily” lead producer Sonia Friedman. “Most shows right now don’t work, and if something happens that does, let’s get the investors some money back.”

In his lifetime, Sondheim was often seen as more of an artistic success than a commercial success – a critical darling with a passionate but limited fan base, leading to short runs for many of the shows whose scores he composed, especially during their first productions. A few shows, most notably “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” were hits from the start, but some musicals that are now considered masterpieces, including “Sweeney Todd” and “Sunday in the Park With George,” were. do not recoup their costs during their original productions.

“It’s not that he has fallen out of favor and been rediscovered. He has always been revered, appreciated and appreciated by all who love theater, but we must also recognize that some of his shows were misunderstood and not embraced when they first premiered,” said Jordan Roth, the producer that “Into the Woods” will return to Broadway in the summer of 2022, seven months after Sondheim’s death. Now Roth said, “The hold on our hearts seems to have grown stronger.”

Into the Woods, a modest-scale production, featuring pop singer Sara Bareilles and a group of Broadway stars. It recouped its costs and then had a five-month national tour.

In February, seven weeks after “Into the Woods” ended on Broadway, previews of “Sweeney Todd” began. It is a much larger production – large cast, large orchestra – for which a whopping $14.5 million was capitalized. It has sold strongly since its inception (for the week ending December 10, it grossed $1.8 million) and has already recouped its capitalization costs.

“I’m sorry I can’t call him and say, look at these gross things. He would have definitely had a sarcastic response, but he secretly would have liked it,” said the show’s lead producer, Jeffrey Seller. “Who doesn’t want to be validated by the public?”

Groban and his co-star Annaleigh Ashford will end their appearances on the show on January 14; The show’s success prompted producers to renew the series, with Aaron Tveit and Sutton Foster taking over the lead roles on February 9.

“It has grown into a place under the umbrella of a tremendous and deserved celebration of Sondheim’s work, legacy and life,” Groban said. “Suddenly there’s sadness involved, wanting to make him proud, and feelings of what-would-Steve-do.”

“Merrily,” which began previews in September, is the biggest upset, as the original production is one of Broadway’s most legendary flops. The current revival, which cost up to $13 million, is sold out.

“Of all the things he wanted, he wanted as many people in the theater watching the shows as possible, and he just missed it,” says Maria Friedman, the director of the “Merrily” revival and a longtime collaborator of Sondheim.

In November, 10 members of the company of the original ill-fated ‘Merrily’ attended the revival and marveled at the reversal of fortune.

“It’s exciting to see the show finally getting its due,” said Gary Stevens, who was part of the original “Merrily” ensemble as an 18-year-old and who is now 60 and an executive at a Florida driver company. “I would be remiss if I didn’t say there was a sense of bittersweetness. We consider the success of this revival to be our success in some ways because the day after closing, despite how exhausted we were and how sad we were, we recorded a great album that kept that show alive, making it a great album. a legendary flop and cult classic that just kept going, and now this.”

Another member of the original “Merrily” cast, actress and singer Liz Callaway, was nominated for a Grammy Award this year for a live album of Sondheim songs, one of two collections of Sondheim songs nominated in the Best category Traditional Pop Vocal Album of 2024. “I think there’s a new generation falling in love with Sondheim now,” she said.

‘Here We Are’ is a little different. It is not expected to recoup costs or move to Broadway, but both Shed management and the commercial producer who raised money to finance the production called it a success.

“It was always about honoring Steve’s legacy,” said producer Tom Kirdahy. “And we hope it will have another life, in London or on the road.”

There are also two Sondheim shows in London. “Old friends”, a revue of Sondheim songs with a cast led by Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga, is in the West End. And in the Menier Chocolate Factory a revival of Sondheim’s rarely performed “Pacific overtures” opened earlier this month critical praise.

“For those of us who wanted to do right by him, this is a year I will never forget,” Groban said. “I just hope he smiles down.”