NEW YORK – Stephen Sondheim, the great American musical theatre composer and lyricist, was widely acclaimed as a genius. But during his lifetime, he had a bumpy track record at the box office, with many of his shows losing money.

In death, however, they have 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 profitable, and 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 brief history of The Shed, a performing arts centre in Hudson Yards on Manhattan’s West Side, where luminaries such as Steven Spielberg and Lin-Manuel Miranda signed up as producers to make sure no expense was spared on the Sondheim send-off.

“There just seems to be an unbounded appetite for him,” said Alex Poots, artistic director of The Shed.

The posthumous Sondheim bump appears to have resulted from a confluence of factors.

The big Broadway revivals feature fan-favourite talent – the Merrily cast includes English actor Daniel Radcliffe of Harry Potter fame, while Sweeney Todd is led by celebrated American baritone Josh Groban – reflecting a desire by top-tier entertainers to champion, and tackle, Sondheim’s tricky but rewarding work.

Also, the outpouring of praise for Sondheim upon his death in 2021 at the age of 91, when he was hailed as a transformational creative force, seems to have spurred new interest in his work.

And his shows, some of which felt challenging when they first appeared, are now more familiar, thanks to decades of stage productions and film adaptations. Also, according to most critics, the current revivals are good.

“Sondheim went from being too avant-garde to being a sure bet, like you’re doing A Christmas Carol,” said Danny Feldman, producing artistic director of Pasadena Playhouse, a Southern California nonprofit that won 2023’s Regional Theatre Tony Award.

The playhouse devoted the first half of 2023 to Sondheim. A production of Sunday In The Park With George, a show once seen as esoteric, became one of its best-selling musicals, and a production of A Little Night Music was not far behind. “The interest was shocking,” Feldman said.

One side effect of Sondheim’s popularity: Ticket prices are high. Merrily is facing strong demand from Sondheim lovers and Radcliffe fans, but its capacity is limited – it is playing in a theatre with just 966 seats. That has made it the most expensive ticket on Broadway, with an average ticket price of US$250 (S$329) and a top ticket price of US$649 during the week that ended Dec 17.

Sweeney is also pricey, with tickets that same week averaging US$175 and topping out at US$399. (Both shows offer lower-priced tickets, particularly after the holidays.)

“We shouldn’t be criticised for being a hit and paying back investors who have taken a big punt in New York,” said Merrily lead producer Sonia Friedman. “Most shows right now are not working, and therefore, when something comes along that does, let’s get the investors some money back.”

In life, Sondheim was often seen as more of an artistic success than a commercial one – a critical darling with a passionate but finite fan base, leading to short runs for many of the shows whose scores he composed, especially during their first productions.

A few shows, particularly A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, were hits from the start, but some musicals that are now viewed as masterpieces, including Sweeney Todd and Sunday, did not recoup their costs during their original productions.

“It’s not like he fell out of favour and has been rediscovered. He’s always been revered and valued and prized by everybody who loves theatre, but we also have to recognise that several of his shows, when they first premiered, were not understood and were not embraced,” said Jordan Roth, the producer who brought Into The Woods back to Broadway in the summer of 2022, seven months after Sondheim’s death. Now, Roth said: “The grip on our hearts seems to have tightened.”

Into The Woods, a modestly scaled production, featured American pop singer Sara Bareilles and a troupe of Broadway stars. It recouped its costs and then had a five-month national tour.

In February, seven weeks after Into The Woods concluded on Broadway, Sweeney Todd began previews. It is a much bigger production – big cast, big orchestra – that was capitalised for up to US$14.5 million. It has sold strongly from the get-go (during the week that ended Dec 10, it grossed US$1.8 million) and has already recouped its capitalisation costs.

Lead producer Jeffrey Seller said: “I’m sorry that I can’t call him and say, ‘Look at these grosses.’ He definitely would have had a sarcastic statement in response, but he would have liked it secretly. Who doesn’t want to be affirmed by the audience?”

Merrily, which began previews in September, is the biggest turnabout, given that its original production is one of Broadway’s most storied flops. The current revival, capitalised for up to US$13 million, has been selling out.

Maria Friedman, director of the Merrily revival and a long-time Sondheim collaborator, said: “Of all the things he wanted, he wanted as many people as possible to be in the theatre watching the shows, and he just missed it.”

Here We Are is a little different. It is not expected to recoup its costs, or to transfer to Broadway, but both the leadership of The Shed and the commercial producer who raised money to finance the production proclaimed it a success.

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

In London, there are also two Sondheim shows running. Old Friends, a revue of Sondheim songs with a cast led by stalwarts like America’s Bernadette Peters and the Philippines’ Lea Salonga, is on the West End. And at the Menier Chocolate Factory, a revival of Sondheim’s rarely staged Pacific Overtures opened this month to critical praise.

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