Swift vs Sondheim: They’re Masterminds

I write this title not to pit them against each other, but rather to highlight how special they both are. Both music sensation Taylor Swift and late, legendary composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim are known for being the best in their fields, recognized not only for their lyrical abilities, but for the way in which they have transformed their respective genres. 

The words of Stephen Sondheim will forever be memorialized in our hearts and minds as some of theater’s best, full of vibrant characters and stories we come back to over and over again, with lyrics we feel in our heart and soul. Even non-theater goers flock to his work. West Side Story? We’ve all heard of that. A version of Into the Woods with Meryl Streep, Anna Kendrick, Emily Blunt, and Chris Pine? Yeah, we’re going to watch that. But this is a theater website. I don’t need to convince you of Sondheim’s greatness or legacy. 

But I am here to tell you how a Taylor Swift concert is like a Broadway show.

I am an original Swiftie - I remember being in elementary school and seeing her debut CD on the shelves in Best Buy. I loved that she was the first celebrity of my generation to be celebrated for her curly hair. She had ringlets and curls just like mine, and people were calling her beautiful. As one who grew up in a generation full of over-straightening our natural hair and frying it to a crisp, this small moment was everything to me. 

A Taylor Swift display welcomes passengers at
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport

Since the release of her debut album nearly 20 years ago, Swift has become arguably the biggest superstar in the world. Much like the legacy of Sondheim, she has long since been heralded as “once in generation” talent. 

I attended the final public performance of The Phantom of the Opera in April of 2023. I wrote about the unity and togetherness I felt that evening, and the beautiful, shared moment of watching the chandelier fall for the last time in a room full of strangers. I wrote about how all of Times Square came together to say goodbye, and even those that did not attend the show with us dressed up, came to the theater to share their memories, and sang together on the sidewalk. 

The Eras Tour was a very similar experience. 

I was extremely fortunate to attend Swift’s Eras Tour in New Orleans with my sister this fall. For nearly two years, we watched the tour grow into a life of its own as cities around the world embraced the Taylor Swift effect. In her 2022 song “You’re On Your Own, Kid,” Swift penned the lyric “So make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it.” Fans took that lyric in stride, and the tradition of making, trading, and wearing beaded friendship bracelets has become a global phenomenon. So much so that the inflatable friendship bracelets used to decorate Caesar’s Superdome for the New Orleans concert have been “traded” with other cities across North America for this leg of her tour. Strangers coming together and sharing something they love with open arms? Sounds like seeing a show on Broadway to me. Even fashion has seen a shift since the beginning of The Eras Tour. Taylor wore sequins and fringes and bedazzled boots? Now these styles dominate women’s fashion from just about every retailer, be it mainstream or small business. 

My sister and I with our friendship bracelets and venue-distributed light-up bracelets that create a light show in the stands during the concert

The entire city of New Orleans was Swiftified for the concert. Nearly every building we drove past before even getting downtown was decked out in sparkles and the friendship bracelets that have become synonymous with the Eras Tour. The energy in the city was electric, and even the airport itself flaunted its Taylor best. Normally, an airport is somewhere you keep your head down, don’t draw attention to yourself, and mind your own business. Not this time. There was bracelet trading, outfit complimenting, and acknowledgement of fellow Swifties in concert attire. There was constant chatter between strangers, all full of the same giddy energy. Would I ever normally accept jewelry from the random teenage girl in the boarding line behind me? Absolutely not. Did I give it a second thought when she asked if I wanted to trade bracelets? Nope. 

Walking through the streets, Taylor Swift music came from every direction. Restaurants, bars and shops lined the windows and sidewalks with Taylor-themed goodies, and people walked through the streets in their concert best, be it sequins, fringe, or replicas of previous Taylor outfits (which, just as an aside, the artwork and talent that people put into these costumes will forever amaze and impress me). Even standing in the merchandise line, people sang along to her music as it played overheard. People made friends in line, chatting with complete strangers. My sister and I met a lovely mother and daughter, who gave us great food and activity recommendations from their perspective as a local. The girl behind us joined in the conversation and was so sweet, we ended up going to lunch together. Name one other time you walk through a strange city with people you just met and all go to lunch. But the complete sense of safety and trust we had as a part of this community was almost overwhelming, in the best possible way. 

Swift knows how to put on a show. The energy in the air as the minutes ticked down is rivaled only by that of the giddy pre-show energy from Broadway’s opening weekend after its covid-induced hiatus. But it’s more than just the concert, or even the concert weekend, itself.

I hope Taylor is proud of the community she has cultivated over the last two years. She’s created a space full of love, hope, and acceptance. The unapologetic joy fostered by the Eras Tour has created a home for people, allowing not just concert-goers, but everyone, an outlet for happiness. Such zealous excitement for anything is often frowned upon and called annoying, but under Taylor’s benevolent rule over the music industry, it was allowed to thrive as her fans lifted up not only each other, but those around them as well. In just one weekend, nearly every server, retail employee, ride share driver, and flight attendant in New Orleans had bracelets up and down their arms in a show of care and thanks from concert-goers. And Taylor does it all while penning truly gorgeous lyrics. 

Have you ever studied her lyrics? I mean really looked at them, not just sang along to whatever came on? She is an artist in every sense of the word. Fans of all ages have found ways to connect to her lyrics as they have grown up with her career and new fans have joined the party. One of her many strengths is her ability to take a single moment in time and put that feeling into words. That feeling of butterflies when you see someone across a room? There’s a song for that. That feeling of invincibility when you are loving life with your best friends? There’s one for that too. Hating the patriarchy and the way women are STILL treated as less than? Yep, that one has a song as well.

The stage during the “Lover” section of the concert

Those that say she only writes about her relationships are perhaps the ones who need to hear her lyrics the most. Because her lyrics are full of details you can see and touch and feel. Her memories, stories, and imagination become our own, if even for just a few minutes. And isn’t that one of the best things about theater? We allow ourselves to be convinced that what is happening in front of us is reality. The story presented on the stage becomes all-consuming as we forget about the tasks and lives that wait for us once that final curtain closes and the cheering finally subsides. We as an audience feel the emotion, heartache, love, and loss presented before us in this living, breathing art form that changes with each performance. And that is what Taylor brings to her music, and now her Eras Tour, as she pours her heart, soul, imagination, and humor on the stage for her audiences every night. 

The concert itself is a production. You’re not just there to listen to music. The amount of detail put into the costumes (oh the costumes….. I could write a whole article just about the costumes), set, projection and production design, and the dancers/choreography is exquisite. The dancers, costumes, and choreography have become powerful pieces of the Eras Tour, spawning games, memes, and a following of their own, reaching Broadway caliber in terms of production value. 

So to you, Ms. Swift. Hold your head like a hero on a history book page. Long live all the magic you made. Bring on all the pretenders, because you have made sure you will be remembered. Mr. Sondheim would be proud.