sondheim's been suprising audiences and critics for nearly 60 years now.e's won a pulitzer, 8 tonys, 8 grammys and an academy award. it all dates back to the 1950s, when he wrote the lyrics to leonard bernstein's score for 'west side' story. >> but even this early success was more complicated than sondheim had imagined. >> i certainly wanted my name in lights. i wanted my name on a marquee. i wanted recognition on broadway and then once i had my name on a marquee on broadway with west side story, suddenly 'geethat's all that is.' really? i felt in a way deflated. yeah. because it was exciting but, ok, now what? and then you realize that you do that because you wanna write something that you like, as opposed to write something that's gonna get your name in lights or be successful. >> over the next decades, as broadway arguably went lighter sondheim went deeper, using language and music to explore complex ideas. adult relationships in "company" joet you do live with her, you're scared she's starting to drift away, and scared she'll stay. >> the artistic proc

. >>> on pbs "newshour weekend" tomorrow, jeffrey brown profiles broadway legend steve sondheim. >> he used language and music to explore complex ideas. adult relationships in company. ♪ >> it's something that scares you, exploring new territory. something that you're not certain about. you want to surprise yourself. >> recapping today's top story, the obama administration continues to press its case for a military strike in syria. that's it for this edition of pbs "newshour weekend." i'm hari sreenivasan. pbs "newshour weekend." i'm hari sreenivasan. we'll see you tomorrow. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com ♪ ( horns honking ) mexico city-- one of the largest concentrations of humanity anywhere on the planet. it's currently estimated that around 26 million people live here, and the city stretches for miles in all directions. but scratch the surface and you'll find there was once another great city here, one that rivaled in size and complexity the cities of europe, but whose religion, rights and ways of life and death, were utterly alien to europeans.

. >>> in our signature segment, broadway's most celebrated living composer and lyricist, stephen sondheim>> i can't imagine anybody approaching every single new project without doubt. in fact, i fink if you do it is probably not going to turn out that well. >> and, from bogota columbia to columbia south carolina, caring for the homeless next, on pbs newshour weekend >>> made possible by judy and josh westin, the wallace family. the

will talk with two of our correspondents about upcoming stories: one, a profile of composer stephen sondheime other on gas exploration off the coast of israel. the hangout starts at 11 a.m. eastern time. find the instructions on our homepage. all that and more is on our web site, newshour.pbs.org. judy? >> brown: gone our honor role of american service personnel killed in the afghanistan conflict. we add them as their deaths are made official and photographs become available. here in silence are seven more. >> woodruff: and that's the newshour for tonight. but before we go, we mark a milestone and look ahead to the future. 30 years ago today, the newshour debuted as a one-hour program with robert macneil and jim lehrer, along with yours truly as chief washington correspondent. and this weekend, we branch out again with saturday and sunday editions. pbs newshour weekend premieres this saturday, september 7. join hari sreenivasan for a 30- minute look at the top news stories with the same in-depth, independent coverage you've come to expect from the newshour. that's pbs newshour weekend, premi

on sunday we have a fascinating profile of steven sondheim, the that jeff brown filed, and kristina ball tony is going to give us a look ahead at a very busy week on capitol hill. >> brown: and to help you watch all those stories, we have a "newshour weekend" user guide with tips on how to dvr the show, and ways you can watch live streaming online; plus, a link to find when it airs on your local station. that's on our homepage. >> woodruff: on monday, tune in or the news and analysis you've come to trust, but with a different look and a bit of history from gwen and me, side by side, as the new co-anchors of the weekday newshour. i'm judy woodruff. >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. "washington week" can be seen later this evening on most pbs stations. we'll see you online, and again here monday evening. have a nice weekend. thanks for joining us. good night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... >> this program wa