hit, "into the woods," based on the fables of the brothers grimm. ♪ >> reporter: late in sondheim's career, lin-manuel miranda approached him with something he was working on -- a musical then called "the hamilton mix tape." sondheim mentored miranda just as hammerstein had done for him. from walts to rap inspired by everything from serial killers to fairy tales, sondheim's impact on american musical theater spanned decades and created some of the world's most popular musicals. >> stephen sondheim there, and our thanks to stephanie elam. i'm paula newton. thank you for your company. "cnn newsroom" continues next. stay with us.