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Review
This book is far more than a brilliant insight into the art of writing for the musical theatre, it is also a unique and revelatory critique of many giants of the genre including the author himself. Forthright, perceptive and continually fascinating...Stephen Sondheim is rightly a living legend as a composer/lyricist but he is also a superb natural teacher and this book will be a timeless legacy...The Gods of theatre salute you. -- Cameron Mackintosh
'An eye-widening treasure chest of manuscript sketches of first ideas and second thoughts, rehearsal shots, backstage arguments, lessons and, intriguingly, glimpses of the man beneath the material.' -- David Benedict - The Observer
'Like its author: fascinating, precise, opinionated, brilliant' -- Sam Mendes - The Observer
'As eloquent an insight into the creative process as I've ever read. The theatre book of the decade.' -- Nicholas Hytner - The Observer
'Given time and space to breathe on the page, the lyrics seem fresher and more ingenious than ever, darker-hued than you might remember them, constructed with eminent facility.' -- Suzy Klein - New Statesman
'An eye-widening treasure chest of manuscript sketches of first ideas and second thoughts, rehearsal shots, backstage arguments, lessons and, intriguingly, glimpses of the man beneath the material.' -- David Benedict - The Observer
'Like its author: fascinating, precise, opinionated, brilliant' -- Sam Mendes - The Observer
'As eloquent an insight into the creative process as I've ever read. The theatre book of the decade.' -- Nicholas Hytner - The Observer
'Given time and space to breathe on the page, the lyrics seem fresher and more ingenious than ever, darker-hued than you might remember them, constructed with eminent facility.' -- Suzy Klein - New Statesman
Book Description
'Stephen is a writer you can readily bracket with Shakespeare and Chekhov' Trevor Nunn
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Mr Sondheim is a tough critic of himself. The lyrics to Maria he finds wet: 'a wetness, I regret to say, which persists throughout all the romantic lyrics in the show'. Some of the lyrics to America, he suggests, 'melt in the mouth as gracelessly as peanut butter and are impossible to comprehend.' His biggest regret, though, was, initially, not being able to write the 'harsher and more realistic expletive he felt should finish the song Officer Krupke. However, he eventually came to realise that Bernstein's suggestion of 'Krup you!' was an improvement, in fact, 'the best line in the show!'(A sentiment presumably shared by Larry David, who used it for a great Curb Your Enthusiasm episode.)
You can see from these few excerpts from the chapter on West Side Story alone, what good companionship Sondheim's commentary provides for readers in this volume of lyrics. This is a wonderful book already and I have only begun to dip in here and there to the musicals I know better.
What range Sondheim shows from 'I Feel Pretty'(a song, unfortunately, that will never be quite the same again for me after Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson's version in Anger Management) to 'Pretty Women'! The light, deliberate simplicity of the lyrics of West Side Story and the teasing, tortuous duet of sex and death in Sweeney Todd. Nothing much darker in musical theatre than the songs and lyrics of the latter:
'City on Fire! / Rats in the grass / And the lunatics yelling in the streets! / It's the end of the world! Yes!' (City on Fire).
This book is an essential purchase for Sondheim fans. Whether Mr Sondheim is a genius, or can be compared to Shakespeare and Chekov, as Trevor Nunn writes on the back of this book, is debatable, but he is undoubtedly a composer and lyricist of the very finest order, and, in this book, a great friend to the reader. After all, as Sondheim knows well, we are all seeking company. He provides it.
You can see from these few excerpts from the chapter on West Side Story alone, what good companionship Sondheim's commentary provides for readers in this volume of lyrics. This is a wonderful book already and I have only begun to dip in here and there to the musicals I know better.
What range Sondheim shows from 'I Feel Pretty'(a song, unfortunately, that will never be quite the same again for me after Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson's version in Anger Management) to 'Pretty Women'! The light, deliberate simplicity of the lyrics of West Side Story and the teasing, tortuous duet of sex and death in Sweeney Todd. Nothing much darker in musical theatre than the songs and lyrics of the latter:
'City on Fire! / Rats in the grass / And the lunatics yelling in the streets! / It's the end of the world! Yes!' (City on Fire).
This book is an essential purchase for Sondheim fans. Whether Mr Sondheim is a genius, or can be compared to Shakespeare and Chekov, as Trevor Nunn writes on the back of this book, is debatable, but he is undoubtedly a composer and lyricist of the very finest order, and, in this book, a great friend to the reader. After all, as Sondheim knows well, we are all seeking company. He provides it.
24 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Anyone remotely interested in musical theatre should have this on their shelves. Like his lyrics, Sondheim's commentary on his work - and on that of his collaborators and predecessors - is illuminating, exacting and wonderfully precise. In addition to the final lyrics for every show from Saturday Night to Merrily We Roll Along (he's still at work on Volume 2 which will cover everything else) there are copies of manuscript pages with first ideas and second drafts, hitherto unseen rehearsal photographs, backstage anecdotes, delicious stories, mature reflections and disquisitions upon the art and craft of musical theatre throughout its heyday and beyond. Refreshingly, he's as pitiless on his own shortcomings as he is on other writer. It's worth it for the sidebar essays alone, with Lorenz Hart, Dorothy Fields, George and Ira Gershwin, Noel Coward, WS Gilbert, Oscar Hammerstein and more up for scrutiny. A treasure trove.
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I've had this book for a week now and, try as I might, can't put it down. As already stated, like him (I love him) or loathe him, this book is a must for anyone interested in Musical Theatre from the turn of the 20th Century. The illustrations are worth the price of the book and Mr S's picture editor is to be commended, the working pages of the songs showing how he strikes out whole verses are fascinating. The pen pictures of his 'rivals' are honed to the n'th degree - how much does he dislike laziness, a recurring theme - but these are almost all about those who are no longer with us because "speaking ill exclusively of the dead seems to me the gentlemanly thing to do", if you're a fan of Coward or Lorenz Hart you might be a bit miffed.
The book itself is sadly not perfect, I would happily have paid a bit more for better quality paper; as all of the illustrations are integrated with the text they are not best served and some appear a bit blurred by the level of ink saturation. My other gripe is that the appendix of casts only refers to Broadway 'first nights' and I feel much of interest in the way of cast changes, revivals and London casts could have been included at no great extra cost and effort.
Thanks 'god' - and, please, now get on with the final volume I can't wait!
The book itself is sadly not perfect, I would happily have paid a bit more for better quality paper; as all of the illustrations are integrated with the text they are not best served and some appear a bit blurred by the level of ink saturation. My other gripe is that the appendix of casts only refers to Broadway 'first nights' and I feel much of interest in the way of cast changes, revivals and London casts could have been included at no great extra cost and effort.
Thanks 'god' - and, please, now get on with the final volume I can't wait!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Finishing the Hat The collected Lyrics of Stephen Sondheim
This is a new book which contains the collected lyrics of Stephen Sondheim as written in the first half of his career from 1954 -1981. Read more
Published 7 months ago by G. Wright
Finishing the Hat
This first volume is absolutely brilliant. In addition to the lyrics, Sondheim's commentary is both acutely informative and funny. Read more
Published 7 months ago by P. Hetherington
Great man of the theatre.
This is essential reading for all lovers of musical theatre. The brilliant lyrics are worth savouring without the music and the comments, anecdotes etc. Read more
Published 13 months ago by LANGERS
dull
I'm a great fan of Sondheim's work. This book couldn't have been more dull if it tried. And I tried!!
Published 14 months ago by john
Sorry/Grateful
Having Mr. Sondheim's lyrics gathered together in two (two?) volumes is welcome. As to the physical aspects of this book (as a book), a good collaborator would have been useful. Read more
Published 15 months ago by W. S. Ankenbrock
Happy as the python who swallowed an elephant...
...and is now taking extended sedentary leave in order to digest it. There is much to take in, and all of it deserving extended contemplation. Read more
Published 16 months ago by theatremonkey
Purchase now! It's a must!
If you are interested in theatre, Sondheim or musical theatre, this is a must. A glorious treasure trove of information on living and working in the working theatre. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Finishing The Hat
Finishing the hat
Book absolutely fantastic.... Delivery company used terrible!! 6 attempts - 3 of which we were in for and they said we weren't and then didn't follow our requests to make sure we... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Sarah D
Ungracious and Unpleasant Book - Brilliant Lyrics
This is a rather disappointing book. In it, Sondheim shows his brilliance as a lyricists, but his ungracious and unpleasant remarks on other songwriters (notably Lorenz Hart, who... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Alladin
A Wonderful Book if only I could read it!
The content of this book is going to be, I know, wonderful. But will I be able to read it? The type used is small, silver-grey in colour and extremely difficult to read. Read more
Published 16 months ago by UK Reader
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