Stephen Sondheim is one of the biggest stars in the history of musical theatre. He has worked on some of the biggest productions of all time and with some of the biggest names in the business. Needless to say that a book that contains both his memoirs and the lyrics and music to all of his songs is going to be a must read for anybody with an interest in musical theatre.
Stephen Sondheim's book Finishing the Hat contains the lyrics to all the songs that appeared in his musicals between 1954 and 1981. This was the peak of his career and it includes all of his greatest productions. Not only are all the songs that appeared in the musicals present in the book he also includes the songs that were cut from the final production. Most of these are songs that have never been seen before. In addition to providing the lyrics Sondheim talks about the art of writing songs. He critiques his own work and in many cases can be quite critical. This is an excellent resource for anybody who wants to know how to write the songs for a musical.
In addition to providing information about the songs that he has written for his musicals Finishing the Hat also provides a lot of behind the scenes information. It talks about some of the intimate details that went on behind the scenes in creating some of the most famous Broadway productions of all time. Any fan of musical theater will find these insights to be very interesting and informative. Most people have no idea what goes on behind the scenes on a Broadway musical however Sondheim provides those insights. Not only is he remarkably candid but he is quite an entertaining writer.
Over the course of his career Stephen Sondheim has worked with some of the biggest names in musical theater. Leonard Bernstein, Oscar Hammerstein, Hal Prince and a whole host of other people have collaborated with Sondheim during his career. The book discusses his relationship with all of these people and talks about what it was like to work with them. This is another opportunity to gain insights that the public never gets to see.
There are also a lot of pictures in the book that were taken behind the scenes of each production that Sondheim worked on. As a resource for anybody that is interested in musical theater or the history of Broadway this book really can't be beat. There are all kinds of details that you could never get anywhere else. This makes the book a one of a kind opportunity to learn what really goes on during the production of a Broadway show. It also offers a new look at many of the biggest stars in the history of musical theater. The book is well written and entertaining and well worth a read.