Stephen Sondheim and the Reinvention of the American Musical

by Robert L. McLaughlin

From West Side Story in 1957 to Road Show in 2008, the musicals of Stephen Sondheim (1930–2021) and his collaborators have challenged the conventions of American musical theater and expanded the possibilities of what musical plays can do, how they work, and what they mean. Sondheim's brilliant array of work, including such musicals as Company , Follies , Sweeney Todd , Sunday in the Park with George , and Into the Woods , established him as the preeminent composer/lyricist of his, if not all, time.

Stephen Sondheim and the Reinvention of the American Musical places Sondheim's work in two contexts: the exhaustion of the musical play and the postmodernism that, by the 1960s, deeply influenced all the American arts. Sondheim's musicals are central to the transition from the Rodgers and Hammerstein-style musical that had dominated Broadway stages for twenty years to a new postmodern musical. This new style reclaimed many of the self-aware, performative techniques of the 1930s musical comedy to develop its themes of the breakdown of narrative knowledge and the fragmentation of identity. In his most recent work, Sondheim, who was famously mentored by Oscar Hammerstein II, stretches toward a twenty-first-century musical that seeks to break out of the self-referring web of language.

Stephen Sondheim and the Reinvention of the American Musical offers close readings of all of Sondheim's musicals and finds in them critiques of the operation of power, questioning of conventional systems of knowledge, and explorations of contemporary identity.

Genres: Theatre, Biography, Musicals, Music, Nonfiction, Audiobook

322 pages, Hardcover

Published August 11, 2016

Reviews

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, while excellent, should come with a fair warning: not for the faint at heart. This is not a review of the Sondheim legacy or a critical analysis of Sondheim's work as a composer. McLaughlin makes it very clear in the opening passage that this is a book of literary analysis, exploring the work of Sondheim and his collaborators through the lens of not only literature but postmodernism. One of very few books about Sondheim that gives equal credit to the composer's book writers, McLaughlin's perspective is, wholesale, unique. Referencing philosophers and theorists like Foucault and Althusser throughout, McLaughlin challenge's the reader similarly to how Sondheim challenges audiences. I am not missing the irony of reviewers complaining about the book's "readability" when the subject matter is so often criticized for how "unhumable" it is.

If you are interested in a historical, behind-the-scenes account of Sondheim's work, I suggest "Sondheim & Co." by Craig Zadan. For a biography about the composer, "Stephen Sondheim: A Life" by Meryle Secrest would be better. "Finishing the Hat" and "Look, I Made A Hat" will most likely be as close to an autobiography as we will receive from Sondheim himself. If you are seeking to gain entry-level appreciation for Sondheim's catalog, "On Sondheim: An Opinionated Guide" by Ethan Mordden will be more your speed.

But for those who are looking for how Sondheim & company (Harold Prince, James Lapine, Burt Shevlove, Arthur Laurents, George Furth, John Weidman, Hugh Wheeler, et al) utilized and perfected American theater's transition into the postmodern landscape of the 1950s-1970s, morphing with the times as postmodernism ran its course into 1980s-Present – you need look no further. If you enjoyed "The Oxford Handbook of Sondheim Studies" (in which, McLaughlin appears), or "Reading Stephen Sondheim: A Collection of Critical Essays," this book is for YOU.

Yes, there are times when passages will need to be read multiple times to extract the value that McLaughlin has to offer his readers. There will even be instances when the passages become so dense and winding that you will forget which play McLaughlin is talking about. But there is always a point to be made and a new perspective to be gained. I will agree with the reviewers on here that say McLaughlin at times takes liberties with the source material, working very hard to find "meaning" where there was none – but that's the joy of analysis. It isn't always about what is consciously written onto the page, it is also about how the artist was unconsciously influenced by the world around him and how those influences altered the progression of his craft.

This is, arguably, not a book for everyone. This is hardly a book for casual musical fans. This is for an intersection of readers who both love Sondheim AND love critical literary analysis, laden with cultural references that expand well past the proscenium. I truly encourage everyone to give this book its fair shot. Look up the words that are new and unfamiliar to you. Take the opportunity to set the book aside, research any philosophers or theorists that you've not been exposed to before. The book will not only make more and more sense as you go, but you will have a better understanding of this very important period of American theater and how it influenced the art we see produced today.

Much like Georges in Sondheim's opus, "Sunday In the Park With George," McLaughlin is not simply trying to represent history to us by recounting the details of what has passed.

He is trying to break through, through to something new, and give us more to see.

[Roberta Inscho · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very thorough book chronicling Sondheim’s work and highlighting his post modern contributions to American Musical Theatre. It’s a dense book, but worth the read! There is truly no one like Sondheim, and what I loved most about the book was not only the myriad of reasons the musicals were considered as post modern, but also the author’s in-depth analysis of the musicals. I also appreciated how the book ended with an acknowledgment that not only did Sondheim build this new musical theatre form, but his works also created a new audience interested in non realism in musical comedy and musical theatre. Makes me wonder what new form will be created as we move forward in this wild, pandemic time!

[Cameron Whitaker · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'll mark this as read, but frankly, I had to put it down. While in the middle of it, a friend made the comment "Life's too short to read shitty book!", and I listened. If you would like a research paper on how Sondheim (and his collaborators), transcended all others, and society as whole, I strongly recommend this "book".

Ultimately, the author make WAY too many assumptions, using WAY too many big words, and ultimately takes all of the art out of Sondheim. I was looking for biography of his life, and this was NOT it.

[Bob Manasco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic digression on the musicals of Stephen Sondheim (and his collaborators). The analysis of these works is all through the lens of post-modernism, and is fascinating. I love the comparisons on Sondheim's works, and the drawing out of the commonalities between them. If you are a fan of these theatrical endeavors, I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

[Sam Dlugach · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd thought that an erudite treatise on Sondheim's oeuvre might cheer me. The music certainly did. Listening to a stack of brilliant original cast recordings is a reason for joy, and re-listening to familiar ones with a deeper appreciation of context, even more so. But McLaughlin contorts meaning to find connecting threads that strain credibility. Sometimes there is simply no "there" there, genius can exist on a purely emotional level, and it can be argued that an absolute finite limit exists to the number of times one can hear the word "epistemological" in an essay.

[Deedra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very informative and fun book to listen to.I enjoyed it.David Stifel was the perfect narrator.“I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

[Robyn Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audible

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reads like a textbook, but the very best kind.

[Maureen Berney · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5 Stars; an interesting and detailed analysis of Sondheim’s work.