Finishing the Hat: Collected Lyrics, 1954-1981, With Attendant Comments, Principles, Heresies, Grudges, Whines, and Anecdotes

The Hat Box #1

by Stephen Sondheim

ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • Titled after perhaps Stephen Sondheim's most autobiographical song, from Sunday in the Park with George — Finishing the Hat not only collects his lyrics for the first time, it offers readers a rare personal look into his life as well as his remarkable productions. 

Stephen Sondheim’s career spanned more than half a century; his lyrics are synonymous with musical theater and popular culture. Sondheim—the winner of seven Tonys, an Academy Award, seven Grammys, a Pulitzer Prize and more—treats us to never-before-published songs from each show, songs that were cut or discarded before seeing the light of day, along with the lyrics for all of his musicals from 1954 to 1981, including West Side Story, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music and Sweeney Todd .

He discusses his relationship with his mentor, Oscar Hammerstein II, and his collaborations with extraordinary talents such as Leonard Bernstein, Arthur Laurents, Ethel Merman, Richard Rodgers, Angela Lansbury, Harold Prince and a panoply of others. The anecdotes—filled with history, pointed observations and intimate details—transport us back to a time when theater was a major pillar of American culture. Best of all, Sondheim appraises his work and dissects his lyrics, as well as those of others, offering unparalleled insights into songwriting that will be studied by fans and aspiring songwriters for years to come.

Accompanying Sondheim’s sparkling writing are behind-the-scenes photographs from each production, along with handwritten music and lyrics from the songwriter’s personal collection.

Penetrating and surprising, poignant, funny and sometimes provocative, Finishing the Hat is not only an informative look at the art and craft of lyric writing, it is a history of the theater that belongs on the same literary shelf as Moss Hart’s Act One and Arthur Miller’s Timebends . It is also a book that will leave you humming the final bars of Merrily We Roll Along, while eagerly anticipating the next volume.

Genres: Nonfiction, Theatre, Music, Memoir, Biography, Plays, Poetry

421 pages, Hardcover

First published October 26, 2009

About the author

Stephen Joshua Sondheim was an American musical and film composer and lyricist, winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards (seven, more than any other composer), multiple Grammy Awards, and a Pulitzer Prize. He has been described as the Titan of the American Musical.

His most famous scores include (as composer/lyricist) A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, and Assassins, as well as the lyrics for West Side Story and Gypsy. He was president of the Dramatists Guild from 1973 to 1981.

Reviews

[N · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this as Mr. Sondheim is one of my favorite musical theater composers. This is the first of two volumes in which Sondheim writes about the process of how he wrote music and lyrics to some of the most iconic Broadway shows in which, some were adapted to notable films- (Gypsy in 1962 & 1993, Sweeney Todd in 2007, West Side Story in 1961 & 2021).

Reading the lyrics to some of these iconic shows truly show how tough and intricate Sondheim's wordplay can be- and I listened to the recordings from my stereo as I read about each musical.

I also enjoy reading his peppery and irascible opinions on how he felt other composers such as Noel Coward and Jerome Kern were not on his level of musicianship; and his opinions on certain performers like Zero Mostel, Ethel Merman, Elaine Stritch, Leonard Bernstein, Angela Lansbury, Glynis Johns, Arthur Laurents, Yvonne De Carlo and Jerome Robbins are all revealed with a no-holds barred commentary that can be either savage, or complimentary.

From this volume, I have been privileged to have seen the revivals of "West Side Story" (in 2009, 2020); "Gypsy" (2003, 2008); "A Little Night Music" (2010) “Anyone Can Whistle” (2010, 2023), “The Frogs" (2023); "Do I Hear a Waltz?" (2016); "Merrily We Roll Along" (2018, 2023); and "Sweeney Todd" (2023). Such actors who played roles in these productions included Karen Olivo, Bernadette Peters, Tammy Blanchard, Patti LuPone, Laura Benanti, Nathan Lane, Raul Esparza, Sutton Foster, Donna Murphy, Vanessa Williams, Melissa Errico, Elaine Stritch, Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff, Josh Groban, Annaleigh Ashford, Ruthie Ann Miles and Lindsey Mendez.

Will write a review on Part II: Look I Made a Hat soon!

[Eva B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

GO LISTEN TO SONDHEIM ON SONDHEIM PLEASE I cannot stress enough how good of a primer it is for this book, which I do fullheartedly believe everyone should read. Now, will everyone like it? Absolutely not—if they’re not into musical theatre and/or creative writing they may not get much out of it, but I’d still urge them to give it a try. If I can convince you to read one book in my time on Goodreads, let it be this one (or The Diviners, but that’s a different review). And listen to Sondheim on Sondheim, if only for the mashups of Losing My Mind/Not A Day Goes By and Company/Old Friends and his commentary.

One day I’ll reread this and write a comprehensive review of each show. Not today though. My current ranking of shows in this book goes (favorite to least favorite): Merrily We Roll Along, Company, Follies, The Frogs, West Side Story, Gypsy, Sweeney Todd, Pacific Overtures, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, A Little Night Music, Anyone Can Whistle, Do I Hear A Waltz? , and Saturday Night. But of course even Sondheim that isn’t my favorite is still leagues above quite a few musicals. Yes, I am aware that ranking The Frogs above Gypsy is a theatre crime punishable by firing squad but IN MY DEFENSE I love the use of the Greek chorus in The Frogs a lot, whereas the only songs I love in Gypsy are Everything’s Coming Up Roses and Rose’s Turn.

First read: winter 2021
As someone who plans to go into theatre, I figured that I should pick up some books about the art, and what better place to start than with the composer and lyricist behind one of my favorite shows? Although this took me nearly three weeks to finish (during which Sondheim passed away; rest in peace to the greatest mind theatre has known), it was an invaluable resource that broke down the good and bad of various musicals, composers, and songs in a way that is both easy to understand for a beginner and interesting for someone more deeply invested. I also finally sat down, listened to, and fell in love with Company due to this book, and plan to delve into the other shows I wasn't as familiar with soon (the only musical from this book that I had listened to in full before starting was Gypsy). Sondheim was a master of his craft and I admire his ability to look back critically on his own work and to analyze why some didn't work. Some were definitely more interesting to read about than others, but that shows his range--there's shows in here for everyone.

Reread summer 2022:
Yep, still brilliant and funny and clever as hell. I was annotating my second copy as a birthday gift to my best friend. I received this copy for my birthday, alongside an Assassins t-shirt and a Sunday in the Park with George hoodie, and then the copies my parents had ordered (as this was a panic e-bay buy when those didn’t show) arrived for my graduation. For my graduation invites, I posed in a mimic of the Company revival’s poster, served several sodas with the flavor combinations named after my favorite shows (most of which were Sondheim ones), and had several quotes from various shows up as decor. For a brief period, my Company homage was my Goodreads profile picture. I ended the party by belting Rose’s Turn at karaoke, and found out the day after that I received a scholarship for a school that I may attend and may not, as life is nothing if not a frightening look out at the horizon of what may come—and the song I used was Losing My Mind from Follies. (The monologue was from Assassins, but you probably could have guessed that.) As I am writing this, I spent the prior night at a phenomenal performance of Merrily We Roll Along, a show which I consider to be criminally underrated, with my friends with whom I share MWRA themed friendship bracelets. I have also now written Merrily We Roll Along fanfiction, which is definitely something done by normal people with a normal level of interest in these characters. All this is to say that it is absolutely wild to me to think that at this time last year my knowledge of Stephen Sondheim was “the dude who did Into the Woods, Gypsy, and Sweeney Todd” when now he and his works have had such a large impact on my life and my passions. I plan to annotate my own copies once I am confident in my ability to do a straight underline in permanent marker without ruining the thing, but any chance to reread this book is a chance I’ll take. I learn more every time I flip it open. As someone who hopes to be a writer, I can only dream that someday someone will think about my works with the same passion and love I think about Sondheim’s with.
Here’s to you, Stephen Sondheim. Who’s like you? Damn few.

Note: if you, like me, are curious as to what the cut songs would sound like, all of the cut songs from Gypsy were added to the 2008 revival starring Patti LuPone as Rose, and the show Marry Me a Little is made up entirely of cut Sondheim songs. I personally recommend the 2013 cast recording. My favorites from it are Happily Ever After and Marry Me a Little (Company), Ah, But Underneath and Can That Boy Foxtrot! (Follies), and All Things Bright and Beautiful/Bang! (Follies and A Little Night Music). You can also find some of the cut songs in Sondheim on Sondheim which I 100% recommend listening to, as it's basically a more easily digestible version of this book (i.e. Sondheim talking about the methods behind his songs) and has recordings for The Wedding Is Off, Multitudes of Amys, Invocation/Forget War, Love Is In the Air, Smile Girls, and others, and Sondheim Sings Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 have him singing his songs while playing the piano and the second volume has a bunch of songs from By George and Phinney's Rainbow.

[Bruce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Look, I'm a music theater buff and a Sondheim freak. So it was preordained that I would love this book. Actually, I was expecting to find it redundant, if not nostalgia-inducing, inasmuch as I have long owned and adored copies of his scores and libretti, and near-memorized recordings of every Sondheim show (save the unloveable mess that is Road Show, about which you can read my review elsewhere on Goodreads). However, I can confidently tell you that ANYbody with even a PASSing interest in theater would delight in reading this book. It kicks off with an extended (and fascinating) essay on what distinguishes song lyrics from poetry, proceeds chronologically through Sondheim's writings (including lyrics to cut and rewritten songs) from the chamber piece Saturday Night it took more than 50 years to see produced through to 1981's Merrily We Roll Along. Unlike the 'Golden Age' collections of lyrics edited by Robert Kimball, Sondheim's is heavily interlarded with both contextualizing plot synopses (he thanks the efforts of his liner notes authors for their -- *ahem* -- inspiration) and Sondheim's own annotations, witticisms, and criticisms. It is the latter of these that make this such an invaluable book; it's chock full of insight not just to Sondheim's work ethic, but to his attitudes about lyric writing in general.

But wait, there's more. In addition to collecting lyrics from thirteen different shows, Finishing the Hat is full of great examples that illustrate his principles from various writers (including Dorothy Parker), as well as constructively critical assessments of his professional predecessors (Oscar Hammerstein, Noel Coward, Alan Jay Lerner, Ira Gershwin, Frank Loesser, et al.). Best of all, the book is rich with photostats of handwritten early drafts, and you can thereby see the master at work (it's all about filling the margins with a brainstormed thesaurus of useable phrases and couplets).

Sondheim makes no bones about being both opinionated and rigid when it comes to the subject of lyric writing. I've already written about this in the comments to GoodReader Trevor's (typically) excellent review of Jay Parini's Why Poetry Matters. In the context of Parini, Trevor quotedRoyal Society of Literature Fellow and OBE Don Paterson's distinction between poetry and song lyrics, which I found to dovetail quite nicely with Sondheim's opinions.

From pp. xvii-xviii of the Introduction Sondheim writes:

{Musical-theater} Lyrics, even poetic ones, are not poems. Poems are written to be read, silently or aloud, not sung....

Poetry is an art of concision, lyrics of expansion. Poems depend on packed images, on resonance and juxtaposition, on density. Every reader absorbs a poem at his own pace, inflecting it with his own rhythms, stresses, and tone. The tempo is dictated less by what the poet intends than by the reader's comprehension. All of us, as we read poetry (prose, too), slow down, speed up, even stop to reread when overwhelmed by the extravagance of the images or confused by the grammatical eccentricities. The poet may guide us with punctuation and layout and seduce us with the subtle abutment of words and sounds, but it is we {readers} who supply the musical treatment.

Poetry can be set to music gracefully, as Franz Schubert and a long line of others have proved, but... {p}oetry doesn't need music; lyrics do.

Lyrics are not light verse, either. Light verse doesn't demand music because it supplies its own. All those emphatic rhythms, ringing rhymes, repeated refrains: the poem sings as it's being read.... This is why "The Pied Piper" has never been set well: take away the singsong and you destroy the poem, keep it in the music and you bore the listener mercilessly with rhythmic repetition. Music tends to hammer light verse into monotony or shatter its grace.... Light verse is complete unto itself. Lyrics by definition lack something; if they don't, they're probably not good lyrics.

However, to cite but one counter-example, I've always thought that Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's setting of Longfellow's Song of Hiawatha was both fun and also true to the light verse original without being sing-songy. So notwithstanding Sondheim's incredible talent, vast experience, and estimable success (as against my utter non-entitude), I'm not sure I'm prepared to agree with the man 100%.

Examples of his extreme fussiness abound. Take this line from "Silly People,"a contemptuously chromatic song cut from A Little Night Music (p. 279):

When now it smiles,
It smiles for lovers.
When next it smiles,
It smiles for fools.
The last it smiles
It smiles for them,
The others,
The rememberers,
The truly silly people.

There's probably some Hammerstein influence here ("Hello Young Lovers" from The King and I), and perhaps a bit of Lorenz Hart as well ("Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered" from Pal Joey). Sondheim's rightfully proud of the song as a whole, which was cut for reasons of pacing and character, but then he finds it necessary to add:

One point in the lyric worth noting: the unfortunate juxtaposition of "lovers" and "others." When a musical parallel seems to call for a rhyme and either none is available or it would neaten the structure too much, the solution is to use two words which sonically have nothing to do with each other so that the ear doesn't register them as a near-miss. That had been (for me, anyhow) a problem with "Together Wherever We Go" in Gypsy, where at the end of the chorus "Together" and "Wherever" were sung slowly, sounding as if they should rhyme. In that case, the fogginess of the near-rhyme was partly mitigated by the two words coming together in the title, so that it seemed part of the fabric of the lyric. Here, the word "others" was the only word that I wanted to use, and I couldn't avoid the juxtaposition. Much as I like this song, the sound of "others" still makes the word a wrong choice.

Given comments like this, one might suppose that Sondheim would accede to the idea that a computer program could be devised which through algorithm and dictionary alone (as opposed to databases of exemplars) could consistently churn out original and emotionally resonant works with few, if any boners. No doubt there are AI's out there that produce good facsimiles of poetry and song (I've heard some great MIDI fractal generators, which, fed enough pieces to analyze, can occasionally mimic music composition fairly well), and no doubt either that eventually, a Kurzweill will produce a program that devises one or more pieces which an educated musicologist cannot distinguish as automated in origin (though I would nonetheless credit the programmer for the output). I don't ultimately see a distinction between the creative abilities of human versus artificial intelligence; I just think that any effective artistic statement requires variation among a set of one or many factors (including changeable rules and input) while strict adherence to a one-size-fits-all approach will be sterile. While I don't dare dispute that good works can be found to adhere to articulatable principles and that craft can be found in the consistent application of those principles, I guess I would take issue with Sondheim's view that there is an invariable, RIGHT way to compose lyrics, music, or what-have-you.

Sondheim even goes so far as to argue that each of his shows’ respective sets of lyrics has an essence and existence distinct and independent from one another (as opposed to displaying a unique personal style with the homogeneity of voice and tone he finds within the works of Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Lorenz Hart, Ira Gershwin, and Dorothy Fields). According to Sondheim, his songs’ individuality arises by circumstances of plot and character unique to each production. I find this to be an arrogantly myopic (and unnecessary) conceit. Nor am I alone in this. Sondheim's works are sufficiently self-similar that they have been successfully re-assembled into multiple reviews, at least two of which, Marry Me a Little and Putting it Together, have complete books with plots unrelated to the songs' original settings. Putting it Together is the more remarkable as a Sondheim meta-musical, in that it could credibly serve as a musical version of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. At one point in the second act, Sondheim's"Live Alone and Like It" (which while cut from Dick Tracy, sounds much of a piece with the songs of Saturday Night) is sandwiched so neatly between companion songs from A Little Night Music and Company, it's clear it could have been inserted as unobtrusively in any of those three other works.

Ironically, given Sondheim's apparent contempt of self-similarity, he prides himself on his capacity for mimicry, both of the writing styles of his librettists and of the compositional styles of his peers. Deliberate pastiche abounds in his work especially in his lush score for Follies, although the line between period piece mimicry and competent fulfillment of genre expectations is a murky one. In any case, I'm not sure why it would be a bad thing for a talented artist to demonstrate a recognizable, personal style. For me, the lyrical tic most evident from reading this collection is Sondheim's constant contrast of "life" as an emblem of love, meaning, and fulfillment with its opposite (a time-honored operatic tradition in the context of eros, as brilliantly documented by Peter Conrad's A Song of Love and Death: The Meaning of Opera).

In fact, there's not a show in this book that doesn't have at least one life/death lyric:

Saturday Night: "And when you're alone/ On a Saturday night,/ You might as well be dead!"

West Side Story: "Make of our vows one last vow:/ Only death will part us now." "He'll murder your love; he murdered mine."

Gypsy: "Anybody that stays home is dead!... Some people can sit around,/ Under glass till they're underground./ That's perfect for some people/ Who don't know how to live!"

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum: "If you start to feel a tingle/ And you like remaining single,/ Stay home, don't take a breath;/ You could catch your death,/ 'Cause love is around."

Anyone Can Whistle: "Crazy business this, this life we live in --/ Don't complain about the time we're given./ With so little to be sure of in this world…" "Anyone can whistle, that's what they say – easy…./Just once I'll do it,/ Just once before I die."

Do I Hear a Waltz?: "She's nice and sweet and dead,/ He's tall and ineffectual,/ They look delicious – they're gonna be all right."

Company: "Somebody crowd me with love,/ Somebody force me to care,/ Somebody let me come through,/ I'll always be there/ As frightened as you,/ To help us survive/ Being alive!" "Someone to hold you too close,/ Someone to hurt you too deep,/ Someone to bore you to death,/ Happily ever after."

Follies: "Dreams you didn't dare/ Are dead." "In Buddy's arms,/ On Buddy's shoulder,/ I won't get older,/ Nothing dies." "One more kiss before we part./ Not with tears or a sigh./ All things beautiful must die." "Learn how to laugh,/ Learn how to love,/ Learn how to live,/ That's my style."

A Little Night Music: "Soon,/ I'll be/ Ninety and/ Dead…. Do I fear/ Death? Let it/ Come to me/ Now…. If I'm/ Dead, I can/ Wait./ How can I/ Live until/ Later?" "Every day a little death,/ In the parlor, in the bed… Every move and every breath --/ And you hardly feel a thing,/ Brings a perfect little death."

The Frogs: "All aboard!/ Club Dead/ Straight ahead!" "What with the dancing and the eating/ And the laughing and the drinking,/ There's no problem in retreating/ From the awkwardness of thinking/ And that ever-present smidgin of dread/ Down here among the dead./ Like up there, among the dead."

Pacific Overtures: "Life and death are but verses in a poem." "The word stops, the heart dies./ The wind counts the lost goodbyes."

Sweeney Todd: "Because the lives of the wicked should be made brief./ For the rest of us, death will be a relief./ We all deserve to die!" "Not a thing to fear,/ My love…/ What's dead/ Is dead…. And life is for the alive, my dear,/ So let's keep living it!"

Merrily We Roll Along: "Dreams don't die,/ So keep an eye on your dream --/" "But I just go on/ Thinking and sweating/ And cursing and crying/ And turning and reaching/ And waking and dying… And until I die/ I'll die day after day/After day…"

And that's but a smattering… Sondheim's perpetual elevation of love and personal fulfillment to a mortal struggle, a metaphorical (if not literal) matter of life and death, is clearly his favorite theme.

Sondheim may be oblivious to his own idée fixes, but I don't think he's correct to find fault in them. Personally, I find the obsession fascinating in its variation, and no less effective a metaphor for all its repetition from show to show. With a bit of familiarity, Sondheim's work can be spotted a mile away. And so what's wrong with a bit of style? Anyone who can toss off lines as clever as:

In the movies, life is finer,
Life is cleaner.
But in Brooklyn, it's a minor
Misdemeanor.
(-- "In the Movies" from Saturday Night, p. 9)

or

Hyphenated Harriet,
The nouveau
From New Ro-
Chelle…. sits
At the Ritz
With her splits
Of Mumm's
And starts to pine
For a stein
With her village chums,
But with a Schlitz
In her mitts
Down in Fitz-
Roy's Bar,
She thinks of the Ritz – oh,
It's so
Schizo.
("Uptown/Downtown" cut from Follies, p. 236)

deserves to be celebrated, not condemned. Sondheim claims that collections of song lyrics are superfluous given the existence of performable shows and extant recordings. Neither this work nor its anticipated sequel (Look, I Made a Hat) would have been written had not his publisher goaded him into it. Well, good on his publisher. I'm hard pressed to imagine a curmudgeon I'd rather read.

[Schmacko · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much of what I could say in a review of Sondheim's lovely book of lyrics - Finishing the Hat - is touched upon by singer/songwriter Paul Simon in an article he wrote for The New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/31/boo...

I will only add my own thoughts – which are wordy, because I love the man. When I was a freshman in my rural Iowa high school, I took vocal lessons with a local college instructor, Hollis Dobref, who later went on to work with Jason Smith to develop up-and-coming jazz artists at The School for Music Vocations. The school didn’t start until 1991, when I was off in college 70 miles away. I didn’t have a lot of musical knowledge outside of classical, band and choral stuff we sang, my family’s Ella Fitzgerald collection, and late 70s and 80s radio music. My first song with Hollis was “I Remember Sky” from Stephen Sondheim’s TV musical Evening Primrose.

I was fascinated by the images, the dark and apocalyptic feel of the lyrics:

I remember leaves
Green as spearmint
Crisp as paper
I remember trees
Bare as coat racks
Spread like broken umbrellas

I went to our small high school library – I graduated in a class of less than a hundred – but found almost nothing on Sondheim. I went to our miniscule Matilda J. Gibson Memorial Library – our town population had at one point topped 8000, but has since been hovering in the low 7000s - and found albums of A Little Night Music, Gypsy, West Side Story and Sweeney Todd. Then I was hooked. I went to our community college library – which was run by my foster mom – and found even more! A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Company, Follies!

I never found out much about Evening Primrose until college; I hid my love of Sondheim’s complex, cerebral music and lyrics in small-town Iowa. I was scared, closeted, and sill primarily addicted to plays.

This book – his major lyrics up to 1984 – was a gift for Christmas it’s also a clear indication that I have left my self-imposed hiding. I sat and listened to many recordings as I read the lyrics,, thoughts and anecdotes. Sondheim is only snippy and gossipy once, and he eschews criticizing living lyricists.

Finishing the Hat is only a partial picture; he still has to cover 1984 on, and there are several small songs I hope he includes – one-offs like “I Never Do Anything Twice” and the music from the film Dick Tracy. Also, you cannot hear his artistic and odd, stirring composition (unless you do what I did, curling up with the book and taking it slow, listening to several cast recordings and artist albums. Wow that was self-indulgent and gay of me!)

I will say this about Sondheim’s supposed lack of “heart” and “hummable tunes.” I fell in love with the complexity, the intricacy of his lyrics. I loved that you had to listen to the music several times to understand the structure. My friends will tell you I simply live for being exposed to intellectually and emotionally challenging ideas. I have always loved things that combine humor with thought-provoking ideas, and I think very few artists in any medium do that as well as Sondheim.

Otherwise, I agree with Paul Simon; Sondheim has challenged and changed the modern theatrical landscape for the better. I agree with Broadway star Mandy Patinkin that Sondheim may well be the Shakespeare of our age. I also agree with Simon when he says a simple lyric or cliché after a complex lyric or image may help the audience breathe; this is something Sondheim just does not do. Sondheim piles on ideas and imagery and witty turns of phrase and intricate rhymes one after the other, not allowing his audience to “breathe.” In fact, have been holding my breath since that day in 1984 I first met his work.

I’ll include the lyrics to “A Little Priest” from Sweeney Todd. For the two people who don’t know the story, Victorian barber Todd has just murdered a man blackmailing him. He’s also ravaged with fury, plotting revenge on the world for the injustices he faced. He plans to kill again. His landlady, the besotted pie-seller Mrs. Lovett, has a brilliant idea for getting rid of Todd’s bodies:

MRS. LOVETT:
Seems a downright shame...
TODD: Shame?
LOVETT:
Seems an awful waste...
Such a nice, plump frame
Wot's 'is name has...
Had...
Has!
Nor it can't be traced...
Bus'ness needs a lift,
Debts to be erased...
Think of it as thrift,
As a gift,
If you get my drift!

No?

Seems an awful waste...
I mean, with the price of meat
What it is,
When you get it,
If you get it...

TODD: HAH!
LOVETT:
Good, you got it!

Take, for instance, Mrs. Mooney and her pie shop!
Bus'ness never better using only pussycats and toast!
And a pussy's good for maybe six or seven at the most!
And I'm sure they can't compare as far as taste!

[Simultaneously]

TODD:
Mrs. Lovett, what a charming notion
LOVETT:
Well, it does seem a waste...

TODD:
Eminently practical
And yet appropriate as always!
LOVETT:
It's an idea...

TODD:
Mrs. Lovett, how I've lived
Without you all these years, I'll never know!
How delectable!
Also undetectable!
LOVETT:
Think about it!
Lots of other gentlemen'll
Soon be comin' for a shave,
Won't they?
Think of
All them
Pies!

TODD:
How choice!

How
Rare!

TODD:
For what's the sound of the world out there?
LOVETT:
What, Mr. Todd?
What, Mr. Todd?
What is that sound?
TODD:
Those crunching noises pervading the air!
LOVETT:
Yes, Mr. Todd!
Yes, Mr. Todd!
Yes, all around!
TODD:
It's man devouring man, my dear!
BOTH:
And [LOVETT: Then] who are we to deny it in here?

TODD: (spoken) These are desperate times,
Mrs. Lovett, and desperate measures are called for!
LOVETT: Here we are, now! Hot out of the oven!
TODD: What is that?

LOVETT:
It's priest. Have a little priest.
TODD:
Is it really good?
LOVETT:
Sir, it's too good, at least!
Then again, they don't commit sins of the flesh,
So it's pretty fresh.
TODD:
Awful lot of fat.
LOVETT:
Only where it sat.
TODD:
Haven't you got poet, or something like that?
LOVETT:
No, y'see, the trouble with poet is
'Ow do you know it's deceased?
Try the priest!

TODD: (spoken) Heavenly!
Not as hearty as bishop, perhaps,
but then again, not as bland as curate, either!

LOVETT:
And good for business, too -- always leaves you wantin' more!
Trouble is, we only get it on Sundays!

Lawyer's rather nice.
TODD:
If it's for a price.
LOVETT:
Order something else, though, to follow,
Since no one should swallow it twice!
TODD:
Anything that's lean.
LOVETT:
Well, then, if you're British and loyal,
You might enjoy Royal Marine!
Anyway, it's clean.
Though of course, it tastes of wherever it's been!
TODD:
Is that squire,
On the fire?
LOVETT:
Mercy no, sir, look closer,
You'll notice it's grocer!
TODD:
Looks thicker,
More like vicar!
LOVETT:
No, it has to be grocer --
It's green!

TODD:
The history of the world, my love --
LOVETT:
Save a lot of graves,
Do a lot of relatives favors!
TODD:
Is those below serving those up above!
LOVETT:
Ev'rybody shaves,
So there should be plenty of flavors!
TODD:
How gratifying for once to know
BOTH:
That those above will serve those down below!

LOVETT: (spoken) Now let's see, here... We've got tinker.
TODD: Something... pinker.
LOVETT: Tailor?
TODD: Paler.
LOVETT: Butler?
TODD: Subtler.
LOVETT: Potter?
TODD: Hotter.
LOVETT: Locksmith?

Lovely bit of clerk.
TODD:
Maybe for a lark.
LOVETT:
Then again there's sweep
If you want it cheap
And you like it dark!
Try the financier,
Peak of his career!
TODD:
That looks pretty rank.
LOVETT:
Well, he drank,
It's a bank
Cashier.
Never really sold.
Maybe it was old.
TODD:
Have you any Beadle?
LOVETT:
Next week, so I'm told!
Beadle isn't bad till you smell it and
Notice 'ow well it's been greased...
Stick to priest!

(spoken) Now then, this might be a little bit stringy,
but then of course it's... fiddle player!
TODD: No, this isn't fiddle player -- it's piccolo player!
LOVETT: 'Ow can you tell?
TODD: It's piping hot!
LOVETT: Then blow on it first!

TODD:
The history of the world, my sweet --
LOVETT:
Oh, Mr. Todd,
Ooh, Mr. Todd,
What does it tell?
TODD:
Is who gets eaten, and who gets to eat!
LOVETT:
And, Mr. Todd,
Too, Mr. Todd,
Who gets to sell!
TODD:
But fortunately, it's also clear
BOTH:
That [L: But] ev'rybody goes down well with beer!

LOVETT: (spoken)
Since marine doesn't appeal to you, 'ow about... rear admiral?
TODD: Too salty. I prefer general.
LOVETT: With, or without his privates? "With" is extra.

TODD: What is that?
LOVETT:
It's fop.
Finest in the shop.
And we have some shepherd's pie peppered
With actual shepherd on top!
And I've just begun --
Here's the politician, so oily
It's served with a doily,
Have one!
TODD:
Put it on a bun.
Well, you never know if it's going to run!
LOVETT:
Try the friar,
Fried, it's drier!
TODD:
No, the clergy is really
Too coarse and too mealy!
LOVETT:
Then actor,
That's compacter!
TODD:
Yes, and always arrives overdone!
I'll come again when you have JUDGE on the menu!

LOVETT: (spoken) Wait! True, we don't have judge yet,
but we've got something you might fancy even better.
TODD: What's that?
LOVETT: Executioner!

TODD:
Have charity towards the world, my pet!
LOVETT:
Yes, yes, I know, my love!
TODD:
We'll take the customers that we can get!
LOVETT:
High-born and low, my love!
TODD:
We'll not discriminate great from small!
No, we'll serve anyone,
Meaning anyone,
BOTH:
And to anyone
At all!

[ALLEN · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stephen Sondheim wrote all of FINISHING THE HAT, covering roughly the first half of his musical career (1954-81). He reprints the lyrics and offers side remarks as to what was going on at the times these shows were composed. This period embraces WEST SIDE STORY, for which he wrote the lyrics; also A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM, words and music both; ditto that daring pair, COMPANY and FOLLIES ca. 1970. Also in this volume are A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, PACIFIC OVERTURES and others. To style this generous coffee-table-ish book, in part, "Grudges, Whines and Anecdotes" may have been a little too self-deprecating, but in so doing, Sondheim did grant himself leave to digress, which he does upon occasion. Never mind -- even the digressions are worthwhile.

After reading FINISHING THE HAT, you realize you needn't have bothered with about two-thirds of the writing by critics and journalists in other books and media who are not Stephen Sondheim. Followed by LOOK, I MADE A HAT. I do realize that the earlier book in sequence is called FINISHING THE HAT while the latter one is called LOOK, I MADE A HAT (1981-2011), and that they'd make better sense if the titles had been switched, but since this is Stephen Sondheim I'm of no mind to quibble.

--

Note: If buying new, the canny consumer can usually get a discount if the two vols. are purchased simultaneously.

Photo: Stephen Sondheim and Leonard Bernstein, 1955.

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first heard about this book, I wasn't too excited. For some reason I was under the impression that it was just a collection of the lyrics. Nice to have, but, really, not that necessary, since -- ahem -- I already know them all by heart.

I dutifully ordered the book from the library, though -- this is Sondheim we're talking about, after all. When it came in and I took a closer look at it, I realized how wrong I'd been, and immediately sat down and started reading. This is the book Sondheim fans have been waiting for, and it was a great, great pleasure to read it. Far from being "just" the lyrics, the book has a wealth of material about the songs, the productions, and musical theater in general.

Included are a brief preface in which Sondheim outlines his "mantra" for lyric writing, a general introduction, and a short essay on rhyme. After the introductory materials come the lyrics for all the shows from Saturday Night in 1954 to Merrily We Roll Along in 1981. Threaded throughout the lyrics are Sondheim's notes about specific songs and the conditions of their writing, as well as how and why he made certain creative decisions.

Along the way Sondheim gives us critical commentary about many of the great lyricists. (He comments on none who are still living, though -- "speaking ill exclusively of the dead seems to me the gentlemanly thing to do," he writes.)It's fascinating to hear Sondheim mention Noel Coward as "a writer whose lyrics I cordially but intensely dislike," (and to find out why later in the book), or to learn that he is bored by Gilbert and Sullivan, or that he considers Dorothy Fields "the most underrated of the major lyricists." Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Ira Gershwin, Lorenz Hart, and Oscar Hammerstein, among others, all come in for close examination.

Even more interesting are Sondheim's views of his own work, as well as the insights he offers into how he writes. For instance, he says of "The Road You Didn't Take," from Follies, "In the interest of full disclosure, I should add that the last two lines make me glow with self-satisfaction." There is a detailed explanation of how he had to just make up many of the vulgar words in the Beggarwoman's song from Sweeney Todd, since he couldn't figure out how to find a source for authentic 19th-century Cockney slang. (He also includes a bowdlerized version of the verse that he wrote "for school and squeamish regional productions.") Elsewhere, he comments on his annoyance when people mistakenly assume that the title song from Anyone Can Whistle is autobiographical: "To believe that [it] is my credo is to believe that I'm the prototypical Repressed Intellectual and that explains everything about me." Later in the book he tells us that "The only song I've written which is an immediate expression of a personal internal experience is 'Finishing the Hat' from Sunday in the Park with George."

The book ends with Merrily We Roll Along, leaving all of the musicals from 1981 onward, including all of his collaborations with James Lapine, for a promised second volume. With a great sense of drama, Sondheim concludes this volume with the words "... then I met James Lapine." What a cliffhanger! I'll be waiting outside the doors of the bookstore when volume two is due to come out.

[Mary Ronan Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is nobody like Sondheim. Much as I love Cole Porter and the Rogers and Hart and Rogers and Hammerstein musicals, it's Sondheim who sings to me.

This collection of lyrics to his musicals from West Side Story in 1957 to Merrily We Roll Along in 1981 is enlightening. Sondheim introduces each show, includes the lyrics to songs that were cut, and explains the dynamics between him and the producer, director, writer of the book, choreographer, and composer if he was writing only the lyrics, as in West Side Story. Apparently Jerome Robbins was the strongest character working on that show and even Leonard Bernstein would sneak out to a bar and line up shots of whisky when Robbins went on a rampage.

Sondheim is apparently known for writing beautiful songs for failed musicals, such as Merrily We Roll Along, which lasted only 16 performances, and Anyone Can Whistle, which lasted 9, despite its starring Angela Landsbury and Lee Remick. But of course others were enormous hits, like Gypsy, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Company. My favorite Sondheim show, A Little Night Music, was made into a deplorably weak movie which is unfortunate as most people don't get a chance to see the show on the stage.

The title, Finishing the Hat, is taken from Sunday in the Park With George, which Sondheim discusses in the second of his books of annotated lyrics, Look, I Made a Hat, which covers 1981-2011.

[Aneesa]

These books are for real theater connoisseurs. I read the introductory materials and the notes on Into the Woods (which I learned is in volume two). Jennifer says that Sondheim is the Sorkin of musical theater and Into the Woods is the most Sondheim Sondheim.

In the first volume, there is a diatribe called "Rhyme and Its Reasons" against slant rhymes which comes off as petty because to illustrate his point he tears apart a single unnuanced quote by an unnamed pop star. But I can't understand Sondheim's argument at all. (He calls these "near rhymes," "false rhymes," "imperfect rhymes," and in one case "sloppy rhymes.")

While acknowledging a rationale for slant rhyming in pop and rock lyrics, Sondheim considers the writers of them lazy, and says they are inappropriate for the theater, because perfect rhymes are needed "as a guide for the ear to know what it has just heard [because] our language is so complex and difficult... [it] teaches the ear to not trust or to disregard a lyric, to not listen, to simply let the music wash over you." He says they make for lazy listeners. I couldn't disagree more. Having to struggle to understand the words because of an imperfect rhyme would seemingly make one listen closer. In the second volume Sondheim seems to use that logic, complaining that amplification has given audiences and performers lazy ears.

While "true rhymes" can sometimes feel unexpected, I find slant rhymes more frequently are. In other parts of the books Sondheim notes the necessity of "surprise in character and language" and that "there are experiences where the effort is part of the pleasure—craft demonstrating itself." To me, finding a satisfying slant rhyme is often more difficult, and always more unexpected and interesting.

Although I have been told on occasion "there's not a slant steep enough to make that rhyme."

[Jack Bell]

The kind of book that makes me feel like an absolute fraud, because it shows (in precise, exacting detail) exactly how Stephen Sondheim can create more impact with the placement of a single word, a sound, a stress on a beat that's part of a word, than I could with an entire page. And he can back it up with near-scientific examples of exactly how he does it, too.

It's the kind of book that even makes me shudder at the fact that in the previous paragraph, I repetitively, and distractingly, used the word "exactly" right after the word "exacting". What was the point of that?

Then it makes me realise how pointless even including the phrase "in precise, exacting detail" in parens was to the overall effect and meaning I'm trying to give to this review. Shouldn't you be able to glean that he goes to that level of detail without me having to take a detour from the sentence to spell it out directly?

See what I mean?

What I'm trying to say is: if you're like me and revere Stephen Sondheim, this book is indispensable. He's one of my favourite artists, an immense inspiration to me, and this book is like a key that unlocks just one facet of what makes his work so enduringly universal. Much like Sunday in the Park With George is a show that can be appreciated by artists of any discipline, so too can Finishing the Hat be read not just by song or lyric writers, but by anyone wanting a supreme example of an absolutely singular artist dissecting the mastery of his own craft.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

What does it mean, to make art? Does the artist create and nurture his work, or does it feed on him, consuming his life until he is forever “finishing the hat”? Paging through Stephen Sondheim’s recent memoir/commentary/anthology, I couldn’t help wondering.

In his book, Sondheim discusses the “principles” and “heresies” of lyric composition at the level of a technical master, analyzing himself and his (deceased) contemporaries with all the precision of his own best lyrics. He writes as he is, a curmudgeonly veteran of the stage who spares nothing and no one from criticism. Having performed Sondheim musicals on the stage, I am familiar with the challenge his work presents to performers and audiences, but it was only by reading Sondheim’s own meticulous notes that I discovered an inkling of his true genius. His lyrics are simple, even conversational, and elaborate, each syllable and consonant contending with and complimenting the score. By some strange alchemy, Sondheim reconciles the maxims “Less is more” and “God is in the details.”

And yet, these clear, true, beautiful lyrics are from a man with a bleak, loveless childhood, a gay man who has never sustained a long-term relationship in his 20-plus years out of the closet. The book offers no bridge to that gap, except to invite the conclusion that Sondheim, like George of Sunday in the Park, is always “finishing the hat,” distracted from real life by the art he draws it from.

All in all, a fascinating read that, like its author, both illuminates and fascinates.

[Gretchen · Rating 5 out of 5]

More! More! More! When I heard about this book, I was prepared to like it. One of America's best writers, writing about his craft? Yes, please! What I found was a great blend between memoir, analysis and lesson, all focused on Sondheim's lyrics. I appreciated that he sets the groundrules up front, and follows them throughout. This isn't memoir as gossip. This is reflection on his experience in the creation of 13 musicals, with the benefit of time to explore his intentions at the time, and their resulting success or failure. I loved the sidebars describing other lyricists such as Cole Porter and Dorothy Fields. But to me, the best parts are the sections where he explains his writing challenges: the difficulties of rhyming, the lyrics he still doesn't like, balancing the temptation to show writing prowess versus the needs of the character. This book is a master class in writing, and I can't wait for part 2!

[Stephanie Sun · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the rare gift books worth reading cover to cover. Just amazing that Mr. Sondheim was willing to share so much of his ginormous brain with anyone with $40 to spare.

I read this before we got Spotify in the US and at a peak Luddite moment when I had no cable internet so it had me scouring YouTube on my smartphone for every good-quality performance clip of the shows and songs discussed in this book. (Yes, I watched an entire filmed stage performance of Company: A Musical Comedy on YouTube on my smartphone and loved every minute of it.)

Inspiring, life-affirming, and full of the hard-earned wisdom of a remarkable artist and man who knows what art and life are for.

[Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I have ever read on the subject of theater and the process of making theater- a must for anybody in the industry. Sondheim approaches his calling via the lyrics angle, but since good lyrics in musical theater are essentially storytelling, directors, composers, playwrights, actors and pretty much everyone else associated with the stage will get plenty out of this book- whether you agree with Stephen or not. Even when you don't his unquestionable genius is so well articulated it is impossible not to find yourself chewing over one morsel of wisdom or another, long after you turn the page or put the book down. Can't wait for part two!

[Guada · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quise tomarme mi tiempo con cada capítulo y cuando quise acordar estábamos a 22 de diciembre y a mí todavía me faltaban 6 musicales.
Con decir que es un privilegio tener un pantallazo de lo que fue su mente mientras escribía estas obras me quedo corta. Él literalmente es el mejor de todos los tiempos y cada vez que lo leo y/o lo escucho lo reafirmo, nadie entiende a sus personajes (o a las personas en general) como lo supo hacer él y es de mis mayores felicidades (también angustias) encontrarme en sus letras. Ojalá siempre encuentre algo nuevo para leer o escuchar.
En otras noticias, descubrí que Pacific Overtures probablemente sea el musical suyo que menos me gusta pero terminé completamente fascinada con A Little Night Music y The Frogs (más de lo que ya estaba). Follies tiene canciones que me parecen de las mejores de su carrera pero hay otras que me aburren hasta el hartazgo. Sweeney Todd es una obra de arte por donde se lo mire, y que haya terminado con Merrily We Roll Along me genera mucha tristeza pero al mismo tiempo there's sooo much more to come <3. Lo amo lo amo lo amo, no hay un solo día en el que no piense en él.

[Jaycie Foster · Rating 4 out of 5]

2023 has been my Sondheim year, which I wholly attribute to this year’s Broadway revivals of Sweeney Todd and Merrily We Roll Along. I adore Sondheim and this book was a delight to read. It contains the complete lyrics to all his shows from the first half of his career, along with his commentary and anecdotes from writing, composing, and producing them. Obviously I knew the man was a brilliant lyricist and composer, but it was so interesting to learn more about the theory and principles that go into the craft, and so fun to read behind the scenes stories from some of my favorite shows!

Top 5 Songs from this Volume:
Being Alive
Losing My Mind
Send in the Clowns
Worst Pies in London
Johanna

[Bruce · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book covers roughly the first half of Stephen Sondheim's remarkable career. I enjoyed getting Sondheim's own take about his creative process, his collaborators, mentors, and, refreshingly, his mistakes as well as his successes. As one would expect from a master of language, his writing is insightful and witty.

[tabitha · Rating 5 out of 5]

obviously i have a preexisting love for stephen sondheim and his work but this is such an excellent and insightful collection

[Ben Horner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me ages to finish but an interesting read. It’s definitely more of a coffee table book though than one you might sit down and read cover to cover but great to hear Sondheim talk about his music frankly.

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes when you're really into something when you're younger, you grow up and realize the writing wasn't actually as layered as you thought it was. I've been into his shows since I was ten, but Sondheim's writing is only more poignant to me now and I appreciate it even more.

I could write a novel about my love for his writing and composing, but I'm just gonna sum things up quickly instead. He seems to be able to capture the most titanic ideas and emotions and condense them into a single note or word which is such a rare talent to me.

[Offbalance · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a completely exhaustive self-reflection on Sondheim's pre-James-Lapine era, and a valuable teaching tool for anyone wanting to learn the craft of musicals.

[Fernanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

"To be part of a collaboration is to be part of a family, and for me—the only child of constantly working and mostly absent parents, a kid who grew up without any sense of family—every show provides me with one. It may be a temporary family, but it always gives me a solid sense of belonging to something outside of myself."

[Alex Carlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a master class in the form and function of musical composition and Sondheim's precise, critical, and often quite sassy writing is a joy to behold along side some of the greatest song lyrics ever written. This book will teach you a lot about Sondheim the technician, the musician, and the scholar, but it will tell you very little about Sondheim the man. He waxes endlessly about rhyme schemes and agonizes about his decisions to end a song with a particular beat, while telling you very little about the reason he chooses particular lyrics from a personal perspective. His introductions about each show tell us about the process that went into bringing it to stage, the critical reception, what it was like to work with certain writers, producers, and directors. However, it does not delve into Sondheim's personal life so we don't learn what circumstances would lead a person to write lyrics like like "Make me confused, Mock me with praise, Let me be used, Vary my days, But alone, Is alone, Not alive."

Sondheim is hilariously bitchy about people with whom he didn't get on and he is particularly savage about any critics who discounted his work. He disdains what he calls "academic theatre" and his introduction to The Frogs is particularly sharp-tongued. However, this is clearly a composer who loves the work, loves the stage, loves the form and is happy to be able to collaborate with the talents that helped bring the master's works to life. Any Sondheim fan would do well to pick up this book and enjoy it while listening to the masterpieces outlined within.

[Grady · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Bow for Mr. Sondheim

Stephen Sondheim Will probably forever be regarded as the finest lyricist the musical stage has known - with apologies to librettist W. S. Gilbert or Gilbert and Sullivan fame. He has always taken on stories that encourage - no, force - the audience to relate to his ideas, whether that be in the early stages of his career with the magnum opus West Side Story or with the subsequent Gypsy!, Pacific Overtures, Follies, Sundays in the Park with George, Company, Sweeney Todd, A Little Night Music, etc. But while most everyone knows the lyrics to his large number of hits, few of us know the secrets or gossip or the lyricists real feelings about each of his ventures - until now.

This book is a very well written compendium of the lyrics (in every phase of their being), notes, ideas, misjudgments, and personal responses to the shows and the people involved with them. Sondheim is brilliant, not only at what he has done for a living, but also as a thinker and philosopher and pundit. Reading this book, as opposed to scanning this book, opens windows of insight into the career and the personality of one of America's treasures. There is so much to enjoy about this book that it will take several readings to absorb it all. It is a welcome addition to the libraries of all those who care about the stage musicals that are one of the few 'unique offerings' of this country to the world of music.

Grady Harp

[Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a lyricist so this is more than just a book for me. It's is an essential text. Right now, I have a library copy, but it's clear that I'm going to have to buy my own. It's all there, lyrics from 28 years worth of writing in one volume. No this isn't poetry as Sondheim makes clear. But if you want to know the essentials behind world-class lyric writing, careful reading of these lyrics will prove rewarding. I know almost all of the tidbits included with the lyrics, but if you're just a casual fan of musicals, you probably don't know them and many are amusing. The asides and basic lessons about writing in the margins are probably best for a general audience.

Sondheim comes across as a generous priss in his writings in the margins and by that I mean he's not at all afraid to show the good and bad of his personality. He is as smart, reflective and analytical as he is talented. If you are in the business of music or musical theater this is a must buy. If you love musicals it will be a fun if kind of geeky read. If you like to understand the minds of engaging eccentrics practicing their craft, you'll find this book amusing even if you ignore the lyrics. Finishing the Hat is not designed as a beach or casual read. All in all, I'd say this book is best for careful readers who like musical theater.

[Bettie · Rating 4 out of 5]

To mark his 80th birthday year, musical theatre legend Stephen Sondheim appraises his long career and dissects his own lyrics from West Side Story to Sweeney Todd.

Blurb - In Finishing the Hat - a title borrowed from one of his most autobiographical songs Sondheim has not only collected his lyrics for the first time, but has provided a forensic account of the lyric-writing process.

As he discusses the lyrics for several of his major musicals from 1954 to 1981- including West Side Story, Gypsy, Company, A Little Night Music and Sweeney Todd - Sondheim offers an illuminating insight into the lyric-writer's art, as well as a number of warm and witty anecdotes about the remarkable figures with whom he has worked.

He discusses his relationship with his mentor, Oscar Hammerstein II, and his collaborations with extraordinary talents such as Leonard Bernstein, Arthur Laurents, Jule Styne, Ethel Merman and Harold Prince.

Penetrating and self-deprecating, thoughtful and witty, Finishing the Hat is not only an informative look at the art and craft of lyric writing, it is also a window on musical theatre history since the 1950s.

Additional readings by Juliet Stevenson

Produced by Emma Harding.

[willaful · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm fascinated by people who love their work and take it seriously, so even if I wasn't a musicals fan I probably would've enjoyed this book. The subtitle describes it pretty well: this is a collection of Sondheim's lyrics from the first half of his career, along with his commentary about the process of writing the lyrics and creating the shows. He also gives uncensored opinions on other lyricists' work, which are saved from seeming brutal by their obvious sincerity, and by the fact that he is just as hard on himself. Only very occasionally does he veer into seeming a bit spiteful, and then mostly about critics.

This offers fascinating insight into the process of writing lyrics and the theatre world; I read every bit of commentary, even that about shows I'm not familiar with, and I can't wait for the second volume,
Look, I Made a Hat: Collected Lyrics, 1981-2011, With Attendant Comments, Amplifications, Dogmas, Harangues, Wafflings, Diversions, and Anecdotes.

[Anna Tatelman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whether you are a lyricist, a writer, a musical lover, or just someone who enjoys reading about people who are incredibly passionate about something -- or even some combination of the above -- this is a book that you MUST read. Stephen Sondheim writes about his musicals, his collaborations with other people, his writing process, and his opinions of both himself and other writers with a beauty and honest that's rare. He also has an incredible vocabulary and, though I'd like to think of myself as having a not-too-shabby vocabulary myself, found that I was reaching for the dictionary multiple times. So be prepared to not only learn a ton about musicals, the writing process, and people, but some awesome new words too.

[Lois Duncan]

I heard an interview with Stephen Sondheim on the radio and was so fascinated by it that I had to order this book. Sondheim's career has spanned more than half a century and his lyrics have become synonymous with musical theater and popular culture. Not only does this book contain lyrics of top Broadway shows and descriptions of how they were written, it also includes information about behind the scenes strategy and politics that the average person isn't aware of that led to certain good songs being cut and others being altered to adapt to the srengths and weaknesses of the performers. It's an entertaining and educational read, as well as being an attractive "coffee table book."

[Michael McLean · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're a Sondheim fan read this book. If you're an American Musical Theatre historian you must read this book. If you like reading things that make you go, "Wow, that is one smart guy." read this book. If you love musical theatre but are indifferent toward Sondheim you still ought to read this book. Nobody alive today knows more about writing lyrics and music for Broadway. How it used to be, how it is, and how it might be one day.

I look forward to the sequel, "Look I Made a Hat", next year. Don't go anywhere, Steve. I secretly hope he's got another show in him before he leaves this earth.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a master class in musical theatre creation. Those who have read a lot on Mr. Sondheim's work will be relieved to know that there are new anecdotes (the requisite Hammerstein-tutorial sessions are mentioned, as are the famous Jerome Robbins stories, but most of the stories here are new). But more important than the stories are the craft being taught. One can't read this and ever look at or listen to a lyric again without a more critical and appreciative eye and ear. Can't wait for Volume II.