Stephen Sondheim: Finishing the Hat, the composer's first-ever collection of his lyrics, with personal anecdotes and behind-the-scenes photos, is out now in the US. The New York Times says: "If you’re a fan of the genre, how can you not feel privileged to eavesdrop on his dialogue with his own words?" Today also marks the first-ever DVD release of Sondheim's 1966 teleplay Evening Primrose; the Times credits the Nonesuch recording of the show, in part, with popularizing its signature song.
Stephen Sondheim: Finishing the Hat, the composer's first-ever collection of his lyrics, is out now in the United States on Knopf, following its recent release to critical acclaim in the UK. The collection includes the lyrics for all of his musicals from 1954 to 1981—including West Side Story, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, and Sweeney Todd—as well as never-before-published songs from each show. Finishing the Hat also gives readers a rare personal look into Sondheim's life through anecdotes, behind-the-scenes photographs from each production, and handwritten music and lyrics from the songwriter’s personal collection. For more information, visit randomhouse.com.
"What’s so great about Finishing the Hat," writes New York Times music critic Ben Brantley in his review of the book, "is implicit in its title. This self-portrait of the artist as an obsessive lyricist is about a dynamic, unending process; it’s about finishing, not having finished. And the mental energy this process emanates is enough to give a reader a satisfying case of brain burn."
Brantley goes on to describe Sondheim as "the most (some might say only) significant writer of musicals to emerge during the past half-century. If you’re a fan of the genre, how can you not feel privileged to eavesdrop on his dialogue with his own words?"
Read the complete book review at nytimes.com.
New York magazine has a few choice excerpts from the book, which you can read at nymag.com.
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As noted last week in the Nonesuch Journal, today also marks the DVD release of Sondheim's 1966 musical Evening Primrose (Entertainment One / Archive of American Television), its first official release. The show was originally produced for the television series ABC Stage 67, starring Anthony Perkins and Charmian Carr and had remained an underground fan favorite since, with bootleg copies making the rounds for years. Bogart Shares, the director of the 1966 teleplay, spoke with Playbill about the DVD release in an article at playbill.com.
The Nonesuch studio recording of Evening Primrose, from 2000, featuring Neil Patrick Harris and Theresa McCarthy (Floyd Collins), was the first recording of the show under Sondheim’s supervision.
The New York Times's Erik Piepenburg, in an article about the DVD release, says it was "thanks in part" to this recording that "the song 'Take Me to the World' has become well known."
You can see an excerpt from the original film, with Perkins performing "If You Can Find Me, I'm Here," in the article at nytimes.com.
Evening Primrose received its North American stage premiere just last night at New York's St. George's Society, in a one-night-only reading starring Candice Bergen, as part of the organization's gala fundraising celebration.
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Today also happens to be the day that the recently renamed Stephen Sondheim Theatre in New York officially opens with its first production: the Pee-wee Herman Show on Broadway. For information and tickets, visit peewee.com/broadway.
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To pick up a copy of any of the albums in the Nonesuch Sondheim catalog, including the 2000 recording of Evening Primrose (paired with another Sondheim rarity, The Frogs, starring Nathan Lane) head to the Nonesuch Store.
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