As he did in the acclaimed "Finishing the Hat", Sondheim richly annotates his lyrics with personal and theatre history, discussions of his collaborations, and exacting, charming dissections of his work - both the successes and the failures. Picking up where he left off in "Finishing the Hat", he gives us all the lyrics, along with cutouts and early drafts, to the Pulitzer Prize-winning "Sunday in the Park with George", as well as "Into the Woods", "Assassins", and "Passion". Here too is an in-depth look at "Wise Guys", subsequently transformed into "Bounce", and eventually into "Road Show". And we are treated to chapters on his work for television and film and his "orphan songs", culled from parodies and special occasions over the years. Filled with behind-the-scenes photographs and illustrations from original manuscripts, and with the same elegant design as the earlier book, "Look, I Made A Hat" will be devoured by Sondheim's passionate fans today and for years to come.

About the Author

Stephen Sondheim has written award-winning music and lyrics for theatre, film, and television. He is also the coauthor of the film The Last of Sheila and the play Getting Away with Murder. Sondheim is on the council of the Dramatists Guild of America, having served as its president from 1973 to 1981. He lives in New York City.

Prizes

Stephen Sondheim returns with the second volume of his collected lyrics, giving us another remarkable glimpse into his life's work, and into his life

Reviews

With this chronological continuation of Finishing the Hat, musical theater lyricist and composer Sondheim has produced another delightful book that melds lyrics, anecdotes, opinions, and whimsy. This volume features lyrics from Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, Assassins, and other shows, including unproduced works and television material. As in the previous volume, Sondheim includes descriptions about each show, as well as running commentary. Sondheim's general essays (the "harangues" and "dogmas" of the subtitle) show him at his opinionated and literate best. In "Awards and Their Usefulness," for instance, he writes, "the only awards that have significant value are the ones that come with cash." He also discusses (as in the first volume) his fellow lyricists and notes, for example, how the opening scene in Meredith Willson's The Music Man approaches modern rap. The book includes appendixes ("Oversights," "Original Productions," and "Selected Discography") and "Index of Songs" and "Subject Index." Verdict Highly recommended; certainly all libraries owning the first volume will want the second.-Bruce R. Schueneman, Texas A&M Univ. Lib., Kingsville (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.