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Description edit
The winner of seven Tonys, seven Grammys, an Oscar, and a Pulitzer Prize, Stephen Sondheim has become synonymous with the best in musical theater. Now, in Finishing the Hat, he has not only collected his lyrics for the first time, he’s given readers a rare, personal look into his... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Quotes edit
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“<Frank> Loesser was one of the very few lyricist who were genuinely funny.”
Stephen Sondheim -
“On Alan Jay Lerner: "...if I had to describe the central quality of his lyrics in a single word, I'd call them pleasant, an adjective which does not connote much enthusiasm. They are almost always smooth and tasteful ... They flirt with sophistication but remain at heart polite, if not genteel: they lack energy and flavor and passion... What they do have more than occasionally is grace, a quality not to be dismissed or unappreciated, but by itself unfulfilling."”
Stephen Sondheim -
“For me <Alan Jay Lerner> belongs among the lower deities in the Pantheon: lyricists who are skilled, sometimes spectacularly so, but have noe discernible stamp of style or personality.”
Stephen Sondheim -
“...I saw the second preview of My fair Lady in New Haven and the eventual product in New York, and it's the most entertaining musical I've ever seen (exclusive of my own, of corse).”
Stephen Sondheim -
“Harold <Arlen> taught me a lesson I've never forgotten: It's extremely satisfying to wow an audience, but to try to do it persistently carries an air of desperation.”
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“For most people West Side Story is about racial prejudice and urban violence, but what it's really about is theater: musical theater to be more precise. It's about the blending of book, music, lyrics and, most important, dance into the seamless telling of a story.”
Stephen Sondheim -
“I hasten to make clear: the collaboration with Lenny was never for a moment less than exhilarating, it was frustrating only because we had two different approaches to the same goal. It was fueled by his galvanic energy and, like the collaborations with Arthur and Jerry, it was an education.”
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“There were other musical things that I learned from Lenny <Leonard Bernstein> by osmosis, but the largest lesson was the one I took from both his art and his life: namely, that the only chances worth taking are big ones.”
Series & Lists edit
This book is in New York Times 10 Best Books of 2010. (authoritative list)
Authors & Contributors edit
- Stephen Sondheim (Author)
First Edition edit
Original Language: English
Publisher: Knopf
Country: Add the country of publication.
Publication Date: October 26, 2010
ISBN: 0679439072
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Knopf
Country: Add the country of publication.
Publication Date: October 26, 2010
ISBN: 0679439072
Page Count: 480
Classification edit
- Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
- Dewey: 782
Subjects edit
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