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4.53 AVERAGE
4.53 AVERAGE
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.5/5 stars (I received an ARC of this book from Edelweiss in exchange for a fair review.)
Hadestown is one of my favorite musicals from the last few years. It moved me in a way that many musicals fail to do. I found the whole thing utterly captivating and gorgeous. It's one of those rare musicals where the entirety of the show is delivered through its music and lyrics. Sure, the staging plays a large part in the deliverance of the story, but there is no spoken dialogue. Everything that's said on stage comes from the music - all of which came from the mind of Anaïs Mitchell. And that's what makes Working on a Song: The Lyrics of Hadestown so appealing. It's widely known how difficult writing musicals is. So, when it was announced that a book exploring the lyrics of Hadestown was due to be published, along with extensive commentary from Mitchell, I was immediately curious to see what all she'd talk about in the book. And, man, if you're looking for insight into how composers and lyricists craft musical, this is the book for you.
Let's be real - nobody is buying this book if they're not a fan of Hadestown. Like, nobody is going to approach this as their gateway into the musical. So, in light of that, I don't see the point in talking about the show itself. We all know what the story is and we all know how good the music is. What I think is far more interesting about this book is how it presents the lyrics and how vulnerable Mitchell is about her process and about the journey Hadestown took to get from its small-town Vermont roots to award-winning Broadway musical.
There's a lot of really interesting tidbits in this book about how Mitchell pulled all the lyrics together. There are multiple instances where she shares entire stanzas of material cut from songs, with an explanation of why she'd originally written those lines and why they were subsequently cut. The whole book is a record of the hard work and dedication it takes to create a musical. And it's also a record of how musicals are such a collaborative experience. Numerous times, Mitchell refers to conversations she had with some of her creative collaborators that led to her either willingly or reluctantly cutting a verse or a song. Sometimes, her collaborators were right and the material did need to be cut. But other times, Mitchell was right in keeping material. Or vice versa. It's so interesting getting to track the evolution of the show and the songs and Mitchell's commentary on each song provides a wealth of insight into her process.
As for the lyrics themselves? They're poetry, plain and simple. The lyrics are formatted like a script - with character names designating who's singing what line. It's very easy to read the lyrics like poetry, but it's even more fun to listen to the cast recording while reading the lyrics, and pause at the end of each song to read Mitchell's commentary on the song. They're nicely formatted and it's always nice to have a record of exactly what's being sung in a musical. That said, don't expect many stage directions of the book; Working on a Song is focused primarily on the lyrics of the show. And Working on a Song does a brilliant job of focusing on those brilliant lyrics. Even if you have no interest in learning about the creation of the show, buying this book for just the lyrics, alone, is worthwhile.
At the end of the day, I really enjoyed Working on a Song. In terms of behind the scenes content, Working on a Song is exactly what I wanted it to be. There is such a wealth of information about the writing and construction of Hadestown in this book and it should prove immensely popular with hardcore fans of the show. A part of me wishes the lyrics portion of the book had also included all of the stage directions, making it more of a full libretto (in the same vein of what Hamilton did with Hamilton: The Revolution a few years ago) but that's not a big deal. It didn't promise me the full libretto and I shouldn't have expected it. But I do wish it had that, just for completion's sake. But still, Working on a Song is such a great book for fans of music, musical theatre, and Hadestown to read. As Mitchell says in her introduction, it's not a how-to book but it is a great look at how this particular musical became what it is.
Hadestown is one of my favorite musicals from the last few years. It moved me in a way that many musicals fail to do. I found the whole thing utterly captivating and gorgeous. It's one of those rare musicals where the entirety of the show is delivered through its music and lyrics. Sure, the staging plays a large part in the deliverance of the story, but there is no spoken dialogue. Everything that's said on stage comes from the music - all of which came from the mind of Anaïs Mitchell. And that's what makes Working on a Song: The Lyrics of Hadestown so appealing. It's widely known how difficult writing musicals is. So, when it was announced that a book exploring the lyrics of Hadestown was due to be published, along with extensive commentary from Mitchell, I was immediately curious to see what all she'd talk about in the book. And, man, if you're looking for insight into how composers and lyricists craft musical, this is the book for you.
Let's be real - nobody is buying this book if they're not a fan of Hadestown. Like, nobody is going to approach this as their gateway into the musical. So, in light of that, I don't see the point in talking about the show itself. We all know what the story is and we all know how good the music is. What I think is far more interesting about this book is how it presents the lyrics and how vulnerable Mitchell is about her process and about the journey Hadestown took to get from its small-town Vermont roots to award-winning Broadway musical.
There's a lot of really interesting tidbits in this book about how Mitchell pulled all the lyrics together. There are multiple instances where she shares entire stanzas of material cut from songs, with an explanation of why she'd originally written those lines and why they were subsequently cut. The whole book is a record of the hard work and dedication it takes to create a musical. And it's also a record of how musicals are such a collaborative experience. Numerous times, Mitchell refers to conversations she had with some of her creative collaborators that led to her either willingly or reluctantly cutting a verse or a song. Sometimes, her collaborators were right and the material did need to be cut. But other times, Mitchell was right in keeping material. Or vice versa. It's so interesting getting to track the evolution of the show and the songs and Mitchell's commentary on each song provides a wealth of insight into her process.
As for the lyrics themselves? They're poetry, plain and simple. The lyrics are formatted like a script - with character names designating who's singing what line. It's very easy to read the lyrics like poetry, but it's even more fun to listen to the cast recording while reading the lyrics, and pause at the end of each song to read Mitchell's commentary on the song. They're nicely formatted and it's always nice to have a record of exactly what's being sung in a musical. That said, don't expect many stage directions of the book; Working on a Song is focused primarily on the lyrics of the show. And Working on a Song does a brilliant job of focusing on those brilliant lyrics. Even if you have no interest in learning about the creation of the show, buying this book for just the lyrics, alone, is worthwhile.
At the end of the day, I really enjoyed Working on a Song. In terms of behind the scenes content, Working on a Song is exactly what I wanted it to be. There is such a wealth of information about the writing and construction of Hadestown in this book and it should prove immensely popular with hardcore fans of the show. A part of me wishes the lyrics portion of the book had also included all of the stage directions, making it more of a full libretto (in the same vein of what Hamilton did with Hamilton: The Revolution a few years ago) but that's not a big deal. It didn't promise me the full libretto and I shouldn't have expected it. But I do wish it had that, just for completion's sake. But still, Working on a Song is such a great book for fans of music, musical theatre, and Hadestown to read. As Mitchell says in her introduction, it's not a how-to book but it is a great look at how this particular musical became what it is.
informative
inspiring
This is an absolute feast of creativity, art, and theatre, and I was completely captivated from beginning to end. The WORK that goes into finding the balance between music and poetry and drama and story in order to create a musical - and a complete treasure of one, if Hadestown is any indication - is just incredible. I think this almost demands to be listened to via audiobook rather than read, most especially because not only are some song recordings shared throughout, but Anais Mitchell herself lends her own beautiful singing voice to the lyrics here and there, and it’s just lovely. I was fascinated. There is so much magic here
"A musical is a living, breathing animal." This book more than fulfills its opening line. I have seen Hadestown three times (twice on Broadway and once in Boston), I absolutely love the music, the performance, scenery, and everything else about this retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth set in a dark, industrial, honky tonk alternative world with resemblances to the 1930s.
Working on a Song is the full text of each of the songs from the Broadway show, itself enjoyable to read to appreciate the subtlety and poetry of lines I've heard sung many times before. Then each song is followed by a description of the history of writing the song, often when Anaïs Mitchell first thought of it, whether it was in the original Vermont performance in 2007, how it was added or evolved in subsequent performances including Off Broadway, Edmonton and London, and how it got into its final form for Broadway.
A few things come through clearly: Anaïs Mitchell is incredibly committed, hard working and constantly thinking, tinkering and innovating. The musical itself is the result of an intense collaboration including a lot of suggestions by the director (Rachel Chavkin) and Ken Cerniglia (the dramaturg), in fact Mitchell says that even when she disagreed she incorporated whatever suggestions the majority wanted. Finally, Mitchell is relentlessly concerned with how the audience will react, the mixture of moods, moments to allow applause, letting the different people have their voices. She is constantly experimenting, adding and subtracting songs, moving the point of intermission, including and removing a last song. She doesn't see a distinction between "pure art" and audience reaction, what makes it art is that it moves the audience, engages them, understands when they're not fully focused, draws them in and helps them feel resolution. It is all relentlessly focus grouped almost but that doesn't make it pure pop but really pure art.
Mitchell just shows and does not tell, she literally just goes through each sone without anything broader, but it left me with a better understanding of how musicals work, and in particular why Hadestown is so amazing.
I should add, would only recommend this for a big fan of Hadestown or of Broadway musicals, not sure it would work for others.
Working on a Song is the full text of each of the songs from the Broadway show, itself enjoyable to read to appreciate the subtlety and poetry of lines I've heard sung many times before. Then each song is followed by a description of the history of writing the song, often when Anaïs Mitchell first thought of it, whether it was in the original Vermont performance in 2007, how it was added or evolved in subsequent performances including Off Broadway, Edmonton and London, and how it got into its final form for Broadway.
A few things come through clearly: Anaïs Mitchell is incredibly committed, hard working and constantly thinking, tinkering and innovating. The musical itself is the result of an intense collaboration including a lot of suggestions by the director (Rachel Chavkin) and Ken Cerniglia (the dramaturg), in fact Mitchell says that even when she disagreed she incorporated whatever suggestions the majority wanted. Finally, Mitchell is relentlessly concerned with how the audience will react, the mixture of moods, moments to allow applause, letting the different people have their voices. She is constantly experimenting, adding and subtracting songs, moving the point of intermission, including and removing a last song. She doesn't see a distinction between "pure art" and audience reaction, what makes it art is that it moves the audience, engages them, understands when they're not fully focused, draws them in and helps them feel resolution. It is all relentlessly focus grouped almost but that doesn't make it pure pop but really pure art.
Mitchell just shows and does not tell, she literally just goes through each sone without anything broader, but it left me with a better understanding of how musicals work, and in particular why Hadestown is so amazing.
I should add, would only recommend this for a big fan of Hadestown or of Broadway musicals, not sure it would work for others.
The stories behind the development and production of a Broadway musical are fascinating and this particular show is unique in its musical and storytelling style, led by the voice of Anaïs Mitchell. The production of this audiobook narrated by Mitchell features musical selections from the Original Broadway Cast recording and Mitchell sharing and singing through alternate lyrics and their origins in the context of her life and the life of Hadestown.
If interested in the show, this adds value to the artistic process and context, and the audiobook is the way to go.
If interested in the show, this adds value to the artistic process and context, and the audiobook is the way to go.
I wish there had been a couple more passages separate from the lyrics, just because I was really enjoying this read and I love behind the scenes stuff!
As it was, though, the book made me really nostalgic about one of my favorite musicals and moved me to tears multiple times. It also felt like some of my old feelings about lyric changes and cut verses were finally completely resolved. Great stuff. <3
As it was, though, the book made me really nostalgic about one of my favorite musicals and moved me to tears multiple times. It also felt like some of my old feelings about lyric changes and cut verses were finally completely resolved. Great stuff. <3