A review by blankpagealex
Finishing the Hat: Collected Lyrics, 1954-1981, With Attendant Comments, Principles, Heresies, Grudges, Whines, and Anecdotes by Stephen Sondheim

5.0

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.