Art Isn't Easy

Author: Joanne Gordon
Publisher: Da Capo Press
ISBN: 0786748249
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 382

Book Description
The musical theatre of Stephen Sondheim probes deeply into the most disturbing issues of contemporary life. By challenging his audience with intricate music, biting wit, and profound themes, he flouts the traditional wisdom of the musical theatre. Tracing Sondheim's career from his initial success as lyricist for "West Side Story" and "Gypsy" to his most recent work - "Into the Woods" and "Assassins" - Joanne Gordon emphasizes not only the disturbing content of Sondheim's work, but his innovative use of form. In shows such as "A Little Night Music", "Sweeney Todd", and "Sunday in the Park with George", Sondheim's music and lyrics are inextricably woven into the fabric of the entire work.

Sunday in the Park with George

Author:
Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation
ISBN: 9781557830685
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 228

Book Description
(Applause Libretto Library). This 1995 Pulitzer Prize-winning musical was inspired by the painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat. A complex work revolving around a fictionalized Seurat immersed in single-minded concentration while painting the masterpiece, the production has evolved into a meditation on art, emotional connection, and community. This publication contains the entire script of the musical. " Sunday is itself a modernist creation, perhaps the first truly modernist work of musical theatre that Broadway has produced ... a watershed event that demands nothing less than a retrospective, even revisionist, look at the development of the serious Broadway musical." Frank Rich, The New York Times Magazine

Look, I Made a Hat

Author: Stephen Sondheim
Publisher: Knopf
ISBN: 030759341X
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 481

Book Description
The second volume of Sondheim's collected lyrics is both a remarkable glimpse into the brilliant mind of a legend, and a continuation of the acclaimed and best-selling Finishing the Hat. Picking up where he left off in Finishing the Hat, Sondheim gives us all the lyrics, along with excluded songs and early drafts, of the Pulitzer Prize–winning Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, Assassins and Passion. Here, too, is an in-depth look at the evolution of Wise Guys, which subsequently was transformed into Bounce and eventually became Road Show. Sondheim takes us through his contributions to both television and film, some of which may surprise you, and covers plenty of never-before-seen material from unproduced projects as well. There are abundant anecdotes about his many collaborations, and readers are treated to rare personal material in this volume, as Sondheim includes songs culled from commissions, parodies and personal special occasions—such as a hilarious song for Leonard Bernstein’s seventieth birthday. As he did in the previous volume, Sondheim richly annotates his lyrics with invaluable advice on songwriting, discussions of theater history and the state of the industry today, and exacting dissections of his work, both the successes and the failures. Filled with even more behind-the-scenes photographs and illustrations from Sondheim’s original manuscripts, Look, I Made a Hat is fascinating, devourable and essential reading for any fan of the theater or this great man’s work.

The Oxford Handbook of Sondheim Studies

Author: Robert Gordon
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019990927X
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 517

Book Description
The Oxford Handbook of Sondheim Studies offers a series of cutting-edge essays on the most important and compelling topics in the growing field of Sondheim Studies. Focusing on broad groups of issues relating to the music and the production of Sondheim works, rather than on biographical questions about the composer himself, the handbook represents a cross-disciplinary introduction to comprehending Sondheim in musicological, theatrical, and socio-cultural terms. This collection of never-before published essays addresses issues of artistic method and musico-dramaturgical form, while at the same time offering close readings of individual shows from a variety of analytical perspectives. The handbook is arranged into six broad sections: issues of intertextuality and authorship; Sondheim's pioneering work in developing the non-linear form of the concept musical; the production history of Sondheim's work; his writing for film and television; his exploitation and deployment of a wide range of musical genres; and how interpretation through key critical lenses (including sociology, history, and feminist and queer theory) establishes his position in a broader cultural context.

I Am An Artist

Author: Marta Altés
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
ISBN: 1447269942
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 32

Book Description
Meet the boy who can't stop creating art! He loves colours, shapes, textures and EVERYTHING inspires him: his socks, the contents of the fridge, even his cat gets a new coat (of paint!). But there's just one problem: his mum isn't quite so enthusiastic. In fact, she seems a little cross! But this boy has a plan to make his mum smile. He's about to create his finest piece yet and on a very grand scale . . . Funny, irreverent and perfect for creative children and adults, I Am An Artist by Marta Altés is a sharp, silly, fabulous book which shows that art is EVERYWHERE!

Drawn Together

Author: Minh Lê
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 1368022502
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 40

Book Description
This acclaimed picture book from two award-winning creators about connecting across generational and language differences shows that sometimes you don't need words to find common ground. When a young boy visits his grandfather, their lack of a common language leads to confusion, frustration, and silence. But as they sit down to draw together, something magical happens -- with a shared love of art and storytelling, the two form a bond that goes beyond words. With spare text by Minh Lê and luminous illustrations by Caldecott Medalist Dan Santat, this stirring story about reaching across barriers will be cherished for years to come. "A beautifully told and illustrated story about a grandson and grandfather struggling to communicate across divides of language, age and culture." --- Viet Thanh Nguyen, Pulitzer Prize winner Don't miss LIFT, also by Minh Lê and Dan Santat!

Finishing the Hat

Author: Stephen Sondheim
Publisher: Virgin Books Limited
ISBN: 9780753522585
Category : Composers
Languages : en
Pages : 445

Book Description
Stephen Sondheim has won seven Tonys, an Academy Award, seven Grammys, a Pulitzer Prize and the Kennedy Center Honors. His lyrics have become synonymous with musical theater and popular culture, and here Sondheim has not only collected his lyrics for the first time, he is giving readers a rare personal look into his life as well as his remarkable productions. Along with the lyrics for all of his musicals from 1954 to 1981--including West Side Story, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music and Sweeney Todd--Sondheim treats us to never-before-published songs cut or discarded from each show. He discusses his relationship with his mentor, Oscar Hammerstein II, and his collaborations with extraordinary talents from Leonard Bernstein to Angela Lansbury. The anecdotes--filled with pointed observations and intimate details--transport us back to a time when theater was a major pillar of American culture. Best of all, Sondheim offers unparalleled insights into songwriting.--From publisher description.

How Sondheim Found His Sound

Author: Steve Swayne
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
ISBN: 9780472114979
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 368

Book Description
An in-depth look at the musical and dramatic influences in Sondheim's music, and the first book to provide an overview of his style

Sex with Strangers

Author: Laura Eason
Publisher: Dramatists Play Service, Inc.
ISBN: 0822232545
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 65

Book Description
How far will you go to get what you want? Will you be the same person if you do? When twenty-something star sex blogger and memoirist Ethan tracks down his idol, the gifted but obscure forty-ish novelist Olivia, he finds they each crave what the other possesses. As attraction turns to sex, and they inch closer to getting what they want, both must confront the dark side of ambition and the trouble of reinventing oneself when the past is only a click away.

Four by Sondheim, Wheeler, Lapine, Shevelove and Gelbart

Author:
Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation
ISBN: 9781557834072
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 780

Book Description
(Applause Books). The complete book and lyrics with set and costume designs, production photos, essays, cast lists and credits, awards for major productions, selected discographies, and much more! Includes the shows A Little Night Music , Sweeney Todd , Sunday in the Park with George and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum . A richly illustrated Sondheim treasury!