What do you think?
Rate this book
Stephen Sondheim: A Life
In the first full-scale life of the most
important composer-lyricist at work in musical theatre today, Meryle Secrest, the biographer of Frank Lloyd Wright and Leonard Bernstein, draws on her extended conversations with Stephen Sondheim as well as on her interviews with his friends, family, collaborators, and lovers to bring us not only the artist--as a master of
modernist compositional style--but also the private man.
Beginning with his early childhood on New York's prosperous Upper West Side, Secrest describes how Sondheim was taught to play the piano by his father, a successful dress manufacturer and amateur musician. She writes about Sondheim's early ambition to become a concert pianist, about the effect on him of his parents' divorce when he was ten, about his years in military and private schools. She writes about his feelings of loneliness and abandonment, about the refuge he found in the home of Oscar and Dorothy Hammerstein, and his determination to become just like Oscar.
Secrest describes the years when Sondheim was struggling to gain a foothold in the theatre, his attempts at scriptwriting (in his early twenties in Rome on the
set of Beat the Devil with Bogart and Huston, and later in Hollywood as a co-writer with George Oppenheimer for the TV series Topper), living the Hollywood life.
Here is Sondheim's ascent to the peaks of the Broadway musical, from his chance meeting with play-
wright Arthur Laurents, which led to his first success--
as co-lyricist with Leonard Bernstein on West Side Story--to his collaboration with Laurents on Gypsy, to his first full Broadway score, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. And Secrest writes about his first big success as composer, lyricist, writer in the 1960s with Company, an innovative and sophisticated musical that examined marriage à la mode. It was the start of an almost-twenty-year collaboration with producer and director Hal Prince that resulted in such shows as Follies, Pacific Overtures, Sweeney Todd, and
A Little Night Music.
We see Sondheim at work with composers, producers, directors, co-writers, actors, the greats of his time and ours, among them Leonard Bernstein, Ethel Merman, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein, Jerome Robbins, Zero Mostel, Bernadette Peters, and Lee Remick (with whom it was said he was in love, and she with him), as Secrest vividly re-creates the energy, the passion, the despair, the excitement, the genius, that went into the making of show after Sondheim show.
A biography that is sure to become the standard work on Sondheim's life and art.
From the Hardcover edition.
important composer-lyricist at work in musical theatre today, Meryle Secrest, the biographer of Frank Lloyd Wright and Leonard Bernstein, draws on her extended conversations with Stephen Sondheim as well as on her interviews with his friends, family, collaborators, and lovers to bring us not only the artist--as a master of
modernist compositional style--but also the private man.
Beginning with his early childhood on New York's prosperous Upper West Side, Secrest describes how Sondheim was taught to play the piano by his father, a successful dress manufacturer and amateur musician. She writes about Sondheim's early ambition to become a concert pianist, about the effect on him of his parents' divorce when he was ten, about his years in military and private schools. She writes about his feelings of loneliness and abandonment, about the refuge he found in the home of Oscar and Dorothy Hammerstein, and his determination to become just like Oscar.
Secrest describes the years when Sondheim was struggling to gain a foothold in the theatre, his attempts at scriptwriting (in his early twenties in Rome on the
set of Beat the Devil with Bogart and Huston, and later in Hollywood as a co-writer with George Oppenheimer for the TV series Topper), living the Hollywood life.
Here is Sondheim's ascent to the peaks of the Broadway musical, from his chance meeting with play-
wright Arthur Laurents, which led to his first success--
as co-lyricist with Leonard Bernstein on West Side Story--to his collaboration with Laurents on Gypsy, to his first full Broadway score, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. And Secrest writes about his first big success as composer, lyricist, writer in the 1960s with Company, an innovative and sophisticated musical that examined marriage à la mode. It was the start of an almost-twenty-year collaboration with producer and director Hal Prince that resulted in such shows as Follies, Pacific Overtures, Sweeney Todd, and
A Little Night Music.
We see Sondheim at work with composers, producers, directors, co-writers, actors, the greats of his time and ours, among them Leonard Bernstein, Ethel Merman, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein, Jerome Robbins, Zero Mostel, Bernadette Peters, and Lee Remick (with whom it was said he was in love, and she with him), as Secrest vividly re-creates the energy, the passion, the despair, the excitement, the genius, that went into the making of show after Sondheim show.
A biography that is sure to become the standard work on Sondheim's life and art.
From the Hardcover edition.
480 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
84 people are currently reading
1484 people want to read
About the author
Meryle Secrest
28 books33 followersMeryle Secrest was born and educated in Bath, England, and lives in Washington, DC. She is the author of twelve biographies and was awarded the 2006 Presidential National Humanities Medal.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews
October 15, 2021
Stephen Joshua Sondheim (b. 1930) is, arguably, America's leading living composer of serious theatrical music. As composer, lyricist, or both, he has given the world such inestimable treasures as WEST SIDE STORY, COMPANY, FOLLIES, A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, PACIFIC OVERTURES, INTO THE WOODS and ASSASSINS. These shows contain such delightful (if sometimes under-appreciated) song nuggets as "I Feel Pretty," "Comedy Tonight" (from A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM), "The Little Things You Do Together," "Losing My Mind," and, of course, "Send in the Clowns." Along the way, he has worked with such luminaries as Zero Mostel, Lee Remick, Elaine Stritch, Hermione Gingold, Len Cariou, and Richard Kind.
.
.
Yet, strangely, fame and flat-out national attention often have eluded Sondheim. Perhaps it's the composer's tendency not to embrace the press, but his lesser-known shows retain a mysteriously irritating way of fading from consciousness. (This was not always the case on Broadway, even at its most commercial. The Rodgers and Hammerstein flop ALLEGRO (1947) contains a song, "The Gentleman Is a Dope," that has become a favorite of female cabaret singers all over.) It was Meryle Secrest's happy task in this book, STEPHEN SONDHEIM: A LIFE, to "out" the reclusive composer two ways: by celebrating less-admired shows like MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG or ANYONE CAN WHISTLE (whose original cast included Lee Remick, Angela Lansbury and Harry Guardino, that ran less than a week but whose title song will run forever) -- and to pass on the happy news that the Master, in 2010, found love in the form of a permanent boyfriend.
.
.
Secrest was fortunate to interview Sondheim at length, and in so doing clues us in on the details of embracing a show while being rejected by his mother. This is the only Sondheim bio I know of that celebrates the whole life of the whole man -- warts and all, love life and all. This gives us great insight into Sondheim's career, and makes STEPHEN SONDHEIM: A LIFE much more comprehensive and readable than the usual such book.
(Alternate book cover):
.
.
.
Yet, strangely, fame and flat-out national attention often have eluded Sondheim. Perhaps it's the composer's tendency not to embrace the press, but his lesser-known shows retain a mysteriously irritating way of fading from consciousness. (This was not always the case on Broadway, even at its most commercial. The Rodgers and Hammerstein flop ALLEGRO (1947) contains a song, "The Gentleman Is a Dope," that has become a favorite of female cabaret singers all over.) It was Meryle Secrest's happy task in this book, STEPHEN SONDHEIM: A LIFE, to "out" the reclusive composer two ways: by celebrating less-admired shows like MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG or ANYONE CAN WHISTLE (whose original cast included Lee Remick, Angela Lansbury and Harry Guardino, that ran less than a week but whose title song will run forever) -- and to pass on the happy news that the Master, in 2010, found love in the form of a permanent boyfriend.
.
.
Secrest was fortunate to interview Sondheim at length, and in so doing clues us in on the details of embracing a show while being rejected by his mother. This is the only Sondheim bio I know of that celebrates the whole life of the whole man -- warts and all, love life and all. This gives us great insight into Sondheim's career, and makes STEPHEN SONDHEIM: A LIFE much more comprehensive and readable than the usual such book.
(Alternate book cover):
.
February 14, 2017
The reviews on this are all over the place, some saying it has too many references to his work, some saying there aren't enough, some thinking it tries too hard to psychoanalyze the man, others feeling that personal details are still lacking. In the end, I think that's all a reflection of the fact that something is lacking here.
My review would be about 3.5 stars, because while there is a fair amount of detail, the story feels incomplete. Secrest hints at an interior knowledge of Sondheim, but doesn't really deliver enough knowledge of his relationships or motivations to be convincing. Big themes like his difficult relationship with his mother still feel as if information is missing.
When it comes to his theater career, there's enough information to overwhelm the person who isn't a big fan of musical theater, but perhaps not enough detail for the hardcore fan.
I'm a huge fan of Sondheim's work. For a word person, and a theater person, it just doesn't get much better than a Sondheim lyric. I can't think of any other composer whose work I've performed in which I continue to find new insights and wordplay in the lyrics after singing the same song dozens of times, but with Sondheim, the discovery goes on almost forever. I'd love to read an even longer book about the genesis of each of his shows (and in some cases, as with Follies, for instance, such books exist).
As for Sondheim the man, after years of reading about him now, I don't feel like I truly know him. He's private, and I can live with that. I suspect he isn't without his flaws, but it's those complications that shine through in his work (sometimes too much... I suspect some of his shows might be much more frequently revived and more widely beloved if the characters were just a bit more sympathetic, the endings just a little more hopeful). In reality people are flawed, and because Sondheim reflects that, his output is powerful when so much musical theater is piffle (very pleasurable, but nonetheless piffle). So I'm not really looking for St. Stephen, and Secrest gave me a few new revelations. Even though this is a flawed book, I'm grateful for those.
In the end, I think the work itself, as reflected through Sondheim's own Look I Made a Hat and Finishing the Hat, and through the interpretations of the songs by so many great performers, are the best "biographies" we're going to get, even though most of the work isn't autobiographical. After reading this, I'll still be looking for more. I'm sure there are people who at least have parts of the Sondheim story to tell.
My review would be about 3.5 stars, because while there is a fair amount of detail, the story feels incomplete. Secrest hints at an interior knowledge of Sondheim, but doesn't really deliver enough knowledge of his relationships or motivations to be convincing. Big themes like his difficult relationship with his mother still feel as if information is missing.
When it comes to his theater career, there's enough information to overwhelm the person who isn't a big fan of musical theater, but perhaps not enough detail for the hardcore fan.
I'm a huge fan of Sondheim's work. For a word person, and a theater person, it just doesn't get much better than a Sondheim lyric. I can't think of any other composer whose work I've performed in which I continue to find new insights and wordplay in the lyrics after singing the same song dozens of times, but with Sondheim, the discovery goes on almost forever. I'd love to read an even longer book about the genesis of each of his shows (and in some cases, as with Follies, for instance, such books exist).
As for Sondheim the man, after years of reading about him now, I don't feel like I truly know him. He's private, and I can live with that. I suspect he isn't without his flaws, but it's those complications that shine through in his work (sometimes too much... I suspect some of his shows might be much more frequently revived and more widely beloved if the characters were just a bit more sympathetic, the endings just a little more hopeful). In reality people are flawed, and because Sondheim reflects that, his output is powerful when so much musical theater is piffle (very pleasurable, but nonetheless piffle). So I'm not really looking for St. Stephen, and Secrest gave me a few new revelations. Even though this is a flawed book, I'm grateful for those.
In the end, I think the work itself, as reflected through Sondheim's own Look I Made a Hat and Finishing the Hat, and through the interpretations of the songs by so many great performers, are the best "biographies" we're going to get, even though most of the work isn't autobiographical. After reading this, I'll still be looking for more. I'm sure there are people who at least have parts of the Sondheim story to tell.
February 9, 2011
Stephen Sondheim says one of his cardinal rules is that form should follow function, and in that regard this biography falls far short of its subject: it's a clunky, uninteresting look at a sleek and fascinating life. Secrest trudges from birth to the present moment (aka 1998) yet engages in just enough minor temporal toggling and tumbling to confuse; you'll realize all of a sudden that the event she is describing takes place three or four years later than the point in Sondheim's life where you are in the book. The whole affair reads like a term paper on Sondheim. Secrest alternates between making sweeping, facile, Freudian conclusions about Sondheim and then glossing over what seem to be really important aspects of his life (Sondheim's later-in-life on-again-off-again relationship with the much younger "P.J." is a prime example; in a few, brief pages she introduces him, mentions that they exchanged wedding rings (!!), and then dispatches him). The proper balance never gets struck between: gossip and fact, armchair-psychologist conclusions and insightful suppositions, uncovered juicy details and straightforward recapitulation of events, analysis of work and analysis of life. It's got a little gossip but not enough to be a tell-all, it starts to dissect the work itself but isn't analytical enough to be a careful study of music/lyrics/musicals, and it has the pretense of objectivity but not enough to be actually critical. In trying to please everyone, it pleases no one -- or at least it certainly didn't please me. Parts were interesting -- especially the overviews of those less-famous shows I knew little about -- but overall I found this a very dull read.
April 23, 2012
One of the only biographies available on Stephen Sondheim. It lacked heart.
Read
August 17, 2008Too bad the book is near unreadable.
The writer appears to have found some random pics and facts then let her un-nourished imagination take over.
All conjecture. You're lucky if within one full page you'll get one bit of Sondheim knowledge. Not even that.
It's fahrenheit 451.
Burn it and use the heat to warm the cockles of yer 'eart.
The writer appears to have found some random pics and facts then let her un-nourished imagination take over.
All conjecture. You're lucky if within one full page you'll get one bit of Sondheim knowledge. Not even that.
It's fahrenheit 451.
Burn it and use the heat to warm the cockles of yer 'eart.
August 19, 2009
I think I finished reading it, but I can't remember. See how this one stuck with me? I tend to remember thinking that his life had been dull for someone who had a biography written about him. Or maybe I just wasn't sufficiently interested, for some reason. Given Sondheim's profession, I would have expect to be interested. But, I wasn't.
May 28, 2023
I put off reading this for such a long time because it seems like every time I read a biography about someone I admire, I learn something I was happier not knowing. I am delighted to say that was not the case this time. This was written with considerable insight from Sondheim and his friends, so take that with a grain of salt if you must.
When this book was first published, I'm sure it provided many revelations. It's been over two decades since that time, though, so I found myself familiar with much of the history and tidbits. Still, it's a nice look into the life of a titan of American musical theatre and into the reception of his works over time. There are a lot of pictures throughout the book, which is also a highlight.
I really enjoyed reading more about his relationship with his mother. I had heard him speak about the note she sent before her heart surgery, but I didn't know much else. It was a little surprising to read that he didn't even know where she was buried, and especially sad when compared to his reaction to Dorothy Hammerstein's death. I didn't put together a connection with mother figures in his work either until Secrest pointed it out.
I also enjoyed reading about how different works were originally received. With the benefit of hindsight, it's wild to think Into the Woods wasn't immediately beloved, and Passion was critically quite celebrated. Assassins was also one to draw my attention, as a highly successful revival just closed a couple of years ago. It's amazing to see how the appreciation has grown over time. It's something I notice even in myself.
When this book was first published, I'm sure it provided many revelations. It's been over two decades since that time, though, so I found myself familiar with much of the history and tidbits. Still, it's a nice look into the life of a titan of American musical theatre and into the reception of his works over time. There are a lot of pictures throughout the book, which is also a highlight.
I really enjoyed reading more about his relationship with his mother. I had heard him speak about the note she sent before her heart surgery, but I didn't know much else. It was a little surprising to read that he didn't even know where she was buried, and especially sad when compared to his reaction to Dorothy Hammerstein's death. I didn't put together a connection with mother figures in his work either until Secrest pointed it out.
I also enjoyed reading about how different works were originally received. With the benefit of hindsight, it's wild to think Into the Woods wasn't immediately beloved, and Passion was critically quite celebrated. Assassins was also one to draw my attention, as a highly successful revival just closed a couple of years ago. It's amazing to see how the appreciation has grown over time. It's something I notice even in myself.
May 26, 2022
Great biography of Stephen Sondheim. Ends at 2011 so an update is necessary. Great to see his rise the world of entertainment and theater.
March 28, 2025
mestre.
November 11, 2025
I love u my theatre king.
July 18, 2017
I'm sure that no one will be at all surprised to learn that as soon as this book was added to the BARD (Braille and audio reading download) collection, it went right to the top of my "to read" list. I will admit, though, that I was just a tad hesitant about it because I have read other books by this author and have not been terribly impressed. While I most definitely don't regret reading this, I must say that the experience was an uneven one.
I struggled through the first few chapters and even thought for a second or two about moving on to other things. (Of course, I couldn't do that; I care too much about the Broadway musical and Sondheim is unquestionably one of the finest contributors to its history.) Part of the problem is that I'm not really all that interested in the sordid details of the lives of famous people. I want to know their stories, but only in the context of gaining a deeper appreciation for the work these folks do. Secrest's tendency to play amateur analyst was especially annoying. The writing had an uneven quality about it and my mind often drifted even though I wanted to take in every word written about this most important composer/lyricist.
Once Secrest began to discuss the musicals on which Sondheim worked, however, I simply could not put the book down. Alas, I suspect that has more to do with my love of the man's work than the quality of this book. Much of the material is fascinating indeed, but there were many times when the book lacked a clear focus. Sometimes I felt like I was reading a series of essays while at other times it felt more like the biography it purports to be. In addition, there were times when events were presented slightly out of chronological order for no apparent reason.
If you are as passionate about Sondheim and the Broadway musical as I am, you owe it to yourself to read this; if you aren't, you may want to consider something else.
I struggled through the first few chapters and even thought for a second or two about moving on to other things. (Of course, I couldn't do that; I care too much about the Broadway musical and Sondheim is unquestionably one of the finest contributors to its history.) Part of the problem is that I'm not really all that interested in the sordid details of the lives of famous people. I want to know their stories, but only in the context of gaining a deeper appreciation for the work these folks do. Secrest's tendency to play amateur analyst was especially annoying. The writing had an uneven quality about it and my mind often drifted even though I wanted to take in every word written about this most important composer/lyricist.
Once Secrest began to discuss the musicals on which Sondheim worked, however, I simply could not put the book down. Alas, I suspect that has more to do with my love of the man's work than the quality of this book. Much of the material is fascinating indeed, but there were many times when the book lacked a clear focus. Sometimes I felt like I was reading a series of essays while at other times it felt more like the biography it purports to be. In addition, there were times when events were presented slightly out of chronological order for no apparent reason.
If you are as passionate about Sondheim and the Broadway musical as I am, you owe it to yourself to read this; if you aren't, you may want to consider something else.
Read
August 3, 2013From what I remember, this was a really well-balanced book with the right amounts of celebrity anecdotes (e.g. Ethel Merman being insane), crazed show-must-go-on last-minute creative-genius anecdotes (e.g. "Comedy Tonight"), insider narratives on how the shows almost went (e.g. the original "Being Alive"), plus hard-to-come-by details about his generally reserved personal life (spoilers: he is a cranky pants, sometimes with rather young boyfriends). It's also made a useful reference book during the occasional post-theater debate, if you're in the right company to have them. With all the enthusiasm of Finishing the Hatters recently, I'd expect the same audience would love this. (If they don't already have it.)
I definitely did love it years ago when I read it, but I was mainly doing so through the happy-colored lenses of "I wonder if Stephen Sondheim and I would be friends? DUH OF COURSE WE WOULD BE FRIENDS! We're so alike!" (Hindsight: um, no, we would not really be friends; we are not really alike!)
I remember spending a lot of time reading this in the house of my high school's theater, during a stagecraft class where there was never anything to do. I thought I'd get to hang out with theater people, but no cigar. Hung out with Steve instead. (And sometimes Tennessee.)
I definitely did love it years ago when I read it, but I was mainly doing so through the happy-colored lenses of "I wonder if Stephen Sondheim and I would be friends? DUH OF COURSE WE WOULD BE FRIENDS! We're so alike!" (Hindsight: um, no, we would not really be friends; we are not really alike!)
I remember spending a lot of time reading this in the house of my high school's theater, during a stagecraft class where there was never anything to do. I thought I'd get to hang out with theater people, but no cigar. Hung out with Steve instead. (And sometimes Tennessee.)
March 12, 2021
Not quite sure how to rate this one. On the one hand: a wealth of interviews gives fascinating insight into the nitty-gritty of producing Broadway shows. On the other hand: the author takes Freud and Jung so seriously that I might have expected a 1950s publication date (if not for, you know you, knowing when Sondheim was born), and I found the armchair psychological analyses of several side individuals, particularly Sondheim's mother, irritiating.
September 12, 2015
There aren't that many biographies of Sondheim, a private man, so this is an important book.
January 17, 2018
"Stephen Sondheim: A Life" by Meryle Secrest, a biography of one of my heroes.
At the end of her Acknowledgements, Secrest writes, "Finally, I must thank my husband, Thomas Beveridge, who has endured a steady diet of Sondheim for breakfast, lunch, and dinner these past four years with hardly a murmur of protest."
I finished reading this biography today, January 16, 2018, 10 days shy of four years ago, when I started reading it, on January 26, 2014. I remember that day because my family and I had gone to the Stratosphere at the end of the Las Vegas Strip, for free admission to the Stratosphere Tower offered to Nevada residents, which we all were, two years in, with three years left, as it turned out.
I brought the book with me because we had intended to stay the entire day at the Tower, through the afternoon, and into dusk and dark to see the 360-degree view change from various vantage points, how the Strip became more alive than it ever was during the day. Of course, I ended up reading only 30 pages, distracted by that view that I mistakenly thought at that time was not only manageable, but that I could live with it. Living in Las Vegas only got harder up until we left.
I didn't start the biography again until now, deciding this past long weekend that I wanted to read books about some of my favorite people, and by them, too. That began with Phil Collins' memoir, "Not Dead Yet," and then this, followed by Armistead Maupin's memoir "Logical Family," and then "The Autobiography of Jean-Luc Picard" by David A. Goodman, ending with "Uncommon Type: Some Stories" by Tom Hanks, all centered on typewriters. As it turns out, I only got as far as the Sondheim biography after finishing "Not Dead Yet." But I'll press on.
I guess the reason it took this long to read the rest of the Sondheim biography is because I wanted to stretch out what I didn't know about him. Not that I would have found any of it unsavory, but his works got in the way moreso, with wanting to watch the versions of "Company" again, "Into the Woods" on stage, on DVD, and the movie version as well, and a few others, over the course of nearly four years. Now was the finally the time, and not only is it one of the best biographies I've read, but it only serves to enrich my experiences with Sondheim's works.
At the end of her Acknowledgements, Secrest writes, "Finally, I must thank my husband, Thomas Beveridge, who has endured a steady diet of Sondheim for breakfast, lunch, and dinner these past four years with hardly a murmur of protest."
I finished reading this biography today, January 16, 2018, 10 days shy of four years ago, when I started reading it, on January 26, 2014. I remember that day because my family and I had gone to the Stratosphere at the end of the Las Vegas Strip, for free admission to the Stratosphere Tower offered to Nevada residents, which we all were, two years in, with three years left, as it turned out.
I brought the book with me because we had intended to stay the entire day at the Tower, through the afternoon, and into dusk and dark to see the 360-degree view change from various vantage points, how the Strip became more alive than it ever was during the day. Of course, I ended up reading only 30 pages, distracted by that view that I mistakenly thought at that time was not only manageable, but that I could live with it. Living in Las Vegas only got harder up until we left.
I didn't start the biography again until now, deciding this past long weekend that I wanted to read books about some of my favorite people, and by them, too. That began with Phil Collins' memoir, "Not Dead Yet," and then this, followed by Armistead Maupin's memoir "Logical Family," and then "The Autobiography of Jean-Luc Picard" by David A. Goodman, ending with "Uncommon Type: Some Stories" by Tom Hanks, all centered on typewriters. As it turns out, I only got as far as the Sondheim biography after finishing "Not Dead Yet." But I'll press on.
I guess the reason it took this long to read the rest of the Sondheim biography is because I wanted to stretch out what I didn't know about him. Not that I would have found any of it unsavory, but his works got in the way moreso, with wanting to watch the versions of "Company" again, "Into the Woods" on stage, on DVD, and the movie version as well, and a few others, over the course of nearly four years. Now was the finally the time, and not only is it one of the best biographies I've read, but it only serves to enrich my experiences with Sondheim's works.
March 13, 2025
3.5
leer esto fue una montaña rusa que iba de "me encanta" a "es un embole" a "esto es re interesante" a "me duermo en vivo" y así durante la mayor parte del libro. los primeros años que hablaban más que nada sobre su relación con Hammerstein me tuvieron bastante enganchada al igual que las partes en las que se explayaba sobre la creación de los musicales, cómo llegaron a existir y quiénes participaron del proceso. las anécdotas sobre los actores (y también las quejas) me parecieron cosas muy entretenidas de leer pero llegaba un punto en el que tanta mención a distintas personas era agotador. es más, no me acuerdo del 60% a las que se nombró en este libro. en cambio, hubiese preferido que se pase más tiempo hablando sobre Sondheim o que se profundice más en ciertas obras musicales, pero supongo que ahora hay otros libros en los que puedo llegar a encontrar eso (and will). también me molestó la manera de ir y volver en el tiempo: eso de narrar algo que transcurre en 1950 y te vas a los 70s y de ahí a los 40s me desesperaba porque al final no terminaba de entender si lo que estaba leyendo ya había pasado, estaba pasando, o iba a pasar. creo que una vez que llegué al capítulo de Sweeney me amigué más con el libro, en parte porque no me quedaba otra y en parte porque sabía que después se venían mis musicales favoritos. me pareció una oportunidad desperdiciada que no se hayan enfocado más en lo que significó el fracaso de Merrily porque quería leer sobre eso, y cómo llevó exactamente al fin de las colaboraciones entre Hal Prince y Sondheim. capaz no había mucho más que decir al respecto, o capaz él no quiso hablar sobre ese tema pero es algo de lo que siempre voy a querer saber más!!!!!
en fin, aunque creo que podría haber estado mejor desarrollado y más profundizado en ciertos aspectos, no lo pude haber odiado tanto este libro porque tengo el 70% de las páginas marcadas creo yo, fue muy interensate en un montón de cosas y estoy segura de que en algún momento voy a volver a leer algún fragmento en específico porque había mucha información.
Stephen Sondheim you will always be famous and relevant and so so lovedddddd by me.
leer esto fue una montaña rusa que iba de "me encanta" a "es un embole" a "esto es re interesante" a "me duermo en vivo" y así durante la mayor parte del libro. los primeros años que hablaban más que nada sobre su relación con Hammerstein me tuvieron bastante enganchada al igual que las partes en las que se explayaba sobre la creación de los musicales, cómo llegaron a existir y quiénes participaron del proceso. las anécdotas sobre los actores (y también las quejas) me parecieron cosas muy entretenidas de leer pero llegaba un punto en el que tanta mención a distintas personas era agotador. es más, no me acuerdo del 60% a las que se nombró en este libro. en cambio, hubiese preferido que se pase más tiempo hablando sobre Sondheim o que se profundice más en ciertas obras musicales, pero supongo que ahora hay otros libros en los que puedo llegar a encontrar eso (and will). también me molestó la manera de ir y volver en el tiempo: eso de narrar algo que transcurre en 1950 y te vas a los 70s y de ahí a los 40s me desesperaba porque al final no terminaba de entender si lo que estaba leyendo ya había pasado, estaba pasando, o iba a pasar. creo que una vez que llegué al capítulo de Sweeney me amigué más con el libro, en parte porque no me quedaba otra y en parte porque sabía que después se venían mis musicales favoritos. me pareció una oportunidad desperdiciada que no se hayan enfocado más en lo que significó el fracaso de Merrily porque quería leer sobre eso, y cómo llevó exactamente al fin de las colaboraciones entre Hal Prince y Sondheim. capaz no había mucho más que decir al respecto, o capaz él no quiso hablar sobre ese tema pero es algo de lo que siempre voy a querer saber más!!!!!
en fin, aunque creo que podría haber estado mejor desarrollado y más profundizado en ciertos aspectos, no lo pude haber odiado tanto este libro porque tengo el 70% de las páginas marcadas creo yo, fue muy interensate en un montón de cosas y estoy segura de que en algún momento voy a volver a leer algún fragmento en específico porque había mucha información.
Stephen Sondheim you will always be famous and relevant and so so lovedddddd by me.
December 2, 2019
I've been a fan of musicals for a long time. My dad was a music teacher who played side gigs to support a family of seven, one of which was playing pit orchestra in the annual musical at the Nut House in downtown Walnut Creek. Getting to tag along to one of these amateur productions was a highlight of my nerdy-kid life. After college, I did my own stint playing musical theater pit orchestra. People tend to either love musicals or hate them; I love the things, though I sort of get why other people don't.
Anyway, the book. It's mainly a behind-the-scenes look into the making of productions Sondheim was involved in. It's light on personal stuff, and most of that is about his childhood.
I did get some interesting perspective on how songs were conceived and composed. It was interesting to find out that many performers were chosen as actors first, and some were not especially strong singers. Often Sondheim wrote songs around the particular abilities of those actors. I'd always wondered why I preferred "Send in the Clowns" sung by Glynis Johns to versions performed by much stronger singers. I think it's because she acted the song best, and it's a song that was written to be acted. Many Sondheim songs are like that: they lose something when taken out of dramatic context.
It was also interesting to hear that, after many years and so much success, Sondheim is still self-critical about some of his successes. He knocks his own lyrics to "I Feel Pretty" for being out of character for a novice English speaker like Maria. Even though it's a very popular song, and served its purpose in lightening up West Side Story, Sondheim felt getting the character a bit wrong was an aggravating problem. (Still feels that way, I guess -- I just read the upcoming Broadway revival got his blessing to cut the song.)
In retrospect, though, I probably could have gotten the same insights in a more satisfying form by reading Sondheim's own autobiographical "Hat" series. In fact, I may read it yet one of these days.
Anyway, the book. It's mainly a behind-the-scenes look into the making of productions Sondheim was involved in. It's light on personal stuff, and most of that is about his childhood.
I did get some interesting perspective on how songs were conceived and composed. It was interesting to find out that many performers were chosen as actors first, and some were not especially strong singers. Often Sondheim wrote songs around the particular abilities of those actors. I'd always wondered why I preferred "Send in the Clowns" sung by Glynis Johns to versions performed by much stronger singers. I think it's because she acted the song best, and it's a song that was written to be acted. Many Sondheim songs are like that: they lose something when taken out of dramatic context.
It was also interesting to hear that, after many years and so much success, Sondheim is still self-critical about some of his successes. He knocks his own lyrics to "I Feel Pretty" for being out of character for a novice English speaker like Maria. Even though it's a very popular song, and served its purpose in lightening up West Side Story, Sondheim felt getting the character a bit wrong was an aggravating problem. (Still feels that way, I guess -- I just read the upcoming Broadway revival got his blessing to cut the song.)
In retrospect, though, I probably could have gotten the same insights in a more satisfying form by reading Sondheim's own autobiographical "Hat" series. In fact, I may read it yet one of these days.
February 23, 2022
This book is a fairly standard biography, well written and structured. Secrest gets access to a wide array of Sondheim friends and associates, and a big input from Sondheim himself. This is both the advantage and downside, since it does tilt a bit into the realm of hagiography but the story is told by a wide array of his admirers and close circle from all periods of his life, his childhood, his school days all the way to his Broadway heyday.
Where the book fascinates and held my complete attention is the description of his creative process, collaborative relationships and the complicated evolution of the shows and the songs. The book does a fantastic job of outlining the genesis of his shows which are much more haphazard and random than one imagines for a meticulous artist like Sondheim.
It was also completed in the late 1990s, so it misses a lot of his subsequent life. He didn't write any new and major shows in the 21st century, but it does leave out the successful films of his work like Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd and Rob Marshall's Into the Woods. I'd love to have the story completed to the last twenty or so years of his life. Besides Sondheim's own books on his process like "Finishing the Hat" this is the best Sondheim book about his actual art, not just a laundry list of the details of his life.
Where the book fascinates and held my complete attention is the description of his creative process, collaborative relationships and the complicated evolution of the shows and the songs. The book does a fantastic job of outlining the genesis of his shows which are much more haphazard and random than one imagines for a meticulous artist like Sondheim.
It was also completed in the late 1990s, so it misses a lot of his subsequent life. He didn't write any new and major shows in the 21st century, but it does leave out the successful films of his work like Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd and Rob Marshall's Into the Woods. I'd love to have the story completed to the last twenty or so years of his life. Besides Sondheim's own books on his process like "Finishing the Hat" this is the best Sondheim book about his actual art, not just a laundry list of the details of his life.
June 15, 2019
Meryle Secrest has written a definitive biography of Stephen Sondheim, tracing his life through the late 1990s. It contains a treasure trove of anecdotes from Sondheim himself as well as those closest to him, both professionally and personally. What emerges is a more complicated (though still quite adulatory) portrait of a master composer. My only critique of this book is Secrest's insistence on the use of psychoanalysis. Lyrics are scrutinized for what they reveal about Sondheim's unresolved feelings about his mother, or for how they reflect changes in his personal life. While there may be some merit to this approach, Secrest's overreliance on this approach can be off-putting. Overall, though, this is a must-read for any Sondheim fan, and anyone interested in understanding the changes in Broadway over the last fifty years.
December 18, 2023
A truly excellent biography!!!! A wonderful romp through the first 65 years of the life of America’s greatest lyricist and composer, our stage’s closest incarnation to Shakespeare. Certainly one of the most important figures in my own life.
“I thought of him as a child pressing his nose against the glass.”
“Sometimes I wonder how he gets through the week, his feelings run so deep.”
“The words in his songs are his therapy, his lessons, his struggles. These are the things he is furious about, never wants to revisit again…and the other side is everything he wishes he could embrace, everything he believes in, everything he feels…What spurs us on and tortures us all is this deep desire to connect.”
“I just love teaching. Teaching to me is a sacred profession, and I think art is a form of teaching anyway. My life was changed and saved by teachers.”
4.1/5
“I thought of him as a child pressing his nose against the glass.”
“Sometimes I wonder how he gets through the week, his feelings run so deep.”
“The words in his songs are his therapy, his lessons, his struggles. These are the things he is furious about, never wants to revisit again…and the other side is everything he wishes he could embrace, everything he believes in, everything he feels…What spurs us on and tortures us all is this deep desire to connect.”
“I just love teaching. Teaching to me is a sacred profession, and I think art is a form of teaching anyway. My life was changed and saved by teachers.”
4.1/5
May 5, 2018
There's no doubt in my mind that Stephen Sondheim is a genius. You only have to look at that body of work to realise what a contribution he's made to the theatre. The problem with this biography, is that it tells you absolutely nothing about Stephen Sondheim, except that his mother was terrible to him, which I already knew. It gives you a narrative account of his career from West Side Story to Passion, and in that sense is far more useful as a history of his works than it is an insight into the brain of a genius. A missed opportunity, but I love his work so much I found it a compelling read. Clearly, I got through about 400 pages in a day.
December 22, 2021
Loved the insight into Sondheim’s personality and how his approach to songwriting grew over his career. I appreciated that Secrest used a lot of interview excerpts but I could’ve done without the psychologizing and literary references being used to analyze Sondheim’s behavior and identity. Perhaps she felt for such a reticent and shy man, she needed all the help she could get to get beneath his surface?
Unfortunately, the biography ends abruptly. I suppose you can’t expect to really stick a landing before the person’s journey ends. Perhaps there will be another biography written now that he’s passed away.
A beautiful tribute to him, his life, and his work nonetheless.
Unfortunately, the biography ends abruptly. I suppose you can’t expect to really stick a landing before the person’s journey ends. Perhaps there will be another biography written now that he’s passed away.
A beautiful tribute to him, his life, and his work nonetheless.
August 1, 2023
A phenomenal and insightful look into Broadway’s most talented and perhaps most complicated composer and lyricist. Secrest goes deeper than as to just rattle off the details of Sondheim’s life; she takes the time to draw parallels between his art and his reality, similarities that add poignancy to both his works and his biography. My only complaint is chronology - though the bio is chronological in structure, some events and anecdotes are presented that happened 5-10 years after (or prior to) the milestone being discussed in the chapter, so occasionally I would have to regroup on the order of events. Otherwise, a delightful read.
March 17, 2017
Absolutely fascinating but extraordinarily dense.
Assumes a background knowledge of the history of musical theatre when referencing contemporary creators, but it's easy to work past if you're able to take the meaning of the reference to them instead of knowing the explicit connection.
Surprisingly easy to fly through given how dry the material would usually be and while it can get distracted and slightly too self-indulgent at times, it's an engaging read from start to finish.
Highly recommended to anyone interested in theatre or Sondheim himself.
Assumes a background knowledge of the history of musical theatre when referencing contemporary creators, but it's easy to work past if you're able to take the meaning of the reference to them instead of knowing the explicit connection.
Surprisingly easy to fly through given how dry the material would usually be and while it can get distracted and slightly too self-indulgent at times, it's an engaging read from start to finish.
Highly recommended to anyone interested in theatre or Sondheim himself.
August 26, 2021
A pleasant biography that covers the composer's life into the late 1990s. The book was written with Sondheim's cooperation so it's not exactly a "warts and all" portrait but there's a fair amount of discussion concerning his sometimes difficult personality. If I have a significant criticism it's that Sondheim's work isn't really contextualized within the larger history of the Broadway musical but it could be argued that that's outside the scope of the book. In any case, worth your time if you're interested in the man and what he's accomplished.
May 31, 2022
The recent-Friday night-Great Performances on PBS sent me back to this volume. While published in the late 1980's, it reveals Sondheim in all of his creative development and complexity. My revisit focused on Company as did the recent Great Performances. To say Sondheim had mother problems is an understatement. And as a closeted late to come out gay man, one wonders how autobiographical Company and its Bobby are. A very good read and relevant; the great master passed away last November but his work seems always revived.
January 4, 2022
I was inspired to read this after Sondheim’s death. His life was so intertwined with major historic developments in musical theater, and this book explores much of this in fascinating detail–along with fascinating anecdotes about the making of his shows. Few artists have tapped into such vital essences of life with such brilliance (in my opinion), and so many of his creations continue to inspire, move, and enlighten me. (9)
May 6, 2022
З одного боку - цікава книга, яка розповідає багато про внутрішній свійт Бродвею та звісно про самого Сондхайма, який був досить закритою людиною. Для такого "ньюкамера" як я, все це досить інформативно. Особливо цікаво наприклад було читати про такі мюзікли як Sunday in the Park with George.
Але з іншого боку книга досить прісна і все ж не захоплює. Чомусь мені здається що про таку людину, як Сондхайм, можна було б написати більш душевно.
Але з іншого боку книга досить прісна і все ж не захоплює. Чомусь мені здається що про таку людину, як Сондхайм, можна було б написати більш душевно.
September 1, 2023
At its worst, it’s a compilation of poor critics reviews and surface level writing analysis. At its best, it’s a clear portrait of the true volatile nature of the theatre industry. A painting of how, perhaps, the most respected artist in our industry struggled to make a name for himself with each and every show.
I feel like I don’t know MUCH more about Sondheim as a person, but am comforted by his journey. And maybe depressed?
I feel like I don’t know MUCH more about Sondheim as a person, but am comforted by his journey. And maybe depressed?
July 5, 2017
The balance between personal narrative and deconstruction of Sondheim's work is perfectly kept throughout. A lengthy journey encompassing the intricacies of a complex human and figurehead of the American musical theatre, Secrest has summed up the insurmountable task perfectly: to document an artist's life through the perspective of his own artistic pursuits.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews