(P/V/G Composer Collection). The "Almost Unknown" in the title of this collection refers to the fact that some of the songs, though never before published, have been recorded, and might be known to the most knowledgeable of Sondheim connoisseurs. However, it is safe to say that the songs in this landmark collection are among the least known of Sondheim's creations. This book includes contents by show or film title as well as by song title, an introduction about Sondheim, a preface by the editor, and detailed notes about each work and the show it came from. The piano/vocal editions were all personally approved by Sondheim.
(Vocal Selections). One of the most famous Broadway flops is now recognized as a collection of profound and tuneful songs. The plot, in reverse, shows the life of a successful Broadway composer and film producer as he descends the ladder of success toward a more idealistic and innocent version of himself. The music is newly edited, with new engravings, added songs including some not performed in the show, articles, and photos. Includes: Good Thing Going * Not a Day Goes By (all three versions) * Our Time * Old Friends * Like It Was * Merrily We Roll Along * The Blob * Growing Up * Now You Know * Bobby and Jackie and Jack * The Hills of Tomorrow * Honey.
(Easy Piano Composer Collection). 15 Sondheim standouts simplified for beginning players: Anyone Can Whistle * Broadway Baby * Children Will Listen * Comedy Tonight * Good Thing Going * Johanna * Losing My Mind * Loving You * Not a Day Goes By * Not While I'm Around * Old Friends * Pretty Women * Send in the Clowns * Side by Side by Side * Sunday. Includes lyrics and a composer bio.
The newest Broadway musical by Pulitzer Prize-winning collaborators Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine, winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical, 1994.
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.
THE STORY: The esteemed and retired Dr. Conrad Bering has selected, out of countless applicants, several individuals for private as well as Group therapy. It seems this Pulitzer Prize- winning doctor might be writing another book and it further see
Titles are: A Little Night Music * The Miller's Son * The Glamorous Life * Remember? * You Must Meet My Wife * Send in the Clowns * A Weekend in the Country.
The first and only full-scale and definitive biography of one of the the most important composer-lyricists in musical theater. A remarkable portrait of the man, the music, and the genius of Stephen Sondheim: star of his own fascinating life. Drawing on personal conversations with Sondheim himself, as well as interviews with his friends, family, collaborators, and lovers, Secrest offers new insight into the enigmatic and very private Stephen Sondheim. Here, we learn about his childhood on New York’s Upper West Side, his parents’ devastating divorce, and his ascent to the peaks of the Broadway musical. Secrest vividly recreates the energy, passion, and despair that went into each beloved show, from Sondheim’s fabled collaboration with Hal Prince on Sweeney Todd and A Little Night Music, to his disagreements with co-lyricist Leonard Bernstein on West Side Story.
New York Times Bestseller: “Both revelatory and entertaining . . . Along the way, Viertel provides some fascinating Broadway history.” —The New York Times Book Review Americans invented musicals—and have a longstanding love affair with them. But what, exactly, is a musical? In this book, longtime theatrical producer and writer Jack Viertel takes them apart, puts them back together, sings their praises, and occasionally despairs over their more embarrassing shortcomings. In the process, he shows us how musicals happen, what makes them work, how they captivate audiences, and how one landmark show leads to the next—by design or by accident, by emulation or by rebellion—from Oklahoma! to Hamilton and onward. Beginning with an overture and concluding with a curtain call, with stops in between for “I Want” songs, “conditional” love songs, production numbers, star turns, and finales, Viertel shows us patterns in the architecture of classic shows and charts the inevitable evolution that has taken place in musical theater as America itself has evolved socially and politically. The Secret Life of the American Musical makes you feel like you’re there in the rehearsal room, the front row, and the offices of theater owners and producers as they pursue their own love affair with that rare and elusive beast—the Broadway hit. “A valuable addition to the theater lover’s bookshelf. . . . fans will appreciate the dips into memoir and Viertel’s takes on original cast albums.” —Publishers Weekly “Even seasoned hands will come away with a clearer understanding of why some shows work while others flop.” —Commentary “A showstopper . . . infectiously entertaining.” —John Lahr, author of Notes on a Cowardly Lion “Thoroughly interesting.” —The A.V. Club “The best general-audience analysis of musical theater I have read in many years.” —The Charlotte Observer “Delightful . . . a little bit history, a little bit memoir, a little bit criticism and, for any theater fan, a whole lot of fun.” —The Dallas Morning News
