I really loved this book because Stephen cleared up a few circulating rumors and spoke very honestly about his work, and his opinion on other's work as well. I also really enjoyed the addition of his sheet music and hand-written lyrics because it was interesting to see what made it into the musicals and what didn't make the final cut and then to see why exactly he decided to exclude it. musical theater lovers won't be disappointed! If you don't love 1) musical theater 2) the finite details about why a songwriter chooses the words and music he does or 3)the history of musicals and composers then this might not be the book for you. The book is huge at 423 pages and if I had a criticism it would be that the gray ink used for some of the printing is a bit hard on the eyes but this is minor. If you love the theater and Sondheim then you will love the book. I checked it out of the library and had it for a few weeks and don't really feel like I absorbed it all. I think it's a book to own so you can peruse it again and again. Fascinating.
A great book for any Sondheim fan and a must-read for Sondheim fanatics. :-)
—Jak007
Great book for poets as well as songwriters and lyricists.
—lona
Indispensible to the musical theatre enthusiast.
—reader
