Look, I Made a Hat: Collected Lyrics (1981-2011) with Attendant Comments, Amplifications, Dogmas, Harangues, Digressions, Anecdotes and Mi -- Stephen Sondheim, Hardcover

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.

Author: Stephen Sondheim
Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group
Published: 11/22/2011
Pages: 480
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 3.25lbs
Size: 10.99h x 8.42w x 1.16d
ISBN: 9780307593412

Review Citation(s):
Entertainment Weekly 12/02/2011 pg. 81
New York Times Book Review 12/18/2011 pg. 17
Entertainment Weekly 02/17/2012 pg. 77
People Weekly 08/13/2012 pg. 49

About the Author
Stephen Sondheim has written award-winning music and lyrics for theater, film and television. He is also the coauthor of the film The Last of Sheila and the play Getting Away with Murder. Sondheim is on the council of the Dramatists Guild of America, having served as its president from 1973 to 1981. He lives in New York City.