Sondheim: His Life, His Shows, His Legacy

by Stephen M. Silverman

Overview

Lively, sophisticated, and filled with first-person tributes and glorious images, Sondheim: His Life, His Shows, His Legacy lifts the curtain on a Broadway legend. "Aside from Sondheim's own exceptional books...this may be the best coffee-table volume devoted to his work."(Shelf Awareness)

Brimming with insights from a veritable Who's Who of Broadway Babies and complemented by more than two hundred color and black-and-white images, Sondheim: His Life, His Shows, His Legacy offers a witty, multidimensional look at the musical genius behind Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Into the Woods, Sunday in the Park with George, Sweeney Todd, and the landmark West Side Story and Gypsy.

Exploring the unique bond between Sondheim and his audiences, author Stephen M. Silverman further examines the challenging Sondheim works that continue to develop devoted new followings: Anyone Can Whistle, Pacific Overtures, Merrily We Roll Along, Assassins, and Passion.

The result is a lavish, highly engrossing documentation of the dynamic force who reshaped twentieth-century American musical history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780762482351
Publisher:	Running Press Book Publishers
Publication date:	09/19/2023
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	101,204
Product dimensions:	8.20(w) x 10.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Stephen M. Silverman was the author of fourteen books and a contributor to Vogue, Esquire, Smithsonian, the Times of London, the New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, and the Wall Street Journal, which described him as “a veteran journalist and historian of popular culture who writes with verve and mischief.” A former news editor at Time Inc., he taught at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and appeared on Today, CBS This Morning, 20/20, Dateline NBC, PBS, CNN, MSNBC, Fox Business, NPR, Australia’s Nine Network, and the BBC. 
 

Editorial Reviews

"Somewhere between a biography and a coffee-table book, Stephen M. Silverman's new title makes a perfect companion to our current age of Sondheim remembrance."—Entertainment Weekly

"Lavishly illustrated, handsomely produced, and supplemented by many of Sondheim's own reflections on his artistic vision...This impressive volume is an important biographical addition to collections on musical theater and the Broadway entertainment industry."—Library Journal (starred review)

"Aside from Sondheim's own exceptional books, Finishing the Hat and Look, I Made a Hat, this may be the best coffee-table volume devoted to his work...Sondheim fans: make room on the coffee table for this one."—Shelf Awareness

From the Publisher

★ 08/01/2023

Two years after Stephen Sondheim's (1930–2021) death, his music and lyrical legacy are detailed in Silverman's (The Amusement Park) comprehensive overview of a remarkable career that lasted more than 60 years and touched nearly all the performing arts—television, Hollywood, and, of course, Broadway. While his major Broadway achievements, starting with Gypsy and West Side Story, are discussed, this overview of Sondheim's genius provides interesting background information and insights into what, at the time, were cutting-edge musicals, including Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, Sunday in the Park with George, and Company. Even the less commercially successful Merrily We Roll Along and Passion are given their due. Fans of the 1973 whodunit movie The Last of Sheila, which Sondheim wrote with Anthony Perkins, may be interested to discover the duo wrote two more (unproduced) mystery films together. Lavishly illustrated, handsomely produced, and supplemented by many of Sondheim's own reflections on his artistic vision, there are also many firsthand insights and observations by those who worked with and knew him. VERDICT This impressive volume is an important biographical addition to collections on musical theater and the Broadway entertainment industry.—Herbert E. Shapiro

Library Journal