James Lapine has been nominated for 12 Tony Awards and won on three occasions for Best Book of a Musical–for Passion, Falsettos, and Into the Woods. Lapine has also won five Drama Desk Awards, a Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and a Peabody Award. So who would be better to write a book about how to put a Broadway musical together?
I’m always curious about how artists, performers, and singers are directed to produce a musical. Lapine goes step-by-step through the process of coming up with a concept, designing the sets, establishing the characters, determining the music, making key casting decisions, technical rehearsals, and previews.
In the case of Sunday in the Park With George, it was the idea to write a musical inspired by Georges Seurat’s 19th Century painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Latte. Lapine uses transcripts of conversations with Stephen Sondheim, photographs, script notes, sketches, and sheet music to show how things came together for an opening on Broadway on May 2, 1984.
I watched the DVD on Sunday in the Park With George and enjoyed Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters sing and dance across the screen. If you’re a fan of Broadway musicals, the book will show you how the magic is created and the DVD will show you the result. GRADE: A (for both)
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Prelude — xi
Dramatis personae — xiii
From Ohio to Sondheim — 1
Stephen Sondheim — 13
Sondheim goes off-Broadway — 51
Lapine goes Broadway — 137
The Booth Theater — 197
Finale — 351
Sunday in the Park With George — 259
Acknowledgments — 385
Heard him on NPR and I was also intrigued. Have it on reserve at my library.
Patti, I enjoyed the commentary by Lapine and Sondheim’s strategies. Plus, all the illustrations and photos!
Yes, it is fascinating, though I have to admit that SUNDAY IN THE PARK is my least favorite Sondheim show.
Jeff, I prefer A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC to SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE.
Not interested. Not a fan of musicals. And not a fan of Mandy Patinkin.
Steve, you didn’t like Patinkin in THE PRINCESS BRIDE?
He was okay in that and in Homeland but I hate it when he would show up on talk shows and sing.
I’m a fan of Sondheim, and have been impressed with Peters at least since PENNIES FROM HEAVEN and enjoyed her expert performances in MOZART IN THE JUNGLE, so that’s at least two big pluses for me to eventually turn to both items. Shall Go Look to see what got Lapine his Peabody.
https://youtu.be/Sq5kupezIoc
Recorded August 10, 2021
“In conversation with Benj Pasek, Tony Award-winning songwriter and New York Times bestselling author of Dear Evan Hansen
“A celebrated director, playwright, screenwriter, and librettist, James Lapine earned three Tony Awards for “Best Book of a Musical” for Passion, Falsettos, and Into the Woods. His many other honors include the Pulitzer Prize in Drama, five Drama Desk Awards, a Peabody Award, and induction into the Theater Hall of Fame. He also directed the feature films Impromptu, Life with Mikey, and Earthly Possessions. Putting It Together is about Lapine’s collaboration with Stephen Sondheim to create Sunday in the Park with George, their iconic 1984 Broadway musical based on Georges Seurat’s painting, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.
“Benj Pasek is an Oscar, Grammy, Tony, and Golden Globe Award-winning songwriter and New York Times bestselling author. Along with frequent collaborator Justin Paul, he is best known for his work on Dear Evan Hansen, La La Land, and The Greatest Showman. The accompanying albums for each project have appeared in the top 10 of the Billboard 200, the latter of which is certified Platinum in over a dozen countries. He is on the board of the Dramatist Guild Foundation and the American LGBTQ+ Museum.”
Todd, thank for all that info!
Rogers & Hammerstein, please.
Rick, Bruce Taylor believes Stephen Sondheim ruined Broadway!