Stephen Sondheim – författare

This 1995 Pulitzer Prize-winning musical was inspired by the painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat. A complex work revolving around a fictionalized Seurat immersed in single-minded concentration while painting the masterpiece, the production has evolved into a meditation on art, emotional connection, and community. This publication contains the entire script of the musical.“Sunday is itself a modernist creation, perhaps the first truly modernist work of musical theatre that Broadway has produced ... a watershed event that demands nothing less than a retrospective, even revisionist, look at the development of the serious Broadway musical.”– Frank Rich, The New York Times Magazine

As he did in the acclaimed Finishing the Hat, Sondheim richly annotates his lyrics with personal and theatre history, discussions of his collaborations, and exacting, charming dissections of his work - both the successes and the failures. Picking up where he left off in Finishing the Hat, he gives us all the lyrics, along with cutouts and early drafts, to the Pulitzer Prize-winning Sunday in the Park with George, as well as Into the Woods, Assassins, and Passion. Here too is an in-depth look at Wise Guys, subsequently transformed into Bounce, and eventually into Road Show. And we are treated to chapters on his work for television and film and his "orphan songs," culled from parodies and special occasions over the years. Filled with behind-the-scenes photographs and illustrations from original manuscripts, and with the same elegant design as the earlier book, Look, I Made A Hat will be devoured by Sondheim's passionate fans today and for years to come.

Finally Back in Print in Over a Decade, the Lavishly Illustrated Book of Into the Woods, One of the Most-Performed Musicals, by Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning Stephen Sondheim and James LapineBased on the Grimm Brothers’ most popular folktales, Into the Woods is a reimagining of what can happen when beloved fairytale characters are thrown together in increasingly dramatic and humorous ways. The Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning team of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine bring their cherished musical off the stage and onto the page with the help of Hudson Talbott’s enchanting illustrations.Published for Stephen Sondheim’s ninetieth birthday, join Cinderella, Jack (of beanstalk-climbing fame), Little Red Riding Hood, the Baker and his Wife, and more on their quest to find “happily ever after.” Along the way they meet Rapunzel, the Big Bad Wolf, terrifying giants, lusty princes, and their own destinies. But after their journeys are done, the real question remains: what comes after “happily ever after” and will the prices paid for it be worth it in the end?

The complete book and lyrics with set and costume designs, production photos, essays, cast lists and credits, awards for major productions, selected discographies, and much more! Includes the shows A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. A richly illustrated Sondheim treasury!

"It is that joyous rarity, a work of sophisticated artistic ambition and deep political purpose that affords nonstop pleasure."—Time Into the Woods brings well-known fairytale characters to musical life, interwoven with the story of a baker and his wife, whose longing for a child is thwarted by a mischievous witch. Stephen Sondheim''s songs, seamlessly melded to James Lapine''s text, are perfect expressions of the complications of living in modern society and the difficult choices we encounter on the paths of our lives. Into the Woods premiered on Broadway in 1987, winning three Tony Awards. It has been a beloved favorite on stages throughout the United States and around the world for almost thirty years. On December 25, 2014, Into the Woods was released as a major motion picture, produced by Walt Disney Pictures. The film, directed by Rob Marshall, stars Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp, Emily Blunt, Anna Kendrick, James Corden, and Chris Pine. This book includes an eight-page insert with color photographs from the film. Stephen Sondheim wrote the lyrics for West Side Story and Gypsy, and the complete scores (music and lyrics) for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Into the Woods, Company, A Little Night Music, Follies, Sunday in the Park with George, Assassins, Passion, Pacific Overtures, and Sweeney Todd, among others. He has won seven Tony Awards, eight Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and many other honors. James Lapine wrote the book for and directed the musicals Into the Woods, Passion, and Sunday in the Park with George (all with scores by Stephen Sondheim) and Falsettos, A New Brain, Muscles, and Little Miss Sunshine (all with scores by William Finn). He has written and directed numerous plays, and has received three Tony Awards, five Drama Desk awards, and the Pulitzer Prize.

It's a perfect day for brunch.Leo and Marianne Brink have found the ideal spot to take their friends. With great reviews, impeccable service and an extensive menu, it seems like nothing could go wrong.But as their meal is interrupted by a series of increasingly strange events, they come to realise they've bitten off more than they can chew. Here We Are is the last work by Stephen Sondheim, written shortly before his death in 2021, with a book by playwright David Ives and inspired by the films of Luis Buñuel.It was first performed in 2023 at The Shed in New York City, directed by Joe Mantello, and received its UK premiere at London's National Theatre in 2025. This first publication of the complete book and lyrics of Here We Are is accompanied by a substantial and revelatory essay by David Ives on 'Writing with Sondheim'.'Sondheim not only dared to change musical theatre, but succeeded, forever' Guardian

Desperate for a child, a baker and his wife journey into the woods to reverse a curse and change their luck. As the couple venture into the unknown, their story collides with Cinderella, Jack, Little Red Ridinghood, Rapunzel, witches, princes and giants.Featuring such classic songs as 'Giants in the Sky', 'Moments in the Woods', 'No One is Alone' and 'Children Will Listen', Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's audacious and beloved musical intertwines the Brothers Grimm's most famous fairy tales and reckons with the realities of 'happy ever after'.Into the Woods was first staged at the Old Globe Theatre, California, in 1986, and opened on Broadway the following year. That production went on to win three Tony Awards, including Best Book of a Musical.This edition features an exclusive introduction by David Benedict, Sondheim's authorised biographer. It was published alongside the 2025-26 revival at the Bridge Theatre, London, directed by Jordan Fein and with set and costume design by Tom Scutt. The production was named Best Musical Revival at the 2026 Olivier Awards and transferred to the West End later that year.

Legendary American composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim has won eight Tonys, eight Grammys, six Olivier Awards, an Academy Award and a Pulitzer Prize. His brilliant songs and lyrics of genius have entertained us for more than half a century and his Broadway shows revolutionized musical theatre. Working together with Sondheim, editor Peter Gethers has selected for this volume lyrics from across Sondheim's career, drawn from shows including West Side Story, Gypsy, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George and Into the Woods. The result is a delightful pocket-sized treasury of the best of Sondheim

Sondheim's landmark musical about a reunion of showgirls, with a book by James Goldman.New York, 1971. There’s a party on the stage of the Weismann Theatre. Tomorrow the iconic building will be demolished. Thirty years after their final performance, the Follies girls gather to have a few drinks, sing a few songs, and lie about themselves.Including such classic songs as ‘Broadway Baby’, ‘I’m Still Here’ and ‘Losing My Mind’, James Goldman and Stephen Sondheim’s legendary musical was originally staged in New York in 1971, and received its British premiere in 1987.This edition was published alongside the major revival at the National Theatre, London, in 2017, directed by Dominic Cooke and starring Tracie Bennett, Janie Dee, Philip Quast and Imelda Staunton.

It's Bobbie's thirty-fifth birthday party, and all her friends are wondering why she isn't married. Why can't she find the right man, settle down and start a family?A breakthrough on Broadway in 1970, Company is Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's legendary musical comedy about life, love and loneliness, featuring some of Sondheim's most iconic songs including 'Company', 'You Could Drive a Person Crazy', 'The Ladies Who Lunch', 'Side by Side' and 'Being Alive'.The acclaimed West End revival in 2018 was conceived and directed by award-winning director Marianne Elliott and produced by Elliott & Harper Productions. Reimagining the musical by switching the gender of several characters, including the protagonist Bobbie, played by Rosalie Craig, the production also starred Patti LuPone, Mel Giedroyc and Jonathan Bailey. It won the Peter Hepple Award for Best Musical at the 2018 Critics' Circle Theatre Awards.This edition features the complete revised book and lyrics for the production, colour production photographs, and an introduction by Sondheim's biographer David Benedict.

Inspired by Georges Seurat's pointillist masterpiece, Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's musical celebrates the art of creation and the creation of art.In the first half of the musical, set in 1884, the people - and the animals - in the painting come to life in a world where, for the artist George, art comes before love, before everything.In the second half, a century later, Seurat's great-grandson is wrestling with the same obsessions in present-day New York.Sunday in the Park with George was premiered on Broadway in May 1984, in a production directed by James Lapine. An earlier, incomplete version had been performed Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons in July 1983. The musical went on to win the 1985 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.The first London production opened at the National Theatre in March 1990. It won the 1991 Olivier Award for Best New Musical.

Oozing with sophistication and wit, Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's A Little Night Music (based on Ingmar Bergman's film Smiles on a Summer Night) is a passionate story of intertwined love affairs, regret and longing centred on elegant actress Desirée Armfeldt, and her family and flirtations.When Desirée performs in the town of her former lover, old passions rekindle and during a weekend in the country, the entangled romances of four couples are laid bare. With the magic of music on a summer's night, love's joys and complications play out in three-quarter time.Filled with beautiful iconic numbers, including 'Send in the Clowns' and 'A Weekend in the Country', A Little Night Music is a romantic musical by one of our greatest living composers.It opened on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre in February 1973 in a production directed by Harold Prince, winning Best Musical at the New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards and the Tony Awards. The musical premiered in the West End at the Adelphi Theatre in April 1975. It has since enjoyed professional productions in the West End, by opera companies, in a 2009 Broadway revival, and elsewhere, and it is a popular choice for regional groups. It was adapted for film in 1977, with Harold Prince directing.

The gruesomely fascinating musical about the 'Demon Barber of Fleet Street', one of Sondheim's greatest hits. From the writing partnership behind A Little Night Music.Victim of a gross injustice that robbed him of his wife and child, Sweeney Todd sets about exacting a terrible revenge on society: slitting the throats of the customers who visit his barbershop.But things are getting complicated – a romance has developed with Mrs Lovett, the lady who runs the pie shop next door, and the disappearances are starting to cause concern. With the bodies piling up, Sweeney Todd hits upon a novel idea, and starts passing on his 'patrons' to his homely neighbour... Meat pie, anyone?Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's musical Sweeney Todd opened on Broadway in 1979 and in the West End in 1980. It won the Tony Award for Best Musical and Olivier Award for Best New Musical. It has since had numerous revivals as well as a film adaptation.

A bawdy, fast-paced, raunchy comedy musical from one of the world's most influential and innovative creators of musical theatre, loosely based on the plays of Plautus.Pseudolus, a simpering slave, is trying to win his own freedom by cooking up a romance for his master's son, Hero, with the pretty young virgin Philia. But there's a problem – not only is Philia owned by Marcus Lycus, an infamous courtesan dealer, but she's also already promised to swaggering soldier Miles Gloriosus... and neither of them are keen to give her up.Stephen Sondheim's A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, with a book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart, ran for three years on Broadway. The first British production, starring Frankie Howerd as the cowardly slave Pseudolus, ran almost as long and spawned the TV series Up Pompeii!A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum won the 1962 Tony Award for Best Musical.