Sondheim: His Life, His Shows, His Legacy (Book Review)

On one hand, there could never be too many books about Stephen Sondheim. On the other hand, each book should be able to justify its existence through untold stories (are there any?), a new point of view, or access to previously un-interviewed people. 

Sondheim: His Life, His Shows, His Legacy, by Stephen M. Silverman, justifies its existence in a number of ways. It's thorough (though not quite complete, since Here We Are opened too late to be included, except in passing). It is a large and handsome book, with dozens of photos, many of them in color. It includes a bibliography, source notes, and index, and is all in all a classy book. And yet.

It's just not that good a book. 

Silverman is frequently inaccurate. For example, he writes that Mandy Patinkin won a Tony as Best Actor in a Musical for Evita, when he actually won for Best Featured Actor.

Here's another example, about Night Music: 

A musical duel, set in waltz time, between Fredrik and the Count, "In Praise of Women," takes place before an actual duel with firearms. Said duel leads to young wife Anne running off with Henrik, Fredrik's sexually frustrated seminary student son.

Well, no. The duel takes place after Anne and Henrik run off. In fact, the only reason Fredrik agrees to the duel (Russian roulette, actually) is that he is in shock from losing his wife and son and not thinking straight.

The quote above can also be used as an example of another weakness of the book: an oddness in presenting information. Why specify that "In Praise of Women" is in waltz time when the whole show is in waltz time or variations thereof? Isn't that the more salient point?

And some of Silverman's conclusions are just bizarre. Here is an example:

It was said, just as it later was of Sondheim, that Babbit's "difficult music" required repeated listening before it could be appreciated, even comprehended.* [Asterisk in original]

[The footnote:] *Which might explain the line in Merrily We Roll Along, when the producer tells the crestfallen theatre hopefuls, "It's not a tune you can hum."

Why attach that line to Babbit when it was completely and 100% about Sondheim and his work--and is based on, at least to some extent, Sondheim's experiences getting his foot in Broadway's door?

Here's another example of the klutziness of the writing:

"One of the things I couldn't care less about is posterity," said Stephen Sondheim. "If you can't enjoy life while still alive, what is the point?"

As usual, he gave the statement a quick second thought.

"However, while I'm still alive, I'd like my shows to be done as much as possible.

That's not a second thought! That's more of the first thought!

And, and this is a big and, Silverman tells the famous story about Ethel Merman, Loretta Young, and the swear jar, and makes it not funny. (I guess, in its own way, that's an impressive accomplishment.) Sondheim tells the story here.

Am I picking nits? Yes. But there are an awful lot of nits in this book. Here are some more:

• Pacific Overtures: [The song being referenced is] "Next," of which it could be said that it is to Tokyo what Company's "Another Hundred People" is to New York City. 

• Merrily: The theme of the 1934 play and the 1981 musical and, presumably, the 2040 movie is that ambition trumps friendship. 

• In keeping with the narrative structure of Merrily We Roll Along--which is told in chronological order but backward--this book's account of Sondheim's musical begins in the the future, with what will be [the movie's] 2040 premiere ... 

• Pacific Overtures: The placid "Pretty Lady" is sung by three foreign sailors positioning themselves to take unfair advantage of an innocent Japanese woman. 

• Sweeney: [Mrs. Lovett's] business success is short-lived, however, when Mrs. Lovett herself ends up in the oven at the hands of Sweeney, who disposes of her for having kept secret that the insane beggar woman on the street is, in fact, Barker's wife. After this horrible moment, the apprentice, Toby, slits Barker's throat out of an act of love for Mrs. Lovett. 

• Pacific Overtures: "Chrysanthemum Tea, like A Little Night Music's "A Weekend in the Country," advances the action, but this time with lyrics delivered by a shogun's mother as she slowly poisons her son.

 Completist Sondheim fans may want to own Sondheim: His Life, His Shows, His Legacy. It does cover Sondheim's whole life, and nearly all his work. It does allow a trip down "Memories-of-Sondheim Lane." If only it were better.

Wendy Caster