These two books, often paired together as “The Hatbox” set, contain the complete collection of Sondheim’s lyrics from all of his musicals, including some cut songs. The lyrics are punctuated with Sondheim’s comments on them, including discussions of how he wrote them, why he wrote them, and opinions on different lyrical techniques. The books also include general comments and stories on the development of each of his musicals, sidebars on other great lyricists, images of Sondheim’s handwritten song drafts, and photos from the productions. If you’re interested in the “why” behind every line and rhyme of Sondheim’s songs, this is an invaluable resource.
In this video, part of an hour-long interview with Music Theatre International, Sondheim explains how he wrote the opening number of his musical Into the Woods, taking the song apart and explaining specific musical and lyrical moments and what techniques he uses to achieve which effects. It may be of interest to musical theorists or aspiring songwriters and composers. For a playlist of all of the videos in this series, click the link below.
This episode of NPR’s Fresh Air, originally aired when a revival of Merrily We Roll Along was running at New York City Center, contains songs from that musical, as well as excerpts from multiple interviews with Sondheim about his career, compositional techniques, and musical influences.
