Customer Reviews

Reading Stephen Sondheim: A Collection of Critical Essays (Studies in Modern Drama)

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Being but another worshipper at the alter of Stephen Sondheim, I was eager to read anything about him which went beyond your typical stage review.

This book was given to me as a gift and I eagerly opened it hoping to find hidden treasure about Sondheim and his work.

The book was not quite what I expected and at the same time EXACTLY what I expected. What Goodhart promises in the introduction, he delivers - a serious delving into the works of Sondheim, treating his musicals as literature. What I didn't expect was just how thoroughly the writers (Goodhart employs several essayists) would analyze character and plot.

One essay that comes to mind is one written on "Sweeney Todd." I really thought I knew as much as there was to know about this masterwork - WRONG. The essayist gives great detail into the psychological make-up of these characters...much more information that a layman or actor like myself can begin to understand. At times the analysis was clinical I had to back up and re-read the passage to get a grasp on what was being explored.

I've decided that the book will provide a wonderful reference to keep on my shelf for my own work on Sondheim musicals, but for simple pleasure reading, this book may not be appropriate unless you have your PHD.

not bad, but not as entertaining as sondheim: a casebook. some of the analyses were quite obtuse (e.g. the lacanian analysis of sweeney todd and the argument that passion is about sondheim's relationship with his mother). i thought one of the more interesting essays was the first one about passion, but there weren't many others that were particularly relevant or insightful.

I ordered this book as a possible source for an essay on the works on Stephen Sondheim, unsure of what I'd find. What the book contained was exactly what it says: essays on the works of Stephen Sondheim. The essays varied from those concerning only one musical (the first six essays) to others which discussed over arching themes in his canon (the latter six essays). That being said, having had some previous experience with the plays (reading them, seeing them, knowing the stories, etc.) is necessary. This is not a history of Stephen Sondheim's works. It is an in-depth look at them. Finally, an analysis of Sondheim's works paralleling the analytical work done for all the other great playwrights of the twentieth century! The book covers most of Sondheim's composer-lyricist career in musical theater up to the mid-1990s. It does not include analysis of West Side Story, Do I Hear a Waltz?, Bounce/Road Show, or Gypsy. All that being said, it is a great book for Sondheim aficionados, dramaturgs, and Sondheim fans.

Sondheim devotees and fanatics should be warned in advance: this is a full academic volume of essays on Sondheim, not a more generalist volume in the manner of Meryle Secrest's biography of Sondheim, or volumes by Joanne Gordon, Craig Zadan or Martin Gottfried. Thus you will get a fair share of academic literary jargon in the discussion. In addition, this volume makes no claim to a full analysis of all of Sondheim's musicals. Some do get more treatment than others, "Passion" in particular. 10 different authors are represented, including the editor, Sandor Goodhart.

Goodhart has split the 12 essays into 2 groups of 6, where he claims that the 1st 6 are more about general themes and surveys of Sondheim's work from a more global perspective, and the 2nd 6 are more in depth analyses of individual Sondheim shows. However, 2 of the essays in the first half are pretty much devoted to single Sondheim shows, "Follies" and "Passion", which tips the initally stated balance of essays towards studies of single Sondheim works. Overall, this first half is the part that is less laden with academic jargon. The academic terminology definitely becomes heavier in the second set of 6, IMHO.

Goodhart tends perhaps to "protest too much" or trumpet his own horn when he stresses the idea in his introduction that Sondheim's works have not received full analytical treatment in the academic community in the manner of great authors like Roth, Bellow or Malamud, or the film director Woody Allen. One wonders if the editors of "The Sondheim Review" might wish to dispute that idea. His appreciation for Sondheim is very understandable, but perhaps his prose gets a little hyperbolic in his praise, and also in his culminating essay in this volume, on "Passion". In that essay, Goodhart tries to tie its subtexts to Sondheim's extremely problematic relationship with his mother, in particular the notorious letter that Foxy Sondheim sent to her son before her pacemaker implant, telling her son of her one regret in life.

Overall, this volume is definitely more for an academic audience than a general audience. However, the Sondheim devotee or fanatic who is not necessarily conversant in academic literary jargon, but who is willing to dive into more in-depth discussions of the shows, will get a lot to think about.