The problem with Richard Schoch’s “How Sondheim Can Change Your Life” is its title. Other than that, it is a valuable addition to the library of any fan of musical theater and certainly every Stephen Sondheim fanatic.
The book’s premise is that “a prolonged encounter with [his work] will reveal predicaments — and the paths out of them — that we recognize as our own. The better we understand Sondheim, the better we will understand ourselves.”
That’s a stretch. Sondheim isn’t special in this regard. You will find similar revelations in any good musical. “The Farmer and the Cowman,” from “Oklahoma,” for example, is an effort to understand “Why can’t we all just get along?”
Moreover, the revelations Schoch suggests that Sondheim offers are pedestrian: “How to love” for his musical “Passion”; “How to let the darkness in” for “Assassins”; and “How to choose the right path” for “Into the Woods.”
Also, it’s important to note Sondheim’s songs were not written in a vacuum. They didn’t originate as a concept CD to which a play was added, a la “American Idiot.” In fact, he frequently, and accurately, noted that they were written in collaboration with some of the great names in musical theater, including Hal Prince, Arthur Laurents and Jerome Robbins, who helped decide where songs should go, what they should be about and even their tempo. In fact, one of Sondheim’s frequent collaborators, James Lapine, wrote the best book ever on the joint effort required to create a musical: “Putting It Together: How Stephen Sondheim and I Created ‘Sunday In the Park With George.’”
Fortunately, Schoch doesn’t limit himself to the supposition his title suggests. A professor of drama at Queen’s University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, he does an academic’s deep dive into 11 plays for which Sondheim provided music and/or lyrics. In each, he provides insights into the making of the shows and evaluations of Sondheim’s work.
Consider “A Little Night Music,” which started rehearsals with only 10 of 15 songs completed. Adding to the pressure, director Hal Prince cut two numbers immediately, as he considered them too heavy.
Another problem: A pivotal “Night Music” scene in which Desirée declared her love for the show’s other lead, Fredrik, only to be rejected, featured a song performed by Fredrik. At the last minute, however, “Prince realized that the scene’s energy comes from Desirée,” and insisted Sondheim write a song for her.
