Basic Information : Synopsis : Characters : Expectations : Thoughts : Evaluation : Book Group : New Words : Book References : Good Quotes : Table of Contents : References
Basic Information:
Author: James Lapine, Stephen Sondheim
Edition: epub on Libby from the San Francisco Public Library
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ISBN: 9780374720223
Start Date: January 27, 2022
Read Date: February 12, 2022
416 pages
Genre: Book Group
Language Warning: Low
Rated Overall: 2 1/2 out of 5
Synopsis (Caution: Spoiler Alert-Jump to Thoughts):
The first part of the book talks about how Lapine developed as a playwright, then a director. He approached Stephen Sondheim about doing a musical together and Sondheim accepted.
Most of the rest of the first part is how things were being put together at the last moment, even as they were approaching their Broadway premiere.
The second part of the book is the script to the musical, Sunday in the Park with Geroge.
Also there are many pictures of the things and people who are relevant to the musical.
Cast of Characters:
Excerpted from the chapter called and only those who have a conversation in the book:
- Lapine, James (Book and direction)
- Sondheim, Stephen (Music and lyrics)
- Azenberg, Emanuel (Producer and General Manager)
- Bishop, André (Artistic Director (Playwrights Horizons))
- Smith, Philip* (General Manager of the Shubert Organization; now Chairman)
- Weitzman, Ira (Program Director (Playwrights Horizons))
- Baranski, Christine (Clarissa [later renamed Yvonne] (Playwrights Horizons))
- Bryne, Barbara (Old Lady; Blair Daniels, an art critic)
- D’Arcy, Mary (Celeste #2; Elaine)
- Ferland, Danielle (Louise, the daughter of Jules and Yvonne)
- Grammer, Kelsey (Young Man; Soldier; Alex Savage (Playwrights Horizons))
- Ivey, Dana (Yvonne, Jules’s wife; Naomi Eisen, a composer)
- Kimbrough, Charles ( Jules, another artist; Bob Greenberg, the museum director)
- Mastrantonio, Mary Elizabeth (Celeste #2 (Playwrights Horizons))
- Opel, Nancy (Frieda, a cook; Betty, an artist)
- Parry, William (Boatman; Charles Redmond)
- Patinkin, Mandy (George)
- Peters, Bernadette (Dot; Marie, George’s grandmother)
- Spiner, Brent (Franz, a servant; Dennis, a technician)
- Vaughan, Melanie (Celeste #1; Waitress)
- Westenberg, Robert (Soldier; Alex, an artist)
- Ferren, Bran (Special Effects)
- Hould-Ward, Ann (Costume Design)
- Morse, Tom (Sound Design)
- Straiges, Tony (Scenic Design)
- Ford, Paul (Piano)
- Gemignani, Paul (Musical Director)
- Sperling, Ted (Synthesizer)
- Starobin, Michael (Orchestrator)
- Murray, Johnna (Associate to James Lapine)
- Zinn, Randolyn (Movement Director)
- Robertson, Loretta (Stage Manager)
- Lyons, John (Casting Director)
- Breglio, John (Mr. Sondheim’s lawyer)
- Douglas, Sarah (Associate of Flora Roberts, Mr. Sondheim’s agent)
- Graham, Stephen (Producer)
- Grody, Kathryn (Wife of Mandy Patinkin)
- Lane, George (Mr. Lapine’s agent)
- Verlizzo, Frank (Artwork)
*Deceased
- Recommendation: Peter in my book group
- When: January 2022
- Date Became Aware of Book: January 2022
- How come do I want to read this book: Mostly because it is my book groups pick
Thoughts:
I admit, as I was reading this book for the first time, the book did not take me as being personally interested in it. It is a book we are reading for my book group, which I lead. So I really do need to read it. Still, I was wondering why was this book written and where would I pick up things which interested me? The book never perked my interest. But I suspect it is just me as there are others who felt Putting It Together was a worthwhile read. The part which I learned was that creating a theater show is not a straight line operation. The writer may have an idea of where it is heading, but it will become modified as the writing progresses. Also in this case, the production was going even before the writing was completed for the first act.
So how did some pretty big names become attracted to this show? My guess is that the Sondheim name attached to it made a difference.
Georges Seurat - A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte
The play is about Seurat and his work on the Sunday Afternoon painting and then about his personal life, with it being presented in a more modern day media.
A note: much of the book is a series of conversations. Many I did not find very useful. When denoting who the conversation was with, I would put in the name. If I copied the name from the list of characters it was last name first. But if I typed it, it is usually first name first. Hence the inconsistency.
Prelude
Lapine talks about writing what he calls “the book” which I think is the script for the play/musical. He recalls the pleasure of working with Sondheim and the pain of being the director. That is what this book or story is about-This book was born that night, as I sat in the Hudson Theatre.
It covers from 1982-1984. Most of the book is interviews or as he prefers conversations with those who worked on the play. He went back and talked with 40 different people. The dialogue was two way, where his subjects also were invited to ask questions. Lapine was reminded that memory is uniquely personal and, as time passes, the facts of an event are often rewritten to reflect the teller and the stories he or she chooses to hold true. Sometimes emotional recall wins the day over fact. I am not the same person, the same writer, the same director I was then, and many of the people I spoke to are quick to make a similar point about themselves. This really reminds me of what Anne DIllard says in The Writing Life, where she notes from Graham Greene that a novel takes perhaps years to write, the author is not the same man at the end of the book as he was at the beginning…
Seems like there are two reasons why Lapine wrote this book
This book, then, is a mixed salad: one part memoir, one part oral history, one part “how a musical gets written and produced.”
Another reason I decided to write this: it would have been so helpful to me as both writer and director to have had a book like this to read in 1982, before I embarked on my first Broadway show.
From Ohio to Sondheim
Lapine recounts how he fell in love with the theater-there was a Broadway actor who came from his home time. This included giving Jerry Van Dyke a minor paper cut on his nose. When Lapine moved to Connecticut, he was able to see more Broadway shows. But his personal theater experience was limited. He was a photographer in training.
He got a job at Yale, producing the theater magazine. A requirement was to teach a class. Also there was a requirement to do something outside of your expertise. He directed Gertrude Stein’s Photographs. One of the pictures was A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.It was a success and it got taken to New York where it won an Obie.
This opened the door to more directing gigs. This has the first of conversations with Graham Nash.This opened the door to meet with Sondheim.
Stephen Sondheim
Meeting Sondheim for the first time. Sondheim was already well established as a premiere Broadway person. Conversation with Sondheim.
Sondheim: I thought, I don’t want to be in this profession; it’s just too hostile and mean-spirited. He commented on the reception one of his works got. There is more dialogue, when Lapine notes that Sondheim never tried to have a long-running show. Instead Lapin was taken aback and asked why. You [Sondheim] answered, “Their subjects are always so interesting to me, I assume they would be interesting to others as well.” Wasn’t Sondheim concerned that the investors would get back their money? Doesn’t a long-running show also indicate quality? It seems like Sondheim is saying that if he follows his North Star, that quality will take care of itself and that the show will be successful. The talk was about their initial meeting which Lapine did not think there was anything would come out of it as far as a working relationship-they both felt that there was kindred spirits.
Then a second conversation with Sondheim. They discuss themes and variations. Then another meeting which ends up being a series of weekly meetings. There was a lot of back and forth. Sondheim wanted to get into the minds and mannerisms of each character before he would write a song for that character. He said that I was about to say, that’s the point. It’s not a waste to write a bad song. It’s a waste of time to write a wrong song.
Sondheim: Songs—music—can be very intrusive. That’s what worried me.
Conversion now between two friends discussing how they worked together, revealing some of their thoughts at the time working together.
Lapine talking to Sondheim: When you say you don’t want to write the “wrong” song, I think what you are saying is that you have to understand why there is a song—what its purpose will be in the storytelling and how it serves that overall dramatic arc.
Goes on to an interview with Stephen Graham, Andre Bishop and Ira Weitzman. Lapine visits Paris and the island. More talk with Sondheim about collaboration.
Sondheim and Lapine travel to Chicago to both view the painting and to talk with the experts. The things which they were bringing out in the play were confirmed by the experts.
Quotes from Stephen Sondheim’s Look, I Made a Hat about the concepts of color and light.This lead to Sondheim using more rhythm and language than rhyme in his songs for the play. In the dialogue with Lapine and Sondheim, they talk about how they worked in sync with each other.
Sondheim goes off-Broadway
The play would be put together as a workshop-not a common path to a full blown play in those days.
Conversation with Bishop and Weitzman. Bishop talks about how he was having troubles with Mrs. Richard Rodgers who was head of the New York Council on the Arts-a source of funding.
Short interview with Sondheim.
Casting-how Bernadette Peters and Mandy Patinkin got involved. And then the other parts-talking with John Lyons-who was the casting director; Gemignani, Paul (Musical Director); Baranski, Christine; Ferland, Danielle;Mastrantonio, Mary Elizabeth; Open, Nancy; and Spiner, Brent. There are some pretty talented actors in this group.
Lapine noted that Sondheim told him that If an actor is not the world’s best singer, they at least have to be musical. They have to have confidence as a singer. That was a lesson I learned the hard way.
Lapine about casting: I want to create a workspace where I don’t have to feel afraid of making mistakes, and I want to be surrounded by people who feel similarly.
On to design. Short conversation with Straiges, Tony and first conversation with Sperling, Ted.
Then to costumes: Hould-Ward, Ann conversation. Talks about the iron dress which Peters wore so she could step right out of the costume.
A short paragraph on lighting. Then the music team: more conversation with Gemignani, Paul
More on script development, along with the songs. Interview with William Parry. Short conversations with . Bernadette Peters, Mandy Patinkin, and Ferland, Danielle. Then with one of the stage managers-Robertson, Loretta. Then Nancy Opel (actor), and then Steven Sondheim.
Because Mandy Patinkin was George and George was an artist, Lapine had Patinkin learn to draw. Patinkin said: You can’t give me a better gift than a task. Isn’t that true? If you have a meaningful task, you have purpose. Purpose is what we all desire.
Conversation with Mastrantonio, Mary Elizabeth about how a song would develop. Then Melanie Vaughn. Then Open, Nancy; and Spiner, Brent. Then Weitzman, Ira; Baranski, Christine and Vaughan, Melanie
Another conversion with Sondheim-about how Dog Song came about. Then Johnna Murray.
Another conversation with Andre Bishop, then Sondheim. Sondheimg: Let’s try this”—a semi-improvisational thing that you do. It’s something I wasn’t used to, but it’s part of the same process, which is, Just let me get the feel of it. It was the way you worked, so I worked that way, too. This talks about the flexibility each person must have, working with someone else.
Because this was a workshop, there were performances in progress. The play did not have a completed first act and definitely no second act. Sondheim had found his niche-this was the way he wanted to work. He was able to see what worked and what did not work in front of an audience who knew this was not a finished product. One of the suggestions which came out of this was for Dot’s character-rather than saying she was learning to read, show that she was. Conversation with Andre Bishop
BISHOP: I came to realize that even legendary artists as experienced and successful and knowledgeable as Sondheim needed to be bolstered and supported.
LAPINE: Steve was vulnerable and maybe a little insecure, like the rest of us.
BISHOP: And I always point this out as the greatest piece of advice that anyone has ever given me about producing—plays, musicals, readings, whatever; you must always say something supportive.
Important outside of the theater too. Be supportive.
Now that there were audiences, the stress increased. Patnikin was having a tough time of it. In a previous show, Lapine was given the advice, Why do you want to have an actor in your show that doesn’t want to be there? This is probably good advice for anything. If I had been told this when I was supervising, I might have approached certain people differently. On the other hand, there is a need to understand and help a person out with insecurity.I suspect one has to ask yourself, is this a good fit for a person? Or is the person lacking confidence?
Move conversations: Kelsey Grammer, Brent Spinner, Ferland, Danielle Gemignani, Paul. Gemignani noted that things were not smooth and that Lapine was getting stressed when things did not go right. The fact is, it’s not a popularity contest. Get the job done.
Conversation with Robertson, Loretta on the song Finishing the Hat. Lapine thought the song gave the whole production coherence. Conversations with Nancy Opel, Sondheim and Michael Starobin.
Lapine talks a bit having dinner with Sondheim and Sondheim wanting to do his next show with him. This was such a great vindication for Lapine that he was going in the right direction. There is always a sense of uplifting when someone wants to be with you.
Sondheim goes into how he composed-serially. He said that the theory he learnt was from Milton Babbitt. Lapine and Sondheim went in various ways they thought about creating the play. Such as Seurat used 12 colors and there are 12 notes in an octave. But it did not work. On the other hand, they had this wonderfully expressive painting with a silent painter, so they could make up a lot of things. Sondheim notes that he [didn’t] think he [Seurat] would have been any fun to have dinner with.
Lapine quotes Emmanuel (Manny) Azenburg, saying: The book of a musical is a very underrated thing. It’s a vital organ that gets dismissed and nobody knows who wrote it. But if you have a book that doesn’t engage, you don’t really hear the music,
Lapine notes there is not one set way of creating a musical. Lapine and Sondheim have used three different processes in three different musicals-he goes through the three. One thing which Lapine does is to write a sentence or two to make sure that the writing and music are in sync with the focus.
Towards the end of the workshop, what they had of the second act was presented-it was very incomplete. Conversations with Sondheim, Mastrantonio, Mary Elizabeth, Opel, Nancy. These performances showed what worked and what did not work.
Lapine goes Broadway
Lapine and Sondheim had taken the summer off after the workshop. Lapine has a conversation with Azenberg, Emanuel about producing Broadway shows. Sondheim’s reputation is what allowed the play to be pushed to Broadway, even though the second act was not there.
Conversations with Sondheim about his work habits. Then a letter threatening that they hold off production until another show gets produced. But that faded away
Conversation with Brent Spiner. Andre Bishop, then Sondheim on going to Broadway so fast. Some trimming of the show. Then talking with Kathryn Grody-Mandy Pantkin’s wife-he had been offered a part with Dustin Hoffman. Then back to Sondheim, discussing getting Peters on board, filling out the Dot role.
Talks about how Broadway contracts are governed. Then conversation with Sarah Douglas who worked with Sondheim’s agent Flora Roberts. One thing said was that Roberts was passionate about Sunday. I wonder what would make a person that way? When Roberts did not know something or understand, she would ask. I’ll have Manny Azenberg come to the office. We’ll have sandwiches over the desk, and he’ll teach us about pools.” He came in, and that’s what happened before the meeting with the Dramatists Guild.
Talked with his agent, George Lane. It was said that Sondheim could have asked for a lot more and taken more of Lapine’s share, but he wanted just the minimum of the Guild’s agreement. Conversation with Sondheim’s lawyer-Breglio, John about how the contract was finessed.Lapine ends up getting paid the minimum.
The question of who to bring forward from the workshop to Broadway came up. There were people who Lapine found difficult to work with. Conversation with Vaughan, Melanie. And then D’Arcy, Mary. Others left to be part of other shows based upon what people saw at the workshop. So new people were brought in. Conversation with Kimbrough, Charles. Noted that he was told to see Sunday when it was a workshop--he was sold on it.He talked about Sondheim’s relationship with a previous playwright. Also he thought that Lapine coming into Broadway through a workshop background worked to Lapine’s advantage.
Conversation with Barbara Bryne. She wanted to be in character at the start of the play.
Conversation with Straiges, Tony on stage design. Talked about the rake of the stage-a theater stage that slopes upwards, away from the audience. Interesting, this is where the term upstaging comes from. When the person in back is higher than the person closer to the audience. I did not know that.
Conversation with Hould-Ward, Ann on costuming. Mostly about budget and negotiations.
Back to Sondheim about the second act and the art being “inventive.” This brought to a conversation with Bran Ferren-about projection mapping. This brought in the chromolume-a made up machine. It was built with lasers.
You would think sound and Sondheim would go together. But there was more than that. Conversation with Tom Morse, sound person. Actors not mic’d, Lapine wanted an “acoustic” sound. Much different than today.
Conversation about the artwork/posters with Verlizzo, Frank. He said that The poster is longevity personalfied. Wonder how he really meant this? About the show? The artist? The people shown in a poster?
The Music Team. Sondheim’s usual orchestra conductor was busy. But Sondheim was given advice that leading a large orchestra on Broadway is different than a smaller version. Conversation with Starobin, Michael who led the orchestra-who was the rehearsal pianist so he already had a taste of what the show was about. He felt the orchestra added punctuation to the actor’s voice. During the audition, Starobin over orchestrated Sondheim's work-sounded too busy. But got the job anyway. Seems like there was some friction and respect among the music people. Gemignani, Paul comments about working with the various people Sondheim has worked with. Then Starobin talks about working with Gemignani. He also goes through the process of scoring the musical. The talking with Paul Ford and Ted Sperling.
There was a need for a person to look at character movement-that would be choreography. Conversation with Zinn, Randolyn. Talked about the development of the movement of various characters. I get the feeling that she helped the show move up to the next level visually.
And then there was stage management with Charles Blackwell. Short dialog with Robertson, Loretta and Azenberg, Emanuel.
Sondheim and Lapine worked on streamlining the musical, to remove superfluous parts of it, added in some places to make it more meaningful. Even cutting out whole songs. Most of the musical was familiar to those who did the workshop, but needed to be taught to the new actors.
Short dialogue with Westenberg, Robert . Talking about having to let go an actor. Conversation with Dana Ivey. Then Kimbrough, Charles . Back to costumes with Hould-Ward, Ann . She noted that Lapine seemed in control and was able to communicate well what he wanted. Lapine was in awe how a costume could accent a scene and a message.
Conversation with Starobin, Michael on bringing in the orchestra. Starobin was trying things which he felt could get him fired. But on the other hand, there was something of a relief knowing that is the worst which could happen. He notes that Gemignani is the best conductor on Broadway because he conducts acts, not songs.
The Booth Theater
Kimbrough, Charles thought Lapine was tough because he knew what he wanted and got it. Then Bernadette Peters had concerns about the wardrobe. And making it work. Hould-Ward, Ann explained how the mechanical dress Peters wore worked. Ted Sperling about a comment he made on the dress. Then about Bernadette Peters playing an old woman in the second act.
First preview. Turns out it did not go very well. Sondheim explains that this is how Broadway is, rising expectations, it is not a workshop. Lapine expresses how he was not ready for this. Paul Ford’s thoughts of excitement and deflation. Conversation with Tom Morse.
Paying customers started coming and it was terrible. Then Sondheim. Starobin on sound or lack of it. Hould-Ward, Ann on crowd reaction. Azenberg, Emanuel thoughts on crowd reaction. John Lyons dialogue with Lapine. Also Sperling, Ted.
Previews. Thoughts from Baranski, Christine , then Dana Ivey, Mary D’Arcy, Barbara bryne, Nancy Opel, WIlliam Parry. Interesting how the actors now were taking possession of the show, “our” show. Then Sondheim, Mandy Pantikin, Bernadette Peters, Peters notes that shows go wrong when the director loses focus. Philip Smith, the producer. Then Sondheim again.
From the feedback, they trimmed scenes and made things tighter. Both Peters and Pantikin wanted to get things right. Gemignani, Paul helped keep things together.He notes that whenever the actors feel secure, they have more freedom to grow and expand the song. Talked with Robertson, Loretta about growing from the previews. Then dialog with Mary D’Arcy, Mandy Pantikin, then how Azenberg, Emanuel gets involved with a show.
Conversation with Sondheim. An audience needs to be able to show its appreciation. It helps validate their enjoyment and encourages anyone on the fence to get on board.
Johnny Cash came to see the preview of the show.
Lapine talking with Patnikin told him that he has learned to be more supportive of actors, but I can’t fake it and sometimes I can get very lost in the details of the work. Peters noted that Patnikin could be difficult to work with particularly since he was getting so much into the Seurat character who was complex and on the whole not a very nice person to be around. Azenberg, Emanuel noted that part of the job [of being a director] is to seduce an actor into being better. Kathyrn Grody, Patnikin’s wife, noted that once Lapine started taking charge, Patnikin felt better. To communicate better, Lapine started giving Patnikin written notes at the end of the day and not in person. Patnikin noted this gave him time to digest what Lapine was saying. Kathyrn Grody noted that as the show was getting closer, Patnikin was a nervous wreck-he saw professional help which gave him good perspective.
Even during previews, there were two songs which were not in the show yet. Sondheim had not written them yet. Conversation with Sondheim about what was going on behind the scenes. He notes that the problem with songwriting is figuring out what you are going to do. Lapine thought the song Children and Art explained the show while Lesson #8 explained George. The two discuss what stressed them out and how they approached their craft. To Sondheim, the words come first, then the rhythm. Sondheim says that in every score he writes, there is a Harold Arlen song-a heart that is breaking. In putting together a song, Sondheim would look for rhyming words and quatrains. Then he does some free associations. Oscar Hammerstein made a career out of preaching in music. Sondheim notes that when the music is used correctly, then the whole thing comes together.
Starobin, Michael and Gemignani, Paul getting the last two songs less than a week before the opening. Orchestration was not there so it began with just a piano, but the orchestra figured it out and played along. Exciting. Then Kimbrough, Charles gave his take. Along with William Parry. Then Mandy Patinkin talked about the difference the two songs made.
Lapine made a final plea at the final rehearsal. He got emotional and it resonated with the actors. William Parry and Mandy Patinkin give their take on it.
Opening night Show was good. Reviews were not on previous shows.
Finale.
Awards the musical received include things like New York Drama Critics and the Drama Desk Award for Best Musical. They also received a large number of nominations for the Tony’s. But was disappointed to receive none.This let down put awards into perspective for Lapine. Conversation with Robertson, Loretta.
But it did receive the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, a rare award for a musical.
In retrospect, Lapine does not think he could have put together the same show now (2021) as when they did. It would have had a different metamorphosis. He also was greeted with the “rising” star type of title-everything would be compared to this show. But also he had a recognizable name. The musical still sends a message to him.
Then he talks about endings: There are mixed feelings when you are facing the finality of an effort—on the one hand, relief, and on the other, trepidation as you send it into the world.
Sunday in the Park with George (script for the musical)
The script of the musical is at the end of the book. The first scene shows how regimented George is. Dot loves her life with George, but missing a life with George. George does not connect with her emotionally. You are left with how come George and his mother are estranged, yet she wants to watch him. Various people either analyze George or make fun of him.
Dot is learning to read. She is now going with a baker.
Act II opens with the actors in the position of the painting, like how it closed Act I. George sees the painting and has a series of thoughts including, Could darkness be an inviting place? I wonder if Lapine ever read CS Lewis’ Till We Have Faces. In there Lewis says: Holy places are dark places. It is life and strength, not knowledge and words, that we get in them. Holy wisdom is not clear and thin like water, but thick and dark like blood.
The characters on the painting reflect. They talk about how George died.
Scene changes to 1984. George’s great-grandson and George’s daughter, Marie, are reading at a presentation. The great-grandson is also named George and is a modern artist who creates a machine to show the works of arts. The idea is that like George Seurat, this modern George was creating a technique for creating art not used before.
During the showing, modern George shows a picture of Sunday in the Park. He notes that Monet, Renoir, and Sisley withdrew their submissions because of his painting from the Eighth Impressionist Exhibition. From the musical you get the impression that it was because of Seurat’s painting. But that seems to be just one of the reasons
There is a bit of technical mambo-jumbo from modern George about a microcomputer controlling the voltage regulator.
A dialogue/music about art not being easy and is expensive. .
An art critic notes that once modern George was new and exciting, but now he is getting repetitive.
there are only two worthwhile things to leave behind when you depart this world: children and art. Said by Marie, Are there not other things in this world? Such as improving others? Living truly? ….
Said by Marie, Isn’t it lovely how artists can capture us. Do they really? What makes an artist? Is it the ability to see beyond the surface and bring it out? What are they capturing? Are we not that at other times Or if the artist is seeing something else?
There is a dialogue between modern George and his assistant about quitting. They both are quitting to do something different. But is that reason enough? Should we quit doing something which is bringing good to do something different? I am not judging them, but more the statement. I do not think it is something out there as a rule.
Evaluation:
Putting It Together by James Lapine just did not connect with me. I suspect it may be that my interests do not lie in the same direction as the authors. The book is a series of conversations Lapine has with actors, production staff, executives and, of course, Steven Sondheim concerning the creation and the start of production of the musical, Sunday in the Park with George. Lapine does provide some commentary around many of the conversations.
To me, most of the conversations were not that interesting, and only illuminated how ill-prepared the musical was for an audience. Some of the conversations, particularly with Sondheim, shed light on the process of writing songs for musicals. Other conversations gave hints about how management of actors and staff affected the musical coming together.
I suspect that if you love the theater, this book would be of interest to you. Even then there are some big names such as: Bernadette Peters, Mandy Patnikin, Kelsey Grammer, and Brent Spriner. But for me, this book just did not resonate.
Notes from my book group:
Body of the Book
Lapine wrote this book for two reasons:
This book, then, is a mixed salad: one part memoir, one part oral history, one part “how a musical gets written and produced.”
Another reason I decided to write this: it would have been so helpful to me as both writer and director to have had a book like this to read in 1982, before I embarked on my first Broadway show.
Do you think he accomplished his goal?
Before reading this book, how did you think a show got put together? Do you think Sunday In The Park with George is how these are normally done?
What surprised you about how a show is developed?
Lapine was reminded that memory is uniquely personal and, as time passes, the facts of an event are often rewritten to reflect the teller and the stories he or she chooses to hold true…. I am not the same person, the same writer, the same director I was then, and many of the people I spoke to are quick to make a similar point about themselves. Discuss this statement. Should you trust any autobiography given this statement? How do we shape our memories to fit into how we want to think of ourselves?
In the initial dialogue with Sondheim, Sondheim brings up that he was not worried about long-running shows. Besides having people come out night after night, how do shows have long runs? How does quality of production and script mix into having a long running show? .Do you think Sondheim was concerned about investors getting back their money? Doesn’t a long-running show also indicate quality?
Sondheim and Lapine discuss bad songs and wrong songs. What makes a song wrong? Why is it the wrong song, even if it is good?
Sondheim notes that when the music is used correctly, then the whole thing comes together. What does he mean by this?
Lapine said I want to create a workspace where I don’t have to feel afraid of making mistakes, and I want to be surrounded by people who feel similarly. Is this a good way to work? How does a person or an organization get to be this way? How do you react when a person makes a mistake? Particularly if there is a lot of hurt involved? Is the statement about whenever the actors feel secure, they have more freedom to grow and expand the song a reciprocal of lack of fear of making mistakes?
When Lapine told Patnikin to learn how to paint/draw, Patnikin said: You can’t give me a better gift than a task. Is this true? How do you feel when you are given a meaningful task?
Why is Lapine concerned about Sondheim leaving the show? What does this say about Lapine? What does it say about Sondheim staying with the show?
If you attended a workshop performance, would you feel cheated not having the full musical? Or would you feel like you were informed? Would you even go?
When talking with the person who did the posters, Verlizzo said posters were longevity personalfied. What is meant by that phrase?
An audience needs to be able to show its appreciation. It helps validate their enjoyment and encourages anyone on the fence to get on board. How does an appreciative audience affect the actors? The audience?
Azenberg noted that part of the job [of being a director] is to seduce an actor into being better. Anybody want to comment on this?
Scripts
The George Seurat character asks the question, Could darkness be an inviting place? What is your answer to this question? Is there an attraction to dark places? How do you think Lapine would react to a statement CS Lewis makes in his book “‘Till We Have Faces”: Holy places are dark places. It is life and strength, not knowledge and words, that we get in them. Holy wisdom is not clear and thin like water, but thick and dark like blood.
It seems like Lapine shows the painters as being uncaring. Is this true? Is this how you see painters? Is Dot’s critique of George, only caring about things, not people true?
Is there significance in the musical Sunday in the Park with George?
In the second act, there is the thought of being stuck in a rut. The modern George has his seventh version of the Chromolume. Why do you think we are driven to do something new? Is it a disservice to a person to be happy doing the same thing again? Why is newness expected?
Marie says that there are only two worthwhile things to leave behind when you depart this world: children and art. Discuss this statement. Are there other things worthwhile leaving behind after you die?
Marie also says Isn’t it lovely how artists can capture us?'' Do they really? What makes an artist? Is it the ability to see beyond the surface and bring it out? What are they capturing? Are we not that at other times Or if the artist is seeing something else?
When you see a play or a musical now, what appreciations do you bring to the production that you might not have before?
How do you want your life to change because you read this book?
Many of these questions are either from or adapted from LitLovers.
Why the title of Putting It Together?
Every story has a world view. Were you able to identify this story’s world view? What was it? How did it affect the story?
Why do you think the author wrote this book?
What would you ask the author if you had a chance?
What “takeaways” did you have from this book?
What central ideas does the author present?
Describe the culture talked about in the book.
How is the culture described in this book different than where we live?
What economic or political situations are described?
Does the author examine economics and politics, family traditions, the arts, religious beliefs, language or food?
How did this book affect your view of the world?
Talk about specific passages that struck you as significant—or interesting, profound, amusing, illuminating, disturbing, sad...?
What was memorable?
New Words:
- proboscis-the nose of a mammal, especially when it is long and mobile such as the trunk of an elephant or the snout of a tapir.
- pastiche-an artistic work in a style that imitates that of another work, artist, or period.
- pointillist-The technique relies on the ability of the eye and mind of the viewer to blend the color spots into a fuller range of tones.
- leitmotifs-a recurrent theme throughout a musical or literary composition, associated with a particular person, idea, or situation.
- interstitial-of, forming, or occupying interstices.
- raked stage- A sloping stage which is raised at the back (upstage) end. All theatres used to be built with raked stages as a matter of course. Today, the stage is often left flat and the auditorium is raked to improve the view of the stage from all seats.
- proscenium-the part of a theater stage in front of the curtain.
- Arpeggiated-play (a chord) as a series of ascending or descending notes.
- gavotte-a medium-paced French dance, popular in the 18th century
- Chromolume-made up word.
- Georges Seurat: Un dimanche après-midi à l’Île de la Grande Jatte (A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, sometimes titled A Sunday on La Grande Jatte—1884)
- Look, I Made a Hat by Stephen Sondheim
- Finishing the Hat by Stephen Sondheim
- The Complete Rhyming Dictionary by Clement Wood
Good Quotes:
- First Line: I was sitting in the Hudson Theatre in 2017, watching a Broadway revival of Sunday in the Park with George, a musical for which Stephen Sondheim wrote the music and lyrics and I wrote the book.
- Last Line: Light fades to black
- Songs—music—can be very intrusive. That’s what worried me. Steven Sondheim, Chp Steven Sondheim
- there are only two worthwhile things to leave behind when you depart this world: children and art. Act II
- Dramatis personae
- From Ohio to Sondheim
- Stephen Sondheim
- Sondheim goes off-Broadway
- Lapine goes Broadway
- The Booth Theater
- Finale.
References:
- Publisher's Web Site for Book
- Author's Web Site
- Wikipedia-Book
- Wikipedia-Author
- Amazon-Book
- Amazon-Author
- GoodReads-Book
- GoodReads-Author
- New York Theater review
- Newsweek’s review
- The Guardian’s Review
- Rolling Stone’s review
- YouTube - Full Musical
- YouTube interview-Free Library of Philadelphia
- YouTube interview- Dramatists Guild Foundation
