Done in the form of memoir and interviews so there's a lot of "you're great" "no you're great". The inception of the musical was relatively easy - Lapine was new but had some track record, met Sondheim, they got along, both clicked with the idea, they put on a workshop, which was picked up for Broadway. To be honest I was finding the book boring around this point but then previews went very badly as audiences did not like it, and there was pressure to change the show, but Sondheim and Lapine held the course. Mandy Patinkin was a bit of a sook, the work was difficult to pull off. Michael Bennett came along to give some useful technical pointers as opposed to anything philosophical (eg "Give the audience a chance to applaud after Patinkin's big song so they can show their approval").
Invaluable if you like this musical - the book includes a book of the musical, which is perhaps the best ever musical depiction of being an artist. Leonard Bernstein greeted people by French kissing them. I don't think Jerry Herman's acceptance speech at the Tonys about making hummable musicals was a big dig at Sondheim I think it was a defencsive call. Theatre people can be too touchy.
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