Sondheim & Co
This is an updated and revised version of the author's 1974 study of Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim, including the four shows he has produced since A Little Night Music. Sondheim's creative genius has shaped the contemporary musical, and Zadan interweaves comments by Sondheim's colleagues with a wealth of information about the shows to display the composer's enormous talent. As in the first edition, the focus is on Sondheim's career and accomplishments, and biography is skimpy, except for some isolated, tantalizing facts. But no matter; the detail about the process of putting together a show, plus the profuse illustrations and appendixes containing production information, etc., add up to required reading for all musical theater lovers. Highly recommended, even to libraries owning the first edition.Eric W. Johnson, Univ. of Bridgeport Lib., Ct.Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.