Putting It Together

A fantastically detailled, suitably pointillistic (composed largely of brief interviews with cast and crew of the original production) account of the development of a unique and important piece of theatre. Now that it's become a legend, it's fascinating to look back at its origins before anyone knew it would work, the tensions and conflicts behind the scenes, James Lapine's inexperience as a writer and director. The connecting and sustaining thread throughout is Lapine's close collaboration with Sondheim, who was just coming off a painful failure with Merrily We Roll Along and yet willing to dare again to do something completely different, following an artistic dream, taking a chance on an unknown. The complete script of the show is included at the end, but it's no substitute for watching a performance – fortunately the recording of the original production is available.