Stephen Sondheim's biographer David Benedict and writer and musician Jason Hazeley join us for a special episode devoted to Finishing The Hat and Look, I Made Hat, the late and very great songwriter's two volumes of lyrics, memoir, criticism and much more, first published in 2010 and 2011; Sondheim's work defies easy categorisation and these glorious books are no exception.

NB. This show contains many expert recommendations for further listening and, as you'll hear, putting it together was a real thrill. Somehow we also find time to discuss the novel O Caledonia, a modern Scottish classic by Elspeth Barker, and Finna, the second collection by American poet Nate Marshall.

Books mentioned:

Stephen Sondheim - Finishing the Hat: Collected Lyrics (1954-1981) with Attendant Comments, Principles, Heresies, Grudges, Whines and Anecdotes (via Internet Archive)
Look, I Made a Hat: Collected Lyrics (1981-2011), with Attendant Comments, Amplifications, Dogmas, Harangues, Digressions, Anecdotes and Miscellany (Kindle Edition)
James Lapine - Putting It Together: How Stephen Sondheim and I Created "Sunday in the Park with George"
Nate Marshall - Finna
Elspeth Barker - O, Caledonia
Shirley Jackson - We Have Always Lived in the Castle
Dodie Smith - I Capture the Castle
William Strunk - The Elements of Style

Other links:

Sunday in the Park with George, original Broadway production
Sunday in the Park with Stephen, BBC 1990
South Bank Show on Sweeney Todd, 1980
South Bank Show Revisited, 2010
Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened: Merrily We Roll Along, Netflix 2016
Original Cast Album: Company, documentary by D.A. Pennebaker, 1980
West Side Story (1961)
Into the Stephen Sondheim Archive, Radio 4, Dec 2021
The Stephen Sondheim Society, a charitable trust and invaluable resource