Ben Brantley

This handsome volume presents 25 favorite Al Hirschfeld portraits drawn from Stephen Sondheim’s musicals. The art prints in this oversize poster book can be easily removed and framed, making it an ideal gift for Sondheim fans. This first volume in a series of deluxe Hirschfeld poster books contains art drawn from life before the opening night of each of Sondheim’s productions. On the reverse side are rare, ancillary images from the archives, as well as an introduction by Bernadette Peters, an essay by Ben Brantley, and text by David Leopold, Hirschfeld’s archivist and creative director of the Al Hirschfeld Foundation. Hirschfeld’s images capture the essence of the performances even better than the photographs of the shows. All of Sondheim’s best-known plays are included—West Side Story, Follies, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Sweeney Todd, Merrily We Roll Along, and Sunday in the Park with George. Al Hirschfeld drew his first Sondheim show in 1957—West Side Story. In his iconic, illustrative style, Hirschfeld captured almost all of Sondheim’s Broadway shows and several films featuring the composer’s songs and scripts. Sondheim was a Hirschfeld collector, acquiring drawings directly from the artist and through his friends and collaborators like Hal Prince. In his last interview just five days before his death on November 26, 2021, the New York Times ran a photo of Sondheim in his home with an image of Hirschfeld’s Putting it Together in the background. All images for this book have been scanned from the archives of the Al Hirschfeld Foundation, ensuring the highest possible quality.

It has been said that the New York Times theatre critics can make or break a show. Over the last century its six leading critics; Brooks Atkinson, Howard Taubman, Clive Barnes, Walter Kerr, Frank Rich, and Ben Brantley, have offered the most authoritative and influential commentary on musical theatre and documented our love affair with the Broadway musical. This extensive compendium includes the original reviews from the 150 most important musicals, selected by chief theatre critic Ben Brantley and accompanied by archival photographs from the productions and select feature coverage. Organized chronologically, the book begins in the early 1900s, when Gilbert and Sullivan and the Zeigfield Follies laid the groundwork for the flowering of the musical. Traveling into the golden age of theatre, we see divas rise on the stage; Ethel Merman, Julie Andrews, Carol Burnett, as well as legendary directors, lyricists, and choreographers; Rodgers and Hart, Cole Porter, Bob Fosse and Sondheim and Prince, to name a few. Iconic shows that have seen celebrated revivals will include expanded sections to track the show’s evolution over time, as in the seminal role of Rose in Gypsy, which has been played by such luminaries as Ethel Merman, Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly, Bernadette Peter and Patti Lupone. New York Times critic Ben Brantley gives context to the treasure trove of reviews through a thoughtful introduction and essays that guide the reader through each decade, along with some commentary on seminal shows.