Putting It Together book by James Lapine Aug 11
2021, 02:20:08 PM
I inhaled this book in one sitting. James Lapine writes about the creation of one of my favorite musicals of all time: Sunday in the Park With George. I enjoyed reading about the creative/collaborative process he and Stephen Sondheim took in creating this masterpiece. I first discovered the musical itself when I was at a difficult crossroads in my life. At the time, I was facing some serious and life changing decisions. So much of the music/lyrics spoke to me at the time. This lyric in particular, from “Move On”…
Stop worrying where you're going Move on If you can know where you're going You've gone Just keep moving on
I chose, and my world was shaken So what? The choice may have been mistaken The choosing was not You have to move on
These words stuck in my brain and became almost like a mantra. They helped me build up the courage to make the choices I needed to make.
And then, there’s what I consider to be the best song in the history of musical theater, “Finishing the Hat”. Though the character, George, is singing about creating art, and getting lost in that world of creation, the lyrics resonated in me. I am a teacher. Teaching is both a science and an art. This fact is one of the many reasons I have loved my vocation for so long. Creating lessons and units of study is an art form that can be totally absorbing. So, when George sings the following, I understood completely:
Finishing the hat How you have to finish the hat How you watch the rest of the world From a window while you finish the hat Mapping out a sky What you feel like, planning a sky What you feel when voices that come Through the window Go Until they distance and die Until there's nothing but sky And how you're always turning back too late From the grass or the stick Or the dog or the light Coming from the hat, studying the hat Entering the world of the hat Reaching through the world of the hat Like a window Back to this one from that
If you’re unfamiliar with this Pulitzer Prize winning show, you can probably stream in on YouTube. I hear that it’s definitely streaming on Hoopla.
Thanks
https://filesynced.org
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