Finale by D. T. Max

Finale - Late Conversations with Stephen Sondheim is an unexpected memoir. This is not a studious biography, just a record of casual conversations between friends over several years. The loose meetings were to form a New Yorker profile timed for the eventual premiere of his new musical, but near the end, Sondheim's famous discomfort with the spotlight ended the project.

In 2017, New Yorker writer D. T. Max met with Sondheim to discuss his latest project, a musical adapting two Luis Buñuel films - The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie and The Exterminating Angel.

Sondheim's songs are witty and intricate, with character-driven lyrics filled with doubts and missteps but always yearning for companionship. It's fascinating how he hears lyrics and constructs songs, developing but not repeating. Several shows were in revival - Sunday in the Park with George with Jake Gyllenhaal, Imelda Staunton in Follies, and Company. His own show Sweeney Todd was just done in a London pie shop, and Merrily We Roll Along was about to open to resounding success. At his PEN America honor, they were joined by Meryl Streep, who talked about their famous game nights. Sondheim was a game enthusiast (he co-wrote the puzzle film The Last of Sheila with Anthony Perkins), and their conversations revolved around puns and rhyme.

From his New York townhouse to his home in Connecticut, I found this absorbing and fluid. Some have found it lacking in form, but it does not purport to be a standard biography. No mention is made of his personal life, save a note he married his partner in 2017.

To spend time talking with Sondheim about any part of his career is entertaining. A musical leaves you in a magical world, but a Sondheim musical leaves you admiring the creator. The Buñuel musical reached the reading stage, the first act done. With his death in 2021, it will no doubt reside in his 'trunk' with his other unheard gems.

Sondheim's honors include eight Tonys, eight Grammys, a Presidential Medal of Freedom, a Japanese Praemium Imperiale, and a theatre was named after him.

2022 / Hardcover / 240 pages