Michael Billington has written about theatre for the
Guardian since 1971.
His books include
The 101 Greatest Plays,
State of the Nation: British Theatre Since 1945, and
Affair of the Heart: British Theatre from 1992 to 2020.
At the
Guardian Billington tagged his
top ten books "on the fugitive art" of theatre, including:
Finishing the Hat by Stephen Sondheim
This is not only a collection of Sondheim’s lyrics from 1954 to 1981 but a critical commentary on them by their author. I can’t think of any theatre book that gives so clear a picture of the artistic process: Sondheim reveals that his greatest hit, Send in the Clowns, was written in short breathy phrases, made up of questions rather than statements, because its original performer, Glynis Johns, was unable to sustain a note. Sondheim is sometimes harsh on fellow lyricists but this is still the one indispensable book about musical theatre.
Read about
another entry on the list.
--Marshal Zeringue
Michael Billington has written about theatre for the Guardian since 1971.
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