Oscar Hammerstein II (1895-1960) forged a remarkable, multifaceted career as a librettist, lyricist, playwright, director, and producer. He wrote Carmen Jones, Carousel, Show Boat, and, with longtime collaborator Richard Rodgers, Oklahoma , South Pacific, The King and I, and The Sound of Music. Hugh Fordin enjoyed complete access to the Hammerstein archives and conducted numerous interviews with family and colleagues like Rodgers, Berlin, Robbins, and Sondheim. The result is the definitive biography of a creative giant, who changed forever the texture of American...

-That joyous rarity, a work of sophisticated artistic ambition and deep political purpose that affords nonstop pleasure.---William A. Henry III, Time

Book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart Introduction by Larry Gelbart "This brazenly retro Broadway musical, inspired by Plautus, is as timeless as comedy itself." -Vincent Canby, The New York Times "The most urbane and literate musical comedy text ever conceived." -John Simon, New York magazine

(Applause Libretto Library). Book by Hugh Wheeler Introduction by Christopher Bond "Mr. Sondheim fearlessly explores psychic caverns where civilized people are not dying to go ... A naked Sweeney Todd stands revealed as a musical of naked rage, chewing up everyone in its path as it spits out blood and tears." Frank Rich, The New York Times * "A work of such scope and such daring that it dwarfs every other Broadway musical that even attempts to invite comparison." Rex Reed, New York Daily News

This 1995 Pulitzer Prize-winning musical was inspired by the painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat. A complex work revolving around a fictionalized Seurat immersed in single-minded concentration while painting the masterpiece, the production has evolved into a meditation on art, emotional connection, and community. This publication contains the entire score of the musical. "Sunday is itself a modernist creation, perhaps the first truly modernist work of musical theatre that Broadway has produced ... a watershed event that demands nothing less than a...

(Applause Libretto Library). "Throwing caution to the winds, I assert that A Little Night Music comes as close as possible to being the perfect romantic comedy musical." Brendan Gill, The New Yorker "Heady, civilized, sophisticated and enchanting. Good God An adult musical." Clive Barnes, The New York Times

Evoking a fraternity of political assassins and would-be assassins across a hundred years of our history, Sondheim and Weidman daringly examine success, failure and the questionable drive for power and celebrity in American society. "Dark, demented humor, as horrifying as it is hilarious."--Michael Kuchwara, "Associated Press"

A handsome army officer, entangled with a married woman, is despatched to a distant military outpost. There he has to beat off the attentions of Fosca, the sickly - and distinctly unattractive - cousin of his commanding officer, only to realise that he's falling in love with her.

The book and lyrics of the first musical for which Sondheim composed the score as well. Forum opened in 1962 and is Sondheim's longest running play. Other plays for which he has written both the music and lyrics are A Little Night Music, Into the Woods and Assassins.

First staged on Broadway in 1984 and at the National Theatre in London in 1990, this work is a creation even for the author. This volume contains the complete book and lyrics as well as a 50-page introduction detailing the making of the musical plus an interview with the author.