“There are only three principles necessary for a lyric writer, all of them familiar truisms,” writes Stephen Sondheim in his preface to FINISHING THE HAT: Collected Lyrics (1954-1981) with Attendant Comments, Principles, Heresies, Grudges, Whines and Anecdotes (Knopf, $39.95). He gives you these rules, and much more, in this deluxe book. From Saturday Night to Merrily We Roll Along, Sondheim lays out the lyrics and some dialogue (including the songs that were cut before opening night) and lots of background stories. There are reproductions of lyric sketches and early drafts on a legal pad, and over 200 rehearsal and production photos. The introduction is a short treatise on lyrics (with lots of ground rules and examples). Interspersed are sidebars with Sondheim’s observations on the “Pantheon of Great Lyricists in the English-speaking musical theater.”
