James Lapine

"A behind-the-scenes look at the making of the iconic Broadway musical Sunday in the Park with George"-- In 1982 Lapine, at the beginning of his career as a playwright and director, met Stephen Sondheim, nineteen years his senior and already a legendary Broadway composer and lyricist. Shortly thereafter, the two decided to write a musical inspired by Georges Seurat's nineteenth-century painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte....

Into the Woods brings well-known fairytale characters to musical life, interwoven with the story of a baker and his wife, whose longing for a child is thwarted by a mischievous witch. Stephen Sondheim's songs, seamlessly melded to James Lapine's text, are perfect expressions of the complications of living in modern society and the difficult choices we encounter on the paths of our lives. Into the Woods premiered on Broadway in 1987, winning three...

A book made "after the fact" from the greatly popular 1987 Broadway musical of the same name, which weaves characters from several classic fairy tales into a parable about the joys and sorrows of adulthood.

Tony-winning playwright and director James Lapine befriends Rose Styron, the widow of the great American novelist William Styron. Rose shares the fascinating story of her complex life as a poet, journalist, human rights activist, life partner to William, and friend of the Kennedys, Phillip Roth, Carly Simon, the Clintons, James Baldwin, Leonard Bernstein, Meryl Streep, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and many other luminaries of her time.

"In 19th century Italy, handsome soldier Giorgio is embroiled in a steamy affair with lovely, and married, Clara. Giorgio is transferred from Milan to a remote military outpost, where he comes in contact with the ailing, homely Fosca, his commanding officer's cousin. Fosca falls instantly and deeply in love with Giorgio, who resists her affections. Gradually, she reveals, and Giorgio learns to appreciate, what is truly beautiful about herself"--Container....

The fairy tale characters of Little Red Ridinghood, Cinderella, and Jack (and the Beanstalk) are linked together with the characters of a baker and his wife. Their stories intertwine as they all search for something different in the woods. After they have all found happiness, they must band together to fight a giant.

Brazenly forward George Sand and frail, romantic Frederic Chopin are drawn together as lovers by an unnerving bond that cannot be broken despite the best efforts of those around them to keep them apart.