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Matching Minds With Sondheim
Okay, I actually only just finished a draft of the first episode. The series won’t even drop until the summer. But I am looking for people NOW who want to preview this first episode and give us feedback. If you’re interested, go to my bio and click on the link at the top. Once you fill out the survey, I will send you the first episode.
This is 40+ minutes sped-up to just over a minute. (Go to bio for link to the YouTube video of my narrating the entire thing...)
From 1994 (Passion) through Company (2021), Stephen Sondheim looked to Stave, a Vermont-based jigsaw manufacturer, to produce personalized puzzles as his opening night gifts.
For each show, the poster was turned into a thick-pieced, deviously complex wooden jigsaw puzzle, each gift personalized with the initials of the recipient designed into the puzzle pieces as an additional challenge and delight.
This puzzle was gifted to Susan Jolles. When I visited her, she was approaching her 85th year--and had just concluded her sixth hour teaching harp to students in her home.
She performed in the orchestra for revivals of both A Little Night Music (2009) and Sunday in the Park with George (2017).
She said of all of her opening night gifts, this is one of her favorites since she`s been doing jigsaw puzzles since she was a kid, and this was personalized.
These puzzles represented Sondheim`s life-long interest in using puzzles to create moments of awe and clarity. I hope some of that comes across in the viewing.
To watch videos of me putting them together, go to the YouTube Playlist link in the bio link. This one was the hardest of the more than two dozen I have done, clocking in at over 40 minutes. Insane!
@stavepuzzles #jigsawpuzzles #jigsaw #jigsawpuzzlesforadults #sondheim #thingsmadeofwood
From 1994 (Passion) through Company (2021), Stephen Sondheim looked to Stave, a Vermont-based jigsaw manufacturer, to produce personalized puzzles as his opening night gifts.
For each show, the poster was turned into a thick-pieced, deviously complex wooden jigsaw puzzle, each gift personalized with the initials of the recipient designed into the puzzle pieces as an additional challenge and delight.
This puzzle was gifted to Susan Jolles. When I visited her, she was approaching her 85th year--and had just concluded her sixth hour teaching harp to students in her home.
She performed in the orchestra for revivals of both A Little Night Music (2009) and Sunday in the Park with George (2017).
She said of all of her opening night gifts, this is one of her favorites since she`s been doing jigsaw puzzles since she was a kid, and this was personalized.
These puzzles represented Sondheim`s life-long interest in using puzzles to create moments of awe and clarity. I hope some of that comes across in the viewing.
To watch videos of me putting them together, go to the YouTube Playlist link in the bio link. This one was the hardest of the more than two dozen I have done, clocking in at over 40 minutes. Insane!
@stavepuzzles #jigsawpuzzles #jigsaw #jigsawpuzzlesforadults #sondheim #thingsmadeofwood
The third and last puzzle in the pressbook for The Last of Sheila was a crosswords (NOT by Sondheim): The Last Word on Terror. #thelastofsheila #sondheim #crossword
This is puzzle number 2 from the press book for the movie The Last of Sheila in the fake broadside that was included inside. This is a connect the dots with pencil marks from the person who must’ve received it. As you can see, the connect the dots show the chalk marks from the body of the movies first victim. “Here’s your chance to draw your own conclusion…” Oy! “Anyone can play. Anyone can die.” #thelastofsheila
It turns out they were three different visual poster campaigns offered by Warner Brothers to promote the movie. The Last of Sheila.
The one we most often see is called the question mark campaign. But we see there’s also one called the wheel campaign (board game motif) and the puzzle campaign (maze motif).
Who knew?
This shows how much the studio leaned into the games and puzzles side of the movie over the murder mystery angle in selling it.
#thelastofsheila
The pressbook for The Last of Sheila included a pullout broadsheet called Deadly Games Gazette that featured fake news stories about the movie as of it were a real paper. And like all papers it also had puzzles! This is Puzzle 1, an original Al Hershfeld create as promotion for the movie. As expected it had a “NINA” hidden in it - and also a “SHEILA”! #alhirschfeld #thelastofsheila
I heard from over 100 people for my book, and have over 30 hours of original interviews that I can share on a podcast. Shall I launch one along with my book?
This is the first batch of images, focusing on some of the copy that includes Sondheim, from my recent find of a pressbook from The Last of Sheila. #thelastofsheila #sondheim #anthonyperkins
© Copyright 2023 – Barry Joseph