Pre-order Today
Matching Minds with Sondheim
The Puzzles and Games of the Broadway Legend
Matching Minds will do more than describe Sondheim’s work. It will allow readers to match minds with the maestro by attempting to solve Sondheimian puzzles and bring Sondheimian games into their own homes.
“If you’re bedazzled by Stephen Sondheim and want to get inside his mind, you need this book.” —Daniel Okrent, author of the forthcoming Stephen Sondheim: Art Isn’t Easy
“Stands apart from other Sondheim biographies in celebrating his sense of fun and how it informed his creative process.” —Publishers Weekly
About Me
Barry Joseph
Barry Joseph is the Principal of Barry Joseph Consulting, a leader in innovating solutions for learning in a digital age, and the co-founder of the Games for Change Festival. As an early developer of after-school game design for youths and an adjunct instructor at New York University, Barry has been a national leader in games-based learning and games for social impact, producing dozens of curriculums, games, and exhibits. Collaborators and clients have included the American Museum of Natural History, Girl Scouts of the USA, the RAND Corporation, the MacArthur Foundation, and City College of New York. Barry has been featured by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, CBS Morning News, All Things Considered, and many more. He authored Seltzertopia and co-founded and directs the Brooklyn Seltzer Museum.
“Matching Minds with Sondheim reveals how before Stephen Sondheim was a musical theater god he was the puzzle editor at New York magazine, making ‘order out of chaos’ on a weekly basis. Discover how puzzles weren’t just a hobby for Steve, but a window into his brilliant mind and his ever-illuminating music.”
– Melissa Errico, Tony-nominated Broadway actress and writer
Additional Accolades
“Delightful.” ―American Theatre magazine
“As Barry Joseph documents in Matching Minds with Sondheim, Sondheim simply loved clever play.” ―Wall Street Journal
“This stands apart from other Sondheim biographies in celebrating his sense of fun and how it informed his creative process, and readers will delight in the amusing anecdotes supplied by friends and collaborators. It’s a fresh peek into the mind of a celebrated American artist.” ―Publishers Weekly
“In his clever and appropriately obsessive Matching Minds with Sondheim, Joseph conducts a treasure hunt of his own, rummaging through memoirs and archives and surveying friends, collaborators, party planners, and jigsaw-puzzle designers to reconstruct a part of Sondheim’s œuvre which was mostly confined to his social circle.” ―New Yorker
“Clearly written for true Sondheim fans or puzzle aficionados, the book is an absolute treat.” ―Library Journal
“A comprehensive and explorative review of Sondheim’s love of games and puzzles in all their forms.” ―Crossword Club
“[I] realized just how indispensable this book will be for understanding Stephen Sondheim, both the man and the body of work, going forward … What Joseph has done is compile all this material into a kaleidoscopic narrative, a breezy history covering the vast world of games Sondheim inhabited.” ―The New Criterion
“A smart, eye-opening look into a lighter side of Sondheim.” ―Kirkus Reviews
Other Books By Barry
