Upcoming Events
2026:
- 1.24 BroadwayCon, with special guest Etai Benson (NYC)
- 2.5: JCC Mid-Westchester (Scarsdale, NY)
- 4.11: The 48th Annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament (Stanford, CT)
- 4.18: Forest Hills Branch Library (Forest Hills, NY)
- 4.25: Fresh Meadows Branch Library (Forest Hills, NY)
- 4.26: Far Rockaway Branch Library (Forest Hills, NY)
- 6.11: Falmouth JCC & Worcester JCC (remote)
Past Events
2026
- 1.15: NYC Content (NY, NY) Sondheimian Game Night
- 1.13: Reform Temple of Forest Hills (Forest Hills, NY) Sondheimian Game Night
- 1.8: The Jewish Federation of Dutchess County & Poughkeepsie Public Library (Poughkeepsie, NY)
2025
- 12.13: Museum of the City of New York How Sondheim Gamified NYC (NYC) (recap) (video coming soon)
- 12.11: Jewish Federation of the Berkshires
- 11.21: Fredonia University (NY)
- 11.9: Katz Jewish Community Center (Cherry Hill, NJ) (recap)
- Wonderful World of Words Mohonk Mountain House (New Paltz, NY) (recap)
- 11.7 Sondheim… and The Game of Murder
- 11.8 Game Night (Playing Games the Sondheim Way)
- 10.24: NYU Steinhardt Alum Association (NYC) SOLD OUT (recap)
- 10.18: Private event
- 10.9: The Drama Bookshop: Do We Really Need Another Book on Sondheim? (recap) (NYC)
- 10.6 New York University, hosted by the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program (recap)
- 9.24: The Locavore Variety Store Book signing.(NYC)
- 9.25: Northwestern Alumni Association How to Play the Sondheim Way: Designing games and puzzles like Stephen Sondheim (virtual)
- 9.25 New York University, hosted by the NYU Game Center in collaboration with the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program How to Play the Sondheim Way: A Parlor Game Workshop (Brooklyn, NY) (recap)
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9.8: How to Design Like Sondheim: Treasure Hunts9.10: How to Throw a Sondheimian Games Night SOLD OUT9.12: Seeking Sondheim in the Stacks: Unearthing Games From the Broadway Legend Book Launch & Signin.SOLD OUT
- 9.14: Brooklyn Book Festival It’s Puzzling: The Power of Crosswords and Games, Moderated by Natan Last (The Past, Present and Future of the Crossword Puzzle). (virtual)
- 8.13: SeriousPlay Conference (Rochester) Stephen Sondheim and the Game of Murder (post)
- 6.14: Temple Beth Torah (Melville, NY)
- 5.23: The Sondheim Study Group (remote)
2023-2024
- Fredonia University (NY)
- UFTWF Retiree Programs (NYC)
- Cloudberry Consulting (NYC)
Community Events in Your Town
Come see Matching Minds move off the page and into your own community.
Along with offering an exciting book talk, whether remote or in-person, Joseph is available for the following interactive talks, workshops, and activities:
- Talk: Matching Minds with Sondheim (an interactive tour of Sondheim’s parlor games, board games, treasure hunts, crosswords, and physical puzzles)
- Talk: Sondheim and the Game of Murder (a 60-year exploration of the unexpected impact of one game over Sondheim’s lifetime)
- Talk: How Sondheim Gamified New York City (a tour of all the ways Sondheim used games and puzzles to frame New York as a city of creative connections)
- Talk: Steve and Lenny – the playful, puzzling friendship of Sondheim and Bernstein.
- How to Play the Sondheim Way – Parlor Games (workshop): Play Sondheim’s parlor games and plan your own game party.
- Construct Treasure Hunts like Sondheim (workshop): Based on Sondheim designs, create an original treasure hunt.
- Movie night: The Last of Sheila, with pre/post-discussion.
How Sondheim Gamified NYC at The Museum of the City of New York
Merrily I rolled along into the Museum of the City of New York coming off my week fighting through the flu (strain A) to deliver my favorite new Matching Minds presentation: How Sondheim Gamified NYC. More on the topic soon - when I release the full audio (sans...
In Cherry Hill, NJ through the Jewish Book Council Network to Present and Play
Today I traveled to Cherry Hill, NJ to the Katz JCC for their 36th annual Festival of Arts, Books & Culture. I had a great time presenting, doing a book signing, then playing Sondheim games with some VIPs. I was also excited to meet Andrew Milner, one of my book’s...
Presenting, Gaming, and Book Signing at the 44th Wonderful World of Words at Mohonk Mountain House
What a weekend! On Friday, I drove up to New Paltz to the majestic Mohonk Mountain House (appropriately the location for heaven in the TV show Uploaded) for the 44th annual Wonderful World of Words Weekend. This is an event where, I was told, Sondheim himself once...
The Puzzling Mind of Stephen Sondheim for the NYU Steinhardt School Alumni Association
A few weeks ago I had a blast presenting The Puzzling Mind of Stephen Sondheim for the NYU Steinhardt School Alumni Association. I had many highlights, such as friends and family in attendance, meeting some of I only know from my social media feed... and interviewing...
Interview and book reading at The Drama Book Shop
Last night my interviews/reading/signing at The Drama Book Shop was truly special for me. The topic, “Do we really need another book on Sondheim?” was so fun to explore, especially in a book store, and was touchingly answered by the end of the night by (co-host of The...
Playing and Composing with Graduate Students at NYU
This fall, Stephen Sondheim’s love of games and his genius for music came together—across two NYU campuses, two creative disciplines, and one shared idea: that the same design values that shaped his puzzles and parlor games also shaped his musicals. In late September,...
Sondheim Week at the New York Public Library for The Performing Arts
Sondheim, Sold Out, and So Much Fun What a week! My book tour for Matching Minds with Sondheim kicked off at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, and I’m still buzzing. Not one, not two, but THREE events in just a few days—two hands-on workshops and...
Sondheim and Murder in Rochester, NY
This week I presented my Sondheim and The Game of Murder presentation in Rochester, NY, at the SeriousPlay conference. I’m still working out the kinks but the packed room told me afterwards how much they loved it and blew their minds. My favorite part was asking their...
The Sondheim Study Group
This month I had the honor of formally kicking off my book tour - pre-launch - as guest presenter at the Sondheim Study Group. This is a series of excerpts from the Q&A that followed.
Q&A with students at Fredonia College
The following is some of the Q&A with students at Fredonia College.Through their excellent questions, we delved into the lesser-known aspects of Stephen Sondheim's life, focusing on his deep passion for games and puzzles.We explored how Sondheim's love for these...