Sondheim's thoughts on this song are fascinating and can be read from his second volume of lyrics, "Look, I Made a Hat." Georges is fully expressing how an artist goes "to a different planet" during that wonderful period of creation and is shut to the world around him. Sondheim talks of his favorite time finishing a hat - one evening, Sondheim began to create a card game, and got so into its creation, that only when the sun came up at 7am did he realize he had worked for 11 straight hours.
And he just sits there. He’s just sitting there. But every single word means so much.. Patinkin can’t even read music. He sings as freely as he’d speak
and when the woman that you wanted goes, you can say to yourself, "well I give what I give", but the woman who won't wait for you knows that however you live, there's a part of you always standing by, mapping out the skies....finishing a hat. That lyric is the one that just blows me away in its simple power and beauty
@@aimeeparrott9204 I sang this song in front of a speech class with the music from the album playing as I sang over Mandy. Turned out that my teacher was a Sondheim fan.
idk how anyone could possibly think someone else's version is superior to this one.....mandy and bernadette are literally SO good at these roles. mandy perfectly captures being all over the place, as well as being tortured and disconnected. he obviously loves dot but can't be distracted by something like that because his one true love is his art. and bernadette perfectly captures dot, a woman who thought she could change and have a man she knew she never could. love them both. utter perfection in every little movement.
What an amazing song. I think it was written with artists in mind but it can really apply to any kind of creative act. Sometimes I feel this way when I'm writing a mathematical proof or a computer program.
Crysiscore Well, yes and no… it’s not so much about ambition, which is more about the measurement of success, but about the consuming passion for one’s craft. The excitement, the meaning that comes from realizing a vision can also remove one from practical day-to-day concerns.
His performance always ring true. I never hear this song and know its meaning better than when Patinkin does it. I've heard it hundreds of times with other singers - but none convey its true meaning. Mr. Patinkin's true talent is communication.
At it's heart, this piece is about the truth of relationships. The adage that you have to be "you" before you can be "us." Georges identifies as a painter, an artist. It's who he IS. Dot wants him to give up more than Georges thinks he can, because how can you give up what makes you who you are to make someone happy? The frustrations of loving someone so much but not being able to give up what makes you happy. How can you make someone else happy if you're not even happy?
I remember a day many years ago I went to the Chicago Art Institute and saw the amazingly beautiful 'A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte'. Measuring nearly 7 feet by 10 feet, you could see the detail and and the painstaking talent of Seurat that was hard to visualize from the play. I made the trip to Chicago after seeing 'Sunday In The Park With George'. I just had to see the original and to fully grasp the enormity of this exquisite piece of art.
I saw the original painting in Chicago in 1970. I remember being stunned, then thrilled. I was a drama student and didn’t know that a painting could be just as emotional as a play.
Yes, I cried when I first heard it during the original Broadway run and I cry today. It is the greatest song about how the artist creates that I have ever heard. What he (or she) goes through, what they give up, how they make something that never existed before their arrival. It is infinitely moving. And seemingly simply...like a Hat...but very complex indeed.
Dot knew exactly how obsessed George was with his art when she got into a relationship with him. In fact, that's the very thing loved about him ("But most, George, of all...I love your painting." "What made it so right together is what made it all wrong.") Should George have changed for Dot (which would change the very thing she loved about him), or should Dot have chosen a boyfriend who was more open emotionally? (Which is ultimately what she does by going with Louis.)
I love this because it’s so human. It’s imperfect and jumbled but so perfectly captures the emotion and feeling of George in this moment. I love LOVE Mandy’s vocal and physical choices in this role. Such a genuine actor.
Insanely great. Chills. There are a few standout examples of a Broadway role perfectly paired with a performer like no other. Carol Channing as Dolly. Joel Grey as the Emcee. Ben Vereen as The Player. Len Cariou and Angela Lansbury in Sweeney Todd. Mandy and Bernadette in Sunday in the Park, perhaps the pinnacle.
This song resonates with me a lot. It speaks true of those who pursue the stars but at the cost of their pursuit is the neglect of those who are closest to them. The price of the pursuit of dreams demand sacrifices, narrowing your viewpoint into perceiving the world through a 'window' as Sondheim puts it, in order to concentrate on that dream. And at the end of the day, you always turn your back too late when you realise how far you've come but you've come to realise it wasn't you who moved ahead; you were left behind those who once cared for you. The lonely pursuit of dreams don't often grant you the satiating conclusion. It's almost like Edgar Allan Poe's 'Oval Portrait', where, at the pursuit of completing his painting, the artist's wife dies from his neglect. Maybe I'm just feeling too sentimental about this.
I’m a wannabe artist working on details in a new painting. I totally connect with Finishing The Hat. I work on every little detail, stand back and appraise it, change,something, stand back again, and on and on until it’s finished. But no artist is ever done finishing the hat.
BTW, I don't think the musical intends to depict either of them as "right" or "wrong." Just "he feels this way because of this" and "she feels this way because of that."
So grateful for this song, giving me the vocabulary to understand something about myself I couldn't put into words before. I will always be finishing a hat. RIP Sondheim.
@@davidmatthews3131 Webber has his strong points, he's not terrible - but in the theater he is to Sondheim what Hans Zimmer is to Morricone or Herrmann in the movies.
Man. This song, and Mandy performing it. It's so interesting to watch him do "Buddy's Blues"--where is is manic and frenzied and outrageous--and then to watch his performance in SitPwG, which is so simple, understated, keen, and strong. What a truly great actor. Anyone else see the duet between he and Patti Lupone singing "Move On"?
there is no single explanation here. It is both cristalized perfectly in the metaphors (hat, window) and at the same time applicable to so many levels. We are witnessing an artist talk about the obsession to create, to work, to map out a sky, to make a hat where there wasnt one (just white)....and the artist is both George and Sondheim who made these words and now it is being performed by Mandy , not George, but still GEORGE, just the one Sondheim is making speak.... it is a moment of PURE THEATRE.... perfection... working on all these levels at the same time. So deceptively simple, he just sits there, we are focused and undistracted. Play it again and now listen to Sondheim (he is the artist here)... not George...
This is the one show where Patinkin is, for me, absolute perfection. All the things that so irritate me about his singing, HERE are exactly what's needed.
Someone just illustrated a story I wrote and this song just says it all. I can look at that and go, "Look, I helped make that image. Even though I didn't draw it, it represents something that came from my mind."
I remember Mandy Patinkin from some episode in Chicago Hope. I was quite young at that time, but his character was playing and singing at a bar. I was instantly hooked by his voice, and have followed him since:)
Mademoiselles... You and me, pal... Second bottle... Ah, she looks for me... Bonnet flapping... Yapping... Ruff!... Chicken... Pastry Yes, she looks for me-good. Let her look for me to tell me why she left me- As I always knew she would. I had thought she understood. They have never understood, And no reason that they should. But if anybody could... Finishing the hat, How you have to finish the hat. How you watch the rest of the world From a window While you finish the hat. Mapping out a sky. What you feel like, planning a sky. What you feel when voices that come Through the window Go Until they distance and die, Until there's nothing but sky And how you're always turning back too late From the grass or the stick Or the dog or the light, How the kind of woman willing to wait's Not the kind that you want to find waiting To return you to the night, Dizzy from the height, Coming from the hat, Studying the hat, Entering the world of the hat, Reaching through the world of the hat Like a window, Back to this one from that. Studying a face, Stepping back to look at a face Leaves a little space in the way like a window, But to see- It's the only way to see. And when the woman that you wanted goes, You can say to yourself, "Well, I give what I give." But the woman who won't wait for you knows That, however you live, There's a part of you always standing by, Mapping out the sky, Finishing a hat... Starting on a hat.. Finishing a hat... Look, I made a hat... Where there never was a hat
The best (and only as far as I know) song about the artistic process and what being involved with it means for the artist: the dedication and involvement (“…entering the world of the hat”) and the personal sacrifice, the loss of relationships (sometimes) if you’re unwilling or unable to compromise that dedication…
Perfect points in time and synergy. Mandy thank you for your brilliant performances and restorations to my soul. Your South Shore Toy Shop Tragedy friend is also mine. Ask her about the theater's financing with my name and she'll show you a bond issue of historical interest.
I love this song. Sondheim is brilliant, and I can't wait to see how the Into the Woods movie will turn out. I also love the way Mandy Patinkin portrays this role. I love him in all his roles especial in Princess Bride.
SO True-the crying part especially. Yesterday, I finished a piece of Artwork. I sent an email to a dear Friend, who's an Artist-a Writer, and included the lyrics to this song-because it's perfect to any Artist. Two Months of stress. Sleeping pills didn't stop the racing thoughts or give me rest. I was so mean to my Partner-any little thing could set me off. But he was patient & encouraging. Yesterday, I "Finished The Hat" and today was the first day I woke up rested.
Happy birthday, Stephen Sondheim. This is a great song. Also, Mr. Sondheim was extremely kind to a friend of mine years ago. Everybody lift your glass and "Everybody rise."
It would be easy to laugh at this because its Mandy Patinkin and its tough for many of us to visualize him outside Jason Gideon or even the Spaniard from Princess Bride, but when you think about the lyrics and what he is saying its hard not to feel sorrow and pity on the character for his metaphysical plight. While I havent created anything of merit enough to call myself an artist, I can still imagine of when a gift like artistic talent manifests as the disease of being incapable of sustaining a meaningful relationship, romantic or otherwise.
I fell hard for him in this. Gideon and Inigo were just raisins on the cake. Intense, driven, needing but not needing, an amazing, deeply sophisticated performance here. And such a powerful statement about the situation of great artists and the people who love and are loved by them. Art cannot give way to humanity. This cannot be faked or controlled.
"Sunday In The Park With George" was the last show that my Mother and I saw together. When Sondheim decided to base a musical on a painter's life, he was doing what he always does: breaking through to new theatrical ideas. Mandy , in my opinion, was the only singer who could sing Sondheim's songs. Others have tried, and they have failed. Mandy has the voice of an angel!
Josh Groban sang Finishing the Hat on his album ":Stages" I think you may find that his voice is comparable to Mandy whom I feel did a fantastic performance. Both of them give me chills upon chills.
David's Broadway Station, I admire your devotion to Sondheim and I am glad you could enjoy so much with your mother, but your comment about "only Mandy can sing Sondheim's songs" is a crazy comment. I like Mandy, too, he is fantastic, and maybe there hasn't been another man to sing THIS part (I don't know), but there are numerous Sondheim plays with amazing male singers (I assume you are speaking only of males) and many that I like way beyond my liking of Mandy Patinkin (who can sometimes grate on the ear). I can't imagine anybody who could beat Raul Esparza's "Marry Me A Little" just to think of one right off the top of my head. Critics were dismissive of the original Asian singers in "Pacific Overtures" but I can hardly imagine more beautiful singing of a Sondheim song than in the 1976 Original Broadway Cast version of "Someone In A Tree" and "Pretty Lady". Heck, I even really like Jason Alexander's "Hum Hum Hummable" (or whatever that song was called) and in my view, only HE can sing that one! I do think, though, that there are noticeably more outstanding female singers of Sondheim than there are male singers...there are so many fantastic females, in fact, I would be hard-pressed to think of a bad one! (And even if they're not very good, Sondheim will make them sound good. Send in the clowns!)
Followed by "We Do Not Belong Together," where Dot wants his art because it's a picture of her, when to him that's giving up a piece of him for her again. The fact that the painting is of her is his gift to her because she's important to him, not the painting itself.
Mademoiselles You end me, pal Second bottle Ah, she looks for me Bonnet flapping Yapping Ruff Chicken Pastry Yes, she looks for me good Let her look for me To tell me why she left me As I always knew she would I had thought she understood They have never understood And no reason that they should But if anybody could, finishing the hat How you have to finish the hat How you watch the rest of the world From a window while you finish the hat Mapping out a sky What you feel like, planning a sky What you feel when voices that come Through the window Go Until they distance and die Until there's nothing but sky And how you're always turning back too late From the grass or the stick Or the dog or the light How the kind of woman willing to wait's Not the kind that you want to find waiting To return you to the night Dizzy from the height Coming from the hat, studying the hat Entering the world of the hat Reaching through the world of the hat Like a window Back to this one from that Studying a face Stepping back to look at a face Leaves a little space in the way like a window But to see, it's the only way to see And when the woman that you wanted goes You can say to yourself, "Well, I give what I give" But the women who won't wait for you knows That, however you live There's a part of you always standing by Mapping out the sky, finishing a hat Starting on a hat, finishing a hat Look, I made a hat Where there never was a hat
It's funny you say that because he actually plays Avigdor in the Barbra Streisand movie Yentl. I knew about Patinkin before I saw the movie, and I was so sad that they didn't have him sing in the movie!
I don't know why I've never seen this show. It sounds beautiful. And my friends name is George, he's an artist whose obsessed with his art, and I wished we could be together because I've always been in love with him, but we totally don't belong together. lol. this should be like, my show.
GEORGE] Mademoiselles... You and me, pal... Second bottle... Ah, she looks for me... Bonnet flapping... Yapping... Ruff!... Chicken... Pastry... Yes, she looks for me Good Let her look for me to tell me why she left me- As I always knew she would I had thought she understood They have never understood And no reason that they should But if anybody could... Finishing the hat How you have to finish the hat How you watch the rest of the world From a window While you finish the hat Mapping out a sky What you feel like, planning a sky What you feel when voices that come Through the window Go Until they distance and die Until there's nothing but sky And how you're always turning back too late From the grass or the stick Or the dog or the light How the kind of woman willing to wait's Not the kind that you want to find waiting To return you to the night Dizzy from the height Coming from the hat Studying the hat Entering the world of the hat Reaching through the world of the hat Like a window Back to this one from that Studying a face Stepping back to look at a face Leaves a little space in the way like a window But to see- It's the only way to see And when the woman that you wanted goes You can say to yourself, "Well, I give what I give" But the woman who won't wait for you knows That however you live There's a part of you always standing by Mapping out the sky Finishing a hat Starting on a hat Finishing a hat... Look, I made a hat... Where there never was a hat
