Song of the Day: Finishing the Hat

To counter yesterday's song of the day I am posting what is probably the greatest song that Sondheim ever wrote and the reason for that is because of how personal it is.  Finishing the Hat is from Sunday in the Park with George, which just received an outstanding revival treatment this past season from the Roundabout Theater Company.  It's a show about art and artists and how difficult that life can be.  It's an inspiring show to many a musical theater fan because it touches our heart and makes us look at our dreams and aspirations realistically while telling us to continue chasing them.  I cannot think of another piece of work in any medium that has captured the joys, triumphs, and heartbreaks of being an artist of any kind so vividly.  I've yet to meet a true artist of the musical stage who doesn't list Sunday as one of the greatest shows ever written.  Finishing the Hat is the ultimate embodiment of what Sunday is all about.  Sondheim lost the Tony for score to Jerry Herman for La Cage Aux Folles, but it was more than made up to him when Sunday won the Pulitzer Prize for drama.   I'm posting two versions below.  The first is the original George from Sunday - Mandy Patinkin and the second is from the revival version of the show starring Daniel Evans.  Both were nominated for their performances but walked away empty handed.  A shame really as they are both brilliant.  Enjoy

Note of Interest:  the head of my department at Columbia College is Sheldon Patinkin who just happens to be Mandy's cousin... pretty cool huh?