Finishing the Hat - Sunday In The Park With George

[@aschw1121]

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.

[@TheNickNuttall]

It’s crazy that this 11 hour fugue state created the entire first generation of Yu-Gi-Oh.

[@gogogadget553]

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

[@WaterKreature]

😥I'll always love you monica❤❤❤

[@FantasiaMagia]

Does anyone else cry during this song? I can't get through without at least tearing up.

[@achilles_wiggen]

same!

[@WaterKreature]

😥yes ... I wish I never started on the hat I could never finish

[@achilles_wiggen]

gah..yes. It hits me right in the heart.

[@leagat.mulitauaopele4982]

Hell yeah I love this song it's beautiful

[@Valerie-oq6gy]

watched this play for homework. was sobbing almost the entire time. i love it.

[@mjjm5511]

Yes, it's Sondheim 🤗💓

[@giagem404]

What homework? I'm curious 😅

[@rutherfrogp.wilmington4907]

Word, homie. Word.

[@JeremiahKlarman]

[@Treebard]

RIP Stephen Sondheim. Came here from his NYTimes obituary. You had a great run, Steve. 😥😭💔💝

[@aimeeparrott9204]

Same. He wrote so many beautiful songs but this one is my favorite.

[@joshuahector634]

I came here from the nyt podcast

[@liman42]

@@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.

[@MamaGator]

Thank you for everything Stephen. You can lose teachers you’ve never met.

[@jpjordan90]

Love how Mandy says "good" in his performances of this song. So much meaning and emotion in a single word.

[@jazzyx285]

Let her look for me to tell me why she left me… as I always knew she would… God what a performance. His face, his voice, his tone.

[@shanemac5366]

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.

[@elichaitman3294]

I'm lucky enough to have seen that painting three times!

[@Treebard]

I saw it when I was only 5 years old, and I still remember it. Probably one of my earliest memories.

[@LLBrumfield]

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.

[@artisticskillz01]

Mandy Patinkin - is just absolutely flawless.

[@Alicia____Marie]

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.

[@RossComptonthe19th]

Subjectivity?

[@k-h-1222]

@Joseph Singer...shrug... eh

[@rdh1001]

Have you seen the one they sing together?

[@patriciagarrison3182]

There is only Mandy and Bernadette…

[@elphbwckd212]

You can't beat Mandy and Bernadette, but I think Randy Harrison actually captured the emotion in this song better. He didn't sing it as full and perfect as Mandy, but the emotion he gave was absolutely insane. I've never seen this song performed as well as he did it.

[@cometkite]

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.

[@crysiscore2051]

It's a song about ambitious people in general. And the tragedy that comes between them and relationships.

[@nocomment2468]

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.

[@dawnn.1675]

​@@nocomment2468 exactly, I think you explained it best

[@oliviakemp6015]

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.

[@DMtShooter]

Best thing ever written about creation by the best American writer ever.

[@ClassicDepravities]

Oh Sondheim...... oh it hurts so much. thank you for finishing your hats.

[@jre1189]

Mandy is perfect. Whether he is an artist or an intelligence officer, he is AWESOME.

[@intheatremode]

Or avenging his father's murder

[@jeanfranken5370]

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.

[@lininrabbit]

RIP Mr. Sondheim. Thanks for all your great work.

[@jasmynjohnson4346]

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

[@adler923]

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.

[@JeremiahKlarman]

Mandy, I can only speak for myself when I say all artists everywhere thank you.

[@victoriabrown546]

The lyrics, his voice.. the score.. everything is perfect

[@pruneauxyz]

I cry too. Sunday in the park is just incredibly astonishing. Masterpiece's the word.

[@standporter]

RIP Mr. Stephen Sondheim. You have blessed the world.

[@lukew9396]

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.

[@ronfrankl]

RIP, Mr. Sondheim. Thank you, for all of it.

[@donnamagrath1820]

I cannot look away. This is extraordinary!

[@andrewquiett1249]

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?

[@WaterKreature]

I'm crying😥 I just wanted to finish "the hat"

[@metube7]

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.

[@TheSingingBUn]

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.

[@FridrikrTomasson]

It expresses what it is to create, and the sacrifices you make in order to create. Such a simple metaphor. Such a beautiful expression.

[@Concetta20]

The staging for this... how it expresses the composition in progress is so genius.

[@taliamayo2139]

rest in peace to an absolute legend. absolutely devastating 💔

[@adolfuschrysratotteacher2348]

Happy Birthday Stephen Sondheim. Thank you for this beautiful music.

[@fatchickinla]

I have never seen Mandy Patinkin sing. Thanks for posting it.

[@jaredserpa4862]

The hand at 2:59 just got me man...the calm after the storm, reeling himself back

[@gaildauenbaugh655]

What an amazing singer.

[@sassierapple]

I just finished crocheting my first hat. I thought of this song the whole time.

[@DansChan995]

Steven Spielberg thanked Sondheim for giving us "the hat" as he introduced their new production of West Side Story on Monday.

[@sophieamandaleiton-toomey8469]

"Let her look for me to tell me why she left me, as I always knew she would." This one hit too close to home.

[@elbentley9971]

Mandy is a masterclass unto himself.

[@The22on]

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.

[@Torsee]

Absolutely wonderful song! Cynthia

[@ketilolsen2116]

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:)

[@kristinazubic9669]

Is this the most perfect song ever or what?

[@peterjamesfoote3964]

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.

[@ngatihine6072]

Such a great singer

[@twillett100]

Brilliantly evergreen. Damn you can sing. ♥️♥️♥️

[@bakedfresh13]

thank you sooooooo much. I haven't been able to find a good version of this song anywhere.

[@animagusurreal]

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.)

[@Blactor]

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"?

[@marlondeetjen2471]

Masterpiece right here

[@TheSimo182]

It's and heart-wretchingly true and concise song.

[@robertn800]

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.

[@wickedfeylady]

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."

[@djdollase]

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…

[@jeffschecter4543]

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...

[@katpiercemusic]

My favorite Sondheim. When George can only connect with the world by becoming the people in his sketches it's unsettling and heartbreaking and so well performed.

[@freorge4723]

this is such an underrated song/musical

[@AndrewRudin]

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.

[@w9gb]

He attended the 2017 Broadway revival (Jake Gyllenhaal in his old role), and it brought back memories and tears.

[@animagusurreal]

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."

Ahhh...women

[@kristinazubic9669]

Yup. They don't belong together like the song says.

[@RoslynLloyd]

Rest in Peace, Stephen Sondheim.

[@ぶりー-i7l]

Thank you, Mr. Sondheim

[@ng1493]

Sondheim's greatest song, in his greatest show.

[@najadetwo22]

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

[@faustinacash6094]

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.

[@claudiabarr1824]

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."

[@SongbirdAlom]

Happy 85th, Mr. Sondheim.

[@davidsbroadwaystation5107]

"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!

[@Aleesaatthedisco]

+David's Broadway Station sorry to hear about your mother. Happy to hear that you both had great memories together.

[@deborahblish262]

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.

[@thomasdosborneii]

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!)

[@JoeKeyes]

I would have agreed, but now after seeing Jake Gyllenhaal in the role, I believe he did a truly exceptional job in this show as well.

[@sourskittles4187]

him talking to the dog and showing him the sketchbook is so cute. if they ever make a live-action version i hope they include that scene

[@patrickbarrett114]

RIP Stephen Joshua Sondheim March 30 1930 - November 26

[@eve.advent]

Tears every time.

[@Austin-fh2ui]

Stephen Sondheim is one of the greatest artistic minds to ever live, and it brings me such joy to know that I existed at the same time he did.

[@AndersonPeterB]

Woohoo! Thanks So much - Mandy is the best!

[@Gobear1]

RIP Stephen Sondheim.

[@migrations]

This song fucking blows my mind. Best musical Theatre ever. Fuck Glee.

[@OleFranky]

All those Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals i grew up listening to PALE in COMPARISON to this one song from Sondheim!

[@davidmatthews3131]

So true...thankfully you found Sondheim in time

[@Baribrotzer]

@@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.

[@edgarvinicius1765]

Two amazing composers, why to compare both

[@austinthebookworm5]

SO BEAUTIFUL!!

[@jackjackson7537]

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.

[@SongbirdAlom]

+Jack Jackson YES.

[@SoICanComment163]

+Jack Jackson I really like that you refer to him as the Spaniard! It's not very often I hear someone call him by his book name.

[@linhiril664]

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.

[@kaylamarks6151]

thanks sondheim❤️❤️

[@morgane.w.2770]

"they have never understood but if anybody could.." this is like realizing you lost someone while you're writing and you just start crying. So much of being an artist with relationships is realizing stuff through your work not even with the people. But does that make it a love song not really. It's so sad I love this

[@1skinnyguy]

No, you're completely right. Very perceptive. This song is brilliant. :)

[@andrewquiett1249]

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.

[@sarahumlaut]

Is this anybody else's favorite song of all time???????????

[@1skinnyguy]

This song is a stunner, for the artists who understand the process of making art (I don't use the word "create' because man cannot create anything. Only God is the Creator of all. We merely rearrange the molecules. We assemble and invent and compose, but nothing is "created" by man.) Anyway, that's beside the point. Sondheim speaks volumes about the imaginative process of making art. The lyrics are sublime; and the passion---heartfelt, tragic and true.

[@ScottBeamer]

RIP, Mr. Sondheim.

[@LaurenOrion]

Jake Gyllenhaal did INCREDIBLE, living up to Mandy is no joke

[@1skinnyguy]

I respect your thoughtful and articulate comments. Thanks. That word, "create" really does a number on us, though. I don't want this to be a semantical debate. My point was simply this: although artists DO make art, and musicians compose music, and sculptors form scuptures, and architects build skyscrapers, we are merely rearranging the matter that already exists; seemingly creating---but not really--- because "creating" has already been done by the Creator. We're " imaginative", that's it.

[@WaterKreature]

Ur point is that "artists" don't create anything, the Creator is the true artist?....

[@Barely_Out_Of_Tuesday]

Adam Duritz from Counting Crows considers this one of the most "perfect songs" of all time. ("When I Dream Of Michelangelo" is a thematic copy of it!)

[@kasenbruce5474]

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

[@stlfireman08]

The expression at 0:40 is perfect.

[@WaterKreature]

Look i made a hat.... WHERE THERE NEVER WAS A HAT

[@MyouMoorlord]

Have you heard him sing it at Sondheim! The Birthday Concert? It's even more beautiful.

[@TheDisneyQueen93]

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!

[@seppyq3672]

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.

[@homeiswonderland]

Literally finishing a hat (knitting) sitting next to a window (there's one right next to my computer desk) watching the world go by...

[@comebackslack]

Just heard it (by Josh groban) the first time. This applies to every relationship i have and it is agonizing. Yet i know it's necessary... To make a hat

[@sethwexler6910]

Mandy at his normal….. the best!

[@JustJamesEm]

I can't believe this is Saul, amazing

[@mstegosaurus]

Yeah, I know what you mean. I don't "tear up" at it anymore, but 2:36-2:53 always hits me hard.

[@andresolomon-glover5383]

..."where there never was a hat." Indeed!