The problem with Richard Schoch’s “How Sondheim Can Change Your Life” is its title. Other than that, it is a valuable addition to the library of any fan of musical theater and certainly every Stephen Sondheim fanatic.

The book’s premise is that “a prolonged encounter with [his work] will reveal predicaments — and the paths out of them — that we recognize as our own. The better we understand Sondheim, the better we will understand ourselves.”

That’s a stretch. Sondheim isn’t special in this regard. You will find similar revelations in any good musical. “The Farmer and the Cowman,” from “Oklahoma,” for example, is an effort to understand “Why can’t we all just get along?”

Moreover, the revelations Schoch suggests that Sondheim offers are pedestrian: “How to love” for his musical “Passion”; “How to let the darkness in” for“Assassins”; and “How to choose the right path” for “Into the Woods.”

Also, it’s important to note Sondheim’s songs were not written in a vacuum. They didn’t originate as a concept CD to which a play was added, a la “American Idiot.” In fact, he frequently, and accurately, noted that they were written in collaboration with some of the great names in musical theater, including Hal Prince, Arthur Laurents and Jerome Robbins, who helped decide where songs should go, what they should be about and even their tempo. In fact, one of Sondheim’s frequent collaborators, James Lapine, wrote the best book ever on the joint effort required to create a musical: “Putting It Together: How Stephen Sondheim and I Created ‘Sunday In the Park With George.’”

Fortunately, Schoch doesn’t limit himself to the supposition his title suggests. A professor of drama at Queen’s University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, he does an academic’s deep dive into 11 plays for which Sondheim provided music and/or lyrics. In each, he provides insights into the making of the shows and evaluations of Sondheim’s work.

Consider “ A Little Night Music,” which started rehearsals with only 10 of 15 songs completed. Adding to the pressure, director Hal Prince cut two numbers immediately, as he considered them too heavy.

Another problem: A pivotal “Night Music” scene in which Desirée declared her love for the show’s other lead, Fredrik, only to be rejected, featured a song performed by Fredrik. At the last minute, however, “Prince realized that the scene’s energy comes from Desirée,” and insisted Sondheim write a song for her.

As testimony to his talent, overnight Sondheim composed one of my favorite of his songs and possibly his most beloved, “Send in the Clowns,” written not only to match Prince’s directions and the requirement that all the show’s songs be waltzes, but also suiting the more limited vocal range of the actor who sang it as Desirée, Glynis Johns.

Every chapter provides similar “aha” moments — in praise of musicals as an art form and of this one genius, who raised it to new levels. Even if you were not a Sondheim fan on page 1, there’s a good chance by mid-book you’ll be ordering tickets for the next Sondheim show in town.

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How Sondheim Can Change Your Life

By: Richard Schoch.

Publisher: Atria Books. 278 pages. $28.99.

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