“ The dumbing down of the country reflects itself on Broadway. The shows get dumber, and the public gets used to them. Stephen Sondheim
“ I'm interested in the theater because I'm interested in communication with audiences. Otherwise I would be in concert music. Stephen Sondheim
“ Musicals are, by nature, theatrical, meaning poetic, meaning having to move the audience's imagination and create a suspension of disbelief, by which I mean there's no fourth wall. Stephen Sondheim
“ All the best performers bring to their role something more, something different than what the author put on paper. That's what makes theatre live. That's why it persists. Stephen Sondheim
“ One of the hardest things about writing lyrics is to make the lyrics sit on the music in such a way that you're not aware there was a writer there. Stephen Sondheim
“ In the Rodgers and Hammerstein generation, popular hits came out of shows and movies. Stephen Sondheim
“ Music blows lyrics up very quickly, and suddenly they become more than art. They become pompous and they become self-conscious ... I firmly believe that lyrics have to breathe and give the audience's… Stephen Sondheim
“ I'm very opinionated about movie musicals when they're adapted from live shows. You'll sit still for a three-minute song in a theater. But in movies, a glance from someone's eyes will tell you the who… Stephen Sondheim
“ The worst thing you can do is censor yourself as the pencil hits the paper. You must not edit until you get it all on paper. If you can put everything down, stream-of-consciousness, you'll do yourself… Stephen Sondheim
“ One difference between poetry and lyrics is that lyrics sort of fade into the background. They fade on the page and live on the stage when set to music. Stephen Sondheim
“ Over a period of time it's been driven home to me that I'm not going to be the most popular writer in the world so I'm always happy when anything in any way is accepted. Stephen Sondheim
“ Alright! You sir, you sir, how about a shave?Come and visit your good friend Sweeney.You sir, too sir? Welcome to the grave.I will have vengenance.I will have salvation.Who sir, you sir?No ones in the… Stephen Sondheim
“ Unless the object of the singer’s affection is a vampire, surely what Hart means is unphotogenic. Only vampires are unphotographable, but affectionate ‘-enic’ rhymes are hard to come by. Stephen Sondheim
“ I chose and my world was shaken, so what? The choice may have been mistaken, the choosing was not. Stephen Sondheim
“ There's a hole in the world like a big black pit who are filled with people who are filled with shit. Stephen Sondheim
