I'm always conscious of what I'm writing, conscious of what the actor may ask me. I have a defense for nearly every… — Stephen Sondheim Copy Share Image
After the Rodgers and Hammerstein revolution, songs became part of the story, as opposed to just entertainments in between comedy scenes. — Stephen Sondheim Copy Share Image
I didn't really want to write just lyrics, but I wanted to meet Leonard Bernstein. Music was always the first reason I… — Stephen Sondheim Copy Share Image
I firmly believe lyrics have to breathe and give the audience's ear a chance to understand what's going on. Particularly in the… — Stephen Sondheim Copy Share Image
If you're dealing with a musical in which you're trying to tell a story, it's got to sound like speech. At the… — Stephen Sondheim Copy Share Image
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.… — Stephen Sondheim Copy Share Image
I don't write songs apart from theatrical pieces. I'm not interested in writing songs qua songs. — Stephen Sondheim Copy Share Image
Almost all the shows I've been connected with have been extremely well cast. They're playing the show, not just doing the songs. — Stephen Sondheim Copy Share Image
If you told me to write a love song tonight, I'd have a lot of trouble. But if you tell me to… — Stephen Sondheim Copy Share Image
When the song is part of the action and working as dialogue, even two minutes is way too long. — Stephen Sondheim Copy Share Image
Every time one can write a self-deluded song, you are way ahead of the game, way ahead. Self-delusion is the basis of… — Stephen Sondheim Copy Share Image
Lyrics have to be underwritten. That's why poets generally make poor lyric writers because the language is too rich. You get drowned… — Stephen Sondheim Copy Share Image
On stage, generally speaking, the story is stopped or held back by songs, because that's the convention. Audiences enjoy the song and… — Stephen Sondheim Copy Share Image
I get some flak for and some resistance from colleagues for because I'm interested in storytelling. I mean what I like about… — Stephen Sondheim Copy Share Image
Puzzles are like songs - A good puzzle can give you all the pleasure of being duped that a mystery story can.… — Stephen Sondheim Copy Share Image
A song is such a short form ... that 'the slightest flaw seems like a mountain.' And so every song needs to… — Stephen Sondheim Copy Share Image
Every single song I've ever written is sung by a character created by somebody else. Some might have a jaundiced view of… — Stephen Sondheim Copy Share Image
Hit songs did not come out of musicals. Pop-rock was creating the hits. There were very few songs that made the charts… — Stephen Sondheim Copy Share Image
I was essentially trained by Oscar Hammerstein to think of songs as one-act plays, to move a song from point A to… — Stephen Sondheim Copy Share Image
One of the hardest things about writing lyrics is to make the lyrics sit on the music in such a way that… — Stephen Sondheim Copy Share Image
I like songs that are part of a dramatic texture, and therefore I like the scenes to be active. I wanna follow… — Stephen Sondheim Copy Share Image
“They all deserve to die. Tell you why, Mrs. Lovett, tell you why. Because in all of the whole human race Mrs Lovett, there… — Stephen Sondheim Copy Share Image
It's not so hard to be married, I've done it three or four times. — Stephen Sondheim Copy Share Image
I don't find my life that interesting. The shows, maybe. But not me. — Stephen Sondheim Copy Share Image
“Careful the things you say, Children will listen. Careful the things you do, Children will see. And learn. Children may not obey But children… — Stephen Sondheim Copy Share Image
“Because in all of the whole human race Mrs. Lovett, there are two kinds of men and only two There's the one staying put… — Stephen Sondheim Copy Share Image
I love computers. I love writing on them. I love gadgetry. The thing is: I am a slow reader. So, if I am going… — Stephen Sondheim Copy Share Image
I have inherited my father's sense of humour about myself. It's a lot more pleasant to make fun of yourself than when someone else… — Stephen Sondheim Copy Share Image
I prefer neurotic people. I like to hear rumblings beneath the surface. — Stephen Sondheim Copy Share Image
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… — Stephen Sondheim Copy Share Image
Nowadays, there are sometimes more producers than there are people in the cast, because it takes that much money to put a show on. — Stephen Sondheim Copy Share Image
