In not-for-profit theater, you don't worry so much about how the audience is going to react. You want to make them absorb… — 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 took piano lessons when I was 6. I didn't want to go on with it. I don't remember being moved by… — Stephen Sondheim Copy Share Image
I really don't want to write a score until the whole show is cast and staged. — Stephen Sondheim Copy Share Image
I was a mathematician by nature, and still am - I just knew I didn't want to be a mathematician. So I… — Stephen Sondheim Copy Share Image
You may know what you need, but to get what you want, better see that you keep what you have. — Stephen Sondheim Copy Share Image
What justifies a character singing one idea for 3 minutes on the screen? I get impatient and want the story to carry… — 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
You get used to the exact amount of space between lines. You write a word and then you write an alternate word… — Stephen Sondheim Copy Share Image
It's pleasanter to work in the country, where you can wander out among the trees. But I don't get as much work… — 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
“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
“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
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
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
I prefer neurotic people. I like to hear rumblings beneath the surface. — Stephen Sondheim Copy Share
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
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
Perpetual anticipation is good for the soul but it's bad for the heart. — Stephen Sondheim Copy Share
I was watching him crawl, Back over the wall-! Then bang! Crash! And the lightning flash! And- well, that's another story, Never mind- Anyway... — Stephen Sondheim Copy Share
I'm always conscious of what I'm writing, conscious of what the actor may ask me. I have a defense for nearly every line in… — Stephen Sondheim Copy Share
