--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For a director, a musical is a special…" description: "\"For a director, a musical is a special kind of hell.\" — Mike Nichols" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/mike-nichols-6630_cinema_for-a-director-a-musical-is-a-special-ki_1375198.png" --- # For a director, a musical is a special kind of hell. ![“For a director, a musical is a special kind of hell.” quote by Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/mike-nichols-6630_cinema_for-a-director-a-musical-is-a-special-ki_1375198.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/mike-nichols-6630_cinema_for-a-director-a-musical-is-a-special-ki_1375198.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/mike-nichols-6630_cinema_for-a-director-a-musical-is-a-special-ki_1375198.png) > “For a director, a musical is a special kind of hell.” [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Directing a musical feels like being trapped in a chaotic, demanding environment. **In simple terms:** Directing a musical is extremely stressful. Key Takeaway Accept the chaos, find balance. Themes theatre creative pressure leadership Mood intense honest Type advice reflective When to use this quote - opening night - rehearsal marathon - budget constraints Key Concepts artistic vision team dynamics Questions to Reflect On - What strategies help you manage artistic pressure? - Can chaos inspire innovation? A Different Perspective Creative joy can be suppressed by stress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cinema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) [Director](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/director/) [Director Musical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/director-musical-4747025/) [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Kind Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind-hell-1233462/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Musical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/musical/) [Special](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/special/) ## Related quotes > [“We were already living in some kind of Hell in this strange place of broken beauty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reyna-grande/we-were-already-living-in-some-kind-of-hell-in-this-strange-place-of/) [Reyna Grande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reyna-grande/) > [“You don’t drag someone you love into that kind of hell, and play the kinds of games he did with her mind and body.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-renee-jones/you-don-t-drag-someone-you-love-into-that-kind-of-hell-and-play-the/) [Lisa Renee Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-renee-jones/) > [“They've been through every kind of hell together. What else do you suppose love is?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-jensen/they-ve-been-through-every-kind-of-hell-together-what-else-do-you/) [Lisa Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-jensen/) > [I believe that it is only through empathy, that the pain experienced by an Algerian woman, a North Korean dissident, a Rwandan child or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/i-believe-that-it-is-only-through-empathy-that-the-pain-experienced/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [“You are my favorite kind of hell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/priya-kanaparti/you-are-my-favorite-kind-of-hell/) [Priya Kanaparti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/priya-kanaparti/) > [There'll be a special place in hell for the tape back-up people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-osborne/there-ll-be-a-special-place-in-hell-for-the-tape-back-up-people/) [Adam Osborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-osborne/) > [“No, there are no special places in hell. Hell is a democracy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-carey/no-there-are-no-special-places-in-hell-hell-is-a-democracy/) [Mike Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-carey/) > [I've always wanted to be a director; it's just how my mind has always worked. If I hear music, I see music videos and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-wells/i-ve-always-wanted-to-be-a-director-it-s-just-how-my-mind-has-always/) [Noel Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-wells/) > [I'm publicist, patron of nine charities, creative director, food consultant, recipe developer - and mum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-monroe/i-m-publicist-patron-of-nine-charities-creative-director-food/) [Jack Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-monroe/) > [During script narrations, if I feel the screenplay mood jumping abruptly, I tell the director, and they work on it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-sethupathi/during-script-narrations-if-i-feel-the-screenplay-mood-jumping/) [Vijay Sethupathi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-sethupathi/) > [The director's job should give you a sense of music without drawing attention to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hackford/the-director-s-job-should-give-you-a-sense-of-music-without-drawing/) [Taylor Hackford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hackford/) > [When I was playing piano, it was like, 'I'm going to write a song using all the white keys.' My music director, who knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tesh/when-i-was-playing-piano-it-was-like-i-m-going-to-write-a-song-using/) [John Tesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tesh/) > [A successful director is someone who has the combination of skills that you can learn, but there's also an intuitive sensibility that they bring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-heinrichs/a-successful-director-is-someone-who-has-the-combination-of-skills/) [Rick Heinrichs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-heinrichs/) > [Professionally speaking, the proudest moment was when I booked the 'Human Stain.' I knew it had Nicole Kidman, Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris and Gary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wentworth-miller/professionally-speaking-the-proudest-moment-was-when-i-booked-the/) [Wentworth Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wentworth-miller/) > [You have to have a great director to make a great movie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thelma-schoonmaker/you-have-to-have-a-great-director-to-make-a-great-movie/) [Thelma Schoonmaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thelma-schoonmaker/) ## More by Mike Nichols > [Stand-up comedy is a very hard thing on the spirit. There are people who transcend it, like Jack Benny and Steve Martin, but in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/stand-up-comedy-is-a-very-hard-thing-on-the-spirit-there-are-people/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [It's the hardest thing on earth to like yourself, and then when you do, it's a catastrophe. I mean, the people I know who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/it-s-the-hardest-thing-on-earth-to-like-yourself-and-then-when-you-do/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [I used to say that winning the Oscar means being back at the Beverly Hills Hotel at 1 A.M. feeling empty. It's the industry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/i-used-to-say-that-winning-the-oscar-means-being-back-at-the-beverly/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [I'm an enormous fan of 'The West Wing.' It was one of the very few shows I would watch every week.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/i-m-an-enormous-fan-of-the-west-wing-it-was-one-of-the-very-few-shows/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [The only safe thing in filmmaking is to take a chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/the-only-safe-thing-in-filmmaking-is-to-take-a-chance/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [I don't expect anything from reviews. Sometimes I am bemused by them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/i-don-t-expect-anything-from-reviews-sometimes-i-am-bemused-by-them/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [My first memory in the world is my gym teacher ripping my mother's necklace off her neck and throwing it out the window and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/my-first-memory-in-the-world-is-my-gym-teacher-ripping-my-mother-s/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [Whether something is a success or not has never had much to do with what you do next.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/whether-something-is-a-success-or-not-has-never-had-much-to-do-with/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [The reason that most British actors are better than most American actors in the end is that they don't make any money. At the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/the-reason-that-most-british-actors-are-better-than-most-american/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [Fear of comedy is all so much about who you do it with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/fear-of-comedy-is-all-so-much-about-who-you-do-it-with/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [If you lose a parent, it never goes away. As a kid, I dreamed about my father coming back for 15 or 20 years.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/if-you-lose-a-parent-it-never-goes-away-as-a-kid-i-dreamed-about-my/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [Nerves provide me with energy... It's when I don't have them, when I feel at ease, that I get worried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/nerves-provide-me-with-energy-it-s-when-i-don-t-have-them-when-i-feel/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [Technically, maybe I learned most of all from George Stevens, and among his movies I learned the most from 'A Place in the Sun.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/technically-maybe-i-learned-most-of-all-from-george-stevens-and-among/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [Jewish introspection and Jewish humor is a way of surviving . . . if you're not handsome and you're not athletic and you're not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/jewish-introspection-and-jewish-humor-is-a-way-of-surviving-if-you-re/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > ['Streetcar' is no longer about the moment at all. There is no Blanche DuBois anywhere; south, north, east or west. We don't have Blanche…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/streetcar-is-no-longer-about-the-moment-at-all-there-is-no-blanche/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) [Explore all 98 Mike Nichols quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) ## More Cinema quotes > [I made, like, five movies while I was in college. I think they just weren't memorable movies. I've taken breaks as the years have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-foster/i-made-like-five-movies-while-i-was-in-college-i-think-they-just/) [Jodie Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-foster/) > [You have to have a great director to make a great movie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thelma-schoonmaker/you-have-to-have-a-great-director-to-make-a-great-movie/) [Thelma Schoonmaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thelma-schoonmaker/) > [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [I wasn't attracted to American cinema, but I fell in love with Los Angeles the minute I arrived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-wasn-t-attracted-to-american-cinema-but-i-fell-in-love-with-los/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [There was a time in the 1980s when I worked in 22 films a year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radha-ravi/there-was-a-time-in-the-1980s-when-i-worked-in-22-films-a-year/) [Radha Ravi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radha-ravi/) > [To an ever greater extent out experience is governed by pictures, pictures in newspapers and magazines, on television and in the cinema. Next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crimp/to-an-ever-greater-extent-out-experience-is-governed-by-pictures/) [Douglas Crimp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-crimp/) > [In the future, I would like to do more films with contemporary themes. Perhaps comedy, which is something I have done in theater but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-evans/in-the-future-i-would-like-to-do-more-films-with-contemporary-themes/) [Luke Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-evans/) > [I am tired of our characters being so incomplete. When do we ever save the day in a film? When does a Latino actor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esai-morales/i-am-tired-of-our-characters-being-so-incomplete-when-do-we-ever-save/) [Esai Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esai-morales/) > [I love film people and actors and I am in the right world because I am one of those people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ewan-mcgregor/i-love-film-people-and-actors-and-i-am-in-the-right-world-because-i/) [Ewan McGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ewan-mcgregor/) > [Personally, I prefer contemporary films, but the market calls for more period choices, especially since China opened up a cinema market in Hong Kong.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donnie-yen/personally-i-prefer-contemporary-films-but-the-market-calls-for-more/) [Donnie Yen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donnie-yen/) > [I'd love to work in the States; I'd love to work anywhere where you get a good script and a good part to play.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-carmichael/i-d-love-to-work-in-the-states-i-d-love-to-work-anywhere-where-you/) [Laura Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-carmichael/) > [I even see the cinema itself as a woman, with its alternation of light and darkness, of appearing and disappearing images](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/i-even-see-the-cinema-itself-as-a-woman-with-its-alternation-of-light/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > ['Rear Window' isn't really a horror film, but it is a psychological drama, which I love. It is very tense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-silvers/rear-window-isn-t-really-a-horror-film-but-it-is-a-psychological/) [Diana Silvers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-silvers/) > [What a thrill. You know you've entered new territory when you realise that your outfit cost more than your film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-yu/what-a-thrill-you-know-you-ve-entered-new-territory-when-you-realise/) [Jessica Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-yu/) > [I am not interested in churning out a certain number of films every year. For me, it's about the quality of work. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepika-padukone/i-am-not-interested-in-churning-out-a-certain-number-of-films-every/) [Deepika Padukone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepika-padukone/) [Browse all 23,940 Cinema quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For a director, a musical is a special kind of hell.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mike Nichols" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/for-a-director-a-musical-is-a-special-kind-of-hell/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cinema" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/for-a-director-a-musical-is-a-special-kind-of-hell/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/mike-nichols-6630_cinema_for-a-director-a-musical-is-a-special-ki_1375198.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/mike-nichols-6630_cinema_for-a-director-a-musical-is-a-special-ki_1375198.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/mike-nichols-6630_cinema_for-a-director-a-musical-is-a-special-ki_1375198.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For a director, a musical is a special kind of hell.” — Mike Nichols", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mike Nichols", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "For a director, a musical is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/for-a-director-a-musical-is-a-special-kind-of-hell/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/for-a-director-a-musical-is-a-special-kind-of-hell/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```