Sondheim is the Shakespeare of the musical theater world.

If you stand too close to a painting - all you see are patches of color, if you stand too far back, you can't see any of the detail.

I've been very blessed in my personal life and in my career and I have never been ungrateful for what I have.

I feel the most alive when I'm singing. I also get to be the mail man for some of the most beautiful lyrics ever written.

When I'm on the road with concerts, people ask me to autograph my CDs, but more and more they come up with the cookbooks.

I try to get that across in the work, to try to, if I'm lucky, to make this world a little bit better for all of us before I check out. And that's if I'm lucky, I don't always get to have that privilege but I try always.

People on both sides of any conflict believe they are right, whether it's on a TV show or in the real world.