What justifies a character singing one idea for 3 minutes on the screen? I get impatient and want the story to carry on. I don't get impatient in the theatre.
Stephen SondheimGenerally, the best recording is the original cast, because that's the way the piece grew: integrally, with them.
Stephen SondheimIt should be interesting to see two entirely different ways to treat a story, geared for two entirely different kinds of audience.
Stephen SondheimThe last collaborator is your audience ... when the audience comes in, it changes the temperature of what you've written. Things that seem to work well -- work in a sense of carry the story forward and be integral to the piece -- suddenly become a little less relevant or a little less functional or a little overlong or a little overweight or a little whatever. And so you start reshaping from an audience.
Stephen Sondheim