If people have split views about your work, I think it's flattering. I'd rather have them feel something about it than dismiss it.

Hit songs did not come out of musicals. Pop-rock was creating the hits. There were very few songs that made the charts out of any Broadway musical.

The concerts you enjoy together/ Neighbors you annoy together/ Children you destroy together,/ That keep marriage in tact.

Teaching is a sacred profession. And art is a form of teaching.

You may know what you need, but to get what you want, better see that you keep what you have.

The more restrictions you have, the easier anything is to write.

The 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.