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Lyrics have to be underwritten. That's why poets generally make poor lyric writers because the language is too rich. You get drowned in it.

Stephen Sondheim

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Stephen Sondheim
Age: 94
Born: 1930
Born: March 22
Author
Composer
Dramaturge
Librettist
Lyricist
Musician
Poet
Screenwriter
Songwriter
New York City
New York
Stephen Joshua Sondheim
Poet
Rich
Underwritten
Poor
Drowned
Language
Lyric
Make
Lyrics
Poets
Generally
Writers

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Math and music are intimately related. Not necessarily on a conscious level, but sure.
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You may know what you need, but to get what you want, better see that you keep what you have.
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The nice thing about doing a crossword puzzle is, you know there is a solution.
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I firmly believe lyrics have to breathe and give the audience's ear a chance to understand what's going on. Particularly in the theater, where you have costume, story, acting, orchestra.
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I liked my father a lot, but I didn't see him very often because my mother was bitter about him. He remarried, and I used to have to sneak off to see him.
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Let Pirelli's / Miracle Elixir / Activate your roots, sir... Keep it off your boots, sir- / Eats right through. Yes, get Pirelli's! / Use a bottle of it! / Ladies seem to love it... Flies do, too!
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Everyone I used to play with has either given up or is dead.
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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.
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Pointillism takes emotional images, character, etc., and makes them all come together and make a whole that tells a story.
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All the best performers bring to their role something more, something different than what the author put on paper. That's what makes theatre live. That's why it persists.
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Anything that is white is sweet. Anything that is brown is meat. Anything that is grey, don't eat.
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It should be interesting to see two entirely different ways to treat a story, geared for two entirely different kinds of audience.
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Oscar Hammerstein was a surrogate father. I liked my father a lot, he was a swell fellow, but I didn’t see him very often because my mother was bitter about him and did everything she could to prevent me from seeing him.
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For anyone approaching any one of the cast albums, if they don't like what they hear, it's not the performer's fault.
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You move just a finger, say the slightest word, something's bound to linger-be heard.
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They wanted me to be a concert pianist, because I had a very good right hand, but my left hand's terrible and I hated performing.
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Over a period of time it's been driven home to me that I'm not going to be the most popular writer in the world, so I'm always happy when anything in any way is accepted.
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The worst thing you can do is censor yourself as the pencil hits the paper. You must not edit until you get it all on paper. If you can put everything down, stream-of-consciousness, you'll do yourself a service.
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It's age. It's a diminution of energy and the worry that there are no new ideas. It's an increasing lack of confidence. I'm not the only one. I've checked with other people.
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Any moment, big or small, Is a moment, after all. Seize the moment, skies may fall Any moment.
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