I don't think it's that I don't like Sondheim. It's that I find it really. . . I don't know how to describe it. Doing it is the most extraordinary thing. Because it's like Shakespeare times 100 with singing. It's that satisfying - and that demanding.
Sondheim is the Shakespeare of the musical theater world.
No One Is Alone by Stephen Sondheim is all about thinking for yourself and being your own person.
The thing about Stephen Schwartz is that, while it may be difficult to learn - it's a little bit like[Stephen] Sondheim; Sondheim is quite difficult to learn - but, once you have it in you: it never leaves you. It becomes some of your favorite music; it really does.
My experience with Sondheim has been nothing but glorious, especially for a guy who doesn't sing.
I compare Stephen Sondheim with humor, because humor is unanalyzable. You can't analyze humor. You just have to get through it.
In my prayers every day, which are a combination of Hebrew prayers and Shakespeare and Sondheim lyrics and things people have said to me that I've written down and shoved in my pocket, I also say the name of every person I've ever known who's passed on.
I am writing better Stephen Sondheim songs than even Stephen Sondheim is writing.
Stephen Sondheim I am in awe of.
The thing about Sondheim is that it does get very cerebral. You do need a faculty with words and a love for the lyrics to not just pull it off, but to have an appreciation for it.
Stephen Sondheim told me that Oscar Hammerstein believed everything that he wrote. So there's great truth in the songs, and that's what was so wonderful to find.
I think Stephen Sondheim is a - and I hardly ever use this word - but this is as close as it gets to a genius.
I'm very, very sad to say that the only Sondheim show I've done is "A Little Night Music" and it was when I was in college.
