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Sondheim is my god; I love the man. I learned a great deal about writing from his work, his lyrics, and his structure.

I'm a devotee of Stephen Sondheim. I think he's a genius.

Stephen Sondheim I am in awe of.

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 had no idea how difficult Sondheim's music would be. All through the rehearsals, I kept flubbing. There were so many tempo changes. I could never get through the opening number without any mistakes. One day, I went up to Hal Prince and offered to leave the show. He laughed it off. He said, 'Don't be silly. That's why we have tryouts.'

Sondheim is the Shakespeare of the musical theater world.

I think Stephen Sondheim is a - and I hardly ever use this word - but this is as close as it gets to a genius.

Composers, like authors, have a lot in common. Our main goal is to connect with the listener emotionally.

My reading is always about musical biographies. I have an innate interest and passion for that.

We teach young kids from 8 to 14 or 15 about their musical heritage through great songs written by American songwriters. We don't do too many modern composers, although we include songs from Billy Joel and other writers like him.