Art, in itself, is an attempt to bring order out of chaos. Stephen Sondheim More Quotes by Stephen Sondheim More Quotes From Stephen Sondheim Stay a child while you can be a child. Stephen Sondheim inspirational kids children 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 rich poet language Sometimes colleagues in performance are absolutely astonishing. Stephen Sondheim colleagues performances sometimes I've always preferred actors who sing to singers who act in all the shows I've done. Stephen Sondheim singers actors done White. A blank page or canvas. So many possibilities. Stephen Sondheim canvas pages white When you trance out properly, when you're completely in that world, there is no other world, so there's no conflict. Stephen Sondheim other-worlds conflict world The Tonys ignored West Side Story. The Tonys ignored Gypsy. It's a kind of public humiliation. Stephen Sondheim west stories sides 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. Stephen Sondheim views people thinking Musicals are, by nature, theatrical, meaning poetic, meaning having to move the audience's imagination and create a suspension of disbelief, by which I mean there's no fourth wall. Stephen Sondheim wall mean moving The nice thing about doing a crossword puzzle is, you know there is a solution. Stephen Sondheim gambling idaho nice Gotta watch out for directors. Stephen Sondheim watches directors By the time I was 22, I was a professional. A young and flawed professional, but not an amateur. Stephen Sondheim flawed flaws young Ah, but if you have no expectations, You can never have a disappointment. Stephen Sondheim disappointment ifs expectations If you told me to write a love song tonight, I'd have a lot of trouble. But if you tell me to write a love song about a girl with a red dress who goes into a bar and is on her fifth martini and is falling off her chair, that's a lot easier, and it makes me free to say anything I want. Stephen Sondheim girl song fall Music is structure out of Chaos Stephen Sondheim chaos structure music-is Nowadays, there are sometimes more producers than there are people in the cast, because it takes that much money to put a show on. Stephen Sondheim producers sometimes people I prefer neurotic people. I like to hear rumblings beneath the surface. Stephen Sondheim beneath-the-surface surface people Oh if life were made of moments Even now and then a bad one--! But if life were only moments, Then you'd never know you had one. Stephen Sondheim now-and-then moments made 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. Stephen Sondheim oscars months father TODD: The history of the world, my love -- LOVETT: Save a lot of graves, Do a lot of relatives favors! TODD: Is those below serving those up above! LOVETT: Ev'rybody shaves, So there should be plenty of flavors! TODD: How gratifying for once to know BOTH: That those above will serve those down below! Stephen Sondheim flavor favors world