'La Mancha' was a gift from me to me. I never thought for a minute it was going to be a hit. Mitch Leigh More Quotes by Mitch Leigh More Quotes From Mitch Leigh I think if you see that no one is going to laugh at you for it, I think the concept of living nicely will be infectious. I believe there is room for the absence of cynicism. Mitch Leigh laughing believe thinking To call somebody a Jewish composer is obviously redundant. Mitch Leigh redundant composer I was in the army, and I had given up the thought of being a composer. Mitch Leigh composer given army There's more musical freedom on Madison Avenue than anywhere else. It's an Eden for a composer. Mitch Leigh anywhere than more freedom You can't make money on advertising; you just have to seed the clouds. What you're after is word of mouth. Mitch Leigh you advertising money clouds I'll write anything; I don't want to judge its form. Mitch Leigh write judge anything want If you're not a nice person, don't call. Mitch Leigh person you nice-person nice If I do what I really want to do, I'm not going to do a typical commercial Broadway show, so I'm going to write what I want to write. Mitch Leigh show going write want The old joke was Mitch Leigh, land baron, barren land. Mitch Leigh joke old barren land You have to do what is real and what is right and what is good and what you believe in. It doesn't mean it's always going to work. It doesn't. But when it does, it is truthful and forever. Mitch Leigh good you work believe One doesn't go on television for the Manhattan crowd. You buy the sides of buses for that. Mitch Leigh go you sides television When you think of Mitch Leigh as a businessman, remember he's also a composer. And when you think of Mitch Leigh as a composer, remember he's also a businessman. Mitch Leigh think you businessman remember If one wants to go on living, one must evolve. Before, when we composed, we would start by a series of music themes. Once created, we would hire writers and lyricists to make up the text and the story line. I was the first to do this backwards with 'Man of La Mancha.' Mitch Leigh story start man music I grew up in Brownsville; most of the kids I grew up with went to jail, not Yale. If they had heard of Yale, they thought it was a lock to pick. Mitch Leigh lock thought up jail When I left Yale, I was prepared to write anything. Mitch Leigh write anything left yale It's still word of mouth that is going to make or break a show, and while critics can't help a show, they can hurt it. Mitch Leigh mouth help break hurt New York is really the cheapest ad market. When I go on TV, I'm hitting a country. The market is as big as some countries, you know. Mitch Leigh new know you country Not exactly what the world was looking for, a musical on 'Don Quixote.' It was required reading in high school. Mitch Leigh looking reading world school My advice to singers is always the same: 'Don't sing the song, sing the lyric.' Mitch Leigh sing always advice song I applied to Yale, and I got in. Mitch Leigh applied got yale
