Todd: The History Of The World, My

The Last Collaborator Is Your Audience ... When The Audience Comes In, It Changes The Temperature Of What You've Written. Things That Seem To Work Well -- Work In A Sense Of Carry The Story Forward And Be Integral To The Piece -- Suddenly Become A Little Less Relevant Or A Little Less Functional Or A Little Overlong Or A Little Overweight Or A Little Whatever. And So You Start Reshaping From An Audience.

I Didn't Really Want To Write Just Lyrics, But I Wanted To Meet Leonard Bernstein. Music Was Always The First Reason I Was Writing Songs.

Making Lyrics Feel Natural, Sit On Music In Such A Way That You Dont Feel The Effort Of The Author, So That They Shine And Bubble And Rise And Fall, Is Very, Very Hard To Do. Whereas You Can Sit At The Piano And Just Play And Feel Youre Making Art.

On Stage, Generally Speaking, The Story Is Stopped Or Held Back By Songs, Because That's The Convention. Audiences Enjoy The Song And The Singer, That's The Point.

The Dumbing Down Of The Country Reflects Itself On Broadway. The Shows Get Dumber, And The Public Gets Used To Them.