On Sondheim: An Opinionated Guide

the composer! Lionel Bart, who had a serious drug problem, initially wrote the music for La Strada.

Oddly, this wasn’t the only time Stephen Sondheim would dodge Puerto Rican politics. His 1990 musical, Assassins, told the story of nine assassins or would-be assassins of U.S. presidents, from John Wilkes Booth to John Hinckley. But it didn’t include Oscar Collazo or Griselio Torresola. Because their motives were political, Sondheim explained, the

Sunday ran for 604 performances, including previews, just shy of a year and a half. I happened to be at the theater one night after the show and the doorman told me that there was a group outside that would be thrilled to meet me. I walked out and was greeted by the St. Peter’s Girl Scout Troop No. 156 from Mansfield, Ohio. I visited with them and

Mandy left the show temporarily at one point during the run for another job. When he came back, he was a changed person. He was so much fun to work with and have around! I asked him about it and he said, “You know, I really thought that my talent was tied up in my being difficult; that if I reined in my personality, then I would lose my talent.”