I saw a very interesting piece on Stephen Sondheim's new book, Finishing the Hat, last night and it reminded me of how great he is both as a composer and a lyricist. Seeing a first-rate production of one of his musicals is an unforgettable experience, and one is often left with the feeling that appreciation for his work is going to grow with time, even though he's already regarded as one of the greatest artists in the history of musical theater. One reason for his eminence is the fact that he's not afraid to explore emotions that most writers would avoid. In Sweeney Todd (1979), it's the degree to which people can be motivated by revenge, for example. In the next few days, I'm going to write a couple of posts on the great composer (who turned eighty this year) in this space, and I'll also be writing about one of the interesting comments that he made in the interview mentioned above in my Shakespeare blog (linked on the right) later today. Here's "My Friends", from Tim Burton's film version of Sweeney Todd, which brilliantly evokes the cross purposes of the two central characters, in both lyrics and music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whhAMSSexQ8