Stephen Sondheim In 1957, "West Side Story" opened; directed by Jerome Robbins, it ran for 732 performances. Sondheim has expressed dissatisfaction with his lyrics, saying that they do not always fit the characters and are sometimes too consciously poetic. While Bernstein was working on "Candide", Sondheim reportedly wrote some of "West Side Story"s music; Bernstein's co-lyricist credit disappeared from "West Side Story" during its tryout, possibly as a trade-off. Sondheim insisted that Bernstein told the producers to list him as the sole lyricist. He described the division of the royalties, saying that Bernstein received three percent and he received one percent. Bernstein
Stephen Sondheim He later matriculated to Williams College and graduated in 1950. He traces his interest in theatre to "Very Warm for May", a Broadway musical he saw when he was nine. "The curtain went up and revealed a piano," Sondheim recalled. "A butler took a duster and brushed it up, tinkling the keys. I thought that was thrilling." When Sondheim was ten years old, his father (already a distant figure) had left his mother for another woman (Alicia, with whom he had two sons). Herbert sought custody of Stephen but was unsuccessful. Sondheim explained to biographer Secrest that he was "what