Stephen Sondheim suggested evening the percentage at two percent each, but Sondheim refused because he wanted the credit. Sondheim later said he wished "someone stuffed a handkerchief in my mouth because it would have been nice to get that extra percentage". After "West Side Story" opened, Shevelove lamented the lack of "low-brow comedy" on Broadway and mentioned a possible musical based on Plautus' Roman comedies. When Sondheim was interested in the idea he called a friend, Larry Gelbart, to co-write the script. The show went through a number of drafts, and was interrupted briefly by Sondheim's next project. In 1959, Sondheim was
Stephen Sondheim With Stephen Sondheim" (which sold out in three minutes) was hosted by the Academy for New Musical Theatre in Hollywood. An avid fan of games, in 1968 and 1969 Sondheim published a series of cryptic crossword puzzles in "New York" magazine. In 1987 "Time" called his love of puzzlemaking "legendary in theater circles," adding that the central character of Anthony Shaffer's play "Sleuth" was inspired by the composer. According to a rumor (denied by Shaffer in a March 10, 1996 "New York Times" interview), "Sleuth" had the working title "Who's Afraid of Stephen Sondheim?" His love of puzzles and mysteries