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 Gabriel Ebert, Sara Stiles, Michael Cerveris and Jennifer Simard. The working title was reported to be "Buñuel" by the New York Post and other outlets, but Sondheim later clarified that this was an error and that they still had no title. As of August 2018, no dates regarding the musical had been announced. The Kennedy Center held a Sondheim Celebration, running from May to August 2002, consisting of six of Sondheim's musicals: "Sweeney Todd", "Company", "Sunday in the Park With George", "Merrily We Roll Along", "Passion" and "A Little Night Music". On April 28, 2002, in connection with the Sondheim