Stephen Sondheim finding a real synthesis. A good deal of pop music has interesting lyrics, but they are not theater lyrics". A musical-theatre composer "must have a sense of what is theatrical, of how you use music to tell a story, as opposed to writing a song. Jonathan understood that instinctively." Around 2008, Sondheim approached Lin-Manuel Miranda to work with him translating "West Side Story" lyrics into Spanish for an upcoming Broadway revival. Miranda then approached Sondheim with his new project "Hamilton", then called "The Hamilton Mixtape", which Sondheim gave notes on. Sondheim was originally wary of the project saying he was
Stephen Sondheim The elder Hammerstein became Sondheim's surrogate father, influencing him profoundly and developing his love of musical theatre. Sondheim met Hal Prince, who would direct many of his shows, at the opening of "South Pacific," Hammerstein's musical with Richard Rodgers. The comic musical he wrote at George School, "By George", was a success among his peers and buoyed the young songwriter's self-esteem. When Sondheim asked Hammerstein to evaluate it as though he had no knowledge of its author, he said it was the worst thing he had ever seen: "But if you want to know why it's terrible, I'll tell you."