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
Samuel Byck musical written by Stephen Sondheim. The "9/11 Commission Report" also mentioned Byck's attempt to fly a plane into the White House. On page 561 in note 21, it says: Byck is one of the (failed) assassins portrayed in Stephen Sondheim's and John Weidman's 1991 musical "Assassins". His role in the musical is built largely around his tapes sent to Leonard Bernstein and other famous public figures, which he is depicted recording during two scene-length monologues, the first addressed to Bernstein and the second to Nixon himself. A movie based on his story, "The Assassination of Richard Nixon", was released in