The hoariest question songwriters get asked is: Which comes first, the words or the music? Stephen Sondheim's answer has always been: the dramatic situation. (With all apologies to Merrily We Roll Along's Charlie, whose cynical answer is, "Generally, the contract.") Anthony Tommasini's tantalizing new story in the Times, posited as "something he's always wanted to ask," is a sort of high-toned version of the words-or…
SOURCE: The Wicked Stage at 02:44PM on August 31, 2016