Tonight, tonight, won't be just any night. Tonight there will be no morning star.
Stephen SondheimRead
I have inherited my father's sense of humour about myself. It's a lot more pleasant to make fun of yourself than when someone else does.
Interpretation
Embracing self-deprecating humor is more enjoyable than being mocked by others.
Stephen Sondheim highlights the value of self-deprecating humor, suggesting that an individual's ability to laugh at themselves fosters a sense of ease and pleasantness in life. By inheriting this trait from his father, Sondheim emphasizes the importance of not taking oneself too seriously and finding joy in one's own imperfections, thereby creating a more harmonious relationship with oneself and others.
In practice
In a speech about resilience, one could use this quote to emphasize the power of laughter in difficult times.
Tonight, tonight, won't be just any night. Tonight there will be no morning star.
After the Rodgers and Hammerstein revolution, songs became part of the story, as opposed to just entertainments in between comedy scenes.
Musical comedies aren't written, they are rewritten.
Let Pirelli's / Miracle Elixir / Activate your roots, sir... Keep it off your boots, sir- / Eats right through. Yes, get Pirelli's! / Use a bottle of it! / Ladies seem to love it... Flies do, too!
Art, in itself, is an attempt to bring order out of chaos.
Careful the spell you cast, not just on children. Sometimes the spell may last Past what you can see And turn against you... Careful the tale you tell. That is the spell.
My dream in life is to write the one gag that makes everyone in the world laugh.
If you'd given me the choice of going out and beating four men and smashing a goal in from thirty yards against Liverpool or going to bed with Miss World, it would have been a difficult choice. Luckily, I had both.
There's only one rule in stand-up, which is that you have to be funny. Yet 99 per cent of comics look and talk exactly the same.
When I got to 'The Daily Show,' they asked me to have a political opinion. It turned out that I had one, but I didn't realize quite how liberal I was until I was asked to make passionate comedic choices as opposed to necessarily successful comedic choices.
The capacity of human beings to bore one another seems to be vastly greater than that of any other animal.
Yeah, weβll call you,β muttered Ron as the knight disappeared, βIf we ever need someone mental.
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