In the Rodgers and Hammerstein generation, popular hits came out of shows and movies.

I was essentially trained by Oscar Hammerstein to think of songs as one-act plays, to move a song from point A to point B dramatically.

After the Rodgers and Hammerstein revolution, songs became part of the story, as opposed to just entertainments in between comedy scenes.

Oscar Hammerstein was a surrogate father during all those many days, and weeks and months when I didn't see my own father.

I'm very opinionated about movie musicals when they're adapted from live shows. You'll sit still for a three-minute song in a theater. But in movies, a glance from someone's eyes will tell you the whole story in a few seconds.

The dumbing down of the country reflects itself on Broadway. The shows get dumber, and the public gets used to them.