"I have been arguing against his issues with these lyrics for years -- and the key issue is exactly what you said. His argument against them makes HIM look bad, not her lyrics. He's a genius but on this, even about his own work, I do think he's wrong and I think his issues with the lyrics are baseless."
According to a source whom I consider very reliable, it was Sheldon Harnick who first suggested to Sondheim that the lyrics of "I Feel Pretty" were too literate or witty or whatever for an uneducated Puerto Rican girl whose first language is Spanish to sing, and I believe this happened very early in the show's history. So I guess Sondheim agreed with him at the time and has stuck with that opinion, even though many people might disagree, for the reasons stated in this thread. |
