On Oscar Hammerstein

Sondheim had sympathy for the devil; some of his iconic characters (Sweeney, the Witch) are murderers. Sondheim also had strong feelings about the architecture of a song. There should be "movement" from A to Z.

Sondheim's mentor--Oscar Hammerstein--had similar ideas. In his first Pulitzer winner, "Oklahoma," he gave special attention to his villain, Jud. (The one time in history any male actor has ever won a Tony Award for "Oklahoma," the role in question was Jud.)

The floor creaks.

The door squeaks.

There's a field mouse a-nibblin' on a broom.

And I set by myself,

Like a cobweb on a shelf,

By myself in a lonely room.

Jud is trapped in his own head; we sense this because two words, "by myself," get underlined and italicized in one deliberately awkward sentence.

Next, a dream starts "dancing" in Jud's mind:

And all the things that I wish fer

Turn out like I want them to be.

And I'm better than that smart-aleck cowhand

Who thinks he is better than me....

Jud wants revenge--even if this is the path to hell. Who could fail to relate? He will humiliate his enemy. He will "steal" this man's girlfriend:

I'm going outside--

Get myself a bride.

Get me a woman

To call my own!

With a light touch, Hammerstein has guided Jud off a stool and out the door. We understand the stakes; we might even "prefer" Jud to the show's ostensible hero, Curly. This is a great piece of writing.

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