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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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