Maury Yeston

“Musical theatre is now a worldwide conversation.”

“Every show is a mess at its first preview. No one's had enough time to rehearse in costumes, traffic patterns backstage haven't been worked out, machinery weighing thousands of pounds is being operated for the first time. And, also, it's the first time all the material you've written is before the public.”

“The extraordinary thing about Irving Berlin is that he's like the American Mozart! It seems as if his songs were always there. How do you put together songs like 'Always' or 'Cheek To Cheek'? Songs of his are, frankly, perfect.”

“I started playing the piano, pretty much on my own, when I was 5, and I started writing music when I was 7. In fact, I won a composition award. It was a crummy little piece, but I won with it.”

“Rodgers & Hart had a few flops before they clicked. You know, it happens. I don't know anyone who always gets away with everything.”

“For me, when you are talking about perfect songs, you're talking about Gershwin, 'Someone To Watch Over Me.' Or Larry Hart and Richard Rodgers. Or some of the great Cole Porter songs, whether it's 'Night and Day' or some of the comedy songs. Or Irving Berlin, of course.”

“Back in the Stone Age, before there were workshops, it was a very difficult idea to get into musical theatre. Normally, you would be a chorus girl or boy and write something. People would get their start as rehearsal pianists or dance assistants.”

“Not every story in history has a beginning, a middle and an end, but the wreck of the Titanic does. It begins when they leave, in the middle it hits an iceberg, and in the final two hours, the ship sinks.”

“I am usually a pacer. I go to the balcony to check the sight lines way up there, to check the sound system to see how the balance is.”

“The second-class couple is far closer to what the audience is today. It's who we are.”

“As we get older... I don't know a single person who has devoted their life to musical theatre who hasn't had a couple of misses as well as a bunch of hits. The misses, we learn a great deal from them.”

“What you get at the BMI Workshop is the rarest commodity in New York City: Friendly criticism; people who genuinely root for you; and a chance to rewrite your work, try it again, and hone your craft.”

“In a play, a man comes out and says something. Another man comes out and says something. And by the end of the night, we've learned something we didn't know, In a musical, there is singing and dancing for two hours, but you've got to know everything in 5 minutes. Do it in those 5 minutes or you'll lose them.”

“I like the facts. I find them interesting.”