The Clowns Are Already Here

[PJMcK]

23. Sondheim wrote the song very quickly

The musical, A Little Night Music, was in try-out in Boston and there was a dramatic problem late in the second act. This is not an uncommon problem in the development of musicals.

Sondheim wrote most of the song in one night and finished it the next day. It has become a standard in the American Songbook and it has been recorded hundreds of times and performed millions of times. He, and now his estate, receives royalties from every distribution stream. Not bad for a song he wrote in two days!