Music and Lyrics

Clips from the career of librettist John Weidman ’68, including a Sesame Street sketch, excerpts from Assassins, and Weidman's reflections on works staged at Lincoln Center

For John Weidman ’68, a career as a librettist began with writing a Hasty Pudding show in 1966, and later included work on Sesame Street and collaborations with Stephen Sondheim. (Read more in "Storytelling with Sondheim," from the January-February 2011 issue.)

For the occasion of Lincoln Center's twenty-fifth anniversary, the venue filmed interviews with creators who'd done a significant amount of work there over the years. In one clip, Weidman discusses Anything Goes; in another, he discusses the development of Contact and Happiness.

View a Sesame Street clip written by Weidman—the children's show's take on the musical Oklahoma.

View a clip from the musical Assassins, a collaboration between Weidman and Sondheim that resulted from a mutual fascination with the men who have tried to kill U.S. presidents.

You might also like

How AI Is Reshaping Supply Chains

Harvard Kennedy School lecturer on using AI to strengthen supply chains

This Astronomer is Sounding a Warning on ‘Space Junk’

As debris accumulates in low Earth orbit, the danger of destructive collisions continues to rise.

Understanding AI Vulnerabilities

As artificial intelligence capabilities evolve, so too will the tactics used to exploit them. 

Most popular

Social Media Use and Adult Depression

A survey reveals suprising links between social media use and depression in adults.

The Franklin Stove—A Historical Climate Change Adaptation

Historian Joyce E. Chaplin reinterprets an early era of invention, industrialization, and climate challenge

In 2004, a frenzy spread across Harvard Yard in days. Four billion users later, we are only just catching up.

Explore More From Current Issue

A woman with curly blonde hair sits casually against a stone wall, wearing a black top and jeans.

Chloe Chapin trains her Broadway costume designer’s eye on the history of men’s fashion.

A busy classroom filled with students working at computers, colorful decor, and a bright atmosphere.

In 2004, a frenzy spread across Harvard Yard in days. Four billion users later, we are only just catching up.

Two laboratory researchers, one seated and one standing, in a scientific lab with equipment.

The stakes are high for this husband and wife: one of them will die if they don’t find a cure.