I don't think Hamlet is mad, nor is he predisposed to be a gloomy or tragic figure.

I'm a devotee of Stephen Sondheim. I think he's a genius.

In 'Henry V,' the story of the assumption of true and responsible leadership by Henry I think is hard-won. He has to lose friends; he has to risk his life.

One of the things that makes Hamlet unique among Shakespeare's characters is his courage to face up to the darker elements of his personality.

I essentially am not in madness, but mad in craft.

I think that Shakespeare himself raided fairy tales and chronicle writers, and he always looked to people who worked in the mythic genres, whether it was folk tales or popular novels.