Terry Gross

And it really shows you off.

There's a song by Stephen Sondheim from his musical Bounce with my guest, Richard Kind.

So that was my guest Richard Kind singing Get Out of My Life from the original cast recording of the Stephen Sondheim musical Bounce.

So you worked directly with Sondheim on this, right?

I did, yeah.

What kind of direction did he give you about how to do his songs?

What was it like?

He was one of your heroes.

You always wanted to be in one of his shows.

And here he was directing you and kind of being very picky about every word and probably about every note as well.

Sure.

Did that make you self-conscious?

You quit smoking to sing Sondheim.

So we talked a little bit about working with Sondheim on one of his musicals.

Earlier in your life, your music was being a singing waiter in a Manhattan restaurant.

How did that work, and what was your restaurant repertoire?

I'm thinking, speaking of Sondheim, that you have to sing upbeat, ingratiating songs, and you can't sing a song from Sweeney Todd like, "'They All Deserve to Die.'"

Were tips based on your singing?

If you're just joining us, my guest is Richard Kind.

We'll talk more after a break.