Piazza Similar to Sweeney?

I'm not sure if this has been discussed before but the very beginning of "Say it Somehow" In Piazza sounds almost identical to the beginning of "Not While I'm Around"
am I imagining things? Do you think Guettel is influenced by Sondheim?

true. oh and by "very beginning" i mean the beginning instrumental chords. I realize know that it may just be coincidence and that it's such a samll detail... but when i first heard "Say i somehow" i could have mistaken it for "not while I'm around" for a second.

Well, the little vamp just before Clara begins to sing in Say it Somehow is extremely common, so that probably has something to do with it, but I'd definitely say Guettel was influenced by Sondheim. I mean, it's pretty much impossible to write musicals these days and not have SOME Sondheim influence (unless you write in the ALW school).

But yes, the first two bars in the printed version of Say It Somehow are extremely similar to the bars leading into the words "Nothing's gonna harm you", but also bear a relation to "What I Did For Love". I think it's just a common pattern.

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