Sondheim vs. Women

It's one of the interesting things about his music: up until the 21st Century, there were apparently a number of feminists that found his nervous breakdown numbers appalling. Then there was that whole Porgy and Bess thing, which people saw as racist/misogynist. People have a much finer instinct for subtext these days, and now that there's a bit more distance between the contemporary characters and today, people are able to see them as something other than crazy women. These days, I'd say they're seen as statements of agency rather than grim frustration.