In which I get very critical about MUSICALS YOU MAY KNOW AND LOVE

MELISANDE is going very well, thank you. Scoring the Queen's song; telling Larry that each note needs both a musical and a dramaturgical reason to exist.

The example and/or standard is of course INTO THE WOODS, and if you don't believe me you can watch Stephen Sondheim explain the purpose of nearly every note in the Prologue.

(Every note does in fact have a purpose, even the ones he doesn't explain, and I know this because I've gone through the Prologue note by note.)

But what about all of the musicals that aren't INTO THE WOODS?