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He started mugging people by the age of 15.

Embarrassed at living in chronic poverty — his school lunches often were mayonnaise sandwiches — he set out to remedy the situation, shoplifting, intimidating students for their lunch money, mugging people in the street.

“It is funny that the heaviest of all awards is given by actors — ’us what we do, it means so much,’” he said, mugging ponderous emotion.

There’s a little too much mugging, italicizing and elbow-nudging, as if we might not be able to enjoy Sondheim’s unsparing wit on our own.

She said she had reported a mugging to the police and that a work mobile phone was one of the items that had been stolen.