SOUND OFF: Sondheim Palooza Part 3

FOLLIES, A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, PACIFIC OVERTURES & SWEENEY TODD
Countless Jewels By The Score

Today we are taking a look at the extended streak of genius exhibited by Stephen Sondheim, along with director/producer Hal Prince, following the resounding success of COMPANY in 1970. Throughout the rest of the 70s they would continue to change the form of theatre itself with four momentous musicals tackling every topic from aging showgirls singing one last tune to Ingmar Bergman sunsets and a topic for a concept musical no less epic than the westernization of Japan in the wake of Commodore Perry - plus, who could forget the remorseful Barber and his knife (or should that be "wife"?). Without question, these are four richly-encrusted crowning achievements of a legendary career and these musical jewels are still sparkling and shining, as glistening and beautiful as ever dazzling us and enticing us to inspect them closer...

FOLLIES

Diadems

Perhaps the last great musical, as Frank Rich once so eloquently wrote of the show, and it is so well-regarded by Sondheim fans it seems to be almost mythic, but here it is on record ready to be discussed, dissected - and always perfectly cast and directed in the dream-reality of Sondheim fans everywhere (though it has never worked that well onstage since the original production). While every production of FOLLIES is a little bit different, some more so than others when compared to the original Prince/Bennett masterpiece of musical staging, it is a credit to the power of the themes and message of the show that not only do most productions provoke a reaction from the audience but also the score re-asserts itself as one of the pinnacles of an unparalleled career time and time again. Yes, I said it - I believe that FOLLIES is, indeed, Sondheim's greatest score. Perhaps SWEENEY TODD is more epic, perhaps PACIFIC OVERTURES is more groundbreaking and perhaps A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC has more entertainment value than the others, but, for me, FOLLIES is the best of the best. The songs delve so deep into the psyches of each of the protagonists that we feel as if we have known them all of our lives by the end of the show - like we were one of the girls waiting upstairs, or the boys down below. It is a true testament to the sheer brilliance and the multi-layered, multi-faceted nature of the material that such disparate performers (sometimes even in the same role) can create such strikingly different characterizations through just the manner of their tone and style in putting across their numbers, as we will see here. This is perhaps the finest Broadway score since WEST SIDE STORY and no amount of criticism or discussion of it will ever speak more for its brilliance than playing one of the various cast albums of the show.

FOLLIES - Original Broadway Cast Recording

SCORE: 7/10

The cast is absolute perfection and comparisons will always fall short when comparing almost anyone to the work done by these marvelous actors, yet the entire preservation of the show on record is marred by the fact that the recording quality is not very good at all and the score has been truncated almost beyond recognition in some cases - a true shame to report, if there ever were any when discussing a cast recording of a great show. The cast still shines, despite the album's many troubles. Alexis Smith is resplendent, Dorothy Collins is absolutely wonderful, Yvonne De Carlo is Yvonne De Carlo, and the men are good if not the best on record. The cuts and deletions make this hard to recommend, even though this album contains many fans' favorite renditions of many of the songs, in particular Collins‘s "Losing My Mind" and Ethel Shutta's "Broadway Baby". The Original Broadway Cast Recording of FOLLIES is perhaps essential for Sondheim fans, but for those new to the score I would surely recommend the Time-Life Complete Recording over this, if only because the score is so butchered and the technical quality so poor on this album. Much like FOLLIES, it causes me to wonder what could have been had a different path been taken and the recording company actually bothered to preserve the score as it existed in the theatre. Ah, well, the road they didn't take will always haunt this recording like a ghost in the Weismann Theater-cum-parking lot.

FOLLIES - Live At Avery Fisher Hall

SCORE: 8/10

Now, this is more like it! Featuring an all-star cast of Broadway luminaries such as Barbara Cook, Lee Remick, George Hearn, Mandy Patinkin, Elaine Stritch, Carol Burnett and many, many more this recording was made primarily to create a definitive representation of the score for FOLLIES on disc. While it fails short of that goal, it is much better than the OBCR if only because it is so much more complete, although, even then, there are quite a few sections of music missing from even this recording, although we are treated to the entire score from STAVISKY, an Alain Resnais film for which Sondheim composed the score a few years prior to the concert, thanks to the RCA release, which is now distributed by Sony. Since this was a live recording, there are some technical deficiencies here and there, but all in all it sounds quite good given the circumstances under which it was recorded, as a one-night-only concert. Stritch's "Broadway Baby" is something of a legend, and her deadpan delivery of it is still spot-on. Cook's "Losing My Mind" is glorious and "Too Many Mornings" has never been better than as sung by Cook and Hearn. Patinkin is a bit manic, taking all the parts of "Buddy's Blues" but otherwise does well with his material. Burnett's "I'm Still Here" is a bit bizarre and unremarkable and one wishes it were better, but perhaps her jaded, affected take on it was meant to be an artistic choice she thought worth trying out (though it somewhat belies the thematic and musical build of the song, no?). Remick is a glamorous Phyllis who gives her all to her material with fine results. All in all, this is a very good recording of a great show, but it could have been a bit better and one hopes for a remaster of the dusty sounding RCA release at some point in the future. This was the first recording of FOLLIES I ever heard and I can think of no better introduction to the glitzy, showbiz trappings of the material than this, though it does lack the dramatic heft and pathos of the Complete Recording and the classic status of the original. Definitely recommended.

FOLLIES - Original London Cast Recording

SCORE: 6.5/10

Cameron Mackintosh convinced Sondheim and James Goldman to rewrite FOLLIES for a lavish, spectacular production in the West End in 1987 and the results are a kinder, gentler, more upbeat FOLLIES which is not quite as dismissible as it may first sound to be to those who only know of it as a show about old chorus girls and ghosts in a haunted old theater on the brink of demolition. FOLLIES is about many more things than one could even begin to list here, so it is inadvisable to dismiss this iteration of the show out-of-hand. Besides "Country House", which I do not think works, the rest of the new material is quite good and stands up with much of Sondheim's more psychologically-heavy and poetic work of the 1980s, particularly evident in the literally show-stopping "Make The Most of Your Music" and sexy, satirical "Ah, But Underneath". The cast is winning, as well, with Diana Rigg and Julia Mackenzie particularly delectable as Phyllis and Sally, respectively. The orchestra sounds good and the album is a wonderful option for fans who want a quite different take on the material. Surely, it is not the preferable version of the show by any means, but this recording goes a long way in convincing us that FOLLIES will live on long past many shows of its era if only because each performance, and each play of the cast album, reveals new ghosts hidden in long-lost corridors.

FOLLIES - Papermill Playhouse Complete Recording

SCORE: 10/10

Time-Life's Complete Recording of FOLLIES is definitive. I cannot recommend it enough. Rob Sher's production is very open and theatrical and the performances always feel alive and fresh. Dee Hoty is a regal, refined Phyllis. Donna McKechnie is a wounded-bird of a Sally and her take on "Don't Look At Me" works in ways many other performances of this song have not. Laurence Guittard (also in the Original Broadway Cast of A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC coming up next) is a strong-willed and strong-voiced Ben. Tony Roberts is a sentimental, sad-clown of a Buddy. Ann Miller is a fierce and fierey Carlotta who gives my personal favorite performance of "I'm Still Here" on any cast album of FOLLIES. Kaye Ballard does a warm and witty "Broadway Baby". Everything about this recording is ace-high, and the fact that it is a complete, note-for-note preservation of the score only adds to the allure of the whole extravagantly attractive affair (aurally, and visually given the gorgeous and informative album booklet and liner notes). Jonathan Tunick conducts from his own exquisite orchestrations and provides new charts for some of the material in the Appendix. Speaking of the Appendix: it contains most of the songs that were cut on the road in the tumultuous trek that FOLLIES took to Broadway and the score is so rich a feast that even these scraps can make a case for the genius at work in the creation of this nuanced, intricate musical masterpiece. The counterpoint medley "Little White House/Who Could Be Blue" is as good as anything in the final score, as "Can That Boy Fox-Trot" which is an added delight for Ann Miller fans everywhere. This is the cast album for FOLLIES fans and newcomers alike. An album for the ages.

Make The Most Of Your Music

Everyone likes their FOLLIES a little bit different, sort of like an omelet or a martini - or a meat pie, for that matter. What makes one production or cast album work wonders for one may spell mayhem for another theatre-goer. FOLLIES is an essential part of every cast album collector's library and whichever recording you choose, you will know that there is magic to be found within. Yes, the Original Broadway Cast was near-perfect, but the recording of the show itself is flawed and the score has been gutted. The London Recording is a curiosity with some strong, new takes on the characters and some interesting new songs. The Papermill Complete Recording is definitive, a true gem on the crown of FOLLIES cast recordings. FOLLIES is a meta-musical (i.e. about theatre itself) like no other and both the love and hate for the form and the life that it dictates flows through the veins of the score, with the passion of youth the visceral lifeblood coursing through it and the disenchantment of life in middle-age the ice-cubes floating on the surface giving off smoke and steam. After all, FOLLIES is so much more than merely smoke and mirrors, the infamous Mirror Number notwithstanding.

A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC

Not Quite Night

A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC is a rhapsody. A rich, sumptuous feast of a score with a particularly European flair and a style all its own, due in no small part to the sophisticated source material: Ingmar Bergman's film SMILES OF A SUMMER NIGHT. This show will always be remember particularly fondly by Sondheim fans because of its introduction of a modern-day standard, and to date Sondheim's only radio hit since WEST SIDE STORY's soundtrack had its legendary year-long-run on the Billboard charts. The song, the unforgettable "Send In the Clowns". As that song's lyrics ask, so we reply that A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC is impossibly rich, and the Original Broadway Cast Recording along with the Royal National Theatre Recording, or, perhaps, the 2009 Broadway Revival Recording, are a perfect pair for those wanting to get to know the show better. To affect Armfeldt-ese: to the virgins, it is elementary to start at the very beginning, my dears...

A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC - Original Broadway Cast Recording

SCORE: 10/10

Little can be said about the Original Broadway Cast Recording of A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC that has not already been said, so to maintain brevity: sublime sublimity. Glynis Johns is true perfection, Hermione Gingold is a treasure, Len Cariou is superb, Patricia Elliot is unequaled, Laurence Guittard is lovably buffoonish and all of the material is perfectly sung and played with aplomb by the lush orchestra. Every moment of this cast album seems to have been crafted from pure gold and encrusted with the finest sonic jewels in the form of these beguilingly brilliant songs and endlessly witty and attractive performances. It is all perfect, from the first note to the last. This recording is one of ten or twelve that every cast album collector absolutely must own no matter what. Beg/borrow/steal, but not soon or later: now!

A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC - Original London Cast Recording

SCORE: 6/10

Jean Simmons is a silver-voices Desiree, and the recording is quite good in no small part due to her presence. Gingolg reprises her Armdfeldt and it seems as though she grew in her understanding of the courtesan character over the course of her Broadway run and turns in a possibly superior performance here to her work in the original cast, which is high praise in itself. It should be noted Liz Robertson, currently in LOVE NEVER DIES in the West End, is in the ensemble here and David Kernan is good enough, if not that impressive, though Joss Ackland is decidedly less so than that. This is a good recording if only for "Liasons" and "Send In the Clowns", but some of the other songs are a little strident and sharply sung so it is not really up to snuff when compared to the other, quite excellent, versions of this show on record.

A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC - 1995 Royal National Theatre Recording

SCORE: 8.5/10

Now, this is where it gets interesting. Judi Dench is perhaps the best Desiree of all time, certainly an equal to the divine Glynis Johns, and her singing is even stronger than Johns even if she is not Streisand (or any of the other overqualified singers who have sung this small, delicate song on albums over the years, though Sondheim rewrote the song for Streisand and added a verse so she gets a pass). This version of the show was very elaborate and contained a number of additions to the score - which were controversial to say the least - and I happen to be a big fan of this version of the show. As Audra MacDonald has been proving with her performances of a song from the movie version of A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC - a review of that misguided affair starring ElizaBeth Taylor, and all Sondheim on Film and DVD for that matter, next week to tie up our review of the oeuvre of Sondheim - perhaps one is the slightly superior song sharing the title of "The Glamorous Life". The mix of the two songs on this cast album is a bit jarring and does not quite work, but surely the Fredericka "Glamorous Life" could find a way into the show permanently. Perhaps not, since Sondheim did not use it in the revival. Nonetheless, the cast here is uniformly strong, and the changes and additions make this a recording for fans to seek out as it contains many charming attributes, none the least of which is the luminous Desiree of Judi Dench.

A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC - 2009 Broadway Revival Recording

-SEE LINK-

Love Takes Time

No matter what your opinions of Sondheim's other musicals, A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC is perhaps his most instantly endearing and immediately ingratiating score to date. "Now/Soon/Later" is perhaps his best-written trio, lyrically and musically, with some of the most sharply pointed and sharp lyrics in Broadway history and "Send In the Clowns" endures as his biggest hit, having been recorded by thousands of performers over the years. Act One Finales do not get any more plot-furthering and deliciously complex (musically, thematically, dramatically, etc.) than "A Weekend In The Country". Yes, A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC is a splendid, enchanting treat, no matter what the production or recording, and it is perhaps best advised to those new to the material to go with the Original Broadway Cast Recording, and to those more familiar with the show it may be worth seeking out the Royal National Theatre Recording for its idiosyncratic and quite fascinating take. For further exposure to the vast riches inherent in the material we have the London Cast Recording as well as the wonderful Desiree and Armfelt of Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury on the brand-new, quite sparkling recording of the Broadway revival (with perhaps the best sung Count Carl Magnus on record thanks to Aaron Lazar, with no slight to the original, Guittard, who was among the most pristine vocalists on any cast album of the 70s). No matter what the weather, you always have the option of choosing to play one of these albums and be instantly transported to a gloriously warm, smiling Swedish Summer night thanks to the sumptuous, evocative score for this stylish and truly adult masterpiece of a musical by Stephen Sondheim.

PACIFIC OVERTURES

Only Cups of Tea & History

PACIFIC OVERTURES contains Stephen Sondheim's personal favorite song of all his various compositions, the multi-part musical scene "Someone In A Tree" and while it is an acquired taste, once you warm to the considerable charms of the creative and intelligent material you will see why it is considered among the very best of Sondheim‘s considerable list of artistic successes. With direction by Hal Prince and featuring authentic instrumentation in the truly jaw dropping orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick, this is an anomaly in the Sondheim canon and the first part of what Sondheim considers a three-part trilogy, along with the other two shows he has written with John Weidman: the politically themed ASSASSINS and the socially-charged ROAD SHOW, which will be part of our final entry in the Sondheim Palooza this week. Also, stay tuned to FLASHBACK FRIDAY this week for more on "Someone IN A Tree" and a complete deconstruction of the song by Sondheim himself in conversation with Frank Rich and featuring performances by members of the original Broadway cast!

PACIFIC OVERTURES - Original Broadway Cast Recording

SCORE: 9/10

The 1976 Broadway production of PACIFIC OVERTURES was a bit overshadowed by the two other musicals new in town that season, Bob Fosse's production of Kander & Ebb's CHICAGO as well as Michael Bennett's massive smash-hit A CHORUS LINE, so we are very lucky indeed that it was recorded for Japanese television, as the painstakingly precise direction and minimalist masterpiece of a set by Boris Aronson make it a much more entertaining show than the somewhat academic or historically-heavy content of the cast album (and the show itself) may first imply. This is truly an ensemble show unlike few others, but special mention must be make of Mako who does very well with his material. "Chrysanthemum Tea" and "Welcome To Kanagawa" as well as the aforementioned "Someone In A Tree" are perfect examples of the ingenuity and proven malleability with the form that Sondheim showed with this musical masterpiece - a term equally applicable to all the shows discussed here, and not used in a hyperbolic fashion in the least. The cast album still sounds quite good, even today, though a digital remaster would certainly be welcome as the recording lacks a certain freshness, though it is quite technically superb for its time, as are all of the Thomas Z. Shepard albums that have been discussed here, whether or not his contributions have been singled out by name due to space considerations and repetitiveness. Broadway has never seen a musical like this since and Sondheim truly does due diligence in his precise work on every single element of this excellent, idiosyncratic score.

PACIFIC OVERTURES - 1987 English National Opera Recording

SCORE: 6.5/10

While the somewhat echo-y, tinny sound of this recording tends to dissuade some from enjoying it, I find the completeness of the score and the convincing portrayals of, at least, the Japanese characters, make this a second-tier recommendation if surely not a standout like the Original Broadway Cast Recording. It is instructive to have more complete recordings of the instrumental material and the score sounds quite good in this preservation of the show with The Players not quite displaying the adeptness with the tricky instruments being used in the orchestration. It must be noted that the complete, 2-disc edition of this score seems to have gone out-of-print and were the highlights release the recording being discussed it would be considerably less recommended because, after all, the single-most selling point of this recording is its comprehensiveness.

PACIFIC OVERTURES - Broadway Revival Cast Recording

SCORE: 8.5/10

This is a gorgeously produced and packaged album, containing the complete lyrics and much of the book for the show as well as liner notes and a cut song at the end of the album. Nonesuch perhaps does the OBCR one better by including substantially more dialogue and an air-tight, if slightly airless, preservation of this recent Noh version of the show. The new orchestrations sound good, though they are not any improvement on the originals in any way, and the cast do very well with the very complex, tricky material. I would go so far as to say this may be the best-sung of all three cast albums available and certainly this is the best first recording for those who are not too familiar with the show. I particularly enjoy the cut song "Poems" and find that the dialogue makes this the cast album most like the experience of the show in the theatre. Then again, PACIFIC OVERTURES is a show that will never work as well on a cast album as it does in performance. There is very fine work by all concerned here and this recording is well-recommended.

There is No Other Way

No, PACIFIC OVERTURES is perhaps not the best show for Sondheim neophytes to dig into right from the get-go, but for those acclimated with Sondheim's sophisticated, literary style in the shows of the 70s it is particularly interesting to see him working in a completely different idiom, musically and lyrically. True, throughout the score he is often using American and Broadway-based music, but only in ironic ways and he is consistently keeping the true dramatic and emotional material in the style of Japanese atonality and the lyrics largely haiku-based in order to make us one with the perspective of the people singing the songs. Despite all of these seemingly pretentious or lofty pretensions, the show can certainly pack quite an emotional wallop to the receptive audience member or listener and following along with the lyrics is particularly useful in unlocking the meaning behind the minutiae which reveals even more about the material. Sondheim's score for PACIFIC OVERTURES is like a carefully, gingerly folded piece of origami that has been lightly impressed with the finger-oils of a master and upon closer inspection is actually much more intricately designed and enacted than even what had first appeared. It may take ten or twenty listens to truly grasp a lot of naturalistic beauty and sensitivity in Sondheim's writing here, but once the pleasures of the score begin revealing themselves you, too, will be voracious for more.

SWEENEY TODD

The Lives of the Wicked

Without question, Sondheim's most sweeping and operatic score, epic in its proportions and tragic in its themes, SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STEET is perhaps Sondheim's most famous show. It contains musical moments of seemingly every order, from the bawdy and British musicAl Hall style of Mrs. Lovett's material, to the darkly brooding romanticism of Sweeney's songs to the skittish and sentimental music for Anthony and Johanna and the silent-film horror music of Turpin, the Beadle and the Ensemble themselves. SWEENEY TODD is a show that has just about everything, and considering we have just discussed PACIFIC OVERTURES perhaps it seems a little less outlandish than it really is, but: murder, rape, cannibalism, throat-sliting, etc. is not a recipe for success on Broadway in most cases - but, then again, if anyone could make it would it would be Sondheim and Prince. This show sticks out from the rest for so many reasons, but for Sondheim fans the back-story involving Sondheim himself setting the wheels in motion with Prince because he was so excited about the material goes to show that Sondheim was firing on all axels and was at the very top of his game. This score is perhaps the most awe-inspiring of all, the one to last the longest and be talked about hundreds - thousands - of years from now. Never has Sondheim written love songs as beautiful as "Pretty Women" and "My Friends", or comic material displaying such laugh-out-loud ribaldry as "Worst Pies In London" and "A Little Priest", or musical sequences more thrilling and epic than "Ladies In Their Sensitivities/Kiss Me" and "City On Fire". Additionally, this may very well be Sondheim's most emotionally complex and dramatically compelling score to date so at least two or three of these recordings is an absolute must for every single theatre fan. By the way, Tim Burton's recent film version of the musical starring Johnny Depp, pared down by Sondheim himself along with screenwriter John Logan, was a resounding success and we will discuss that soundtrack, as well the film itself, next week in the Sondheim On Film/DVD column. First, SWEENEY TODD sliced up on disc Broadway-style...

SWEENEY TODD - Original Broadway Cast Recording

SCORE: 10/10

Perhaps the very best recording of all the truly exemplary original cast albums discussed in this column, SWEENEY TODD - Original Broadway Cast Recording is superlative. Having already proved himself a foremost interpreter of Sondheim in A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, Len Cariou is an embittered, downtrodden and remorseful Sweeney who somehow always holds our rapt attention with his presence always feeling known. His "Epiphany" is bristling in its hair-raising intensity and he, along with the entire original cast, make the Final Sequence and the Finale some of the most spine-tingly spectacular musical theatre on any cast album. In that same vein, Angela Lansbury gives her best performance on any cast album and that in itself speaks of the riches contained in her performance. There is a reason this cast album is so essential to every fan's library, and the stunning remastered edition by Sony Masterworks is an improvement upon even the seemingly impossible to improve. A classic in every sense of the word, both the show and the awesome album containing it.

SWEENEY TODD - New York Philharmonic Recording

SCORE: 10/10

George Hearn had already proved he was a magnificent Sweeney Todd in his Emmy-winning performance in the video of the national tour, available on DVD, but who know that over twenty years later he could delve even deeper into the character - and sing Sondheim's difficult score with even more ease. Well - I am more than happy to report - he does. Patti LuPone creates a ditzy, dotty drawing of Mrs. Lovett - a bit of a caricature - with some particularly delectable line readings that the audience eats right up. The orchestra is the best on any recording of this score and perhaps for that reason alone this album is highly recommended. The supporting cast also includes my personal favorite Beggar Women on record, the golden-voiced Audra McDonald, as well as TV superstar Neil Patrick Harris as Toby giving us an endearing "Not While I'm Around". This recording is so exciting and electric that it truly transports the listener to that marvelous night at Avery Fisher Hall in the early 00s and recreates what it must have felt like to be in that lucky audience. One of the only subsequent cast records to capture the magic of a show all over again, in a sometimes much different way. Another recording worthy of the highest recommendation.

SWEENEY TODD - 2005 Broadway Revival Recording

SCORE: 6/10

The 2005 John Doyle production of SWEENEY TODD was a piece of Broadway history for many reasons, the most important of which was the use of actor/musicians and the asylum setting used for the show. This was a much more Brechtian take on the material than ever before, very in-your face and aggressively performed, and one could not have asked for better lead performers than Michael Cerveris and Patti LuPone given that take on the text and score. It is necessary to point out that while LuPone's more wacky and music-hall take on the role (highlighted above in the Philarmonic recording) had its allure, this much more downbeat and disaffected take on the character also works remarkably well and LuPone is as exceptionally well-sung as ever. Cerveris is a cold, calculating, slightly removed Sweeney - more Carious than Hearn - and his guitar work is truly endearing, adding another layer of menace to the proceedings considering who is serenading us on the strings. The supporting cast is excellent, with Alexander Gemignani and Donna Lynne Champlain giving particularly memorable performances in their featured roles of the Beadle and Pirelli, respectively. So why isn't this generously packaged and very well-produced 2-disc cast album not an absolute knock-out and must-own? The omission of "City On Fire" is deadly and that, and that alone, truly robs this recording of the recommendation it would otherwise receive from this reviewer. There's really no excuse for that excision, and it's a downright shame considering this was the first Broadway revival to get recorded. Alas, so it goes and so it is. Good, not great, but generously Grand Guignol (as always).

God, That's Good

SWEENEY TODD is one of those shows whose original Broadway production was so iconic that one's vision is always clouded by the initial impression of that almost letter-perfect original cast and directorial conceit. Perhaps it is useless to compare Hearn to Cariou, who was so distinctively brilliant in his own way, and any comparison it could do a disservice to both men. Hearn is ferocious where Cariou is contained and Cariou is scheming when Hearn is sentimental, two quite different takes on the character and yet another reason this score is so revelatory when revisiting again and again, as I suggest you do. Yes, indeed, perhaps it is useless to compare Hearn to Cariou who was so distinctively brilliant in his own way, and maybe it would do a disservice to both men to do so, yet if forced to choose: Hearn is ferocious where Cariou is contained and Cariou is scheming when Hearn is sentimental, two quite different takes on the character and yet another reason this score is so revelatory when revisiting again and again. (Cop-out? Ok...) Yes, at least in my opinion, George Hearn is a powerful and formidable Sweeney who is every bit the equal of Len Cariou, and Patti LuPone gives two wildly different takes on the character that collectively knock on the door of equaling but still, nevertheless, reveal that the role will perhaps forever remain in the possession of the legendary Angela Lansbury. LuPone was truly brilliant onstage and we are very lucky, indeed, to have two cast recordings as strong as the ones being discussed here showcasing her take on character, as well as Hearn on both the DVD and the Philharmonic Recording with two takes twenty years apart. It is not often we see casts on Broadway the likes of the quite inimitable original performers in the original Broadway cast of SWEENEY TODD, or the likes of Lupone, Hearn, McDonald, and company on the Philharmonic. Such are the myriad rewards of this masterpiece of masterpieces, the very height of Sondheim's powers as a dramatic musical storyteller.

Precious Rubies

Great material attracts great artists, more with this show than with any other in Sondheim's vast catalog and we time and time again on these exquisite albums why this period of Sondheim's career is Mecca, true theatrical manna. To think that all of these scores appeared on Broadway within the same decade surely casts a disparaging light on the current season with barely enough new material to justify the Best Score category at the Tony's. Whether audiences at the time new it or not, the 1970s was the Age of Sondheim and with COMPANY a new era of intelligent, adult, sophisticated musical theatre was coming into its own. FOLLIES, A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, PACIFIC OVERTURES and SWEENEY TODD are among the best Broadway scores of all time and enough praise cannot be heaped upon them. No matter what the cast album, these scores stand as remarkable examples of a genius creating a string of artistic achievements that may never been seen again on Broadway in our lifetimes. Applause: for the clowns, for those beautiful girls, for Commodore Perry & Co, and even golf claps for Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett. Applause for Sondheim, and for him, too, a standing ovation from all of us lucky listeners around the world.

Stay tuned tomorrow for Sondheim's 1980s musicals: MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG, SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE and INTO THE WOODS!