Favorite Stephen Sondheim Musical...

[GreatBroadwayFan]

Posted: 12/10/19 at 11:49pm

Hey everyone! Just wanting to take a random poll; what is your favorite Stephen Sondheim musical and why?

 

Of his MAJOR works (in chronological order):

West Side Story (1957) w/ music by Leonard Bernstein

Gypsy (1959) w/ music by Jule Styne

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962)

Anyone Can Whistle (1964)

Do I Hear a Waltz? (1965) w/ music by Richard Rodgers

Company (1970)

Follies (1971)

A Little Night Music (1973)

The Frogs (1974)

Pacific Overtures (1976)

Sweeney Todd (1979)

Merrily We Roll Along (1981)

Sunday in the Park with George (1984)

Into The Woods (1987)

Assassins (1990)

Passion (1994)

 

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 12/10/19 at 11:53pm

Favorite musical of all time; favorite Sondheim show. One and the same.

A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC

[ljay889]

Posted: 12/10/19 at 11:57pm

You forgot Road Show (2008) 

[DoTheDood]

Posted: 12/11/19 at 12:18am

Even as I have never seen a production, I have listened to Assassins so many times, it's wild. Trying to change that with the recent Doyle revival. 

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 12/11/19 at 12:24am

If I had to pick just one I guess it would be Sweeney Todd, but I adore Company, Merrily We Roll Along, Sunday in the Park With George and Passion just as much. I also think Road Show is pretty terrific and often overlooked.

[NOWaWarning]

Posted: 12/11/19 at 2:17am

Follies

[JoseLee_]

Posted: 12/11/19 at 3:23am

I like but not love his shows. I love certain songs from Follies, Company, Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George.

I do love Gypsy and West Side Story (he only did the lyrics)

[MarkBearSF]

Posted: 12/11/19 at 5:49am

Depending on the day, Sweeney or Follies
Then:
A Little Night Music
Company
Sunday
(Gypsy)
Into the Woods
(WSS)
Pacific Overtures
Assassins
Merrily
Road Show
Forum
Anyone Can Whistle
Frogs
(Do I Hear a Waltz)
Saturday Night
Passion (I really don't like this one)

 

[JBC3]

Posted: 12/11/19 at 8:10am

It has changed for me throughout the years.

It used to be Sweeney or Sunday hands down.

The recent productions of A Little Night Music, Company, and Follies (London) moved those into rotation as my fave.

Assassins could be an easy yes as a consistently good overall show, but it does not have the moments that soar for me like some of his others.

I originally hated Passion (from seeing the original on Broadway), but the recent revival opened my eyes to the power of some of its glorious moments of song. I doubt it will ever be a fave because I find some of it a bit tedious, but I do listen to certain songs from it fairly consistently now.

[bekk99]

Posted: 12/11/19 at 11:39am

1. Company

2. Sunday

3. Follies

[SS3]

Posted: 12/11/19 at 12:05pm

1. Follies (1971)
2. Sunday in the Park with George (1984)
3. A Little Night Music (1973)

Updated On: 12/11/19 at 12:05 PM

[Jarethan]

Posted: 12/11/19 at 12:57pm

The single greatest evening in the theatre that I have ever experienced was the first time I saw Follies with the original cast. It was a lifetime experience. Unfortunately, I have never seen a production nearly as good as that one (although the Papermill was very good), so I would have to rate it 2 overall. I have NEVER seen a production of Sweeney Todd that I did not thoroughly enjoy, although none was as good as the original either.

So I would say:

1 — Sweeney Todd
2 — Follies
3 — Gypsy or (all SONDHEIM) A Little Night Music

My LEAST favorite are

1 — Passion
2 — into the Woods (I don’t even like the score)
3 — Assassins (I couldn’t get past the premise and did not like the absence of a plot)

[trentsketch]

Posted: 12/11/19 at 1:08pm

Sweeney Todd is my favorite of his musicals, and one of my all time favorite musicals, as well.

I also really enjoy Assassins, A Little Night Music, The Frogs, and Sunday in the Park with George. Gypsy and West Side Story are great, too, but I view them separately as he was lyricist and not composer for those scores.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 12/12/19 at 10:51am

I would never lump the musicals for which Sondheim only wrote the lyrics with those for which he wrote music as well, and I strongly doubt he would do so either. As brilliant as the lyrics often are, WSS is a "Bernstein musical"; GYPSY is a "Styne musical"; and "...Waltz?" is a "Rodgers musical".

I am not saying musicals should always be identified with their composers, but Sondheim didn't collaborate with any composer who wasn't an all-time great with a universally recognizable style.

As for the true "Sondheim musicals (music and lyrics)", I'm with Jarethan that the single greatest 2 hours in a theater I ever spent was the Saturday matinee when I first saw FOLLIES. That the experience has never been fully repeated has mostly to do with money and isn't a reflection on the show itself, IMHO.

I'm not sure any of his scores can touch that one, though I don't think I can say FOLLIES is, objectively, his best overall show. (I do often defend the book, but it's hard for even James Goldman to compete with Hugh Wheeler.)

So that leaves me with SWEENEY TODD, perhaps my second favorite theater experience and an objectively more completely successful musical play.

And for the record, PASSION is in Sondheim's top 10--at least for me--if not the top 5! But I've never cared for SUNDAY--at least not until the recording of the off-Broadway revival--so it balances out.

 

Updated On: 12/12/19 at 10:51 AM

[Jarethan]

Posted: 12/12/19 at 12:35pm

GavestonPS said: ...

As for the true "Sondheim musicals (music and lyrics)", I'm with Jarethan that the single greatest 2 hours in a theater I ever spent was the Saturday matinee when I first saw FOLLIES. That the experience has never been fully repeated has mostly to do with money and isn't a reflection on the show itself, IMHO.

I'm not sure any of his scores can touch that one, though I don't think I can say FOLLIES is, objectively, his best overall show. (I do often defend the book, but it's hard for even James Goldman to compete with Hugh Wheeler.)

Interesting observation re the real issue being financing.  That would certainly factor into the sheer grandeur of the show...I think that Aronson set may be the greatest set I have ever seen in any show (although the original Sweeney Todd was pretty incredible also), and I have always assumed it cost a king's ransom (and was probably one of the reasons the show did not return its investment)..  While there have been good attempts to capture the grandeur of the original costumes, clearly a lot more money would have been required, plus more imagination.

I think there were a couple of other factors that may apply more to Follies than other shows.  Seeing that original production provided a sensation that there was never going to be a show as great and as grand and as profound and as sheerly entertaining and as heartbreaking as that one.  I don't think that feeling was possible in any subsequent production unless you were seeing it for the first time (although I do admit that I felt the same way when I saw it 4 other times in the original run).  Other factors:

First.  The entire original cast was perfect.  I don't think I have seen a subsequent production in which that was the case.  The last one, for example, had several really inferior performances in key roles, as did the original London version, the Belasco version (three out of four IMO).  I thought the Papermill version fared better, but no cigar.  In the featured roles, no-one has ever come close to Ethel Shutta, Mary McCarty, or IMO Yvonne DeCarlo.  YDC seemed like she WAS Carlotta...a good part of that due to her actual career.  Of the four leads, the only one I think has been surpassed (exactly once) was Alexis Smith.  Donna Murphy did it for me, but Donna Murphy is one of the (non-prolific) greats to me.

Second.  The novelty of the staging will be hard to ever replicate.  For example, the first time I saw Waiting for the Girls Upstairs, I was so amazed by the sheer brilliance of the direction, that I could not stop thinking about it for quite a while...the sheer intricacy accomplished so much and dazzled.  All subsequent productions pretty much replicated that staging, losing that excitement factor for a repeat viewer.  (On the other hand, I still got goosebumps during Put on Your Sunday Clothes in every production of Hello Dolly I have ever seen...it didn't earn those goosebumps because of its originality, but because of its choral arrangements and perfect execution).    Nothing has come close to the original Loveland staging and, again unless you have seen it, the staging was so 'go for broke', especially Ben's breakdown, and etc.  (Dollars do play a role in that..the Loveland stein the last production was so cheesy that it impacted enjoyment of the entire sequence).

Third.  And I admit that this probably applies to me more than most people.  Greatness does not require perfection.  And Follies was never perfect.  Since the very first time I saw the show, I have been bored for very short periods of time during the Ben and Sally sequences.  Repeat viewing makes them LESS appealing.

Sorry that I went on too long; but, while I do think money plays a major role in mounting a production of Follies that can approach the greatness of the original one, I do think there was an alignment of the stars factor that will always be hard to beat.

Finally, I have to say that I never even liked Oklahoma until the current production, which I loved.  I purchased tickets for WSS after reading the first previewers comments, because it sounds so different from the same old stodgy version that I am sooooooo sick of (and never loved in the first place, because I really didn't like a lot of the choreography and felt that certain episodes slowed it down...but, oh that score).  Maybe the next production  of Follies needs to take a really fresh look at the material, cut a song or two, tighten the Ben / Sally dialogue, etc.  Who knows?

 

 

Updated On: 12/12/19 at 12:35 PM

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 12/12/19 at 12:39pm

Assassins and Company are my two favorites.  

[Charley Kringas Inc]

Posted: 12/12/19 at 1:01pm

Sweeney Todd is probably the most perfect musical ever written and the OBC album is one of the only ones I've never tired of hearing.

[Gorlois]

Posted: 12/12/19 at 2:32pm

Follies is probably my all-time favorite musical. But his oeuvre is really the crème de la crème of musical theatre.

[broadwaybabywannabe2]

Posted: 12/12/19 at 3:17pm

A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC...perfect score, perfect book=PERFECT MUSICAL!

[Highland Guy]

Posted: 12/12/19 at 3:31pm

My favorites are "Gypsy" first and "West Side Story" second.  The others, not so much.  

[Jarethan]

Posted: 12/12/19 at 3:38pm

Highland Guy said: "My favorites are "Gypsy" first and "West Side Story" second. The others, not so much."

I am inferring from that that either you like him solely as a lyricist or that you dont actually like his work much, other than his contribution to the great Bernstein and Styne music.  Curious which is correct.

 

[benfox2]

Posted: 12/13/19 at 12:44pm

Of the (limited) Sondheim I've listened to, Sunday is my absolute favorite. Company and Merrily are some of my favorite scores. I'm still taking my time to get through all of his scores and trying not to rush it.

As for the all the people praising Follies, do you have a recommended version to watch? I have the 2017 NT Live version on my computer, but have repeatedly failed to get past the first half hour. On paper I should absolutely adore it, but in action I continue to get bored. Should I just force myself to power through and keep watching? Or is there an alternate pro shot/ concert that might interest me more? Thanks for any suggestions :)

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 12/13/19 at 12:52pm

Passion. I don't exactly know why, though. I think a major part of it is the score, which is just one of the most beautiful I've ever heard. I also like the more intimate feel to the story and the sheer emotion throughout the show. My love of it does vary depending on who plays Fosca, though.

[MadisonGuy]

Posted: 12/13/19 at 3:14pm

Sweeney Todd

[Jarethan]

Posted: 12/13/19 at 6:37pm

benfox2 said: "Of the (limited) Sondheim I've listened to, Sunday is my absolute favorite. Company and Merrily are some of my favorite scores. I'm still taking my time to get through all of his scores and trying not to rush it.

As for the all the people praising Follies, do you have a recommended version to watch? I have the 2017 NT Live version on my computer, but have repeatedly failed to get past the first half hour. On paper I should absolutely adore it, but in action I continue to get bored. Should I just force myself to power through and keep watching? Or is there an alternate pro shot/ concert that might interest me more? Thanks for any suggestions .

Unfortunately, the original production was never made available to the public in any form (there may be something at the Lincoln Center Library).  There is not even a clip from the Tonys that year, because a number was not performed on the program.  The second best  production I have seen was at the Papermill Playhouse, and I am not aware of that having been made available, and I would have not expected it to be).  So, I think the answer is that there is none, but I hope I am wrong.  

I have to admit that I doubt that I would even watch a taping of the last revival because I really disliked the production.  (It is the only production of Follies I have ever seen in which I thought the male leads were better than the female leads (and I have always been a BP fan).

While I did not love the National Theatre version, I did like it quite a bit.  My main reason for reservations is that I did not like a number of the performances, although I did like Imelda Staunton (hated her Gypsy, so I am not a Staunton bigot).  Really disliked Janie Dee (Phyllis) and Tracey Bennett (Carlotta); and none off the supporting characters made any impression at all.  I liked some of the staging choices that the director made quite a bit, however.

Finally, I fear that -- if you can't even get through the first 30 minutes -- there is a good chance that you may be among the group of people who do not like Follies.  It really was pretty good.