Best William finn musicals/songs?

[SayNoToJugs]

Everyone knows him for the Marvin trilogy. (most only know the falsettos revival, though) But the real question is what is his best theatrical work? Honestly, I'm obsessed with the first two songs from elegies.

I just wish he would stop doing so many overly fast/rapidly changing pace songs. THE MAN IS CRAZY FOR EM.

[kyguy78]

The "I Love You Song" from 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee would be my vote

[Sutton Ross]

A New Brain and Little Miss Sunshine were both good. But, his shining star will always be Falsettos. 

[Charley Kringas Inc]

Spelling Bee amazes me because it sounds like it should be twee and annoying, but somehow it was incredibly heartfelt and earnest. I actually like it more than Falsettos by quite a wide margin. Falsettos is terrific in its own right, but Spelling Bee, ironically, feels like a more mature work.

[Owen22]

My favorite show tune of all time isn't a Sondheim or Rogers and Hammerstein or Kander and Ebb or Andrew Lloyd Webber.

"And They're Off" from A NEW BRAIN is my favorite song from a show, ever.

[Mister Matt]

I think Little Miss Sunshine was his one stumble among a rather stellar body of work.  It's nearly impossible to pick a favorite song, but the one that immediately springs to mind is Heart and Music from A New Brain.  I played the priest in one of the first regional productions in the US following the Lincoln Center run and it was a joy to perform every night.  The cast never wanted the run to end.  We received some rave reviews locally and William Finn called our theatre to congratulate us on receiving the reviews he'd always hoped for.  Incidentally, our Waitress/Thin Nurse went to college with Kristin Chenoweth who originated the same roles and our Mimi Schwinn was William Finn's babysitter when they were young.  Our Nice Nurse used to post on BWW years ago as well.

[JBroadway]

I read this thread title and immediately thought of "The I Love You Song." Absolutely gorgeous and heartbreaking - more so than anything in the Falsetto trilogy if you ask me, though I confess I'm less familiar with those shows than I am with Spelling Bee

[Owen22]

Mister Matt said: "I think Little Miss Sunshine was his one stumble among a rather stellar body of work."

I have seen this show in both its London and Australian incarnations and they were able to make you root for that family the same way one did in the movie. That did not happen at Second Stage. There was something wrong with James Lapine's direction in the original Off-Broadway production. This show is much better than the production New York audiences saw.

 

[rattleNwoolypenguin]

Spelling Bee is his best work. 

Falsettos can be wonderful but it feels pretty dated. 

His legacy will be Spelling Bee cause of it not only being genuinely funny, but it's such a crowd pleaser, it's a cheap show to produce, THE PACING IS PERFECT, and the casting can be diverse.

It will only continue to do well in the community theatre world

[SayNoToJugs]

Spelling bee and In Trousers, yes! The rest get so repetitive, like it's the story before the musical 

Still, he needs to drop the demo songs and instrumentals.