Sondheim's Best Musical??- Page 3

[jv92]

Posted: 4/13/11 at 2:02pm

This is like picking a favorite child for some bizarre reason. Sunday in the Park with George is probably the show of his I have the biggest emotional reaction to, but I'll add that the first three Sondheim-Prince shows' scores are masterpieces.

[rjjn]

Posted: 4/13/11 at 3:25pm

I agree with the overwhelming Sweeney support, but I think Into the Woods is very underrated!

Posted: 4/14/11 at 2:58am

Peerjb--thanks for the explanation. I knew that the revival had a brief Hiroshima moment and updated Next but didn't know the other changes. I'm a huge PO fan and have seen the Japanese telecast of the original Prince production numerous times, and can only imagine how it was live--I totally agree with your love for it, Aronson's amazing designs, the performances, Birch's choreography, everything... Otherwise the only copy I've read was the first published edition from my library--and I really don't enjoy the revival recording much (or the ENO one) so haven't played those recently at all... But I had no idea it had been changed so much.

Has it really been revised even more so then Merrily was though--which has huge musical changes, about half the dialogue replaced, etc? Even Follies' current script has changes on nearly every page...

But I do think PO is vastly underated and the score is perhaps Sondheim's most beautiful.
Updated On: 4/14/11 at 02:58 AM

Posted: 4/14/11 at 3:05am

"I agree with the overwhelming Sweeney support, but I think Into the Woods is very underrated!"

ITW is a funny show among Sondheim fans I've noticed--it rarely is at the top of people who are hardcore fans, though often is with more casual fans.

For me, I think it's a great but flawed show--but part of the reason I don't play it as much as the others is it was my gateway drug to Sondheim (I was ten and caught Act II on PBS and became obsessed, then tracked down the London cast album at my library). For a good half year it seemed like I played it several times a day--I wen though phases like that later with all of his shows but not to the same extent... So maybe, even though it's 20 years later, I just ODed.

[Joey.]

Posted: 4/14/11 at 3:50am

Sweeney-Sunday

[TRiceFan]

Posted: 4/14/11 at 8:12am

Pacific Overtures - A Little Night Music.
Pacific Overtures, IMO, is one of his greatest achievements/scores, being able to fuse Japanese music and lyrics with a broadway sound to make something incredible. A little night music is one of his most luscious and romantic scores, but PO is the greater achievement (minus Welcome To Kanagawa)

[goldenboy]

Posted: 4/16/11 at 4:44pm

Don't you think you should clarify between best score and best musical??

This is a very subjective questions. We all have opinions and preferences.

Follies may be his best score but hardly the best musical.

Best score:
Company
Follies
Assasins
Merrily We Roll Along,

Worst Score
Passion
Road Show
Sunday in the Park With George.

In between
Little Night Music
Anyone Can Whistle
Forum





Best Musical:
Company because it works as a whole
Sweeney Todd because it works as a whole.
Funny Thing (hardly his best score) but it works as a whole.

Worst Musicals
Anyone Can Whistle
Merrily We Roll Along
Sunday in the Park with George

[iagowasframed]

Posted: 4/16/11 at 5:48pm

While I think Follies is his most wonderful musical, Sweeney Todd is the one that made me sit in my seat amazed and blown away for 2.5 hours. I will never, ever forget the first time I sat in the Uris theater and saw Len Cariou rise up from the floor and sing, "attend the tale of Sweeney Tood"

[GatorNY]

Posted: 4/16/11 at 7:04pm

A friend was able to get tickets for Follies on 5/7, so I'll finally get to see it. Looking forward to being able to compare it to the others that I've seen.

[Katia2]

Posted: 4/16/11 at 7:18pm

Follies and Passion are tied for me. Nostalgic love for Into the Woods though.

[sondhead]

Posted: 4/16/11 at 9:41pm

"I never fully appreciated Follies till I read the *original* book which has this amazing dreamlike quality that I think is really moving (I assume anyway). It annoys me that the current licensed version, while not as big a change as the London one, really ruins a lot of this."

The original book is still what is licensed. Papermill and Roundabout used revisions, but those revisions are not licensed. As the Kennedy Center is purportedly using the original book, it seems no copyright holders are restricting use of the original book with major professional productions either.

[SingingChef]

Posted: 4/16/11 at 10:27pm

1. INTO THE WOODS (hands down)
2. SWEENEY TODD
3. PASSION
4. SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE
5. A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC

INTO THE WOODS is beyond brilliant. So many layers and intricacies in both the score & the book. Magical.

[The Other One]

Posted: 4/18/11 at 7:37am

You could make a case for any number of his scores, including two of his biggest flops, MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG and ANYONE CAN WHISTLE.

FOLLIES is my favorite. I like its book; I adore it's score.

SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE is a close runner-up. The book and score are the most of a piece, both in terms of quality and being seamless.

Wouldn't fight off SWEENEY TODD, either, although, as is the case with many of the man's shows, revivals have diminished its impact somewhat.