Favorite Sondheim Score(or Scores?)
Favorite Sondheim Score(or Scores?)
#1Favorite Sondheim Score(or Scores?)
Posted: 6/14/18 at 3:58am
Mine is personally A Little Night Music- Such a beautiful operatic like score! Sweeney Todd is amazing, although perhaps not a score you want to just listen to in the background(it warrants a full, attentive listening of the majority of the album). Into The Woods is wonderful, though it gets a little old. Company is fantastic, filled with great songs(probably my 2nd favorite right behind my 1st A Little Night Music). Sunday In The Park With George is fantastic, but not his best musical work IMO. I like Assassins quite a bit. I need to listen to all of Passion, but from what I've heard it's impressive, though not as chock full of depth/material as some of his other scores. Follies is a brilliant score, but it's overrated IMO. I haven't really listened to Merrily We Roll Along or some of his more contemporary work. Should I look into MWRA?
Juggalo12
Chorus Member Joined: 12/26/13
Juggalo12
Chorus Member Joined: 12/26/13
#3Favorite Sondheim Score(or Scores?)
Posted: 6/14/18 at 4:21am
And yes, you absolutely must look into MWRA. And see the incredible recent documentary, "Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened." The Roundabout is doing it this winter at the Laura Pels Theater!
#4Favorite Sondheim Score(or Scores?)
Posted: 6/14/18 at 4:22am
I think Sunday has moments of dullness. I've never been too enamored with "No Life", "Everybody Loves Louis" or "The Day Off". But I think when it's good, it's REALLY good. "Sunday," "We Do Not Belong Together," "Move On," "Beautiful," "Lesson #8," "Finishing the Hat," "Children and Art" and the climactic part of "Color and Light" are all just staggeringly beautiful. But it's not the most consistent score for sure.
Sweeney also has a few less-than-brilliant moments, but they are few and far between. All in all it's probably his magnum opus. It's one brilliant number after another, and it all coheres together extremely well.
I also think Pacific Overtures is an underrated one. It's not my favorite in terms of lyrics and storytelling. But musically it is among his most beautiful IMO. It took me a few listens to get into it, but now I love it.
Recently I've been on a bit of a Passion kick. It's definitely not as melodic as his other work, but it is extremely beautiful and full of nuance. "I Wish I could Forget You" is one of Sondheim's most hauntingly beautiful melodies, and also among his most psychologically complex.
Merrily We Roll Along is definitely worth a listen. Like Sunday in the Park, it's inconsistent but it has high highs.
#5Favorite Sondheim Score(or Scores?)
Posted: 6/14/18 at 4:44am
JBroadway said: "I think Sunday has moments of dullness. I've never been too enamored with "No Life", "Everybody Loves Louis" or "The Day Off". But I think when it's good, it's REALLY good. "Sunday," "We Do Not Belong Together," "Move On," "Beautiful," "Lesson #8," "Finishing the Hat," "Children and Art" and the climactic part of "Color and Light" are all just staggeringly beautiful. But it's not the most consistent score for sure.
Sweeney also has a few less-than-brilliant moments, but they are few and far between. All in all it's probably his magnum opus. It's one brilliant number after another, and it all coheres together extremely well.
I also think Pacific Overtures is an underrated one. It's not my favorite in terms of lyrics and storytelling. But musically it is among his most beautiful IMO. It took me a few listens to get into it, but now I love it.
Recently I've been on a bit of a Passion kick. It's definitely not as melodic as his other work, but it is extremely beautiful and full of nuance. "I Wish I could Forget You" is one of Sondheim's most hauntingly beautiful melodies, and also among his most psychologically complex.
Merrily We Roll Along is definitely worth a listen. Like Sunday in the Park, it's inconsistent but it has high highs."
I forgot all about Pacific Overtures! I've listened to several songs from it and it is quite beautiful/dynamic! I think Sweeney is fantastic, but the plot is serious/disturbing enough to not want to listen to all the songs all the time.
#6Favorite Sondheim Score(or Scores?)
Posted: 6/14/18 at 4:51am
1. Sweeney Todd
2. Follies
3. Sunday in the Park with George
4. Company
5. A Little Night Music
6. Assassins
7. Passion
8. Pacific Overtures
9. Into the Woods
10. Anyone Can Whistle
11. Evening Primrose
12. Merrily We Roll Along
13. Wise Guys/Road Show/Bounce
14. The Frogs
All down to number 12 is worthy of a Tony!
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
Updated On: 6/14/18 at 04:51 AM
#7Favorite Sondheim Score(or Scores?)
Posted: 6/14/18 at 6:54am
Sweeney Todd, Follies, A Little Night Music and Merrily We Roll Along are the ones I return to over and over again.
I think MWRA is underrated. Franklin Shephard Inc. is definitely one of the greatest songs he's ever written.
#8Favorite Sondheim Score(or Scores?)
Posted: 6/14/18 at 7:23am
while I truly believe A LTTLE NGHT MUSC s the most complete musical Sondheim has ever written, without one single note out of place. my favorite score is MERRILY.(OBC)...followed by INTO THE WOODS, SWEENEY TODD, ANYONE CAN WHISTLE, FOLLIES, COMPANY, PACIFIC OVERTURES and finally ASSASSINS...as for the rest, each show has enough great songs and moments in them but in my opinion are not as complete a score as those listed here...
BroadwayConcierge
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/24/15
GeorgeandDot
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/13/16
#10Favorite Sondheim Score(or Scores?)
Posted: 6/14/18 at 8:09amAll of them are super solid, imo. I'd like to throw some love in for Passion, which I think has an absolutely stunning score.
raddersons
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/14/13
#11Favorite Sondheim Score(or Scores?)
Posted: 6/14/18 at 8:14am
While it might not be my favorite, I do find myself casually listening to Merrily the most out of all of them. It's not the deepest, but it's full of energy, with some amazing extended music/dialogue sequences ( I think I find myself quoting a little bit form That Frank and The Blob once a week.)
For those getting a first listen, look for the Encores cast recording -- Betsy Wolfe singing Not A Day Goes By will break your heart in two.
chewy5000
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/1/09
#13Favorite Sondheim Score(or Scores?)
Posted: 6/14/18 at 10:00am
There's definitely no way to just pick one, they're all diamonds. Even ("even"
his early work is great:
Funny Thing Happened is, just to start with, awesomely hysterical, and I know Sondheim complained about the numbers not being plot-based but frankly I think it's nice to have a break from dying of laughter. Every song has at least one great moment that any other musical by almost any other composer would beg for.
Anyone Can Whistle might be overstuffed (three acts? really?) and kind of politically nonsensical, but Simple is like a bomb detonating onstage and then there's all the other classic numbers, strung together with that slight mockery of what was then commercial music, which I think is an element that kind of gets forgotten. I'm dying to see a proper revival of this.
Evening Primrose is only a handful of songs, but again they're all pretty great. "I remember sky, it was blue as ink - or at least I think...I remember sky" is such an odd musical motif but it works and it hammers home the Twilight Zone vibe. I'm surprised this hasn't been made into a one-act yet, it seems ideal for high schools.
And then you arrive at the run from Company to Assassins, which is gold from front to back. I wish I liked Road Show more, though both cast albums are so polished and close that it sounds like the actors are vacuum-sealed.
#14Favorite Sondheim Score(or Scores?)
Posted: 6/14/18 at 10:15am
Follies will always be my favourite. I will say that the only two scores and shows I haven't been able to get through are Night Music and Passion
"Ok ok ok ok ok ok ok. Have you guys heard about fidget spinners!?" ~Patti LuPone
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#15Favorite Sondheim Score(or Scores?)
Posted: 6/14/18 at 10:42am
A Little Night Music
Sunday in the Park
Sweeney Todd
#17Favorite Sondheim Score(or Scores?)
Posted: 6/14/18 at 11:05am
A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC is my favorite Sondheim show, and ergo, my favorite show ever written.
But PACIFIC OVERTURES holds the place in my heart for greatest score. It has one-- count it, one-- lousy song, "Welcome to Kanagawa". Even Sondheim has virtually admitted as much. For me, every other composition finds the right words to connect with the right music, every time. The passage musically from 1851 to 1976 (or perhaps today) is seamless and moving. And I believe he has never written 2 more beautiful songs than the 2 gems here: "Pretty Lady" and of course "Someone in a Tree".
#18Favorite Sondheim Score(or Scores?)
Posted: 6/14/18 at 11:26am
BUT...I also think Follies and Company are a close 2nd and 3rd.
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#19Favorite Sondheim Score(or Scores?)
Posted: 6/14/18 at 11:30amCompany, with Sunday as a close second.
#20Favorite Sondheim Score(or Scores?)
Posted: 6/14/18 at 12:09pm
Someone in a Tree2 said: "And I believe he has never written 2more beautiful songs than the 2 gems here:"Pretty Lady" and of course "Someone in a Tree"."
I'm not sure if anyone has.
#21Favorite Sondheim Score(or Scores?)
Posted: 6/14/18 at 4:59pm
Sweeney Todd
Follies
Pacific Overtures
Sunday in the Park With George
A Little Night Music
Into the Woods
Merrily We Roll Along
Company
Anyone Can Whistle
Assassins
Evening Primrose
This is my top 10 but I've included EP because it's terrific and I'd rate it even higher if it was longer. All of these are excellent.
Jarethan
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/10/11
#22Favorite Sondheim Score(or Scores?)
Posted: 6/14/18 at 7:28pm
I assume this excludes WSS and Gypsy, since he only did the lyrics...of course, the lyrics to Rose's Turn may be his best ever IMO.
1. Follies (despite the fact that I am totally sick of Too Many Mornings and In Buddy's Eyes)
2. Sweeney Todd
3. A Little Night Music
4. Merrily We Roll Along (just amazing considering just how much I hated the show when I saw it lo these many years ago at the then Alvin Theatre).
5. Sunday in the Park
6. Anyone Can Whistle
The Opposite:
1. Passion (I could not get through the score multiple times...I hate it)
2. Into The Woods...I may hate the title song more than anything else in the Sondheim canon; and, while there are some good songs, I just never got the appeal of this show.
3. Assassins...I fear that I have never gotten over the premise of this show. I just could not get into it, and I have never thought much of the score either.
MarkBearSF
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/25/11
#23Favorite Sondheim Score(or Scores?)
Posted: 6/15/18 at 12:01pm
1) Sweeney Todd. Multi-layered, at times awe-inspiring, other times hilarious. It always works in tiny productions to huge ones.
2) Follies. Another one that's always rewarding (and in some sense never totally works onstage). Between the "modern" songs and the pastiches, so much depth and so many layers. And so many songs that were dropped and added makes for an interesting search.
3) A Little Night Music. - Simply a delight. Literate wordplay at his best.
4) Company. So many great songs.
5) Sunday in the Park with George. While I don't quite listen to this one as much as those listed previously, nothing can reduce me to tears more quickly. My mind wanders a bit near Lesson #8 and Children and Art, but at other times it's just SO RICH.
6) Merrily We Roll Along. One of my favorite listens. The overture never fails to get me hopping.
7) Assassins. Not a perfect musical, but I love listening to it.
8] Into the Woods. So damn clever. I may find it less inspiring than when I first encountered it in the middle of the plague years, but it's still a rewarding listen
9) Pacific Overtures. The beauty of this one somewhat snuck up on me. If I ever need calming when driving, I put this one on. While the recent Doyle revival was problematic, and overly-bare, I was reduced to tears multiple times by the beauty of its score.
10) Road Show/Bounce. Sorry. I like this one(s). Not one of his greats, but I find it consistently hits the mark (prefer RS).
11) The Frogs. Like the previous one, it doesn't hit the dizzying heights of his best, but I enjoy it. Ariadne is a great song
12) Anyone Can Whistle. Yeah. No surprise why this one flopped hard. But some great numbers (I love the Kay Thompson-esque "Me and My Town"
13) Do I Hear a Waltz? Again, some gems amidst the rest. (which is still pretty damn good)
...and I Passion is my broccoli. I simply do not like it.
ScottyDoesn'tKnow2
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/22/14
#24Favorite Sondheim Score(or Scores?)
Posted: 6/15/18 at 2:06pm
I think I have to take like a five year break and maybe a two year break from Into the Woods and Sweeney Todd respectively because I believe I've overlistened to those scores that they lost their impact on me. Since I know very little about Pacific Overtures, I've been giving it a listen and I am in awe of its sheer beauty and composition.
#25Favorite Sondheim Score(or Scores?)
Posted: 2/17/20 at 2:56am
I'm bumping this because I'm revisiting Sondheim right now and I've been thinking a lot about his music. A Little Night Music is still my favorite but Sweeney Todd is incredible. The score has become more accessible to me in terms of enjoying it as just easy listening but the piece is a bit too disturbing for me to constantly listen to though. I'm still not all gaga over Follies the way some people are and I've never been a fan of Sunday's libretto nor of Mandy Patinkin but it has some gorgeous moments.
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