What are your favorite shows & songs from each of these composers? Feel free to only answer for the ones you know well and add anyone I may have forgotten!
(Disclaimer: Some of these composers, I've only seen one show or no shows from, so my picks may be lacking in some spots. Also, my favorite shows will be based on the work from the composer. Dear Evan Hansen is my favorite musical ever, but that's more because of Steven Levenson's writing than Pasek and Paul's songs, so my pick for their show will be Dogfight)
Rodgers & Hammerstein: Oklahoma (only show I've seen) - Cain't Say No
Kander & Ebb: Cabaret - Don't Tell Mama
Lerner & Loewe: My Fair Lady - Why Can't The English
Stephen Sondheim: Sunday in the Park With George - You Could Drive a Person Crazy
Andrew Lloyd Webber: Evita - Gethsemane
Ahrens & Flaherty: Ragtime - Welcome Back Mr. Witherspoon
Alan Menken: Hunchback of Notre Dame - Prince Ali
Boublil & Schonberg: Miss Saigon - I'd Give My Life for You
Cole Porter: Never seen a show of his - Too Darn Hot
George Gershwin: I've seen like half of Porgy and Bess, and I like it a lot - A Women is a Sometime Thing
Stephen Schwartz: Wicked - Defying Gravity
Charles Strouse: Annie - Something Was Missing/Easy Street
Bock & Harnick: She Loves Me - A Trip to the Library
Jerry Herman: Hello Dolly: I Am What I Am
Lin-Manuel Miranda: Hamilton - The Room Where It Happens
Schaiman & Wittman: Hairspray - I Know Where I've Been
Rodgers & Hammerstein - Carousel, “Ten Minutes Ago/Cinderella Waltz/Ten Minutes Ago Reprise” from the Broadway version of Cinderella
Kander & Ebb - Cabaret, “If You Could See Her” and “Maybe This Time” (special s/o to “Cabaret” tho)
Stephen Sondheim - Assassins, “Unworthy of Your Love” (and also the JWB monologue near the end but it’s not a song whoops)
Andrew Lloyd Webber - Jesus Christ Superstar, “If Only You Would Listen” from School of Rock
Ahrens & Flaherty - Ragtime or Once on This Island, “Make Them Hear You” and “Back to Before” from Ragtime or a lot of the score to Seussical
Alan Menken - Little Shop, “Git It” and “The Meek Shall Inherit” from Little Shop or “Santa Fe” “The World Will Know” and “Seize the Day” from Newsies (also maybe “Positoovity” depending on who’s playing Scuttle)
Boublil & Schonberg - Les Mis (although I’m certain I’d like Miss Saigon more if I saw it), “One Day More” or “A Heart Full of Love”
George Gershwin - I really only know Crazy for You but that technically counts, “Nice Work If You Can Get It”
Stephen Schwartz - Pippin with the Theo ending, basically the entirety of that score
Lin-Manuel Miranda - Hamilton, “The Room Where It Happens”
Schaiman & Wittman - Hairspray, “Run and Tell That” From Hairspray or “Goodbye” from Catch Me If You Can
Frank Loesser - Guys and Dolls, “Brotherhood of Man” from H2$
William Finn - Spelling Bee, “The I Love You Song”
FINN BONUS ROUND: Falsettos, “What Would I Do?” or “The Games I Play”
Pasek & Paul - Dear Evan Hansen, “Hometown Hero’s Ticker Tape Parade” or anything else with that tight harmony from Dogfight
Rodgers & Hammerstein Oklahoma! "Many a New Day" "Soliloquy" (Carousel)
Kander & Ebb Zorba "The Butterfly" "Cabaret" (Cabaret)
Lerner & Loewe Paint Your Wagon "Guinevere" (Camelot) "C'est Moi" (Camelot) "The Real Love of My Life" (Brigadoon) "With a Little Bit of Luck" (My Fair Lady)
Stephen Sondheim Follies / Sweeney Todd "Losing My Mind" (Follies) "You're Gonna Love Tomorrow/Love'll See Us Through" (Follies) "Worst Pies in London" (Sweeney Todd) "Try Priest" (Sweeney Todd) "With So Little to be Sure Of" (Anyone Can Whistle) "You Could Drive a Person Crazy" (Company) "The Ladies Who Lunch" (Company) "Being Alive" (Company) "Chrysanthemum Tea" (Pacific Overtures) "Well, Now You Know" (Merrily We Roll Along) "Not a Day Goes By" (Merrily We Roll Along) "Move On" (Sunday in the Park with George) "There Are Giants in the Sky" (Into the Woods) "Happiness" (Passion)
Andrew Lloyd Webber Sunset Boulevard "Too Much in Love to Care"
Ahrens & Flaherty Ragtime "The Night that Goldman Spoke in Union Square"
Alan Menken Little Shop of Horrors "Don't It Go to Show You Never Know"
Boublil & Schonberg Les Miserables Look, it's all one, very catchy song, right? Let's call the whole score "One More Day" for simplicity's sake.
George Gershwin Porgy and Bess "Summertime" "I Loves You, Porgy" "Bess, You Is My Woman Now" "I'm on my Way"
Stephen Schwartz Pippin "Glory" "I Guess I'll Miss the Man" "What Is This Feeling?" (Wicked) "Popular" (Wicked) "Defying Gravity" (Wicked)
Charles Strouse Applause "You've Got Possibilities" (...Superman) "Maybe" (Annie)
Bock & Harnick She Loves Me "I Resolve" "Dear Friend" "Ice Cream" "Oh, to be a Movie Star"/"Gorgeous" (The Apple Tree) "Tradition" (Fiddler on the Roof) "Little Old New York" (Tenderloin) "Artificial Flowers" (Tenderloin) "How the Money Changes Hands" (Tenderloin) "Little Tin Box" (Fiorello!)
Jerry Herman Mame "It's Today" "Mame" "Bosom Buddies" "If He Walked Into my Life? "Put on Your Sunday Clothes" (Hello, Dolly!) "Before the Parade Passes By" (Hello, Dolly!) "So Long Dearie" (Hello, Dolly!) "Kiss Her Now" (Dear World) "Time Heals Everything" (Mack and Mabel) "Tap Your Troubles Away" (Mack and Mabel) "Song on the Sand" (La Cage aux Folles) "Look Over There" (La Cage aux Folles)
Lin-Manuel Miranda Hamilton "The Schuyler Sisters" "I'll be Back"
Schaiman & Wittman Hairspray "Good Morning, Baltimore" "Welcome to the 'Sixties" "I Know Where I've Been" "You Can't Stop the Beat"
Frank Loesser Most Happy Fella "Somebody, Somewhere" "Standin' on the Corner" "Joey, Joey, Joey" "Sposalizio" "Don't Cry" "My Heart is so Full of You" "Fugue for Tinhorns" (Guys and Dolls) "Adelaide's Lament" (Guys and Dolls) "Guys and Dolls" (Guys and Dolls) "Sit Down You're Rockin' the Boat" (Guys and Dolls) "Summertime Love" (Greenwillow) "Could've Been a Ring (Greenwillow) "Never Will I Marry" (Greenwillow) "A Secretary is Not a Toy" (How to Succeed...) "Been a Long Day" (How to Succeed...)
William Finn Falsettos "Four Jews in a Room Bitching" "I'm Breaking Down" "The Games I Play" "I Never Wanted to Love You" "Father to Son" "Sitting Watching Jason (Play Baseball)" "What More Can I Say" "What Would I Do?"
Pasek & Paul Dogfight "Waving Through a Window" (Dear Evan Hansen) "Words Fail" (Dear Evan Hansen) "So Big/So Small" (Dear Evan Hansen)
***
So no Leonard Bernstein, Meredith Willson, Kurt Weill, Cy Coleman, et al.?
Sweeney Todd (Also my all time favorite show) Epiphany (Although I also adore Pretty Women, Agony, and especially Finishing the Hat)
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Jesus Christ Superstar Music of the Night
Ahrens & Flaherty
Ragtime Make Them Hear You
Alan Menken
Little Shop of Horrors (If we’re counting the original animated movies, and not the stage adaptations, then the answer is Beauty and the Beast) Tie between Be Our Guest, Friend Like Me, and Under the Sea (Not Titus’ awful version)
Boublil & Schönberg
Les Misérables One Day More (It’s the obvious answer for a reason)
Cole Porter
Anything Goes Blow Gabriel Blow (Shout out to Gypsy in Me though. It’s not the catchiest number, but if the actor playing Evelyn knows what he’s doing, it’s an absolute riot)
George Gershwin
Not familiar enough with his shows to pick a favorite, but I will say that I love the song Stairway to Paradise
Stephen Schwartz
Pippin Magic to Do
Charles Strouse
Annie (Yes it’s very cheesy, but it’s a wonderful score, and a strong production can bring in just enough charm to make it work. However, I’m not overtly familiar with a whole lot of his work, so it’s very possible he’s done something I’d like more) Easy Street
Bock & Harnick
Fiddler on the Roof If I Were a Rich Man
Jerry Herman
La Cage aux Folles I Am What I Am
Lin-Manuel Miranda
Hamilton The Room Where it Happens (Close second goes to Wait for It)
Schaiman & Wittman
Hairspray You Can’t Stop the Beat
Frank Loesser
Guys and Dolls Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat
William Finn
Falsettos The Games I Play (Close seconds are A day in Falsettoland and What Would I Do)
Pasek & Paul
Dear Evan Hansen Waving Through a Window (Also absolutely in love with You Will Be Found, Words Fail, So Big / So Small, and really just the entire score)
I'll have to do the full list at another time, but this made me think of how perfectly "Nowadays" from Chicago sums up Kander and Ebb's whole oeuvre. I know they insist there is no 'standard' Kander and Ebb style in their autobiography, but when you talk about K&E's style, people know what you're referring to.
Nowadays is the ultimate example of their works, because in one song you get all their major tropes: it's got that building, vampy vaudevillian feel; it's a tongue-in-cheek, semi-satirical embrace of hedonism and decadence; it's a number where a woman espouses her philosophy on life; and it's got a very dark punchline, delivered so subtly that you might not even realize it's there the first few times you hear it.
Rodgers & Hammerstein: CAROUSEL; "What's the Use of Wond'rin"
Kander & Ebb: CABARET; Too many, but today I'll pick "Class" (CHICAGO) and "Yes" (70, GIRLS, 70)
Lerner & Loewe: MY FAIR LADY; "I Loved You Once in Silence" (CAMELOT)
Stephen Sondheim: SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE; Too many, but today I'll pick "Sorry-Grateful" (COMPANY) and "Someone in a Tree" (PACIFIC OVERTURES)
Andrew Lloyd Webber: JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR; "Another Suitcase in Another Hall" (EVITA)
Ahrens & Flaherty: A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE; This changes often but today, "Alone in the Universe" (SEUSSICAL)
Alan Menken: LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS; "Somewhere That's Green"
Boublil & Schonberg: Pass
Cole Porter: No favorite show, none of them hold up. I have a few favorite songs, one of which is "You're the Top" (ANYTHING GOES)
George Gershwin: PORGY AND BESS; "I Loves You Porgy"
Stephen Schwartz: PIPPIN; "West End Avenue" (THE MAGIC SHOW)
Charles Strouse: GOLDEN BOY; "Maybe" (ANNIE)
Bock & Harnick: SHE LOVES ME; "What Makes Me Love Him?" (THE APPLE TREE)
Jerry Herman: MAME; "Put On Your Sunday Clothes" (DOLLY)
Lin-Manuel Miranda: Two shows makes it seem early to assess to me, but I'm always moved by "Everything I Know" (IN THE HEIGHTS)
Schaiman & Wittman: Not enough output I know to assess in terms of stage work, but I was particularly taken with much of the score of MARY POPPINS RETURNS, particularly "The Place Where the Lost Things Go"
Frank Loesser: ...Now we're talkin'! THE MOST HAPPY FELLA; Too many but today I'll go with "Joey, Joey, Joey" and "I Believe in You" (HOW TO SUCCEED...)
William Finn: FALSETTOS; "14 Dwight Ave, Nattick, Massachusetts" (ELEGIES)
Pasek & Paul: To early to assess but "So Big, So Small" brings on the waterworks and is a really effective moment in that show
Leonard Bernstein: CANDIDE; "Something's Coming" (WEST SIDE STORY)
Jerome Kern: SHOW BOAT; "The Song is You" (MUSIC IN THE AIR)
Irving Berlin - ANNIE GET YOUR GUN; "I Got Lost in His Arms"
Galt MacDermot: Pass
Jule Styne: GYPSY; "Long Before I Knew You" (BELLS ARE RINGING)
Adler & Ross: Not enough work to assess, unfortunately, but between the two of their shows, DAMN YANKEES is my preference
Jeanine Tesori: FUN HOME; "Telephone Wire:
Bob Merrill - NEW GIRL IN TOWN, oddly enough; "Her Face" (CARNIVAL)
Jason Robert Brown - PARADE; "All the Wasted Time"
Meredith Willson - Even though the output is small... of course, THE MUSIC MAN; An incomparable score with so much to offer and so much I'm attached to, but today, "My White Knight"
Cy Coleman - LITTLE ME; I've been on a Cy Coleman kick lately, so I think I might pass for now. I want to pick too many songs!
Yeston: Big pass
David Yazbek - DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS; "Here I Am"
Arthur Schwartz - A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN; "Love is the Reason" or "Make the Man Love Me"
Harold Arlen: None of the shows really hold up, but I just wanted to mention this brilliant, undersung songwriter. There are about a dozen songs of his I would pick-- "Ill Wind", "Buds Won't Bud", "I Wonder What Became of Me", "A Sleepin' Bee", and those aren't even from the movie songs scores he wrote! "The Man That Got Away", "One for My Baby", "Blues in the Night"
Frankel and Korie: GREY GARDENS; "Another Winter in a Summer Town"