"American Idiot" or "Sondheim on Sondheim"?

Thanks to low airfares out of Louisville, KY on the weekend of The Kentucky Derby, I'm headed to NYC. Already have purchased tickets for the May 1st Saturday mat of "The Glass Menagerie" off-B-way and the Saturday evening performance of "La Cage." As for the Sunday mat, I've narrowed it down to "American Idiot" and "Sondheim on Sondheim." Would love to hear from those who have seen both.

Apples or... kittens?

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I would personally feel sorry to miss the cast of Sondheim on Sondheim.

You'll probably have many more opportunities to catch American Idiot in the future, the other one is unique.

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I've seen both and they each have their merits for very different reasons.

American Idiot is a pretty intense event, only about 100 minutes long, but fairly unique and loud in its theatricality...As much as I don't really wish for this to become the "new" Broadway standard, it does represent something very "crossover from the mainstream" in a way that Broadway hasn't seen in awhile (even more original, imo, then Spring Awakening, Passing Strange, etc.)

"Sondheim..." is just what you think it will be (a review of sorts) except that, surprisingly, you learn a lot -- mainly from Sondheim himself via ongoing video commentary - about the man himself and the context of how some of his songs/shows came to be...

I guess if you can only do one, and you're not necessarily a diehard Sondheim fan, try American Idiot for its originality as the newest form of what a Broadway show can be

Hope this helps -

Updated On: 4/1/10 at 01:05 AM

"Sondheim" once in a lifetime,"Idiot" one of a dozen jukebox musicals