My personal top 10:
1. Sweeney Todd - the peak of the musical theatre (watching Hearn-Lansbury DVD right now!).
2. Gypsy - In the sense of how great and famous it is, it's the Sweeney Todd of the Golden Age, though I wouldn't refer to it as a "Golden Age musical."
3. Fiddler on the Roof - If you were to write a book about writing a musical, the vast majority of your examples would likely be from Fiddler; and it's argubly the last great "Golden Age musical."
4. Cabaret - The first show of the "Experimental Era."
5. West Side Story - It and Gypsy were precursers(sp?) to the "Experimental Era."
6. A Chorus Line - The most famous show from the "Experimental Era."
7. My Fair Lady - The most famous "Golden Age musical," and it's quite possibly the best show of that mold.
8. A Little Night Music - The most sophisticated musical ever, in my opinion. If you truly apprectiate this show, then you are officially a "theatre snob" (as am I).
9. Follies - Wonderful, wonderful, WONDERFUL score. Bottom line.
10. Company - It asserted Sondheim and Hal Prince as THE leading force of change in 1970s American musical theatre.
Of course, those are just my picks, take them as you will.
"Who is Stephen Sondheim?" -roninjoey
"The man who wishes he had written Phantom of the Opera!" - SueleenGay
GO CARDINALS!!!
Updated On: 8/27/05 at 11:52 PM