Best score of the season

The Bwayworld awards thread has been taken down (is the voting period over?) and I was curious to see who was winning best score.

It's been such a rich year for original scores and my favorite changes from day to day. Curious to see what most of you think is the best.

I haven't heard The People In The Picture so I can't comment on that one, but I love all the rest.

I believe this is the field (if I left one out please add it)

Scottsboro
Verge
Catch Me
Sister Act
Mormon
BBAJ
People In The Picture
Wonderland

This is strictly what your personal favorite is regardless of the show's success (or lack thereof).

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Definitely Women on the Verge. I think Sister Act would be my second and Book of Mormon would be my third.

If I had to rank them:

1. Verge
2. BoM
3. Sister Act
4. Scottsboro
5. BBAJ
6. Catch Me
7. Elf
8. PitP
9. Wonderland

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I haven't heard all of the scores or seen any of the shows except Sister Act in its London incarnation, but BOOK OF MORMON is easily the best of the scores as a piece of musical theatre. All the songs are rooted in character, the lyrics are amusing, the melodies tuneful etc. - it's not super sophisticated or surprising but it's great fun and works very well.

Of the others I know:

Women on the Verge makes for a good album but the songs get a bit samey and Pepa's numbers are all completely divorced from the character singing them (seriously, what do Lovesick or Island or Mother's Day have to do with ANYTHING?). One amazing song does not a brilliant score make, no matter HOW good Model Behaviour is. And I assume that the lyrics for Ivan's songs aren't quite so ridiculously purple-prosey when delivered in character.

Sister Act is unmemorable pastiche, particularly for the guys. And oh god, that title song... so dreary, no matter how well sung.

BBAJ makes no sense as a score without having seen the show so I can't really comment on it - plus, as a Brit, I had no idea who Andrew Jackson was when I first heard it, so I had to research the history behind him to understand some of the humour. I love The Corrupt Bargain, though.

Catch Me's score just doesn't quite work for me; I don't know whether it's the songs themselves or the delivery of them. I think The Pinstripes Are All That They See and The Man Behind The Clues are great songs, and Norbert certainly sells his material brilliantly, but none of Frank's numbers are particularly interesting (I have to say that I think Goodbye is a terrible 11 o'clock number... it says the same thing over and over again and it's so rhythmically repetitive.) and there are too many songs which seem to be there to "flesh out" the supporting characters when the focus should be almost exclusively on Frank and Carl. I don't know how it works on stage, but it just seems flabby to me.

Haven't heard Scottsboro or Wonderland, and have no idea whether I'll ever hear Elf or PitP.

"Haven't heard Scottsboro or Wonderland, and have no idea whether I'll ever hear Elf or PitP."

Elf has some nice songs.

Women on the Verge makes for a good album but the songs get a bit samey and Pepa's numbers are all completely divorced from the character singing them (seriously, what do Lovesick or Island or Mother's Day have to do with ANYTHING?).

??? Those songs have everything to do with her character and the emotional heartbreak she's feeling. And they are driven by the circumstances of the scene. She sings Lovesick while getting blood drawn at the doctor's office after a fainting spell at work. Islands is performed while she's packing Ivan's things into a suitcase. Mother's Day is triggered when Pepa discovers she's pregnant. She calls on the memory of her mother and contemplates the realization of being a mother herself. Lovesick and Mother's Day are character-driven songs while Islands not only provides insight to Pepa's grief, but some backstory to her relationship with Ivan.

I have a very deep personal connection to Islands in particular. It's as if the song was written about my own recent situation and my reaction to it. For me, Women on the Verge is far and away the best score of the year and one of the best scores in the last decade. But I know I'm probably in a small minority. I think it's because I connect with the book and score on so many levels and identify with many of the characters, but I also think it's his best work to date.

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Lovesick, to me, is a song that anyone could sing. The lyrics aren't about Pepa herself, they're about any woman who's been in love. Yes, she's just been to the doctor, which sets up the medical imagery, and the lyrics are clever - but what do they tell you about Pepa in particular when the lyrics are all addressed to a generic "you"? It feels like a pop song, but with clever lyrics and a great orchestration.

Again - Island - lovely sentiment and lyrical imagery, well orchestrated and sung. But it's a song that was staged with a flaming bed behind it because what else do you do with a song that basically says "I thought we wanted the same things, but then you dumped me, what went wrong?" over and over again? And then, to top it all off, she basically sings the same song in three lines in Tangled:

Tell me when did the wires get crossed
Tell me where the connection got lost
Tell me how I got tumbled and tossed and
Tangled up.

I understand how Mother's Day fits into the plot but for me I feel like the song just doesn't go anywhere. Is there dialogue surrounding the verses that's not recorded that at least prolongs the scene a bit?

I actually rather like the album, but I do still think that Pepa's songs are weak dramatically.

Agreed. I think Catch Me is an awful score. Just bland and boring.

I loved the Sister Act score. I know I'm in the minority, but I thought the songs were memorable, and I loved how different each song was. I mean, you have this great disco beat for "Fabulous Baby," but then you have this more modern-Sonheim-esque numbers for Mother Superior.

I liked Mormon. I think they work for the show, but I wasn't aching to listen to them again like I was with Sister Act or Women on the Verge.

Here's my take on Island:

Yes, the song is repetitive with slight variations which is the perfect depiction of the psychological effects of shock and grief. I went through almost EXACTLY what Pepa is dealing with a few months ago and he captured that cycle of the mind perfectly. She can't reach Ivan and so she is left to deal with the unanswered questions that continually plague her and the immediate change in her surroundings knowing he will never return.

"An island with two can be paradise
With one you're just shipwrecked and stranded"

All she wants is some sort of explanation that makes sense to her. She thought everything was right, but suddenly, he's just gone and she doesn't know why. The burning bed is lifted directly from the film and occurs here as she encounters the direct imagery of a relationship gone up in flames.

The questions return in Tangled because Pepa's motivation the entire show is to connect with Ivan and just before those lines, they just missed each other leaving more voicemails.

As for Lovesick, most love songs in shows are pretty generic and could apply to almost anyone. But this one tells you that Pepa's view of love at that moment is rather cynical. That too much love can cause more harm than good.

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1) THE BOOK OF MORMON. I would love to put WOMEN ON THE VERGE in this spot, as it has the best standout numbers, but the overall score of MORMON is far superior. Each number is rooted so well with the characters, but there is also this excellent through-line in the entire piece that connects all the numbers musically. The score also plays well in the theatre, while I feel WOMEN ON THE VERGE is much better on disc then in the theatre.

2) WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN. 'Model Behavior' is the best song of the season, without a doubt, and should carry Benanti to her second Tony. Other songs like 'On the Verge' 'Lovesick' and the beautiful 'Invisible' further the beauty of the score. But some of the clunkers (mostly attributed to Burstein & Mitchell) bring the score down IMO. Those orchestrations are also divine.

3) CATCH ME IF YOU CAN. I haven't seen the show, but just judging off the cast recording, I'd probably pick this score over SISTER ACT for a Tony nomination. I love the 60's feel of the music, and the solo-ish numbers are the highlight for me. 'Fly Fly Away' 'Goodbye' 'Don't Break the Rules' and 'Butter out of Cream' are all great songs. I'd be interested to see how it plays on stage.

4) SISTER ACT. Everything Patina Miller sings is gold. Some of the group numbers are good, but I'm disappointed they cut 'How I Got the Calling', and I wish I could hear Victoria Clark's new number. I find myself skipping all of the male songs on the album.

5) THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS. I really enjoy the score, but after a first listen I don't ever find myself wanted to listen to it again. Possibly it plays better in the context of the show, considering I know hardly nothing about the The Scottsboro Boys.

6) BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON. The songs are hysterical, and I love some of the vocal arrangements, but honestly I wish the songs were longer. The book outshines the score for me.

7) WONDERLAND. A clusterf*ck of ideas and themes, which makes for a poor score. 'Once More I Can See' is the only song I find somewhat decent. When will investors realize how awful Wildhorn is?

8 )Have not seen THE PEOPLE IN THE PICTURE, but from the clips I've watched, the only good song appears to be the trio between Donna Murphy, Nicole Parker & the little girl.

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Updated On: 5/27/11 at 01:07 PM

Out of the shows I can judge:

1. The Scottsboro Boys
2. Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson
3. The Book of Mormon
4. Catch Me if You Can
5. Women on the Verge

Haven't heard or seen Sister Act yet, and didn't listen to Wonderland.

L have only seem "People in the Picture", "Sister Act" and "Book of Mormon". I like what I have heard of "Women on the Verge..". I would say that it is a tie between Sister Act and Mormon for me. Of those two, I would probably buy Mormon first, even though I think the show is overrated. There is also a very beautiful song in the second act that the mother of the little girl sings that I would buy.

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For me it'd have to be Catch Me If You Can then maybe Sister Act or Women on the Verge. I like Book of Mormon's score but only a few songs from there really stuck out to me.