Sondheim Quiz A Year Later

Stephen Sondheim died a year ago today at the age of 91. If the musical theater composer and lyricist was revered during his lifetime, attention to his work has only accelerated in the year since his death, not least from a spate of New York revivals — last season’s “Company,” which won five Tony Awards including Best Revival and the current acclaimed “Into the Woods,” with “Merrily We Roll Along” scheduled to open next month Off-Broadway and “Sweeney Todd” this Spring on Broadway — as well as the new movie of “West Side Story,” and a series of books.

Test whether your knowledge of his work has kept pace, with this ten-question quiz.

Sondheim Quiz: A Year Later

A playlist of potential songs to listen to if anyone else is also celebrating his work today! (not that there ever needs to be any excuse to listen to his music). I've chosen a selection mainly away from the typical mainstream OBC/revival choices for something a little different.

* Saturday Night - Listen to "So Many People" from Christine Ebersole's album "Sunday in New York"

* Gypsy - There is an audience recording of Donna Murphy singing "Some People" on YouTube that gives a flavour of what we might have missed out on from her Rose

* Evening Primrose - On Mandy Patinkin's Album 'Dress Casual' Mandy and Bernadette sing the songs and the acting/singing performance here of these songs is in my opinion definitive

* Company - The 1995 revival recording is not spoken about much, but if you've worn out the iconic OBC, Raul's revival performance, the recent London revival recording and the new Spanish recording you may want to go and revisit. It actually sounds a little better than I remembered, and it's nice to hear Boyd's take on the role, Robert Westenberg (Sunday in the Park & Into the Woods) Singing "Sorry-Grateful", LaChanze's "Another Hundred People" etc. It may not be the definitive recording but it's something different.

* Follies - Victoria Clark singing "Losing My Mind" at encores - video on YouTube. I've never heard anyone hit that low note "Bright" like she does here, it's spine-chilling. Even Victoria Clark herself doesn't appear to hit the note as powerfully in other recordings I've heard of her do the role (Encores audio at a different performance; 2012 LA revival)

* A Little Night Music - I wish we had the full thing but Bernadette is perfection here

* Sweeney Todd - Caroline O'Connor's worst pies in London sounds a little different than others I've heard.

* Merrily We Roll Along - listen to Marin Mazzie sing "Not a Day Goes By" on her album opposite you. She says she was taught the song by Sondheim herself, which is pretty special - I THINK she might have been in that first production that James Lapine overhauled.

* Sunday in the Park with George - there are some very interesting moments musically in the 2013 Paris production...such as the Chromolume which sounds like modern electronic music, heavily expanded orchestrations by Starobin himself (46 pieces). I believe there is a video on YouTube.

- There is an audio of Marin Mazzie singing the title song on YouTube

- Jason Robert Brown's arrangement of 'Sunday' on Wall to Wall Sondheim

- Eleri Ward's recording of 'Sunday' on one of her Sondheim Albums. One of the few complete re-arrangements of Sondheim that I actually think works.

* Into the Woods - listen to Imelda Staunton sing "Moments in the woods" on the 1991 London cast recording

* Passion - ok perhaps a mainstream choice but Donna Murphy singing "I Read" is a very very complex singing and acting performance, and the dissonance in this song is incredible. Sondheim in my opinion was still peaking here.

* Road Show - William Parry (Assassins/Sunday/Passion) has a very moving performance of "It's In Your Hands Now"