Top 5 Sondheim Shows.....

[TheBalladeer]

Posted: 10/31/03 at 2:14pm

Hey All,

Just wanted to know, what are your top 5 Sondheim shows? Mine are as follows:

1.) Sweeney
2.) Assassins
3.) Merrily We Roll Along
4.) Into the Woods
5.) Company

Discuss.

Cheers,
The Balladeer

[WillParker]

Posted: 10/31/03 at 2:15pm

1. Assassins
2. Follies
3. A Little Night Music
4. Into the Woods
5. Merrily We Roll Along

[robbiej]

Posted: 10/31/03 at 2:38pm

OK...I'll bite.

1. Little Night Music
2. Sunday in the Park with George
3. Forum
4. Company
5. Merrily

Though I loved performing in SWEENEY, if I ever have to sit through another production, I'll chew my foot off.

[WillParker]

Posted: 10/31/03 at 2:43pm

chew your foot off....hmmmmmmm.....can i chew the other foot??

[robbiej]

Posted: 10/31/03 at 2:59pm

Was that a pass?

Or a threat?

[WillParker]

Posted: 10/31/03 at 3:01pm

yes.

[robbiej]

Posted: 10/31/03 at 3:04pm

FILTH!

[rlbgbc]

Posted: 10/31/03 at 3:05pm

For me, it's hard to narrow down to 5 Sondheim shows -- or 5 ANY shows -- because they're all so varied and different. I like NIGHT MUSIC because it's so lush. I like FORUM because it's so fun. I like ASASSINS because it's so thought-provoking. I like FOLLIES because it's so rich in subtext -- not to mention fun in it "pastiche-ness".

I can say, however, that I don't care for PACIFIC OVERTURES. Never really did it for me. A big "eh".

[TxTwoStep]

Posted: 10/31/03 at 6:34pm

yeah wrestling for a spot for me would be COMPANY and FOLLIES. Like them both in different ways. Your other top five i agree with.

[bestofbroadway]

Posted: 10/31/03 at 6:36pm

Well here are my picks. First off let me say that Stephen Sondheim is a God and all of his scores are far better than any other composer's.

Note: Besides 1 these aren't really in an order. They are all so brilliant.

1) Sweeney Todd- The pinacle of the American Musical Theater...it's all downhill from here folks. The only show comparable to Sweeney in all it's brilliance is Gypsy.
2) Merrily We Roll Along- love it! love it! love it! Most beautiful score.
3) Sunday in the Park with George- the only time I have ever cried in a theater was when I heard the Act I finale at the Kennedy Center's Sondheim Celebration. Glorious is the only way to describe this score.
4) Follies- haunting, mesmerizing, incomparable
5) Assasins

Note: I would also include his lyrics for Gypsy. "Rose's Turn," which he actually pieced together completely by himself in a night simply with Styne's melodies from earlier songs in the show, is the one of the most brilliant moments in musical theater.

[TxTwoStep]

Posted: 10/31/03 at 6:40pm

yeah, i did forget about SUNDAY IN THE PARK...it's an amazing work.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 10/31/03 at 7:41pm

1. Follies
2. Company
3. Gypsy
4. West Side Story
5. Follies again - Believe Follies was best show Sondheim ever did

[BwayTheatre11]

Posted: 10/31/03 at 7:47pm

Kent State University is putting on "Into The Woods" this year. That should be really good!

[Seany]

Posted: 10/31/03 at 9:22pm

Um...West Side Story is most definitely the best.

[bestofbroadway]

Posted: 10/31/03 at 9:46pm

I don't think I would classify West Side Story as a "Sondheim show." If it were than Gypsy would definetely be up there with Sweeney on my list.

Posted: 10/31/03 at 11:34pm

1. WEST SIDE STORY
2. GYPSY
3. ANYONE CAN WHISTLE
4. A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC
5. A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM
6. PASSION
7. SWEENEY TODD
8. COMPANY
9. FOLLIES (now its official)

There are 9 for those who don't count WSS & GYPSY as Sondheim shows.

Dat'sa Broadway! Updated On: 10/31/03 at 11:34 PM

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 10/31/03 at 11:41pm

To Broadway Bulldog

A plus & A minus for you . A plus in listing Funny Thing & a minus for omitting Follies

Posted: 10/31/03 at 11:53pm

Omitting FOLLIES was a lapse of my own memory. No pun intended.

Bulldog.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 11/1/03 at 12:00am

OK all is forgiven as I forgot to mention Funny Thing in my post

A pity they gutted the score for Funny Thing for the movie. It would have been great with the score intact. Movie was shot in Spain on the remnents of a Rome set built for "Fall of The Roman Empire" . The set was demolished shortly thereafter

[Dude]

Posted: 11/1/03 at 1:44am

1) into the woods - best score and great book
2) assassins - great score and kinda great book
3) sweeney - great score and good book
4) does it really matter

[Cadriel]

Posted: 11/1/03 at 3:38am

1) Merrily We Roll Along
2) Passion
3) Sunday in the Park with George
4) Company
5) A Little Night Music

[MusicalDirector109]

Posted: 11/1/03 at 11:08am

"Sweeney Todd" - simply BRILLIANT!!!!
"A Little Night Music" - love that score in variations of 3/4 time.
"Company"- the concept and the score
"Merrily We Roll Along"- some great songs!
"Sunday in the Park" - "Move On" and and the Act One finale are powerful!!

Posted: 11/1/03 at 12:22pm

1.) Into the Woods'
2.)Gypsy
3.) Sweetny Todd
4.)A Little Night of Music
5.)Merrily We Roll Along

all of those are the best Sondheim shows to me

[Phantom05]

Posted: 11/1/03 at 12:48pm

I have to agree with Seany.....West Side Story is THE BEST.....I consider it a Sondheim show!!!

See Ya!

Phantom05

[bob8rich]

Posted: 11/1/03 at 5:28pm

My fav Sondheim show has to be FOLLIES - in fact my fav show by anyone is FOLLIES. It's hard to pick just 5 Sondheim shows as each one is nothing short of a masterpiece in its own way. But here is my list:

1. FOLLIES
2. SWEENEY TODD
3. COMPANY
4. INTO THE WOODS
5. MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG

I have not included WSS or Gypsy in a list of pure Sondheim - but both of these shows are masterpieces too.

Bob