Stop saying they have great "soundtracks" a musical doesn't have a soundtrack it has a cast recording or if you're talking about the live music its the score!!! ugh...
@@stepscurriculum4265 you mean like Cats, Phantom of the Opera, Sunset boulevard, song and dance, and aspects of love. Their not apples and oranges but can the two be compared? Sondheim was more "traditional" and Webber was , more "modern"
Hahaha I think even if the act 2 is performed it still can be family friendly. There's many a pixar movies that teach about dealing with death, loss, grief and consequences. Into the woods just has a lot of that lol
Sweeney Todd is slowly becoming my favourite musical. I love it, especially the opening number. Follies, West Side Story, Sunday In The Park With George and Company are also amazing. Passion is an underrated masterpiece and Donna Murphy gives such a breathtaking performance as Fosca. But Into the Woods is by far my favourite Sondheim musical. The songs are all so cleverly written and the score is amazing.
This is a great list. Having just closed a production of Into the Woods as the music director. But I think there should have been a distinction of the shows he composed and wrote the lyrics. Such as Gypsy and West Side Story he is only credited as the lyricist. It’s important to give credit where it’s due.
Pacific Overtures is definitely one of Sondheim’s underrated musicals, but Merrily is criminally unrecognized and underperformed, and I just hope beyond hope that someone will bring it back to Broadway for a proper production, not just a limited run like encores did. It deserves to be seen by everyone and I know with the right direction it can be incredibly powerful and a big seller.
Sondheim won Tonys for best score in 1970, 1971 and 1973. When another composer won that Tony in 1972 (or 1974?) the winner thanked Sondheim (in his acceptance speech) for not writing a score that year so that someone else could win that Tony for a change.
Stephen Sondheim has enriched all of our lives with his beautiful music. No one had, has, or ever will replace Steve and his works - they are the pinnacle of what musical theatre can and should be. The man is an unbelievable genius and I love him with my entire heart. Thank you, Steve. For absolutely everything.
Oh god yes! All of my favorite musicals by my favorite composer! YAASSSSSS Sunday in the Park with George, Follies, Gypsy, and Into the Woods were my first introduction to his genius 😍😍😍
Well... sweeney Todd from the 1980s was my introduction to his genius followed by into the woods and west side story. Yeah I have seen the top three on this list and without a doubt love them each
Special thanks to Sondheim for making so much of his original Broadway productions available through PBS -- Company, Sweeney Todd, Into The Woods, Sunday in the Park with George, etc.
@@robertd.carver6240 Actually it isn't the same. The soundtrack is all the sound of the movie (including things like dialogs and sound effects) while the score is the musical part of the soundtrack.
In my opinion, Sweeney Todd is absolutely one of the most ingenious musical works of all time. R.I.P Stephen Sondheim. Thank you for everything you've given us.
10: PASSION 9: ASSASSINS 8: A FUNNY THING 7: MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG 6: A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC 5: SUNDAY IN THE PARK 4: COMPANY 3: FOLLIES 2: INTO THE WOODS 1: SWEENEY TODD
And Pacific Overtures is not that difficult or expensive to stage. The Donmar Warehouse did possibly the best production ever on a tiny stage with a minimal band and basic production values. It was fantastic.
My love story for Sondheim began with the '84 Tonys... "Sunday..." will always be my favourite. This list just makes me happy. I realised, watching this, that it is impossible to pick one show before another. I'm just happy to see this compilation. I hope this list will help people, young and old, to find, listen to and watch the brilliant work of Stephen Sondheim.
Sweeney Todd and Into the Woods are my two favorite musicals of all time, with West Side Story also in my top 5. Without doubt, the greatest composer of his time!
The fact the Follies is not on this list shows that once again MsMojo doesn't know what the hell they are taking about and to use a clip of Jeremy Jordan is insulting.
Follies has the most beautiful score...of several beautiful Sondheim scores. I agree it should be on this list. Saw it 3x at the Winter Garden and once in Los Angeles....the original production. "In Buddy's Eyes" still gives me chills.
“A Little Night Music” may be the greatest. The story is memorable, the lyrics are both biting and poignant; it contains a real ‘hit’, ‘Send in the Clowns’, and the score is arguably his most beautiful and subtly complex.
Alexis Thwing It's not weird at all. My second favorite musical is The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I'm so devoted to it that I'm looking to get a 'Boss' tattoo on my right shoulder.
Sweeney Todd is the show that turned me in to fan of Musicals (especially Sondheim). Just after I first discovered it I was looking for an apartment in NYC so I could move there. I ended up subletting from a composer that was leaving NYC for a while (it came with a Steinway piano in it) and part of the interview process was answering his questions about musicals. I said I knew nothing about musicals but my favorite was Sweeney Todd. I asked him what other musicals there were that were that good. He said there were no others that good but I had excellent taste. Of all the people vying to sublet his apartment he gave the sublet to me (thanks to rent control it was a mere $420 per month in 1986 and he was charging no more than he was being charged). My (now) wife and I owed our cheap NYC apartment to Stephen Sondheim (and my good taste).
This is a solid list, but the order is flawed, imho, here's how I'd list them... 10. Pacific Overtures 9. Merrily We Roll Along 8. Assassins 7. A Little Night Music 6. West Side Story 5. Follies 4. Company 3. Gypsy 2. Sweeney Todd 1. Sunday in the Park with George
My favorite will always be "A Little Night Music" followed by "Company". But really they are all good, it's a pity that more people don't know "Pacific Overtures" The brilliance and influence of "West Side Story" goes without saying. Actually 'A Little Night Music" is all in waltz time, though some of the songs are in cut time, so the phrasing is hard. That's why it's so great.
All you have to do is mention Stephen Sondheim and you get all of us who are in love with his work CRAZY about which is better, lol! My top 10 are #1 Into the Woods, #2 Sweeney Todd, #3 Sunday in the Park with George, #4 A Little Night Music, #5 Assassins, #6 Company, #7 Follies, #8 Passion, # 9 A Funny Thing #10 Merrily we Roll Along. I know he wrote the lyrics to West Side and Gypsy but for me he took off after those when he wrote lyrics and score. Thanks for the review.
For years I said that "A Little Night Music" was my favorite Sondheim show. But I've noticed that it's been surpassed by "Assassins". It's just a perfect little show.
this made me smile so wide! into the woods will forever be my favorite sondheim show, i did it last summer playing the witch and it literally changed my life! i also adore little night music, it's ridiculously hard and beautifully written
Agreed. Merrily should be there and WSS and Gypsy did not as he didn't write the music. Take those off the list and Merrily and Follies slide right in there.
Sondheim has such a unique, epic, and beautiful sound/style. He is one of my all-time favorites even though most of my favorite shows aren't his pieces.
Dare I say - Gypsy was far too low. It's the pinnacle of the American Musical. Complex, moving and deep, Mamma Rose is an incredible character, one of the best ever fleshed out on stage.
Merrily We Roll Along deserves a proper place on this list. I’ve seen two productions on the West End. It’s amazing. It plays backwards in time, so you get the reprise before the main number! Outstanding.
As someone else has noted,Sondheim only wrote the lyrics for Gypsy and West Side Story:~ Gypsy~ music by Jule Styne West Side Story~ music by Leonard Bernstein.
You can get 10 "ultimate" Sondheim musicals without including those for which he only wrote lyrics. As great as Gypsy and West Side Story are, I'd rather see a production of Follies anytime. It's score is breathtaking from start to finish, and easily as great as Gypsy or WSS. It's fashionable to call it a "flawed" show, but that's only because it's fiendishly difficult to get right. But when it is right it's the greatest show ever. I'd also happily see Merrily and Passion on any list of ultimate Sondheim shows. Both are streets ahead of most recent Broadway musicals.
With Pacific Overtures I think Sondheim tried to set as many bars as high as possible for himself- pushing to see just what he was capable of achieving creatively. He know it would rarely if ever be produced in the future because the people who created it refused to make any compromises whatsoever.
Depends on your family. There are more mature themes in it, but they're dealt with in a sensitive fashion. I'd feel comfortable letting a 7 or 8 year old watch it.
I saw Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street in New York on Broadway, original cast and was completely blown away! Whenever I get the chance to see it again, I don't hesitate. There is no doubt in my mind that this is the best musical ever!
Ok, I will say this. I agree with your top 3 being the top 3. Into The Woods is my all time favorite musical EVER! However if I’m being honest, it should have been West Side Story, Into The Woods, then Sweeney Todd(which btw is my all time second favorite musical EVER)
RIP Sondheim 🙏😢🥺💔 your genius will be missed definitely!!!! Also kinda crazy how tick tick boom came out about Larson who Sondheim was a hero to 🥺 crazy timing 💔
10: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum 9: Pacific Overtures 8: Assassins 7: Gypsy 6: Company 5: A Little Night Music 4: Sunday in the Park With George 3: West Side Story 2: Into the Woods 1: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
I saw Sweeney Todd off broadway in a little theater that transformed the space into an actual functioning pie shop. It was the most amazing and affecting piece of theater I have ever seen to this day. Incredible
I second the few calls for Merrily We Roll Along. Fantastic work, not only the score. Listen to the fantastic Encores! cast recording. Not easily, but very likely my favorite Sondheim. Assassins is great as well, but the I strongly prefer the Off-Broadway cast recording to the Broadway one. You sadly miss a lot from the libretto, though. Sweeney Todd, sure, but this really runs out of competition, doesn't it?
10 Sunday in the Park with George 9 Into the Woods 8 Pacific Overtures 7 Merrily We Roll Along (the recent Fiasco Theater production was a revelation) 6 Company 5 Follies 4 A Little Night Music (Sondheim biggest hit is not even in the top ten songs from the show) 3 Sweeney Todd 2 Gypsy 1 West Side Story 1 and 2 are widely regarded as among the top 5 greatest Broadway musicals of all time.
There will never be concensus on these things, which is absolutely fine. However, I find the inclusion of no more than the last few lines of a concert performance of Losing my Mind and the inclusion of Follies under 'honourable mentions' odd to say the least. ....
I just found your channel and I'm very much enjoying your videos. But one editing comment if you don't mind. When discussing Sweeney Todd, at about 13:40 you are discussing the original production while showing Patti Lapone. Then at 14:02 you go on to say "it has since been revived" while showing the Angela Lansbury original. It's a bit jarring. Otherwise a very nice video.
One musical that absolutely needed to be on the list, or at least as an honorable mention is Evening Primrose. It's very underrated and one of his least known works. It was broadcast as a short tv film(51 minutes long) in 1966, with Charmian Carr(The Sound of Music) and Anthony Perkins(Psycho) in the lead roles. It's like if The Twilight Zone was a musical. The score and plot is wonderful, though, and definitely deserves more recognition. It was re-released in 2010, and you can watch it on RU-vid, and other platforms. I highly recommend giving it a chance.
My mom-in-law (a constant Broadway attendee between 1950 and 1980) thinks the British have a national flaw that impedes their ability to *give* what is necessary to the American musical. So it's nice that Steve wrote a dank and dreadful musical specifically for the English. It's no coincidence that Lansbury is the granddaughter of a great British Labour reformer and a woman who may have seen real London music-hall in her girlhood.
If we restrict it to shows for which he wrote both lyrics and music, my list would be: 1 Follies 2 Sunday 3 Sweeney 4 Passion 5 Merrily 6 Night Music 7 Forum 8 Into the Woods 9 Assassins 10 Company
@@tinta2531 I was in my high school's production of Into The Woods as the Narrator, rather one of them. Our director split the the role of the Narrator from one into six: three boys and three girls, who all took turns telling the story throughout the show. It sounds convoluted, but it worked really well.
How are y’all gonna make a “best musicals of all time” list, make the only Sondheim show on the list West Side Story, and then put West Side Story as his third best?? Consistency, please.
@@CrackingCody Nah, I’m saying that if West Side Story is his 3rd best musical, according to them, then the other two should have ranked on the “Best Musicals of All Time” list they made, for ranking consistency, but they didn’t.
Having seen Follies in London at the National Theatre last year, l was hoping to see it in the top 10. This year l also saw the ‘gender swap’ version of Company in London which was also fabulous, so glad to see that show there! The first musical l ever seen as a boy was A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum in Liverpool, England which will always remain a favourite, and am now looking forward to the revival of Sunday in the Park with George with Jake Gyllenhaal in the West End next June. I don’t think l personally would have placed Sweeney Todd in top position though. Sondheim rocks!
You forgot to mention Evening Primrose a made for TV movie which produced two fantastic songs I Remember and take me to the world the story is about a couple of department store manaquans that come to life after the store closes at night these songs are so elegant I wish they would be staged again somehow
idk man west side story is significant enough to be mentioned in history classes and is so brilliantly composed that the entire story is told in the first few notes but sure. third.
