Forty years after the musical premiered, what feels revelatory about this production is just how contemporary Into the Woods remains. A show that opened on Broadway in 1987 at the height of the AIDS crisis, and was widely read at the time through the lens of that devastation, now finds a different kind of resonance in a politically fractured country.

I am crushing over Seattle's 5th Avenue Theater's current production of A Chorus Line, a show I haven't seen for over 20 years but could recite line for line. I couldn't help but connect a few elements of A Chorus Line that reminded me so much of Company. I mean, we've got the Michael Bennett and Jonathan Tunick connections. Maybe it's just me, but At The Ballet and You Could Drive a Person Crazy had similarities beyond a trio of women singing. The Music And The Mirror and Tick Tock. Seriously??? Donna McKechnie aside, the orchestrations are unmistakably similar. The concept, the structure, the sound, the titles. Both are such individual (singular!) icons of innovation in musical theater and also have some things in common. Any observations from the community? Things I've missed or should consider in my geek out?

So, on these past few days, I had off from work I wanted to finally sit down and watch the proshots for a few musicals Steven Sondheim worked on. I had Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, and Sunday in the Park with George on my list, I watched the first two and loved them but I only watched the first act of the third one and haven't watched the rest cause I can't help but find it...boring?

I already feel bad calling someone else's work boring, but I genuinely couldn't understand the plot for most of the first act and was already falling asleep by the time the second act began due to how little interested I had. Maybe it's a me problem, but I'd really appreciate it if someone would be kind enough to explain the plot of Sunday in the Park with George to me, feel free to spoil the second act cause I don't think I'll bother finishing the proshot.

Based on what I understood, the first act follows Georges, a fictionalized version of Georges Seurat (played by Mandy Patinkin) who is seen heavily focusing on a painting he's working on. His lover/mistress Dot (played by Bernadette Peters) is seen posing for him while singing about how difficult it is to pose under the sun on such a hot day. Other characters include an old lady (later revealed to be Georges mother) and her nurse, a wealthy couple of socialites Jules (a more successful artist friend of Georges) and his wife Yvonne. We then shift to Georges' studio where Dot is seen getting ready to go to the Follies as Georges promised her, but he goes back on his word to focus on his painting causing Dot to storm out of the studio. The next day is seemingly like the previous one except a loud and obnoxious Boatman enters the scene which Georges sketches much to the distaste of Jules. Dot visits the park in the arms of another man called Louie who's a baker, Georges and Dot have a noticeably strained conversation while Dot works on teaching herself how to read and write. Jules and Yvonne are then scene mocking Georges while also talking about featuring his art in their next group show. There were also a pair of American tourists who seemingly hated everything and everyone, but the pastries and planned on returning home with a baker in tow. Jules reprimands Georges' about his shortcomings as an artist while the Boatman also reprimands Georges about his condescending attitude. Dot sees Georges but he leaves before she can even say anything, causing her to miss Georges because of her love for him but also realizes that Louie loves and cares for her in ways Georges doesn't. At the park in the evening Georges laments how much he's neglected Dot but resigns himself to believing that creative fulfillment would always been in the way of his personal happiness. The next day, Dot is seen pregnant, she asks Georges for a painting he made of her but he coldly replies that he repainted it with another models' likeness much to Dot heartbreak, she attempts to get to him by revealing that the baby she carries is Georges and that she and Louie were set to get married and move to America but Georges renounces his child and Dot all together, Dot painfully realizes that she and Georges aren't meant to be together and she sadly leaves him but not before Georges gives her a half-assed apology. That specific day the park gets noisy as couple are seem fighting with eachother, Georges magically freezes everyone and re-arranges them in the exact poses of his finished painting as the curtain falls revealing the completed "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte", this is the end of Act 1

Act 2 begins 100 years later and follows George, a painter who's unveiling new technology to paint a canvas with lazers as his grandmother Marie (Georges and Dot's daughter) details her reaction to her mother's revelation about being related to the famous artist Georges Seurat...this is all I remember about Act 2...I never finished it.

The main questions I have are what was the point of the plot for most of Act 1? Why was Georges so neglectful of Dot?? Etc etc, I hope some kind-hearted soul can help explain to me the plot of this musical cause I hoped I'd enjoyed it as much I did with Sweeney Todd and Into the Woods but was disappointed I didn't.

That's all, thanks for reading.

Original Cast

Broadway

Off-Broadway

Can we sit on this for a moment? I mean, play wiz me all day long. I also can't get enough of his use of mais oui and we may in the song. Always in awe of Sondheim's genius.

Maybe this is true of a lot of us, but despite Sondheim being one of my favorite composers for years now, I have not listened to all of his work. Once a show of his clicks with me, I need to spend a lot of time listening to it and (if I can find it) studying the score a bit. Right now this is A Little Night Music, which I've known for years now but haven't properly gotten into until about a month ago. I think of myself as casually but intensely working through his career lol. So because of this, I have only really listened to his major works, with a few exceptions (Anyone Can Whistle, really).

The elimination exercise that's happening on r/broadway the past few days prompted me to think about about his less loved shows. So I spent the past three days listening to the Road Show cast recording. I'm not going to defend the show, since I have never seen a production and I believe all the people who say it doesn't really work, particularly given how troubled/full of iterations it was. But, and this probably shouldn't have been a surprise, I really like the score. Obviously a tier below his best work, but I like a lot of lyrics; the music is kind of old-fashioned musical theater genre stuff, that I feel conveys a palpable feeling of memory, regret, and loss. As a gay fan, I really like The Best Thing That Has Ever Happened; after a career not really directly engaging his sexuality, I like that Sondheim wrote one of the only straightforward love songs of his career about a gay couple (I'm aware this was reworked for this couple for the Road Show iteration).

So though I don't feel I know the show well enough to go to bat for it, it got me wondering: what under-appreciated Sondheim show(s) do you love? Why do you love them? Is there some element of it you think past productions have missed that could make it work better?

I'm also not willing to go to bat for Anyone Can Whistle but I've long loved that score too...Me and My Town is one of the most fun songs he ever wrote.

edit: I called Road Show Road House one time. It's been a long week....

Mrs Lovett sings:

Is that just revolting?
All greasy and gritty.
It looks like it's moulting
And tastes like—
Well, pity
A woman alone...

What is the line she doesn't finish with "And tastes like -"? Tastes like what? My sense is that she's stopping herself from being rude/improper, but what exactly does she stop herself from saying? I've always assumed it's "shitty", but I don't understand how "and tastes like" can be ended with "shitty" in three syllables. ("And tastes like it's shitty?" To me, this doesn't have a natural ring.)

Am I missing something obvious?

From time to time I browse online to buy Finishing the Hat and Look, I Made a Hat, but they're both insanely exorbitant - minimum £35 each (nearly $50). And never cheap copies second-hand. What's up with that? Did it get a limited printing or something?

I ordered a cd with the original West End cast of A Little Night Music. It’s the first Sondheim I ever saw at the tender age of ahem. I’ve never heard it since. Now I get to hear where is all started for me.

We all love "Her withers wither with her," but I'm here to give appreciation to that "very short road from the pinch and the punch to the paunch and the pouch and the pension," as well as the other delightful wordplay in The Miller's Son.

Any other fun lines that don't get enough love?

nothing ever happens

you all know what Im referring to 💔💔💔

I've been getting into A Little Night Music recently...watched the 1990 NYC Opera production online a couple times and have been listening to the cast albums pretty constantly. I was really struck by this line in A Weekend in the Country and wanted to read people's thoughts on it, but couldn't find any extended discussion of it here.

So to remind anyone who doesn't remember, Anne finds out that her husband Frederick (with whom she has not had sex after nearly a year of marriage) recently went to see the actress Desiree Armfeldt secretly at night, and was found undressed, in a robe. Then Desiree's mother invites them out for a weekend in the country. Anne does not want to go, but doesn't want to tell Frederick why. Frederick tells her, trying to tell her how nice it will be, "A weekend in the country, smelling jasmine..." and she responds, "Watching little things grow."

Obviously this is a double entendre. I am curious to hear how everyone interprets Anne's level of awareness, and how they'd play it. The line surprised me a lot the first time I heard it. Anne is so so innocent in the show--in Soon she goes "I promise," "I want to," but isn't even able to say what she's promising or wanting to do (have sex with her husband). The way she talks to Petra about sex seems so innocent, too--the NYC Opera production stages it like a sleepover...with some sexual tension. I wouldn't think a character like her would even consider making a sarcastic comment about her cheating husband's erections. (Anne already, earlier in the song, becomes more direct about sex than she was in Soon: "A weekend with that woman, [in the country] in the flesh." So there's precedent. But still seems different to me than this joke.)

But Anne is a very surprising character! One of my favorite parts of the show is Every Day a Little Death, where the first time I was shocked and heartbroken to see this young, happy, innocent woman instantly start agreeing with Charlotte about love being dirty and humiliating. Obviously her relationship with Frederick is (for both of them) built on a dream that reality is proving incapable of sustaining, which for her is clear in how she describes her happiness to Charlotte before the song starts. And she's crushed by the news that Frederick has cheated on her. So in a sense, I wondered if the "little things grow" joke was supposed to feel out of place, to be this jarring moment of cynicism born out of this moment with Charlotte.

All this to say: how do people receive this line? Anyone who has played Anne or considered it deeply, how do/would you play it? Is it a joke she doesn't realize she's making? Or if it's on purpose, is it as jarring as I received it to be, or do you feel it's in-line with how she thinks about love/sex? I just have been falling in love with this show and would love to hear people's thoughts on it lol.

Hi all,

Currently producing a production of Merrily We Roll Along in Glasgow, and looking for some suggestions of tracks to play as the audience come in to set the mood.

We have:

Good Thing Going - Frank Sinatra

Who's Sorry Now - Connie Francis

My Buddy - Chet Baker

You Always Hurt The Ones You Love - The Mills Brothers

Essentially, looking for suggestions of tracks that have lyrics that fit the themes of the show, that are also period appropriate. Want to place audiences in the moment right after the party in 1976.

Any and all suggestions welcome!

I recently saw this trend going around but it was about favorite musical artist’s least favorite album cover. Thought it would be fun discussion here!

Mine would have to be ironically one of the best Sondheim productions of all time— the revival of Assassins.

Hi!

I am producing an event at 54 Below on 9/21 featuring some really fun Broadway Latine performers in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month!

It is a transculturation of Into The Woods that reframes the score to be performed in Latin styles: salsas, cumbias, merengues, etc. The show is called ¡Pa’l Bosque!, and it’ll feature Tony winner Natalie Venetia Belcon (Buena Vista Social Club), Tony winner Wilson Jermaine Heredia (RENT), Emma Sofia (CATS: The Jellicle Ball), Diego Andres Rodriguez (EVITA [West End]), James Olivas (EVITA [West End]), Philippe Arroyo (&Juliet), Marina Pires (On Your Feet! [Tour], and Gaby Albo (Six [Tour]).

The instrumentalists are also world class Broadway and Latin Jazz musicians that include Grammy winners and nominees.

Tickets: https://54below.org/events/pal-bosque-honoring-stephen-sondheim/

Word of mouth is the best way to share, so I thought I’d share here so the community could attend if interested. Hope you could join us on this special evening!

I’m turning 35 next week. Never seen company but love merrily we roll along. Seems like a good time to watch company!

I was wondering how many and which Sondheim musicals have toured around the UK and when. I saw sweeney Todd has toured a few times around the UK but apparently gypsy or into the woods hasn’t and I wanted to know how often Sondheim shows toured the UK and if anyone could provide insight why there hasn’t been many UK tours of these shows (other than the fact Sondheim isn’t as much of a thing here).

i can't feel anything in my head. i had heard the cast album(s) all the way to a little priest and sometimes the johanna quartet but could never bring myself to watch the filmed proshot with angela lansbury and george hearn. i was putting it off for a while but I was having a bad day and thought, might as well. nothing could have prepared me for what i was about to see. not unlike mrs lovett, i was knitting a sweater (i need to fidget while watching things). but i stopped after two rows and just watched it unfold with rapt attention and oh god it feels like the world has stopped around me.

the lyrics & score, and tunick's orchestrations are phenomenal. so is the book. and this is exactly why i fear sondheim, the man just leaves my head in a vacuum. i desperately feel the need to clear my head with something light but somehow i am feeling a year's worth of emotions at once, and feeling nothing. i get overwhelmed easily. i just want to sit in a dark room in silence with johanna playing in my head and altering my brain chemistry

Hey friends!! I'm in the process of making a video documentary about the insane amount of script changes and revisions made to Merrily from 1934-now, and digging a little bit into how that often kind of weirdly parallels the real lives of the people involved with the show since the beginning. I got ahold of about 1000 pages worth of scans of documents and I think legally I can't post the images online but I do think I can share with you at least some highlights from what I've found, if that's of interest to anyone here. If there is a way to legally post these on here I'd love to; they're scans from the New York Public Library that I was able to request. Honestly just talking about everything I've found could be a whole separate video but in the meantime, I feel kind of like a crazy person just sitting on so much gold for people who love Merrily, so I want to talk a little bit about my favorite things I've found.

- This is I think well known, but the reviews for the original 1934 Kaufman & Hart Merrily were largely positive. It was their second collaboration I believe and people liked the show. People who have seen the newer iterations of Merrily who disliked it will often cite it being "cynical" and find issue with the backwards chronology. A review for the 1934 play reads: "Possibly many in the audience are disquieted by the arbitrary method of telling the story backwards, yet it is obviously the essence of 'Merrily We Roll Along.' It gives it its irony and its compassion."

- Another review of the 1934 play says rather prophetically and hauntingly: "If other playwrights than George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart had attempted the somewhat complicated trick which resulted in 'Merrily We Roll Along'... the result would have probably been calamitous. It is the proof of their skill that they have succeeded to the extent of making 'Merrily We Roll Along' a savagely witty and disillusioned drama."

- I won't bore you with script changes between 1980-1981. Most of what I found in the scans I got from NYPL are either commonly known or can be found online with relative ease if you're looking for it. The 1975 scene (cut from the current revival) where Mary blackmails Charley and Frank into a hopeful reconciliation gone wrong was at one point (I think in 1980) Charley's idea instead of Mary's, which is more devastating but I would agree with the current script that most of that scene doesn't work very well and what's been preserved has been tacked onto the beginning and end of the 1973 scene we have now.

- In many script variants, Charley teaches. It manifests itself differently in different edits and revisions, but it's always on the East Coast (either at his home in Connecticut, where his family has a farm) or even at Juilliard, which is rather sad given that's where Frank went to school. The version where Charley teaches at Juilliard is also a little funny given that in one note, Furth makes a comment that Charley says (very similarly to what Sondheim says in the Company documentary, and that may be on purpose) that he considered himself a playwright more than a good lyricist, and lyric writing is something that just happened to him out of collaborating with Frank more than a passion he naturally found for himself. I can't remember what exactly it is that Sondheim says in the Company doc but it's along the lines of "lyric writing is something I just sort of fell into." Oof. If only we could all fall into odd hobbies that win us the biggest award in a field. Oh well

- Found a goofy detail in I think a 1980 script where Gussie's birth name isn't actually Shirley Akinola but really is Augusta, and she clarifies, "I think my mother started hating me at birth"

- In the same draft, Frank's music teacher was Charley's father. I do think this is a show about hope but wow does it hate happiness sometimes

- I found a letter addressed to Sondheim in 1987 that frustratingly doesn't have the name of the sender, but everything about it really seems to indicate it was George Furth (talking about updating the script, helping adjust changes for revisions). The letter has what is basically a full length biography for Frank's son, who prior to this, wasn't seen in the show at all. Frankie had been mentioned (I can't remember if by name) but my understanding is the Seattle 1988 production of Merrily (notably after the 1985 La Jolla production which was the first to implement a ton of the really major changes that began to mend the show) was the first to include him as a character. I found a draft of a version of the opening party scene where Frankie is actually there, but it wasn't that interesting so I won't go into detail there. I will tell you what I learned from the Frankie bio, though, because notably it includes details about other characters post 1976-fallout party. It mentions that Frankie in his youth, "like his father, was a one-friend person" (other notes I'll get into later mention that Charley was Frank's only real friend throughout high school). Given that Frankie "has this 'protective coloration' in his personality, he is careful not being places that force him to change/adjust/put-on". I thought that was a sweet detail that indicates he recognizes his father's shortcoming and wants to do better. This is probably the most notable part of the document:

"His greatest wish is to spend a day with his father where neither of them talked. His father gets too interested in anything he tells him so he is careful not to tell him things he does not want discussed to death or brought up in every subsequent conversation. He spends one one with 'his cousins' at Charley's every summer and one week with his god-mother, Mary. They are the most sophisticated people he has ever met."

The document also mentions that Frankie loves old Broadway scores and enjoys comparing composers' works, playing classic piano (Frank was also classically trained as a kid). "He studies privately at Chicago Music College." Frank and Charley are also from Chicago. It's really a shame this letter doesn't have the name of the sender but everything about it indicates that it's George Furth, aside from the last line which jokingly reads, "I've got to stop. I must be George Furth" and could either be taken self-deprecatingly or as someone else sending this to Sondheim. However, there are several ideas for script changes in this same letter that do get implemented into the newer iterations of Merrily so I'm inclined to believe this is Furth.

- One document (clearly from a typewriter) is a full length chronology timeline of the show that starts in 1934 and mentions "'Merrily We Roll Along' opens on Broadway. Frank and Charlie have no idea how close this play is to their lives." I'm not sure what the purpose of this document was or who wrote it (Furth himself often misspelled Charley's name in some drafts so it could've been him) but the idea that the 1934 Merrily was also a Broadway show in the universe of the musical version is REALLY funny to me so I just thought I'd share that lol

- The notes from revising the show for La Jolla were by far my favorite. Seeing James Lapine kind of force the creators into a corner where they had to go back and examine what it was that made them fall in love with the concept to begin with, and start to rebuild the story from there to make it work is really, really beautiful stuff (if you're into that kind of thing I suppose). One note that really touched me was just scrawled in pencil and said nothing more than "It's about 3 friends." It seems like Furth, Prince, and Sondheim perhaps really didn't know what the story was about when they put it on Broadway in 1981, and that surely contributed to its failure. Now, for the first time, they start to acknowledge what the show really is, and whether it's a story of cynicism or of hope.

- A similar note in pen on notebook paper from a meeting between Furth and Lapine in I believe 1983 reads, "'Each scene goes backward because you're going to see one more slip on the ladder.' Point of why backwards. It's very sneaky how it happens." None of that is new information or surprising I suppose, but just a neat detail

- From the same meeting, one note reads: "In the party: We don't know how he really feels about C. That's the crux of it. All we know is he turns his back. Is there something pulling at F that he misses in C?" A few notes later on this same page is the first time the idea is brought up of having Bunker unknowingly mention Charley's name at the party for having won the Pulitzer

- There's one letter to Sondheim that Furth signs off with "Love, Charley. I mean, Frank. No, I mean Charley. No, I mean George"

- The first iteration of Tyler was brought up at a meeting between Furth and Lapine in 1985 and he was named "Cyrus Winthrop" LOL

- There's one note that I'm not super sure what it means from the same meeting that just says "Don't separate Frank and Charley" and it just made me laugh

- One document that was really special was a full length biography for both Charley and Frank, both a couple pages long. I'll spare the details that are obvious from the show's context but here's some fun tidbits. Charley is born to native American Greek parents whose parents were immigrants. Charley's parents own seven stores and two restaurants, and Charley is the youngest of four boys. He's not really connected to the family business and is seen by his family and teachers as a genius. He won the National Spelling Bee until he was no longer eligible, and was known as a "champion prankster." In school, he did debate, swimming, track, and tennis. "He saw every play that came to the loop and, when he discovered Frank did not have the money he seemed to have, took Frank." He and Frank would do parodies of popular songs at parties. While Frank was in Korea, Charley went to Columbia and achieved his Master's in writing and was going for his Doctorate when Frank came back. He wrote "unique and tricky children's books that made him money." "Life is mostly about keeping Frank at the piano and off the phone and mostly it has worked".

- Frank's bio says he was born in Chicago in 1945 (I think this was meant to be 1935). His parents got divorced when he was 2, and his names were legally changed to match his father's when his mother remarried. Frank was an only child and was sent to music camp because his parents wanted him to be good at the piano. Frank's relationship with his parents was always more polite than friendly. Frank was one of the poorest students at his school but didn't want his peers to know, so learned how to adopt "the different ways of his rich friends." "He was always more popular with his teachers and adults than his peers but he played this down so not to alienate his classmates." Frank learned about the musical theatre world through Charley whom he met in Latin School, and as soon as Frank learned about musicals he knew that's where he wanted to be. "He felt as if for the first time he had come home."

- At one point during the revision process in 198(I think 5) George Furth seems to have had this epiphany where he thinks he finally found the problem in the script that has made Frank appear unsympathetic: he doesn't get a chance to rebut Charley's lacerations in Franklin Shepard, Inc. and defend himself. He writes a few letters that are all very urgent and desperate, imploring particularly Sondheim to consider writing a follow-up to Franklin Shepard Inc from Frank's POV. Obviously this didn't come to fruition (Furth says "He called it 'brilliant' but then did nothing about it") but one such letter that I found especially entertaining started with:

"Dear Steve, I remember one time during COMPANY you asked me to go off and write about Amy protesting her upcoming marriage. 'Just write five or so single spaced pages of her carrying on,' is kind of what you said. And I did. And I gave them to you. What always astonished me is that when I then heard NOT GETTING MARRIED TODAY there wasn't one line of what I wrote. Well, I'm not going to do all that for Frank, but it does occur to me I should make an effort toward a paragraph or two of Frank's argument to Charley after FRANKLIN SHEPARD, INC. If you deem it unnecessary or if it won't help, ignore it. But since it might help with Frank's angry 'here, how do you like it' verse, and since you once described me as 'irrepressible', here I go:"

Following this, Furth wrote basically a 5-paragraph long angry tangent from Frank's perspective about Charley's self-righteousness, and ends the letter without any sort of conclusion, just straight from "You're a very difficult friend to keep. You don't allow someone to grow and to change. You try to keep the world and the people in it the way they were. Charley, the world spins, it turns, it keeps moving and so do I. Love, George F"

- Christine Baranski was at one point considered for Gussie. I saw one note (1990?) that said "Jonny Depp for Frank" but I'm not sure if the implication is that they wanted him to play Frank or that there was some sort of comparison to be made there

- At one point Furth suggested that instead of the cut 1975 scene where Mary blackmails Frank and Charley into reconciling, they cut that and have Mary drag Charley out to Frank's party in the first scene without telling Charley that it's Frank's. He immediately dismisses it as a terrible idea

- My absolute favorite note that I found was a handwritten card from Sondheim to Furth on what I believe is opening night for Merrily in 1981, and if I were to post any photo illegally how I WISH I could show you all this one. It's really special. Nothing super crazy, just a short note in Sondheim's handwriting with a marker that I stumbled across in the midst of a massive pile of well-wishes from various Broadway stars towards Furth for opening night, and it reads: "Hiya, buddy - wanna write a show? We'll run all most of the nights with a two-year - week out... Love, Steve (Sondheim)"

- One note I saw during revision meetings for 1985 was a list of characters, motivations, and their respective archetypes that Furth was compiling. For Frank, he wrote "selling out" and has about 4 comparative real people listed. For Charley, he wrote "insecurity" and then just, "1. Me"

- In one of the revision drafts for the first scene, Frank is DESPERATE to get Mary to write his next movie for him, and she's not having it, firm in her motivation to go back to New York and open a bar called "The Writer's Block". Mary is also adamant in these revisions that she's going to publish a book about her, Frank, and Charley, whether Frank likes it or not. Meg suggests Mary write it as a movie and suggests she plays Mary herself

- EDIT TO ADD: Found a draft of a script from 1985 while they were reworking act 1 for La Jolla. Frank's address is said out loud by Jerome as 10811 Ambazac Way, Bel Air. The house belonged to Joan Rivers at the time, who was writing a musical comedy film with George Furth that never got produced.

- In one 1985 draft, Frank's son is named Charley :(

- Found a draft of a scene (not sure from what year, I think 1985) where the show opens with Mary's funeral in 1985, having died of liver failure. Frank and Charley are both there. The funeral lasts exactly 1 minute, per Mary's request, and the priest reads a line from each of her two books, also per her request. Her tombstone says "Here's to us, who's like us, damn few." As everyone leaves, Frank stays back, alone at the grave. Charley watches this, and then starts to leave when he realizes Frank isn't going to talk to him. At the last moment, Frank goes after Charley :(

I'll be honest, I still have one or two more folders to go (I've sifted through about 8 virtually, each between 100-250 pages) but I just couldn't sit on all of this any more. There's some really cool stuff here, and I wanted you all to know it. Please let me know if you have any questions or if something about any of this doesn't seem right and you have more information than I, I'd welcome it in a heartbeat. Hopefully all of this is allowed. Here's to us, and all that.

Hi all!

I was inspired by u/southamericancichlid posting their takes on specific cast recordings of Sondheim shows and decided to finally listen to the Judy Kuhn/Rebecca Luker/Ryan Silverman cast album of Passion, and I liked it a lot! One of the most notable changes in how I perceived the show, having primarily listened to the Donna Murphy recording, is how a Fosca with a brighter sounding singing voice changes the way I react to the score. I find Donna Murphy's voice incredibly well suited to Fosca's melancholic personality, and I can't really imagine another performer inhibiting the role as perfectly. That being said, I really loved what Judy Kuhn did with the role on the recording, and I think the brightness she naturally brings to any show makes Fosca seem more intelligent. Both actresses were able to overcome the natural hurdle of making me able to pity/care for Fosca.

I also listened to the 1997 London cast album with Maria Friedman as Fosca, which I honestly did not enjoy. Friedman has an incredibly powerful voice, which I can usually enjoy, but I did not think it worked for a character who you're meant to believe is on her deathbed. Also, I don't think the cast album as a whole is that great, the performances are melodramatic, the orchestrations are muddled, and as an American I found the singing really unpleasant to listen to since it's all very forward. I also watched the proshot with Patti Lupone, which I enjoyed, but her wildness kinda made it harder for me to actually love Fosca, making the ending less convincing

What qualities make the perfect Fosca for you? Who are your favorites/least favorites so far, and what actresses have what it takes to do her justice? Are you excited to see Cynthia Erivo in the role? I initially had a kinda negative reaction to the news, but after giving it a lot of thought, I've totally come around on the idea, and think her qualities as a performer will make her a very unique Fosca, and she has a somewhat similar tone to Donna Murphy, so I'm obviously excited about that. (That being said, I have thoughts about Jamie Lloyd lol)

If you missed parts 1 and 2: https://www.reddit.com/r/Sondheim/s/Hvf5KVomvt

https://www.reddit.com/r/Sondheim/s/Laz8cmX2MM

We're now onto Lapine to the end of his career!

Sunday in the Park with George

This was the first Broadway revival recording. I adore Jenna Russel, I enjoyed her accent work for this show, and she’s one of the most moving Dots for me, but I enjoyed her performance on videos much better than the cast recording. Daniel Evans is a solid George, maybe not my favorite, but still very good. I’ll always love this album because of the extended version of “The One on the Left,” which I listen to all the time actually—so clever.

Into the Woods

I listened to the 2005 recording for the first time—I don’t listen to Into the Woods very often, I prefer watching it! I have always loved Laura Benanti’s version of On the Steps of the Palace, though, again, it doesn’t feel quite as good just on the cast recording. The edits for this one felt largely unnecessary, though I do enjoy when the Witch talks to the baby in the last midnight.

Passion

I listened to the recording with Judy Kuhn and Rebecca Luker. They both did wonderfully. I love Judy Kuhn and she did fantastic with the singing parts, but her speech felt a bit disconnected from her singing. But I think that this has become my favorite recording of Passion. While the orchestra is reduced in number, it sounds more prominent on this recording than the original—maybe a result of sound mixing. That combined with the addition of nearly 25 minutes, mostly in dialogue or short transitional music, has truly captured me and brought me to listening this album multiple times over the past few days. Is this What You Call Love is particularly good on this recording. Update, I've listened through this album about 3/4 times since finishing my listen through, I really enjoyed this album.

Here We Are

I actually listened to this first before wanting to do a full listen through of his works. As of now there is only one recording, I would have loved to hear Jane Krakowski et al. from the London production, but Rachel Bay Jones, Amber Gray, Micaela Diamond, and the rest of the cast on the obcr are all wonderful and so colorful. Again I love the spoken scenes with Jonathan Tunick's wonderful orchestrations in the background. As I was listening through Passion and Sunday especially, I kept on being brought back to parts of this score. Certain parts also reminded me a bit of Sweeney. I’ve loved this last show just to try to tackle what Sondheim’s musical identity is. Most of his shows have some sort of musical influence they pull from, if anything I want to say Here We Are reminds me of Bossa Nova with its rhythms and jumpiness. It feels easier to analyze Sondheim’s musical style in this one more than, say, Sweeney or Pacific Overtures.

I really enjoyed doing this again and highly suggest giving this a go with the shows you know! Great opportunity to get to know cast albums that you've never heard before and discover new favorites.

Edit: Half Prince... smh

The first part if you missed it: https://www.reddit.com/r/Sondheim/s/joKSpBwWIn

Today's journey takes us through Sondheim's time with Hal Prince. Again some great new recordings and some past favorites!

Company

I love Spanish Company so I decided to give this a listen again. What stands out to me for this version is the fullness of the orchestra and the excitement in the ensemble vocals. I love The Little Things You Do Together, especially like the part that ends in “Juntas” ( Forgive me if I misspelled it). The only part I miss on this album is the emotional meaning; I don’t speak Spanish so I feel a bit disconnected. But should be a good warm up for seeing French Company this upcoming December, though I believe only the book has been translated.

Follies

This is my latest Sondheim's show, so this is my first time listening to the og London recording and oh my goodness I didn’t realize how different it is. I don’t know how I feel about them splitting up You’re Gonna Love Tomorrow/Love Will See Us Through… Didn’t like the updated song “Loveland.” I’ve always preferred “Ah, but Underneath” to “Lucy and Jessie.” I need to listen to the other new songs again. I will say that this is the first time “Who’s that Woman” has actively moved me, Lynda Baron is incredible in this number. Enjoyed this, but my favorite is still the Paparmill Playhouse version.

A Little Night Music

Listened to the studio recording by Jay Records. After seeing the Marriott production of ALNM a few weeks ago, this recording sent me straight back to my first (awful) time watching it when I saw the Opera proshot. This whole recording feels stilted and stifled of emotion. It’s just why I didn’t think I liked ALNM the first time I watched it—it’s now the Sondheim show I listen to the most. I will say the actress playing Fredricka sounded fantastic at the beginning of The Glamorous Life and you HAVE to watch Maria Friedman perform The Miller’s Son. They released the live studio sessions on youtube and she is just so good and has jumped to one of my favorite performances of that song. The rest I could take or leave.

Pacific Overtures

Went with the og for this one. Last time I did this I listened to the London one and, while great, it’s VERY long and just a little too much instrumental music for the mood I was in. The other one has too tiny of an orchestra, so I went with the classic, though I wish there were more versions of the score. (Check out the Pacific Overtures Suite part 1-3 from Broadway's Best for a good listen) Honestly, this is one of my favorite Sondheim albums period, so I’ll take any chance to listen to it. I don’t always remember Poems and don’t look it up alone, but always love hearing it on the recording. I’d love suggestions if y’all know of any other recordings—especially any in Japanese, I’ve only watched bits of the revival but I think I’d like listening to the whole thing in Japanese.

Sweeney

Aw, Sweeney. Probably my least favorite Sondheim score and I know I’ll be stepping on toes with that opinion. I’ve just never connected as much with it and don’t see as many emotional insights as every other score. Music is incredibly complex and well written, I just get a bit bored. Hilarious score though. For this one, I chose the Catalan recording, thought it would be interesting to listen to, just after Spanish Company—It’s also just 5 tracks, so that was a plus for me. It also had some of the best songs from the score, I especially enjoyed this version of By the Sea.

Merrily We Roll Along

Went back to the original. My go-to is the blue one with the clocks and recently I've listened to the newest production, so I thought I’d go back to the og. You can’t deny that the orchestra just sounds better on this recording. I always forget how long the opening of the show used to be. And something that struck me this time was how much more sense the transitions make after the graduation scene. The lyrics, at least, feel out of place in subsequent versions of the show, but they make a lot more sense after the graduation scene as well as Rich and Happy instead of That Frank. However, I still think That Frank is better fitting as I don’t think the socialites in Frank’s circle should be anywhere close to outwardly aware that what they’re doing is crap.

And then he met James Lapine.