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- Top 10 Ultimate Stephen Sondheim Musicals // Subscribe: th-cam.com/users/MsMojo?sub_c...
These are the ultimate Stephen Sondheim musicals! Few can put words and music together quite like this legend. But what are his absolute greatest works? We’re here to find out. For this list, we’ll be looking at the greatest musicals that involved Stephen Sondheim, whether that be as the composer or lyricist, from “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”, to “Into the Woods”. Join MsMojo as we count down our picks for the Top 10 Stephen Sondheim Musicals!
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#StephenSondheim #Musicals #Broadway - บันเทิง
What do you think of our list? Let us know your favorite Stephen Sondheim musicals below!
Will we get an ALW list in the future?
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...
Company❤ Made a research on 135 versions of "Being alive" at uni
How about just mentioning all the musicals he wrote/helped with and leave it at that? ;-)
Honestly my favorite MsMojo list to date! However, I think it must be noted that Sondheim only wrote lyrics for Gypsy and West Side Story.
I will die defending Company as his best work. Raul Esparza was robbed of the Tony for his 2006 portrayal of Bobby.
I honestly think Raul was the best Bobby but the 2011 company with Harris was the best Company overall.
Yes, having seen both productions, Bobby definitely was robbed and the best, including the 2011 show
He didn’t win!!! Who won then!
106andie David Hyde Pierce for Curtains
yes!
Me before watching video: Ooh. A Sondheim video.
Me after watching video: Now I have to spend an entire day performing his songs again.
Sweeney Todd is the pinnacle of Sondheim as Phantom of the Opera is the pinnacle for ALW
Would you like a Shave?
I think Into the Woods is better than Sweeney Todd
The only works Webber did that were of any value were JC and Evita, both with Sir Tim Rice. The rest of his output is pretty much garbage.
Ummmm, noooo.
@@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"
"Family-friendly Into The Woods."
mmmmmmmm
That Ozian EXACTLY
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
Enzo Veiga But infidelity and casual sex isn't exactly family friendly
Compared to his other work, this one is probably the most accessible to a wide audience of all ages.
@@EnzoFoove
There's also kind of like pedophilia and domestic abuse
We need more Bernadette Peters if we are talking about Sondheim. Patti too.
Vitor Busnardo and Donna, and Elaine, and Marin ❤️
Absolutely!!
Yeah. More Madonna too..
Can't stand her voice
And more Angela. Not one shot of her as Lovett, pounding her rolling-pin.
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.
I absolutely love Into The Woods!
Slowly?
Love it! Could you do a Top 10 Stephen Sondheim songs?
Is it possible to narrow to 10?
@@RijackiTorment They can always do another Top 10 if there's enough demand.
@@RijackiTorment Yes it's possible, because It's a subjective opinion
Also, and I hate being That Guy, but “soundtrack”?! You’re gonna alienate us theatre geeks with that.
Allison Bergh Homer goes crazy... when PEOPLE CALL THE OBC SOUNDTRACKS!!!
Agreed using "soundtrack" for a live theatre production is either a clueless choice or unconscionable.
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.
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.
Nobody will ever match the Musical Theatre genius that is this man. Nobody.
The new Sondheim is Jason Robert Brown!
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
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.
Okay Sunday in the Park with George isn’t first and I’m kinda hurt.
But at least it's been revived.
Seriously...it won a Pulitzer! My favourite musical ever.
I think #2 is correct. Sweeny Todd was groundbreaking
Without giving it away, I was not expecting my favorite to actually be number one. It was a pleasant surprise
FOLLIES honorable mention?? I think it should be at the same level of WSS... I don’t understand why PACIFIC OVERTURES is there and not FOLLIES!
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.
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.
Can you please do a list for Andrew Lloyd Webber, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe, Cole Porter and a works of Bob Fosse!
Ryan Rafuse omg yes, I really want to see Cole Porter
Webber’s musicals have one good song per musical
Radical Rainbow and that’s the tea ☕️
I was just about to ask about Rodgers and Hammerstein
I would love to see one about Andrew Lloyd Webber and Rodgers & Hammerstein
I simply heard “Getting Married Today” and I ran out of breath.
That song will make your head spin!
Into the Woods is my all time favorite musical!
oncer889 literally same! I’m doing my own production because I’m obsessed!
Same here I like (91) waaaaaaay better then the moive
@@Bella-lh7kf But in all fairness who doesn’t like the show better than the movie. The movie was very iffy.
The music of a stage musical is NOT a "soundtrack." It's a SCORE.
Robert D. Carver YES EXACTLY😂😂
@@Oliver-bb5kr THANK YOU! Would the songs in a film musical fit both categories?
@@robertd.carver6240 yeah, i think they would, and yeah a small part of me dies every time it's referred to as the soundtrack
Or a cast recording
@@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.
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 💔
company is my fav.... god i love Stephen Sondheim
@Uncle Rafa i love u to
My favorite Sondheim show is Into The Woods
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.
It's hard to agree as my favorite changes with my mood. They are all brilliant. Thanks for this top 10
I see Sondheim and i click immediately, he is a genius.
Also, want to see something about William Finn
Never heard of William Finn.. Is that a musical?
@@marguriettedietz7823 oh boi, i hope you googled him after writing this because if not you're still missing A New Brain, Falsettos and Spelling Bee
@@IrethEdelsteinI only know Falsettos halp
@@theyluvtwoset.13 I recommend you see A New Brain, next
@@IrethEdelstein Ok
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!
Vincent Bair those are literally my top 2 also 🤣
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.
"Sunday" is his most beautiful single piece. Then "Anyone Can Whistle" the song.
Great list!! Would’ve liked Passion to be higher tho. Such a heart-wrenching masterpiece
Katelyn Noll it was interesting that the honorable mentions were the rest of his works!!
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).
You do have good taste: I agree with you.
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.
Sweeny Todd is my favorite musical!
Alexis Thwing
Mine too! It's in my top five Tim Burton movies as well.
Same here
@@AmeliaKaiser I know it sounds weird but I love it so much that I really want a bloody straight razor tattoo
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.
MINE TOO!
I personally would’ve liked to see Company higher on the list, but everything he’s done is fantastic so there was really no wrong order lol
“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.
You totally pegged my favs...Sweeney (Patti Lupone rocks Ms Lovett), Into The Woods (pure imagination and"How to Grow Up"), etc.
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.
delfin7461yay! Somebody finally found a waltz! This makes the show that more amazing
I would’ve preferred Merrily We Roll Along to be on the actual list. At least it was in the video. Underrated show really
Especially the recent production by Fiasco Theater. It is 7 on my list.
Eric Pooley I saw that production twice. I loved it so freaking much!
@@TT-xn3rd Wow. I'm jealous. That is the only show I have ever gone to that I left saying, "I have to see that again."
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.
@@carr0760 And I'm one of those who prefer the original score. Steve had it right the first time; I don't think his instincts are flawed.
Now I need a list for the Top 10 Sweeney Todd Songs.
I LIVE FOR THESE MUSICALS/BROADWAY VIDEOOOOS
THANKS MS MOJO
3: Sweeney Todd
2: Company
1: Into the Woods
This!!!
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.
Tyler McMahon i totally agree Follies should be on the top 3
I agree,to leave out Follies is unbelievable!
Follies is one of the most devastating shows and I live it so much.
@@stevenszmutko3501 an absolutely brilliant show.
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.
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
Yessss!! I really needed this top 10! My favourite Sondheim shows are Into The Woods and Sweeney Todd!
Raquel Benito Martin same!!!! I’m obsessed!!!!!
I just had constant chills throughout watching this video because Sondheim is really just that good
I would not say "Into the Woods" was family friendly
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.
It is not
Ok, gypsy is a HUGE classic. It NEEDS to be higher up.
Stephen Sondheim is a national treasure.
I’ve always wanted to see a mojo list on Sondheim musicals and you have delivered.
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
WSS and Gypsy shouldn't even be on the list as he didn't write the music.
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.
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.
Yes! Finally!!!
I've been waiting for this video!
This is amazing! Sondheim's. freaking genius. Can you do one for Rodgers and Hammerstein as well?
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.
I love Sondheim, what a musical genius
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.
VesperVent TOTALLY AGREE... although among all Sondheim works, it’s not the top. His evolution, his pinnacle was not Gypsy at all.
And how do you not mention/show/play Ethel Merman when talking about Gypsy? Or Angela Lansbury when talking about Sweeney Todd?
Gracias por este tipo de videos. :)
Ugh Sondheim has always been my favorite. The music to Gypsy, Sweeney Todd, into the woods, and Sunday In Park never get old.
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
I agree with this list not theirs
Juan has The Correct List
Darwin Stith 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻
Much better list except for ITW and SITPWG being much too high. Also his two collaborations are both in the top 5 greatest musicals of all time.
You made it look like Sondheim wrote the music for West Side Story. He did not, he only wrote the lyrics. The music was composed by Bernstein.
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.
Not my personal order, but great video! I see some performances in there that I wasn't aware of. I have some Google-ing to do!
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 race to see it whenever and wherever it is. Sounds like it was great.
Sondheim was the greatest. He’ll be sorely missed. May he rest in peace. ❤️
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.
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?
Michael Panzer I agree... MERRILY in... mmm... ASSASSINS out? 😝
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)
"You always know it's Sondheim, maybe because there is no room to breathe." 😂😂
Very very great fun list I like it a lot and a lot of fun too great job mis mojo
love this!!
Wow! For once I really learned from this entry!
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.
A Paradox if you listen to the start of the video it says works of Sondheim as a composer or lyricist
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.
Sondheim was a genius!! I just received the book of his work, “I Finished the Hat”
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
Terrific list of this legend’s works. I saw ‘Sweeney Todd’ 3x at Drury Lane Oakbrook
I saw it on Broadway original cast. I loved it! I could not believe the talent! I was blown away!
Thank you, Sir.
Sweeney Todd was like my intro to Sondheim and musical theatre as a whole
Me, too!
I need a list with Andrew Lloyd Webber Musicals &/or songs
Passion is possibly his most fearless work to date. The score is drop-dead stunning and 100% deserves to be on this list instead of Forum
Personally I much prefer The Miller's Son to Send in the Clowns. It's just so fun!
Into The Woods is my favorite.
Me too!
@@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.
I don't watch these channels a lot but... alright this one was pretty damn great
Can you do a Lloyd Webber one next?
Owwwn you put Jeremy Jordan singing in this
Luv it
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!
Rest in Peace Sondheim. You made me love musical theatre like I do today.
My top 3 favorites
1. Company
2, West Side Story
3. Into The Woods.
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.
Probably because Sondheim only did the lyrics for that show, compared to composing more for these musicals.
@@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.
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.
I saw a local production id Assassins where, at the end of the final number after the guns are fired, the stage went dark except for a lighted background above the stage that showed a silhouette of jfk jr saluting his fathers coffin. Very powerful
Sweeney Todd is now being performed by opera companies. I was in a production with our local company. It was a wonderful experience.
still can't believe Into the Woods was made into a movie by Disney of all companies
CultClassic/ DeadInside they did it really well though all things considered. The songs were all pretty well done
Craig Burnett don't know why you're explaining the movie as if I haven't seen it 😂 didn't say it was a bad adaptation, but definitely very dark compared to the stuff Disney's made / adapted in recent years, though not as dark as the original play, and had its highlights but needed something extra...
CultClassic/ DeadInside it’s not dark, it’s been disneyfied, and loses LOTS of the images and allegories of the original material...
@@juanjosegonzalezpascual6253 I'm saying it was darker than anything they did at the time...
FOLLIES deserves much higher than honorable mention ! Should be right near the top ! Stunning score and challenging dramatic story innovatively told !
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. ....
Company
Into The Woods
Sunday in the Park
Sweeney Todd
Follies
A Little Night Music
Passion
All of these are great musicals that you cannoT rank. Periodt!
Watched to make sure Sweeney Todd was #1
And it was--yea!