Completely agree with this.

As long as we're providing Youtube links - the funniest Broadway commercial ever: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Wc…

I'll list my top five musicals:
1. Sunday in the Park
2. Passion
3. Pacific Overtures
4. Sweeney Todd
5. Merrily We Roll Along

All Broadway musicals are different, and many of them demand completely different types of sound. Rex Harrison isn't a flawless singer, nor is Richard Burton. In modern musicals, Spring Awakening certainly had some of that indie-rock sound that you're looking for. Yes, a flawless voice is ideal for The Light in the…

My favorite lyric is Carl-Magnus: "Pack everything I own that shoots!"

I think it's a convention that works better on stage than it did on film. It surprised me as a teen, too.

Well, you only really have two options with Sunday - the original or the London revival. I would say the original wins by default, just because the revival only had a four-piece band. It worked in the theatre but feels awfully thin on the recording. I loved that revival - I saw it twice in London and four times on…

Do I think the show suffers immensely from cutting that number? I do not. But I think the benefits of including it outweigh the drawbacks. Honestly, I would rather cut some more of "The Contest" if you're looking to save time (which, as you probably know, is usually significantly cut in productions.)

I think that's a misreading of the lyric. Of course, I can't say for sure, but I would argue that the emphasis of "soft white cool virgin palms" indicate that the Judge doesn't want to sleep with her; he wants her to maintain her virginity and pleasure him with her hands.

I vote for including the Judge's "Johanna." I understand the arguments against it - it's hard to stage so that it doesn't come off ridiculous, and it can be difficult for the audience to focus on the lyric in a rather dense song. But I think it gives Turpin a necessary motivation (he wants to keep Johanna a pure…

Obviously, I would love more musical theatre articles as well!

Unfortunately, every production I've seen (including the two Broadway revivals) have used a significantly revised and much weakened book, IMO. I love the original book, but it's seeming more and more likely that we will never have a Follies production that will match the original.

No, unfortunately there are no good video recordings of Follies. There are a number of home videos of the original cast on youtube which are well worth watching.

Two brilliant examples of cacophony and dissonance coming together to resolve beautifully in Sondheim are the jumpy underscoring of the fight ("Chaos") into the opening chords as George says "Order! Design" etc, into the shimmering opening chords of "Sunday", and, in Assassins, when all the assassins sing…

I actually think HBC is a good Lovett, acting-wise. Much better than Depp's one-note performance. But yes, her voice leaves much to be desired, and her "Worst Pies in London" is really horrific (not in a good way.)

Yeah…I get why Todd didn't mention that (he was focusing on the music), but those murders are a key reason why Sondheim wrote this song to "chug along" as Todd wrote. He wanted the audience to see the difference between the spontaneous murderous rage that Sweeney has in "Epiphany" and the ordinary, everyday pattern…

The movie soundtrack is not good, but at least it has that fantastic lush orchestral sound. The original cast album will always be best in terms of performances, but I love that 100-piece orchestra for the film.

I can appreciate people thinking Sweeney Todd is his best, but I understand people choosing Follies or Sunday in the Park with George over it. (I personally would probably choose Sunday as well, despite my username.)

I love Sweeney, and I love that Todd wrote an article about the second-act Johanna, but I do take an issue with the word "atonal" - it's so frequently misused when the author actually means "dissonant." Sondheim is never atonal (at least, not in any his produced musicals), but he is frequently dissonant.

My aunt said the same thing to me on the phone last night. I was astounded. Black and white films can look freaking amazing in high-def.