Customer Reviews (17)

Sondheim The Great
Stephen Sondheim is a Mozart of his time, thus, his musical genius requires musical geniuses to perform it. Julie Andrews and Stephen Collins are just those geniuses. Andrews I knew was the Oscar of song but Stephen Collins took my breath away. I know him as an actor and occasional singer. I wasn't aware of his broadway prowess and accomplished resume. He's just one of those underestimated, unnoticed talents that the media lethargically expounds on. I sincerely wish that credit is given where credit is due. Stephen, you can sing me to sleep anytime sir.

Sooner is better han later to buy this CD
I absolutelyLOVE this album! I love julie andrews on this CD; (and every other CD) she isnt the goodey-two-shoes of mary or maria. It just tickles me pink when she sings Could I Leave You, she sounds so powerful and confident(but when does she not sound confident). I also love it when she starts to swear during A Little Preist, it is refreshing in a weird kind of way. You really have to wonder how long it took her to perfect Getting Married Today,i mean that tempo is impossible to keep up with!! I've tried! In every song her voice sounds just fabulous!
I am leaving out the rest of the cast, how awful of me. i love Rachel York in this, she sounds great, especially in the Sooner Or Later sequence. She commands your attention in every song she sings. Her voice is really great, she is a great actress and she performer. She can be serious in The Millers Son or Every Day a Little Death, and yet crack you up in The Gun Song or Lovely
As for Stephen Collins, his voice isnt like Sinatra or anything, but it is good in its own right. I really love Hello Little Girl, it is so funny. Country House cracks me up every time i listen to it.
Michael seems to be a great performer and i love is voice; but this is the only experience i have with his work, this also applies to Chris. i love him in I Could Drive A Person Crazy. Michael sounds great in Bang with Rachael.
The men are hilarious in Everybody Ought To Have A Maid; drooling over Rachael.
I also love all of the songs in the game sequence. The songs all have an air of truth about them, no matter your age or stage in life. From the upbeat Live Alone And Like It(another favorite), to the heart-tugging ballad Sorry-Grateful.There is a song for everyone in this Revue. I suggest you but it as soon as possible.

Pleasant Sondheim
Lovely Sondheim revue, stitched together with a frothy (and illogical) plot, it doesn't matter, it gives a group of varied and capable performers (Christopher Durang excepted, slightly out of place, stick to writing Chris) an oppurtunity to deliver some great Sondheim. Julie Andrews return to the NY stage is delightful, no longer prim Mary Poppins, she even tosses out the "F" word.
That aside, it's a sophisticated melange of SS music.

Skip the revival that went to Broadway, despite an admirable cast, it doesn't come together. Carol Burnett and company give it their all, but the magic is missing. DON'T by the dvd.

Merrily Rolling The Wrong Way
This whole entire CD can be summed up in two words: RACHEL YORK. Ms. York brings so much life to her songs. Some of my favorites of hers are definitely "Lovely", "I Always Get Man", her small part in "Hello, Little Girl", "Gun Song" (she is hilarious when she uses cuss words and shoots guns!), and "Miller's Son". In every song, her voice changes. In one song, she is sinng like a brassy boradway blonde. Then, suddenly her voice changes to a seductive deep sound. Wow!

Julie Andrews is a whole other sotry. She is terrible. I mean, her voice just sounds wrong in every single song she sings. Why couldn't they just give her one song like "Send in the Clowns". Instead they give her songs that are totally wrong for her like "Getting Married Today". That whole song is ruined by her accent and the terrible orchestrations. Her accent makes it almost impossible to understand what she is saying. Julie, I love you: BUT GO BACK TO CAMELOT!

Stephen Collins doesn't have the best voice. But he just fits the part. One of my favorite songs is "Hello, Little Girl". I think that song just gos with his voice. But "Sorry- Grateful" is definitely my least favorite song on this CD. Stephen Collins goes flat!

Christian Durang was not bad, but not wonderful. Bronson Pinchot, from the revival, was much better. All the reprises of "Merrliy We Roll Along" just annoy me. That is why I don't really like Chris. But I love the song "Little Priest". Rachel and Chris crack me up, but Julie's curse word is appauling. No one wants to hear Maria or Guinevere saying the "f" word.

Michael Rupert is great! "Marry Me A Little" is just wonderful. His voice is haunting. But he doesn't sound that great with Rachel. Their voices just don't mesh real well. Their voices just clash. "Pretty Women" is one of my favorite songs on this CD because of Michael's wonderful talent.

Now, I'll just review the CD itself, instead of the perfromers. Okay, just cut the song "Every Day A Little Death". The song makes Stephen's character look terrible. The song talks about his hookers. Julie just doesn't seem like she likes the song, and I don't like it either. It is a poorly written Sondheim song. Also cut "Now" and "Bang" out of the show. They are both perverted. Also, Rachel sounds odd just yelling BANG.

The orchestrations on this CD are terrible. The orchestrations in "Getting Married Today" are absolutely appauling. Also, the little special effects in that songs sound so random. The background music doesn't seem to go with what Julie is singing. It just all sound off.

The song "Putting It Together" is very good until Julie comes along. It don't like the whole light thing anyways, but she makes it so annoying. Also the end of "Back In Business" makes me sick. Julie just sounds flat and stupid.

I don't like how Rchel is tranformed from a maid to a normal party guest. They could have just cut "Everybody Ought To Have a Maid" and solved the problem. "Have I Got a Girl For You" also just sound off.

Songs I would have cut from the show: Merrily We Roll Along, Everybody Ought To Have A Maid, Everday A Little Death, Have I Got A Girl For You, Now, Bang, Could I Leave You?,Back In Business (because of Julie), Night Walzes (Perpetual Anticipation, Sun Won't Set), Live Alone and Like It, Sorry-Grateful, Sweet Polly Plunkett, I Could Drive A Person Crazy, Getting Married Today, Like It Was

That leaves about five or so songs.

Don't buy this CD- Buy a recording of Rachel York songs or Michael Rupert songs.

Fantastic Sondheim
I'll keep it brief...it took awhile for me to appreciate this CD but now I can't seem to get enough of it.I've been listening to it everyday.I think it's fantastic!I thought each actors' feelings and emotions came through clearly, with humor and angst.I would loved to have seen this on Broadway!Buy it and really listen to it.Enjoy ... Read more

Product Description
Our Vocal Selections songbook is a great collector's edition celebrating the latest Broadway revival of Gypsy, starring Bernadette Peters. In addition to piano/vocal/guitar arrangements of 11 fantastic songs, you get a history of the past stage and screen incarnations the show, listing opening dates and locations, as well as principal cast members, directors and choreographers. Songs: All I Need Is the Girl * Everything's Coming Up Roses * If Momma Was Married * Let Me Entertain You * Little Lamb * Rose's Turn * Small World * Some People * Together Wherever We Go * You Gotta Have a Gimmick * You'll Never Get Away from Me. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Gypsy Vocal Selections [piano-vocal score]
The book does not contain all of the songs from the show or allof the verses to the songs it does include. It is easy to read and includes pictures.

Full Vocal Score
As the title says, this is the full vocal score to Gypsy by Styne and Sondheim.Like most show scores it isn't a partitur, but a piano reduction with instrumental cues.All the vocal lines and lyrics are present as is all underscoring and dance music.What the score doesn't contain is a breakdown of the orchestration, but that is accessed easily enough by visiting Tams-Witmark online. ... Read more

Product Description
1994 Tony Award Winner-- Best Musical and Score! The titles are: Happiness * I Read * Love Like Ours * They Hear Drums * I Wish I Could Forget You * Loving You * No One Has Ever Loved Me. Includes four pages of color photos. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Bring Sondheim's "Passion" home
I just got my copy of the vocal score of Sondheim's "Passion" and I should say it is a Broadway collector's joy to have one of these.The entire book contains all the music, lyrics, and underscores.An average pianist may find it quite difficult to play the music but when played by an expert it makes it sound almost as if you're playing the entire orchestra!Anyone who loves collecting Broadway music definitely wouldn't want to miss owning a copy of this fabulous musical.This goes better together with the script which is also available from Amazon.

The Best Musical Ever Written
Passion is an excellent show. It won the Tony for best musical in 1994.

One of the things that I find most fascinating about this score is the way it flows from song to dialogue and back again. Songs segue into one another without breaking flow or style. There are no set applause points, no big dance numbers, just a moving, touching story told with some of the most beautiful music ever written for the stage.

If you are a Sondheim fan at all, or if you would like to own an achingly beautiful collection of love songs, this is definitely the score for you. ... Read more

Product Description
"Author's note: Chapters 1-19, 21, and 30 were originally written in 1974. Each of these chapters has been revised and updated, and several chapters (17, 18, 21, 30, and the appendixes) have been expanded. Chapters 20 and 22-27 were written in 1986, and updated in 1987. Chapter 29 was written in 1986, and updated in 1987 and 1989. Chapter 28 was written in 1989." [from book] ... Read more

Product Description
Vocal score to Sondheim's musical featuring the art of Georges Saurat. Songs include: Beautiful * Children and Art * Color and Light * The Day Off * Everybody Loves Louis * Finishing the Hat * It's Hot up Here * Move On * No Life * Putting It Together * Sunday * We Do Not Belong Together * and more. ... Read more

Product Description
First published in 1993, Sondheim reveals an extraordinary portrait of the most celebrated Broadway composer of our time-the man who gave us A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, and other acclaimed musicals.

Revised and reissued to coincide with the April 2000 Broadway premiere of Sondheim's latest musical, Wise Guys, starring Nathan Lane, this richly illustrated biography now covers all of the composer's work since 1990, including Passion, Putting It All Together, and, of course, Wise Guys.

Drawing on lengthy conversations with Sondheim, including new interviews for this updated edition, critic Martin Gottfried takes readers through the composer's career production by production, analyzing the music and lyrics and revealing intimate details of how Sondheim creates his theater magic. A wealth of photographs bring Sondheim's shows to life.

112 illustrations, 60 in full color, 9 x 11"

MARTIN GOTTFRIED, a veteran theater and music critic, is the author of many books, including Abrams' Broadway Musicals and More Broadway Musicals, as well as biographies of Bob Fosse, George Burns, and Angela Lansbury.

MARTHA SWOPE was Broadway's preeminent photographer until her recent retirement. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Gottfried's "Sondheim" earns my applause, but no ovation.
Quite a book, but not truly a definitive ''in depth" analysis of Mr. Sondheim's shows. Mr. Gottfried brings up many interesting points about Sondheim's shows, but doesn't really, fully completely explore each show, as I was expecting.

His "Sweeney Todd" analysis is basically just a long plot summary, with lyrical highlights from a few songs. I was most disappointed by the way Mr. Gottfried barely broke the surface in his analysis of "Assassins". However, there are many wonderful reviews, interviews, commentaries, and photographs. Perhaps my favorite is a portrait of Mr. Sondheim surrounded by his "Sunday in the Park with George" set

Glossy analysis of Stephen Sondheim's career
An authorized look at Sondheim's Broadway career, with numerous glossy photos and interesting commentary from Gottfried, a no-nonsense critic. Gottfried's analysis of Sondheim's works is interesting, but doesn't go enough in-depth into Sondheim's personal life. Still, it's worth it ... Read more

Product Description
Titles are: A Little Night Music
* Remember?
* You Must Meet My Wife
* Liaisons
* Every Day a Little Death
* Send in the Clowns
* The Miller's Son. ... Read more

Product Description
The complete vocal score to Sondheim's short-lived 1964 musical. Songs include: Anyone Can Whistle * Everybody Says Don't * Me and My Town * See What It Gets You * There Won't Be Trumpets * There's Parade in Town * With So Little Be Sure Of * and more. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

disapoint selections from a great score
I personally hate it when songs are printed in different keys from the original recording, or they are printed in an abridged form. This is the case with this volume from the under appreciated Sondheim show "anyonecan whistle". Not only are the above mentioned problems present, butone of the best songs (See what it gets you) is given a slow blues tempothat just doesn't compare to the manic tone of the original. Granted, theshows most famous song (there won't be trumpets) is included, but again, itis in the wrong key and some of the lyrics are wrong. The mayoress' (playedby Angela Lansbury and Madeline Kahn) song "Iv'e got you to leanon" (another toe tapper) is also presented abridged and in the wrongkey. Abd the lovely duet "with so little to be sure of" ispresented here as a solo, with the wonderful counterpoint female partommitted.it is a shame that this show wasn't given a better treatment

One of the best scores ever written...
Although this show was short-lived it was still one of the best shows not only of the 60s but of the whole century!This show has it all!A little bit of farce, some regular comedy, music, some drama, and some melodrama! This is a musical for people no matter what their tastes!Sondheim's musiclifts you up and breaks your heart and you still wind up loving it! ... Read more

Product Description
Seven vocal selections from the only collaboration between Richard Rodgers and Stephen Sondheim. Songs include: Do I Hear a Waltz? * Here We Are Again * Moon in My Window * Someone like You * Stay * Take the Moment * Thank You So Much. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Do I Hear a GREAT SCORE???
This is one of Rodgers' GREATEST collective scores.It features many wonderful songs and of course AMAZING LYICS by Stephen Sondheim.One show that is not as popular, Do I Hear A Waltz, is an intimate theatre experience. ... Read more

Product Description
Book by Burt Shevelove and Larry GelbartIntroduction by Larry Gelbart"This brazenly retro Broadway musical, inspired by Plautus, is as timeless as comedy itself." - Vincent Canby, The New York Times * "The most urbane and literate musical comedy text ever conceived." - John Simon, New York Magazine ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

This play is great to watch and read. I thoroughly enjoyed watching for my Latin class in high school and reading it in college.
I usually do not enjoy reading something that I've already seen in movie form because I already know the story, however I enjoyed reading the play version. As I read along my memory of the movie came back and I could watch the scenes in my head as I read and sang along. You can definitely see the influence of ancient Rome in this comedic contemporary play. Steven Sondheim also does amazing work with the songs once again.

Captures the Essence of Forum, and then some!
"Forum" is one of those rare musical comedies...one of those we hardly ever stuble across. "Forum" is actually funny. And I don't just mean "haha" funny. I mean roll in the aisles and laugh until it hurts funny. The jokes just never stop coming-even during the musical numbers!

Here, one can see the springboard for three Tony award winning broadway productions: the script. This is the foundation of "Forum's" comic genius, with a combination of low-brow vaudeville and high-brow wordplay. Comedy in this show hits you at every level in every direction!

The best part is that several songs cut from the show are included in an appendix. There is also a great introduction that explains that long and rough journey "Forum" took before it became a huge hit.

Better to see than hear...
All of the authors of this musical were not as developed in their art as they are now.This is an excellent show full of comedy... but still not Sondheim's best.Since amazon.com rarely gives good suggestion... I willgive my own!Check out these scripts by sondheim: Company, Anyone CanWhistle, Sunday in the Park With George

A Whole LOT of FUNNY things happen on the way to the forum!

True love, true lust, a pimp, a pauper, fun and frolic, mystery and mayhem, and just when you think there is no hope for a fairytale ending (as they say in the play "we'll never find happiness!""Well,we'll just have to be happy without it!") a happy ending (A totalsurprise to everyone including the cast!)!

Based on a Greek comedy(think B.C!), and revamped in the early 60's with music by Sondheim (IntoThe Woods, West Side Story), and script by Gelbart (*M*A*S*H*), the playstays true to it's root's (with every male in a dress, O.K. toga!) butthrows in a lil' of that almost, but not quite to the edge 60's humor (takefor instance when three cast members all end up in a wedding gown, but onewas not exactly born to be a bride-if you know what I mean!)

If youlove Shakespeare, and Austin Powers, or if you're looking for somethingin-between, try "Funny Thing"!

This play keeps you on yourtoes with it's many twists and turns, hilarious cases of mistaken identity,and out right tummy ticklers.

It's sheer fun! ... Read more

Product Description

Term paper due tomorrow? Need to cram for a test? Or just looking for the best information about a favorite literary work?

Turn to "Drama for Students" to get your research done in record time. Brought to you by Gale--the world's leading source of literary criticism and analysis--this e-doc contains: author biography; plot summary; character analysis; an overview of the play's themes, style, and historical context; a compendium of in-depth critical material; study questions; suggestions for further reading; and much more.

Why choose "Drama for Students"? Because no other source offers so much in such a compact package. Trust the experts: Gale--and "Drama for Students." ... Read more

Product Description
BRAND NEW 2010 HARDBACK EDITION. SOME SHELFWEAR MARKS. ... Read more

Product Description
Chapters: Piet Hein, Sam Loyd, Douglas Hofstadter, Martin Gardner, Stephen Sondheim, Georges Perec, Vic Fleming, Stave Puzzles, Elonka Dunin, Hubert Phillips, Steve Meretzky, Buffalo Games, Will Shortz, Jim Fixx, Terry Stickels, Kit Williams, Henry Dudeney, Richard Maltby, Jr., Adrian Fisher, Merl Reagle, Yakov Perelman, Tyler Hinman, Ernő Rubik, David J. Bodycombe, Trip Payne, Manny Nosowsky, Jerry Slocum, Scott Kim, Christine Lovatt, Timothy Parker, Jeremiah Farrell, Cliff Johnson, Harry Foundalis, Ivan Trnski, Dave Phillips, Steve Richardson, Nob Yoshigahara, Uwe Mèffert, Edward Hordern, Howard Garns, Trevor Truran, Ron Barrett, Helene Hovanec, E.S.R., Inc., Barry R. Clarke, Ed Pegg, Jr., Paul Sloane, Wei-Hwa Huang, Gianni A. Sarcone, Stanley Newman, Lloyd King, Henry Hook, Eric Harshbarger, Mike Selinker, Arthur Wynne, Emily Cox, Oleg Stepanov, Henry Rathvon, Boris Kordemsky, Francis Heaney, Everett Smith, Bob Lodge,. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 238. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Stephen Joshua Sondheim (born March 22, 1930) is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards (eight, more than any other composer) including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, and a Pulitzer Prize. He has been described as "the greatest and perhaps best-known artist in the American musical theatre." His most famous scores include (as composer/lyricist) A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, and Assassins, as well as the lyrics for West Side Story and Gypsy. He was president of the Dramatists Guild from 1973 to 1981. Sondheim was born to a Jewish family in New York City to ...http://booksllc.net/?id=29268 ... Read more

Product Description
Commentary (music and lyrics not included).Chapters: Somewhere, America, Everything's Coming up Roses, Tonight Quintet, a Boy Like That, Maria, Cool, Together. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 33. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: "Somewhere" is a song from the 1957 Broadway musical West Side Story and the 1961 film. The music was composed by Leonard Bernstein with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and takes a phrase from the slow movement of Beethoven's 'Emperor' Piano Concerto, which forms the start of the melody. The song has also been recorded by many artists, and released as a single by several, including Barbra Streisand, The Supremes, Phil Collins, Johnny Mathis, Julian Lloyd Webber, Aretha Franklin, Bobby Darin, Devo, Tom Waits, P. J. Proby, Oscar Peterson, Il Divo, Dutch Rockband Zinatra, Donald Braswell II, Pet Shop Boys, Kylie Minogue, Jane McDonald, Charlotte Church, Josh Groban, Jennifer Hudson, La Toya London, Leona Lewis & Katharine McPhee. Most recently, British saxophonist Julian Smith performed a rendition of the song on his soprano saxophone in the 2009 final of Britain's Got Talent. The song appears in the second act of the show during the Somewhere Ballet. It is performed by an off-stage soprano and is later reprised by the entire company. In the original Broadway production, "Somewhere" was sung by Reri Grist who played the role of Consuelo. At the end of the show, when Tony is shot, Maria sings the first few lines of the song as he dies in her arms. (Cast references below are to the film cast.) The song occurs at a pivotal point, after the rumble in which former Jets leader Tony (Richard Beymer) has stabbed his girlfriend's brother, Bernardo (George Chakiris). Having nowhere else to go, Tony runs to his girlfriend, Maria (Natalie Wood). Maria has just been told of her ...http://booksllc.net/?id=15306019 ... Read more