I would be totally remiss and perhaps lose standing as a Broadway geek if I didn’t send out birthday wishes to legendary lyricist and composer Stephen Sondheim, who turns 75 Monday.
To commemorate the event, here are some of my favorite Sondheim songs, in no particular order (all from each show’s original cast recording, unless noted otherwise):
1. “Another Hundred People” from Company, sung by Pamela Myers
2. “A Little Priest” from Sweeney Todd, sung by Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou
3. “Every Day a Little Death” from A Little Night Music, sung by Patricia Elliott and Victoria Mallory
4. “The Miller’s Son” from A Little Night Music, sung by D. Jamin-Bartlett
5. “Could I Leave You?” from Follies, sung by Alexis Smith
7. “Agony” from Into the Woods, sung by Robert Westenberg and Chuck Wagner
8. “Getting Married Today” from Company, the most sadistic patter song ever inflicted on an actor, in this case Beth Howland
9. “Liaisons” from A Little Night Music, sung by Hermione Gingold
10. “Sunday” from Sunday in the Park with George, sung by the original cast
11. “Old Friends” from Merrily We Roll Along, sung by Jim Walton, Ann Morrison, and Lonny Price
12. “Our Little World” from the London cast of Into the Woods, sung by Julia McKenzie and Mary Lincoln
Ah, sweet, sweet show-tune geekery.