Greatest Songwriters in Musical Theater

[BurtWorm]

Poll question: Greatest Songwriters in Musical Theater

[Snow]

1. Other: Robb is a dingbat!

No, I like very much:
Harvey Schmidt & Tom Jones, for fantasticks and I Do, I Do!

and Mitchell Leigh for Man of LaMancha

[BurtWorm]

2. I shoulda known I forgot an option!

:spank:

What musical did Robb is a dingbat write again?

[thom1102]

3. AK! How could you leave off Steven Schwartz?

Pippin
The Baker's Wife
Wicked
not to mention all the movie and television musicals: Pocahontas Geppetto, etc

[BurtWorm]

4. Who would I take off to make room for him?

:shrug:

[mac56]

5. Cole Porter?

nm

[BurtWorm]

7. I can't believe I left Cole Porter off!

He was on my mind when I made the poll in the first place! I just saw Kiss Me Kate last weekend and was humming "Always True to You, Darling, in My Fashion," to myself just before setting out to create the poll.

:spank:

[Westegg]

6. How about Cole Porter, and Lenny Bernstein?

[BurtWorm]

8. Updated! Porter is on.

Stephen Schwartz, however, remains off. (I can't hum a one tune of his.) (Or did he right Day by Day? That would be one tune of his I can hum.)

[Snow]

9. Jerome Kern & Oscar Hammerstein, "Showboat"

we low basses like Jerome Kern.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

19. I second that!

Kern also wrote "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", The Way You Look Tonight", and "A Fine Romance".

[terrya]

10. There might be room for Jerry Herman on there.

"Hello Dolly"

"Mame"...not too bad.

But Rodgers and Hammerstein are probably the greatest. Sondheim comes after.

Terry

[NightTrain]

11. I'm not a huge fan of musicals, but Sondheim is brilliant!

He's everything Andrew Lloyd Weber wishes *he* were!

[mobuto]

12. Leopold and Loeb

n/t

[BurtWorm]

14. They kill!

;)

[tishaLA]

13. This is impossible!

How can you not vote for the Gershwins? But then, how can you not vote for Porter? And how can you not vote for Rigers and Hart or Sondheim? I can definitely NOT vite for Rogers and Hammerstein and Lerner and Lowe....but this really is a Sophie's Choice scenario.

[BurtWorm]

16. I know what you mean.

It's almost enough to make you proud to be an American, isn't it? ;)

[redqueen]

20. agreed

I had the same problem, reading that list.

[non sociopath skin]

21. Yup, another toughie...

But Sondheim extended the form so much that if I only get one vote, it's got to be him.

The skin

[CBHagman]

15. The curse of being indecisive.

How can I possibly choose among that list? If forced, I would go for either the Gershwins or Rodgers & Hart, but it's very, very difficult.

[kskiska]

17. Impossible to choose

I absolutely love Gershwin music. Too bad he died so young.

Cole Porter used to chide Rogers & Hammerstein – "Why does it take two men to write one song?"

I prefer Rogers & Hart to Rogers & Hammerstein – it was less saccharine and more acerbic and edgy, due to Hart's troubled life and sexuality.

Bernstein was considered by some to have "sold out" when he did West Side Story.

18. Weill and Brecht

this is a political discussion board, right?

edit-- I'm just being ornery. I wouldn't really want to have to decide between these choices.

[5thGenDemocrat]

22. I'd vote for Richard Rodgers either w/Hart or Hammerstein

Did anyone else see the PBS "American Masters" episode on his career? It was on here locally last week -- jeez, what a talent! But I voted "w/Hammerstein." This is probably as good a time as any to note that Shirley Jones ("State Fair," "Carousel," later Ma Partridge) surely was one of the prettiest gals ever to grace a Broadway stage.
John
And, BTW, Cole Porter was Dean Acheson's (Truman's sec'y of state) roommate in college. Extra trivia at no extra charge.

[BurtWorm]

23. I did see that last weekend.

It was fascinating. Hard to believe the same guy who wrote My Funny Valentine and The Lady Is a Tramp also wrote Happy Talk and Do Re Mi.

And I also thought Shirley Jones looked mighty purdy in that documentary.

[mitchum]

24. Another vote for Richard and Oscar

Richard and Lorenz weren't too bad either

[cosmicdot]

25. I might have considered Andrew Lloyd Webber; but, I voted Sondheim

of course, there's the music ... and, then, there are the lyrics ...


West Side Story (1957) (lyrics by Sondheim; music by Leonard Bernstein; book by Arthur Laurents)

Gypsy (1959) (lyrics by Sondheim; music by Jule Styne; book by Arthur Laurents)

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962) (book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart)

Anyone Can Whistle (1964) (book by Arthur Laurents)

Do I Hear a Waltz? (1965) (lyrics by Sondheim; music by Richard Rodgers; book by Arthur Laurents)

Company (1970) (book by George Furth)

Follies (1971) (book by James Goldman)

A Little Night Music (1973) (book by Hugh Wheeler)

Pacific Overtures (1976) (book by John Weidman)

Sweeney Todd (1980) (book by Hugh Wheeler)

Merrily We Roll Along (1981) (book by George Furth)

Sunday in the Park with George (1984) (book by James Lapine)

Into the Woods (1987) (book by James Lapine)

Assassins (1990) (book by John Weidman)

Passion (1994) (book by James Lapine)

Saturday Night (1997, though composed in 1954) (book by Julius Epstein and Philip Epstein)

Bounce

[tishaLA]

26. Someone simply MUST vote for

Rogers and Hart! I rolled the dice and voted for the Gershwins, but Larry Hart having no votes is unconscionable.

[kskiska]

27. Wouldn't Danny DeVito

make a great Larry Hart?