A Lotta Night Music

This week, I’ve reported what cast albums readers believe they’ve played the most. The answers I detailed on Monday heralded the hits, while the ones I reported on Wednesday featured the flops. Today, I promised to reveal the name of the composer and/or lyricist who got the most mentions. Will anybody be surprised to learn that it’s Stephen Sondheim, a man who has had his share of both successes and disappointments?

I didn’t precisely count the various responses to my question, “What original cast album do you believe you’ve listened to the most?” but I’m pretty sure that Into the Woods was mentioned more than any other. (I’m a little surprised, because I’d have thought that the inclusion of Rapunzel’s scream before “Stay with Me” would deter anyone from incessantly playing the disc.) Tony Truong has played Into the Woods so much that “my boyfriend threatens to use the CD as a frisbee.” Many others reiterated what Jason Burke said: that this cast album, which he first heard in junior high, sparked “a life-long love affair with Stephen Sondheim.”

I suspect that second place goes to Company, which isn’t so surprising to me. Over the years, many younger musical theater enthusiasts have told me that 1970 is their line of demarcation and that they’re not much interested in what happened before then. Believe me, when they say 1970, it’s not because Minnie’s Boys opened that year. “I’m never sorry when I listen to Company,” wrote David Skinner, “but I’m always grateful.” Glenn Poirier stated, “Company — you could drive a person crazy.” Added Alan Kayser, “I’m still single, and sometimes I wonder if it’s all because I’ve so often listened to Company. It has made me think twice about marriage.”

Some listeners came late to the score, such as Brandon Ivie. “Earlier this year,” he related, “I worked on a show, and the production stage manager told me how Company was the first original cast album he obsessed about. It had sat in my CD case forever and I never really paid attention to it, likely because I was introduced to the show via the sub-par revival recording. But I put in the original cast album one day, and I haven’t taken it out since. That was in July.”

My late, great friend Mike Salinas was introduced to Broadway through Company and often said that the show’s arresting logo was one reason why he first put the album on while at a friend’s house. Funny; we often make much of the Follies logo but maybe we should give the sleek, then-modern-looking Company logo a great deal of credit as well. (By the way, that color purple remains more eye-catching than the shade I’ve seen in any ad for the Oprah Winfrey production of The Color Purple.)

Speaking of Follies, I’d say that it got enough votes to put it in third place –“though,” wrote Brigadude, speaking for many, “it would have definitely been my champ if it had been made into a two- or even three-record set.” On the other hand, Adam Finkelstein wrote: “Follies is my most-played, but I think it wouldn’t be if it had been a two-record set, the way people say it should have been. I don’t have the time to play albums like Les Miz or Phantom, but I can find the 58:18 for ‘Selections from Follies,’ as I call it.”

Well, dozens of readers sure made the time to listen to both discs of Sweeney Todd. “It’s a masterpiece that’s sure mastered me,” enthused Ken Vreeland. And plenty of you mentioned Merrily We Roll Along. Wrote Margaret Linton, “Whenever I take it out to play again, my husband always sings ‘It’s our time’ — meaning it’s our time to listen to the album once again. I introduced him to it years ago and I’m happy to say that he still smiles when he sings the line, so I think I’m all right.”

Of course, not every Sondheim score scored as a most-played album. No one chose Passion, Bounce, or even A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and only Howard Roth cited Pacific Overtures. “It took me a long time,” he wrote, “to know exactly where to put my volume control so that that opening BOOM wouldn’t do in my speakers.” A handful chose Anyone Can Whistle, including Patrick Cullman: “I’ve listened to it so much that I’m surprised they haven’t locked me up, put me away, turned the key, and thrown it away.” While only a few cited Assassins (“It’s worthy of my love,” insisted Henry Bena), many more selected Sunday in the Park with George. Mason Leonard wrote, “Since it came out in 1984, I’ve started almost every Sunday morning with it” — which dovetails nicely with Preston Link’s assertion that he’s played the album almost every Sunday night “after a leisurely dinner.”

Not surprisingly, a number of readers listed West Side Story or Gypsy as their most frequently played album. (Of the latter, James Lagow noted that it was a winner with him “even if it wasn’t at the 1960 Tony Awards,” adding a sad-face emoticon.) But it is quite surprising that not one correspondent acknowledged Sondheim’s contributions to those scores. Some talked about Bernstein, Styne, or Merman — including Matthew Donoghue, who wrote, “To borrow from another Merman fire drill, ‘Who could ask for anything more?’ ” Yet each show’s lyricist wasn’t mentioned at all. No matter; these titles still helped Sondheim to secure his position as the Most-Played Creative Person.

And what of A Little Night Music? That was Jeremy Fassler’s choice, though his compliment may seem to be left-handed: He says that he plays the recording each night when he goes to bed, and it helps him go to sleep!

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[To contact Peter Filichia directly, e-mail him at pfilichia@theatermania.com]