Attend the Tale: Sweeney Todd Tops Poll as Sondheim's Finest Score

The demon barber of Fleet Street may be Stephen Sondheim’s scariest creation, but the show that made him famous, Sweeney Todd, won the votes of Broadway.com readers as the composer’s best score. The 1980 musical tale of Sweeney, Mrs. Lovett and their victims drew 31% of the vote in our special birthday poll. (Happy 80th, Mr. S! March 22 is your big day. We’ll have a Magnolia cupcake in your honor.)

Coming in a respectable second place was Sondheim’s most accessible musical, Into the Woods, which debuted on Broadway in 1987, with 22% of the vote. In third place at 11% was yet another collaboration with librettist James Lapine, Sunday in the Park with George, winner of the 1985 Pulitzer Prize.

How did your favorite Sondheim tuner fare in our poll? Complete results are as follows:

1. Sweeney Todd - 31%
2. Into the Woods - 22%
3. Sunday in the Park with George - 11%
4. Company - 9%
5. A Little Night Music - 6%
6. Follies - 4%
7. Assassins - 4%
8. Merrily We Roll Along - 2%
9. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum - 1%
10. Passion - 1%
11. Anyone Can Whistle - 1%
12. The Frogs - Less Than 1%
13. Pacific Overtures - Less Than 1%
14. Road Show - Less Than 1%
15. Saturday Night - Less Than 1%

Thanks for voting! For more of the master's music, check out the new Broadway revue Sondheim on Sondheim.