The Stephen Sondheim Collection - 6 DVD Box Set

The ultimate gift for fans of Stephen Sondheim! The six disc set includes Into the Woods; Sunday in the Park with George; Follies in Concert; Passion; Sweeney Todd in Concert; and A Celebration at Carnegie Hall. DVD Box set, color, fullscreen. 721 minutes.

Into the Woods

Originally broadcast as part of the American Playhouse series on PBS, this video captures a performance by the original cast of the popular Broadway musical. With songs and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Lapine, who also directed the stage production, Into the Woods humorously combines a number of classic fairy tales into one over-arching narrative. A baker and his wife are assigned a number of tasks by a nearby witch; only after completing these duties will they be able to give birth. During their quest to fulfill the witches' demands, they encounter Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, Cinderella, and numerous other fairy tale figures. The traditional stories are parodied and altered at will, yet the original fairy tales' sense of wonder and, at times, darkness remains intact. The score, winner of Broadway's Tony Award, includes such songs as "Children Will Listen," "Giants in the Sky," and "No One Is Alone."

Sunday in the Park with George

James Lapine directed this television adaptation of his acclaimed musical, which he created in collaboration with the great composer Stephen Sondheim. In the first act, artist Georges Seurat (Mandy Patinkin) is working on his latest painting with the woman he loves, Dot (Bernadette Peters), posing for him. The work is to become the impressionist masterpiece Sunday Afternoon on the Isle of La Grande Jatte, and along with Dot, Georges interacts with the various people who happen through the park and become characters in his painting. In act two, Seurat's great grandson George (also played by Patinkin) and his grandmother Marie (also played by Peters) return to the place where Seurat had created his masterpiece 100 years earlier. George, a sculptor, is in dire need of inspiration, and the visit leads both him and Marie to ponder their ideas of what is art, and what is life. This performance of Sunday in the Park with George also features Charles Kimbrough, Barbara Byrne, and Brent Spiner (the latter before he gained fame as Data on Star Trek: The Next Generation).

Follies in Concert

Including such songs as "Broadway Baby," "I'm Still Here," "The Ladies Who Lunch," and "Losing My Mind," this video features a filming of the acclaimed Stephen Sondheim musical Follies as it was performed at New York's Lincoln Center in 1985.

Passion

A soldier learns about himself and love in this made-for-TV filmed version of the Stephen Sondheim musical. Jere Shea stars as Giorgio, a soldier who has a passionate affair with a beautiful and married woman named Clara (Marin Mazzie). When Giorgio gets stationed in distant Italy, he is separated from Clara and attracts the attention of a homely, ill woman named Fosca (Donna Murphy). He at first repels Fosca's advances but over time he slowly warms up and not only accepts her love, but returns it.

Sweeney Todd in Concert

Patti LuPone and George Hearn star in this concert production of Stephen Sondheim's wildly funny and macabre musical Sweeney Todd, as staged by the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. Also appearing in the cast is Neil Patrick Harris of Doogie Howser, M.D. fame.

A Celebration at Carnegie Hall

This Sondheim Celebration, recorded in New York's Carnegie Hall in 1992, features a luminous cast of performers, often in surprising takes on favorites from the Broadway giant's considerable canon. Highlights include: Madeline Kahn's take on "Getting Married Today," together with Jeanne Lehman and Mark Jacoby; Betty Buckley singing "Children Will Listen"; Patti LuPone's rendition of "Being Alive"; plus showstopping turns by Bernadette Peters ("Not a Day Goes By"), Glenn Close ("Send in the Clowns"), and Liza Minelli ("Old Friends"). The American Theatre Orchestra performs, and Paul Gemignani conducts.