This show is my favourite DVD - I've had to buy a new one to replace the old one which I pretty much wore out. There are 2 reasons this is the best: 1) Stephen Sondheim. The best musical theatre writer in history. His music is original, unexpected and really beautiful. But his lyrics are what set him apart from the others. One of the other comments mentions that his lyrics are "inane". Sorry that's just wrong. How can the following quotes, all from Sondheim musicals, be described as inane?: "Slow, love, slow! Time's so fast. Now goes quickly, see, now it's past. Soon will come, soon will last. Wait!"; "The history of the world, my sweet, is who gets eaten and who gets to eat. How gratifying for once to know that those above will serve those down below." (from Sweeney Todd). "There's another national anthem, and I think it just began, at the ballpark. Listen hard!... There's another national anthem, folks, for those who never win, for the suckers, for the pikers, for the ones who might have been." (from Assassins). 2) Ruthie Henshall. I have never quite understood why she hasn't made the big impact in other media that she has on the London stage. Over here she is the First Lady of musical theatre, and something of an iconic national treasure. I've had the pleasure of seeing her on stage in 'Chicago', and without doubt she is the most fully-rounded performer I've ever had a chance to watch. She has a voice that one reviewer described as "turning through all the colours of the rainbow", she trained as a dancer and has a grace and litheness that is all her own, and she is a rare commodity in the musical business as a woman who can actually act. All I can say is, if a young and not-that-well-known actress from England can steal a show from under the nose of one of the most successful American comediennes in showbiz history (Carol Burnett), she's got something. For these two very important reasons, this show is superlative.
