To purchase the original Broadway cast recording of A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM, click on the image above.

7. “Everybody Ought to Have a Maid” from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

When it comes to his musicals from the 1960s, many Stephen Sondheim fans would probably pick something like “Anyone Can Whistle” for a list like this over this little ditty from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum but, for me, this song is simply tops. (Certainly that song from Anyone Can Whistle, along with “Me and My Town” and “Everybody Says Don’t” are worth honourable mentions here.) Hysterically funny even before you even start adding in gags from the performers, this song never fails to make me chuckle. I just love it.

6. “Cabaret” from Cabaret

People get so confused about “Cabaret”. Yes, dramatically there’s a great deal going on here, but it is not a dark piece that delves into the depths of Sally Bowles’s soul. You see, there is a difference between text and subtext: one informs the number, but they are not the same thing. Play “Cabaret” too dark, and you’ve missed the point, and the irony, that makes the number great. It is not simply an equivalent of “Rose’s Turn” or “Epiphany”. Directors and actresses that go for shock value make that mistake. The intelligent ones don’t.

5. “Bosom Buddies” from Mame

This is the first of two Jerry Herman songs on this list. I am quite surprised at their prominence, because on the whole Jerry Herman shows don’t quite land for me. I always get the feeling that he’s trying too hard to entertain, rather than trying to tell a story that entertains because it’s well told. Come to think of it, that’s probably what is at the root of his problem shows, Mack and Mabel and Dear World. Nonetheless, he has written some cracker show tunes and this is one of them. I love belting out the songs for Mame when I am driving and this one is great. Thanks to Bea Arthur, the key is perfect. I wish I had twisted her arm into singing this with me when I met her. But I am too shy and her stories were too fascinating. She was a great lady.