Each month, Jason Fortner spotlights one or more musical theatre composers and/or lyricists, offering his own unique perspective on the songwriting legends of musical theatre. Send your comments/questions on this column to happgood@aol.com.

Between this column, my teaching and other Musical Theater projects, I often get asked questions about the subject.

This month, I thought I’d share some of the questions and some of my answers.

Blythe Danner in the 2001 Broadway revival of FOLLIES Source: roundabouttheatre.org

My answer, alas, is a convoluted one. For overall artistry and devotion, I’d have to say FOLLIES, for even as a teenager, it moved me in profound ways. I just love the idea of these four people using the reunion as a group therapy session that erupts into a trip to Loveland. Who else but Sondheim, Prince, Goldman & Bennett could have devised such an over the top celebration of life, love, unrequited love, theater, nostalgia and more… all inspired by a photo in Life magazine. Brilliant!

But, apart from this masterpiece, there are several other contenders, I love a fun, old fashioned show like CRAZY FOR YOU, and have seen it done professionally probably more than any other show.

I also have my favorite recordings, one I could not live without. These include the OBC recordings of MACK & MABEL, ANYONE CAN WHISTLE, THE BAKER’S WIFE and more. They are all like my musical children, so really giving a clear answer would be near impossible for me.

Cast recording of SIDE BY SIDE BY SONDHEIM Source: amazon.com

That, I can say unequivocally is Stephen Sondheim. I first heard his music when as a 12 year old I got a gift of cash and picked up the 2 record set of the London Cast recording of SIDE BY SIDE BY SONDHEIM. Wow! I listened to it over and over again and memorized every word. David, Julia & Millicent became my dear friends, at least in my imagination, and it was all so chic. I made a list of every show title featured and saved up to purchase each and every one of them, and being amazed as I heard each show in its full orchestration. From SATURDAY NIGHT to WISE GUYS/GOLD/BOUNCE/ROAD SHOW, I am in awe of his genius, his depth of characterization and the absolute joy his scores give me.

Now that said, I also adore scores of others, and could wax poetic about many of the greats of musical theater history, ranging from Kern to Loesser and back again, but of course you read that here every month.

Angela Lansbury as The Countess in DEAR WORLD Source: jameswilliamproductions.com

Ooh, there are so many. I like a lot of them, for many different reasons.

A show like CARRIE is fun to dissect, if for no other reason other than the "what were they thinking" department.

Then there are the sad ones, shows like DEAR WORLD or NICK & NORA that tried to get it right and couldn’t make it work.

My response often shocks people, for my pick is Oscar Hammerstein II. Yes, the man who wrote "Doe, a deer" was also, in my opinion, the greatest innovator in musical theater history of the 20^th century. Who else could tackle such issues as slavery, racial prejudice, spouse abuse, lust, miscegenation, fascism and other hot topics within the trappings of a seemingly traditional musical comedy? From SHOW BOAT to THE SOUND OF MUSIC, Ockie found a way to get in his point of view while creating popular entertainment. The fact that a song like "Carefully Taught" exists in a show like SOUTH PACIFIC is testament to the man’s all embracing social awareness. Look at the innovative turns in musical theater history and more often than not, he was there. And the fact that he was Sondheim’s mentor is merely the icing on the cake. (Why isn’t a Broadway theater named after him?)

That’s a hard one. There are so many shows I missed, due to the timing of my birth.

I think I’d be greedy and try to bend the rules and ask the great time machine gods to let me see bits and pieces of several shows.

Ethel Merman (center) & the chorus of GIRL CRAZY Source: pbs.org

Maggie Grant, Danny Kaye and Gertrude Lawrence in the original Broadway production of LADY IN THE DARK Source: kwf.org

These would be:

• The first 20 minutes of the original SHOW BOAT.

• Danny Kaye singing "Tschaikovsky" followed by Gertrude Lawrence singing "The Saga of Jenny" in LADY IN THE DARK.

• Ethel Merman belting out "I Got Rhythm" in GIRL CRAZY, backed by that all star group of musicians in the pit.

• The "Simple" sequence from ANYONE CAN WHISTLE.

• "Rose’s Turn" from the original GYPSY.

• "The Dance At The Gym" from the original WEST SIDE STORY.

• The last performance of "Meadowlark" during the ill-fated out of town run of THE BAKER’S WIFE.

• Bernadette singing "Time Heals Everything" and Robert Preston doing "I Won’t Send Roses" in the original MACK & MABEL.

• Dorothy Loudon performing "Sur Les Quais" from LOLITA MY LOVE

• The "Miss Turnstiles" sequence from ON THE TOWN

• Angela Lansbury performing any song from PRETTYBELLE

• Plus dozens more I can’t think of right now.

So why do we do it? What does it get us?

Why do we devotees of Musical Theater love it so? What is this obsession?

I think it’s not unlike that of a sports fanatic, who memorizes stats and plays from years gone by and knows each player intimately, through careful study and research.

This is our sport, the dissection and discussion of Musical Theater. We count the home runs, the strike outs, the times at bat, the long runs, the errors. We scrutinize the players, the managers, the coaches, the owners and formulate our own favorites and personal picks.

Though we’ll never get the funding major league sports get, we certainly have the same type of rabid fan base, vociferously devouring each new tidbit thrown our way.

Ethan Mordden once wrote an essay stating everything he needed to learn he learned from musical theater, and he made some truly valid points. It’s given me so much and has made my life fuller.

So now, I open it up to you…. What are your favorites? How would you answer these questions?

E-mail me at HAPPGOOD@AOL.COM and let me know…