It turns out the late Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim was a big fan of Team America: World Police and Trey Parker, even voting for it to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. 

After the legendary composer passed away last month, the Twitter account for The Book of Mormon – another work of Parker’s – shared the lovely letter Sondheim sent to Parker in 2005.

“Dear Trey Parker – I would have written you sooner, but I’ve had trouble finding your address,” Sondheim started his letter. “I hope this reaches you, because it’s another fan letter.

I saw Team America and voted for it as the best movie of the year (a fat lot of good it did you),” Sondheim writes in the letter. “I gather from friends to whom I’ve burbled on about it that it was treated rottenly by the critics and that you are much discouraged. I can’t blame you, but then again this is the time of discouragement. In any event, congratulations to you and your partner (South Park co-creator Matt Stone).

Sondheim saved the most endearing part for last. “Would you ever be interested in writing a stage musical with an old traditionalist, namely me?” he enquired.

It’s a terrible shame that the pair never managed to work together – what a fascinating musical that would have been. Someone should make Into the Woods (to read) The Book of Mormon in tribute.

Interestingly, Parker and Stone actually parodied Sondheim in a Season 15 episode of South Park. “Broadway Bro Down”: Sondheim challenged Randy Marsh to a bro-down after taking a disliking to Randy’s play. The episode saw Sondheim, Stephen Schwartz, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Elton John depicted as hypermasculine, drinking beer and hanging out at Hooters.

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Check out a clip from “Broadway Bro Down”:

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