What did I say about these Act One Finales? I love them. And this one may come as kind of a surprise to some as Chicago is usually accoladed for it's brilliant choreography or racy costumes, but it genuinely has a (ironically) pleasant score. This song has both Velma and Roxie expressing the way everyone and everything in the world has let them down. They have been so hardened by the realities of the world, they can only trust in themselves.
99. Ribbons Down My Back- Hello Dolly!
This song is a beautiful soprano solo that really reflects Irene's desire for love. It floats well and has fantastically sweet music. One thing I love about the whole Hello Dolly! cast album is that every song is tuneful and works in the show. Most shows, I have to skip a couple songs because there either terribly boring or just plain terrible, but not Dolly.
Slow your roll fangirls, I'm no fan of the musical 13, too many plot holes, useless songs, and cliche characters, but credit where credit is due, there are a few songs that I can appreciate from the fantastic Jason Roberts Brown. During the middle of the show, Brown delivered several songs that both furthered the plot and were tuneful. "Any Minute" is one. The whole song is building up to "the kiss", and with the help of some hilarious lyrics, it becomes a funny, very genuine song. (Oh, and Patrice has an excellent moment of emotion, that breaks up the monotony of the love song, and adds a twist to the music that leads to the climax. Genius).
97. Still Hurting- The Last Five Years
Beautiful. Just beautiful. For those unfamiliar with the show, basically it's a man and a woman in a relationship, but in the musical, the women begins at the end of the relationship while the man starts at the beginning of the relationship. Confused? Me too a little bit, but there's nothing confusing about some of the great songs Roberts Brown originated. Still Hurting is the opening song from the musical, it is the woman singing of her regrets in her relationship, and how she is still hurting. It has beautiful music and lyrics as well.
96. Is Anybody There?- 1776
It's a little too short, and a little crass, but John Adams is one of my favorite characters in any musical. This song has our beloved founding father wondering if anyone understands what he is working towards. He feels isolated, and this song reflects that loneliness. Beyond that, the show came out of nowhere when it was first produced, and took the Broadway world by storm. William Daniels of the original cast is breath-taking.
95. Part of it All- [title of show]
Not my favorite title of show song, but it does really reflect the theatre world. Hunter and Jeffey spend most of the time singing about the great things that will happen to them if they make it to the Broadway stage, but the last verse includes the lows of the theatre world as well. Very realistic, and very heart-felt.
Into the Woods is the milk of the Sondheim feast. This was my first Sondheim show to love, but there are certainly more fulfilling shows out there. This is one of my favorite female ballads. The Baker's Wife is a fantastic character, and with the correct direction should be the focus of the show. This song specifically employees her personal epiphany as a means of deepening the audiences understanding of her character, but also to let us in on how the "woods" serve as a metaphorical symbol for the decisions we make in our lives. Not to mention, Joanna Gleason in the original cast is absolutely stunning, in that she is absolutely homely and smart.
Broadway doesn't get much funnier than Avenue Q, this show is still showing OffBroadway and is a must-see. Though completely inappropriate and vulgar, it still presents somewhat of a realistic view of life and a sweet message.
This song in particular defines the word "racy". The puppets and people on Avenue Q determine that everyone is a little bit racist so why can't we just get along? Not a bad theme. It's comedy genius, but it's musically very smart as well. It even has a bit of a climax… even if that climax is the entire company yelling that everyone's a racist.
This is a very underrated song from a show that is, perhaps rightly so, underrated in of itself. Sondheim had to know he couldn't create a mainstream hit with a show that examines the lives of people who killed the President. But, he created this interesting work of art anyways. This song is very creepy, and in a way, very clever. The assassins are complaining about how they can't get into a ballpark, then they begin to tell the nation there's another national anthem that isn't as sweet as the one being sung at the ball game. A great climax and great music.
91. The Light in the Piazza- The Light in the Piazza
Adam Guettel's first big musical is an interesting combination of strings and Italian flares. This song is particularly stunning because of the underlying emotion in Clara's words. Clara's injury means that she doesn't comprehend things at a normal mental level (or you could ascribe to the group that believes Clara's mother's babying of her causes her strange dependency) so naturally it is difficult for her to comprehend love. To Clara, love is represented by the light in the piazza. In this song she tries to explain this to her mother. It is beautiful, both musically and lyrically.
