Sometimes you just have to let production values, infectious repetitive melodies, and larger-than-life personalities take over and transport you to Broadway nirvana. There is nothing like a great eleven o'clock number to stir the theatergoer's soul one more time before dumping them onto West 46th Street and into the arms of a cold world.
A character song from A Little Night Music (1973) that captures the lusty afterglow of a tryst between a ladies maid and a butler, "The Miller's Son" is an astute assessment of the social cast system as seen through the eyes of a domestic. Still quivering with the throws of passion, "Petra" examines what marriage would be like with a servant, a businessman, and the Prince of Wales.
Hello, Dolly! is full of so many big, splashy numbers chock full of opportunities for high-kicking dance and reprise after reprise. "Ribbons Down My Back" is one of the few quiet, contemplative moments in the score and it is a gem of perfection among musical theatre torch songs.
