"Turkey Lurkey Time" - Guilty Pleasures

It's that time again: Guilty Pleasures! You know what songs I am talking about. These are the musical numbers that may be corny, don't make sense, or simply offer so much joy that you are a bit embarrassed to admit that they make you pee a little each time you hear them. They seem to mostly live inside musical comedies. No one is going to call "What's the Use of Wonder'n" from Carousel a guilty pleasure. These songs belong in a world of musical theatre where all sense of logic can be lost and disbelief suspended. Musical comedy very often takes this bold step and provides the platform for nonsense.

"Another Hundred People"

It's always mysterious to me how an orchestrator can tells stories by musical instruments. It takes a special kind of ear and talent to emphasize emotion, time, and place using musical instruments to heighten the experience already created by the composer and lyricist. One of the most stimulating examples of this are the original orchestrations for "Another Hundred People" in the Stephen Sondheim musical Company.

"I'm the Greatest Star" - a Robbie Rozelle Recommendation

Musical theatre scholars know that the introduction of a character's dreams, wishes, hopes and goals are summed up in the "I Am" song, a character number that appears early in the show as a way of eliciting empathy for the story's catalyst. There are many fine examples of "I Am" songs including "Some People" in Gypsy, "Chief Cook and Bottle Washer" from The Rink, and "Corner of the Sky" from Pippin.