All tagged Oliver
I must be hungry today, as all I can seem to think about are showtunes that make references to food. It started out with "Food, Glorious Food" from Oliver! and escalated into a full-on party in my head of songs that celebrate eating. This got me thinking: could I assemble an entire meal using references to songs from musicals. Won't you join me for dinner and see what I came up with?
Broadway musical sequels are seldom successful (or a good idea) so I’d like to preface this article by asserting that I, in no way, suggest that creating a sequel to any of these shows should happen (see my piece this coming Sunday on musical sequels for further debate on that topic). What I will suggest is that there are certain musicals that ended in a way that made us curious about what comes next. Whether the characters’ stories still have some journey left in them, or we are left with burning questions that we want answered, these are the ten musicals that have made me ponder their fates past the curtain call.
Today I find myself in the mood to listen to great choral numbers from Broadway musicals. These are the glorious sequences where evocative orchestrations join hands with a multitude of voices and a synergy is born that shoots a jolt of lightening through the listener. Going through my cast recordings, picking favorites is hard to do, but I have assembled some of mine here. This list is by no means complete, nor is it intentionally exclusive. What it strives to be is a compilation of the choral numbers that make my heart soar. I hope you will weigh in, maybe listen to a few, and share some of your impressions of my choices and weigh-in on your favorites.
Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals represent some of the biggest hits to come to Broadway via Great Britain, where they were created and mounted. Indeed, many London West End transfers with music by Sir ALW have had long runs; The Phantom of the Opera and Cats come to mind. There was a period in the 80’s and early 90’s where Webber was responsible for leading what was termed “The British Invasion”. But the knighted songsmith is not the only Brit to usher in some terrific musicals that found success on Broadway. Today’s column celebrates the best of the non-Webber British musicals to come to Broadway.
