Author: Tim

Songs from Musicals: #14, “Factory Girls/Come Up to My Office,” from Parade

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYJ1F7iBQw4 Honorable mentions: “Blues: Feel the Rain Fall,” “The Old Red Hills of Home” There’s a pleasurable simulacrum in “Factory Girls/Come Up to My Office.” It’s not merely the fact that the girls are lying about what they’ve seen Leo Frank do, and about what he’s done to them, and how that influences the jury… Read More Songs from Musicals: #14, “Factory Girls/Come Up to My Office,” from Parade

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Songs from Musicals: #15, “Gethsemane,” from Jesus Christ Superstar

Honorable mentions: “Heaven on Their Minds,” “The Temple” (Got here just in time for Easter. Boom.) I wish ministers would spend more time noticing that Jesus of Nazareth was a man, a real historical person. This is basically indisputable; one can honestly and intelligently argue about his birthplace, the message of his ministry, and his… Read More Songs from Musicals: #15, “Gethsemane,” from Jesus Christ Superstar

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Songs from Musicals: #17, “Garden Sequence,” from Passion

Honorable mentions: “Farewell Letter,” “Happiness” No musical begins with so strong a statement of what will come next as Passion. Two handsome people, both youngish and strong, lie in bed together. “I’m so happy I’m afraid I’ll die here in your arms,” the woman sings. “What would you do if I died like this, right… Read More Songs from Musicals: #17, “Garden Sequence,” from Passion

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Songs from Musicals: #18, “Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again,” from The Phantom of the Opera

Honorable mentions: “Down Once More/Track Down This Murderer,” “Why Have You Brought Us Here?” Okay, grab a pen or pencil and a piece of scratch paper. You have one minute to write down everything you associate with The Phantom of the Opera. It might be a song, or character, or something from the production end… Read More Songs from Musicals: #18, “Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again,” from The Phantom of the Opera

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Songs from Musicals: #21, “One More Kiss,” from Follies

Honorable mentions: “Too Many Mornings,” “You’re Gonna Love Tomorrow/Love Will See Us Through” I’ve already talked about Follies at some length on this blog, back before I started this little series. Then I was working with “Losing My Mind,” which is one of the key songs  from this musical, and which is not unlike “One… Read More Songs from Musicals: #21, “One More Kiss,” from Follies

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Songs from Musicals: #22, “Confrontation,” from Jekyll & Hyde

A few posts ago, when I was talking about “Til I Hear You Sing” from Love Never Dies, I called Anthony Warlow “the absolute best male voice on Broadway in the past fifty years.” This is one heck of a claim, because I’m not actually an authoritative source on these things, and because there are a lot… Read More Songs from Musicals: #22, “Confrontation,” from Jekyll & Hyde

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Songs from Musicals: #23, “Molasses to Rum,” from 1776

Honorable mentions: “But, Mr. Adams,” “Cool, Cool Considerate Men” There was a musical about the Founding Fathers years before Hamilton was dreamed of; heck, it was first performed more than ten years before Lin-Manuel Miranda was born. And in these rankings, a song from 1776 outshines a song from Hamilton, and a little balance is restored to the universe. The… Read More Songs from Musicals: #23, “Molasses to Rum,” from 1776

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