Category: Musicals

Songs from Musicals: #10, “I’d Be Surprisingly Good for You,” from Evita

Honorable mentions: “Waltz for Eva and Che,” “A New Argentina” Depending on which Evita you know, your opinion of Eva herself is necessarily changed. I’ve always been partial to the original Broadway version with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin, more for LuPone than anything else; I adore Patinkin’s Che, but LuPone sings a practically impossible… Read More Songs from Musicals: #10, “I’d Be Surprisingly Good for You,” from Evita

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Songs from Musicals: #11, “I’d Give It All for You,” from Songs for a New World

Honorable mentions: “She Cries,” “The World Was Dancing” If there were such a thing as a Platonic ideal, the Platonic ideal of a Broadway romantic duet would be “I’d Give It All for You.” It checks the boxes: stars heterosexuals, appears late in the show, features reunification of a couple who have split, provides roughly… Read More Songs from Musicals: #11, “I’d Give It All for You,” from Songs for a New World

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Songs from Musicals: #13, “Ten Minutes Ago,” from Cinderella

Honorable mentions: “The Prince Is Giving a Ball,” “Do I Love You Because You’re Beautiful?” There are good love stories about people who have been in love for a while, maybe. There aren’t very many at all about people who consistently love each other throughout; they’re about people learning to love one another again, or… Read More Songs from Musicals: #13, “Ten Minutes Ago,” from Cinderella

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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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