My Fifteen Favorite Musical Moments
I love musicals! I've seen just about every movie musical made! I’ve seen Broadway productions on tour, regional theatres, college shows, and even lots of great high school productions. In high school I performed in “Pajama Game” (Chorus), “Oklahoma” (Fred) and “Music Man” (Jacey Squires). My oldest son, Chris, played the lead in “William Wants a Doll” in elementary school and was also in an original musical "Chicken Man and the Greening of Belo Horizonte” in High School. My middle son Rob was in “42nd Street,” “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” “Cabaret,” and “Pippin.” My Favorite Musical is "Les Miserables," which I’ve seen three times. I have also seen "Wicked" and "Jesus Christ Superstar," as well as some very good high school productions of "Fiddler on the Roof," "Godspell," “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” and others. I especially love "1776" because I share a love for it with my daughter Amity. My other two children grew up with a weekly "musical night" to introduce them to all of the fun. Get it? I‘m a musical fanatic!
So here, in no particular order, is a list of my fifteen favorite musical moments:
"1776!" "Abigail, what's in these kegs?" John Adams is discouraged. The entire South has just walked out of Congress over his refusal to remove abolition from the Declaration of Independence. John Dickinson of Pennsylvania is battling him to have the whole idea of separation from England thrown out. All of his allies in Congress have given up independence as a lost cause. And what's more, people consider him obnoxious and disliked - and pig-headed! John retires to the bell tower to talk - in a letter - to his wife Abigail. He pours his frustrations and loneliness out to her, and she responds by telling him that the accusations thrown at him are all nonsense (except the "pig-headed" part!). In the middle of his reverie, McNair, the Congressional Custodian, calls up to tell him he has a delivery. While Adams has been working away in Congress, Abigail has organized the ladies of Boston (at his request) to make saltpeter to support the war effort. At the end of each letter he reminds her of the request with the admonishment, "Saltpeter, John." Just as his world seems darkest, he receives this delivery of barrels from his wife. Her triumphant answer to his question about the contents is "SALTPETER JOHN!!" This show of support from the love of his life re-energizes him and he is off to birth a new nation. I never make it through this scene without Kleenex!
"The King and I" "On the clear understanding that this kind of thing can happen." (Specifically in the movie version, with Deborah Kerr as Anna.) Anna is trying to teach the King how to dance as he had seen done at a ball earlier that evening. She begins by trying to teach him the polka, carefully counting out the steps, but throwing him off count with her compliments. They start out chastely holding hands, as Anna sings of how a dance may lead to romance. Then as the reality of this possibility strikes her, she sings nervously "On the clear understanding that this kind of thing can happen shall we dance?" They begin joyously dancing, but suddenly, the King stops. He tells Anna that this is not the way he had seen it earlier. Anna protests that it was "just like that." But the King suddenly moves closer to her and slowly places his arm around her waste. "Was like this, no?" says the King. At this point, Deborah Kerr nearly sets the screen on fire with her nervous, breathless anticipation and her husky one word answer, "Yes." and off they go on a wild, frenzied polka. This is as close as a Rogers and Hammerstein musical ever gets to a steamy scene - and all without ever jeopardizing the G rating. Marilyn Monroe never did anything half so sexy. It's an amazing moment.
"Les Miserables" "I have bought your soul for God." Ex-convict Jean Valjean is damned by his record to live the life of a fugitive, even after his release. Driven from place to place, abused and cheated, he is taken in for the night at the home of a Bishop. The kindly churchman lives a life of poverty, but has kept one luxury, silver eating utensils and candlesticks, as a comfort to him. Valjean, bitter at the world and ungrateful for the charity, steals the silver utensils in the night and flees. He is captured by patrolling guards and claims the Bishop gave him these as gifts. The guards drag him to the Bishop who, to Valjean's shock, "verifies" this story and even gives Valjean the silver candlesticks he had "left behind." Dismissing the guards, the Bishop then tells Valjean "You must use this precious silver to become an honest man." The shock of this unexpected mercy and the precious gift humbles Valjean, forcing him to reconsider his world view, and ultimately redeeming him. This contrasts, later, with Valjean's forgiveness of his tormentor, the detective Javert. When given the opportunity to kill Javert during a battle, Valjean releases him instead. Javert, rather than being humbled, refuses to accept that he is now in debt to a convict, and this pride leads him to suicide. This is the ultimate point of the musical, the power of accepting grace and the tragedy of rejecting it. It is also, through no coincidence, the ultimate point of the Gospel.
"Fiddler on the Roof" "Look at my daughter's eyes." Tevya has five daughters - and a problem. He is, as all of the Jewish people in his village, a slave to tradition. It is his job as a father to find husbands for his five daughters, with the aid of Yenta, the matchmaker. With his first daughter, he strikes apparent gold. Lazar Wolf, a well-off butcher, has asked for her hand. Tevya agrees to the match, and then enjoys a night of drunken celebration. But in the morning, when he announces the "joyous" news to his daughter, Tzeitel, she falls at his feet and begs him not to force her to marry. Bewildered, but moved by his daughter's pleas, he relents. At this time, Tzeitel's young love, the tailor Motel Kamzoil, asks Tevya for her hand. Rejected by Tevya, Motel blurts out that he and Tzeitel had already given each other a pledge to marry. Tevya is shocked at this breach of tradition. He finds it "Unheard of. Absurd! Unthinkable!" But as he looks into his daughter's eyes, he sees the love and the hope there. He struggles inwardly, in a device that will be used throughout the show, wavering between the demands of tradition and his love for this daughters. "Well children,: he says at last. "When shall we make the wedding?" This wise, though reluctant, decision is the first of several that will stretch his faith and his love for his children - even to the point of breaking. It is this conflict and how he handles it that makes Tevya such a beloved and realistic character.
"Wicked" "Look to the western skies!" Well, what else could it be? This is a perfect example of the huge first act ending. Glinda and Elphaba are parting ways, Glinda to rise in the political world and Elphaba to rebel. After the wizard turns out to be a corrupt fraud, Elphaba rejects him. Glinda desperately tries to show Elphaba the error of her ways. But Elphaba realizes "Something has changed within me." Recognizing that she can no longer accept the lies upon which the Wizard's power - and her lifelong dream - is based, she suddenly finds the power in herself, and decides "I'd sooner try defying gravity." Blasphemously declaring herself the equal of the Wizard, she reasons "If I'm flying solo, at least I'm flying free." And so she does, literally, escaping the pursuing mob by rising above them on her broomstick and proclaiming "Nobody in all of Oz, no wizard that there is or was, is ever gonna bring me down!"
“Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” “Children of Israel are never alone.” Joseph, the favorite son of Jacob (Israel), is given a beautiful multi-colored coat. This caused his already jealous brothers to plot his downfall. Joseph is sold into slavery and taken to Egypt. He seems to recover nicely, becoming the head of his master, Potiphar’s household. But Potiphar’s wife, infuriated when he rejects her advances, accuses him of improprieties and he is thrown in jail. Stripped of his family, his inheritance, his freedom and even his dignity, he sits in his jail cell and resolutely sings “Close every door to me. Keep those I love from me.” Humbly he declares “If my life were important I would ask if I’ll live or die.” But even in this darkest hour his faith remains strong, and he sings, “I have been promised a land of my own.” This moving song is reprised at the end, after he rises to the highest office in Pharaoh’s court, proving that he remembered God in good times and bad, as God did him.
“Camelot” “I know you in autumn, and I must be there.” Arthur’s wife, Guinevere and his most trusted knight, Lancelot, are being anything but trustworthy. In spite of his love and admiration for the King, Lancelot cannot resist the lady. Guinevere, for her part, is at first repelled by this seemingly arrogant knight, but over time has become deeply attracted to him. They fall in love, and in spite of the betrayal of Arthur and the danger to his kingdom it causes, begin an illicit affair. At length they realize they must stop the deception, but Lancelot cannot think of how he will break it off. “If ever I would leave you,“ he sings to his love, “it wouldn’t be in summer.” Nor, it turns out, could he leave her any of the other seasons. “No never would I leave you at all!” Ironically, this beautiful love song is the beginning of the end for them all. But, like Camelot itself, the knight and the lady have this “one brief, shining moment.”
“Music Man” “Like to see some stuck-up jockey-boy sittin’ on Dan Patch . . .” Harold Hill is a traveling salesman who lives up to every stereotype - slick, ethically dubious and always on the lookout for a quick sale and a “sadder but wiser” woman. The charlatan needs a pretext for breaking through the legendary Iowa stubbornness in River City. He finds it when an old acquaintance casually mentions a new pool hall opening in town. “Friend,” he tells his buddy, loud enough to attract an audience of curious onlookers, “either you are closing your eyes to a situation you do not wish to acknowledge, or you are not aware of the caliber of disaster indicated by the presence of a pool table in your community!” He then launches into a slick, polished patter song that warns the townspeople of the dangers and moral decay this new addition will bring. “You got trouble, folks,” he tells them “right here in River City, with a capital “T” and that rhymes with “P” and that stands for Pool!” Only, it seems, a Boy’s Band (for which he will gladly supply the instruments, uniforms and instruction – at a price!) can save the town now. It’s a song delivered in a style that is part evangelist, part politician, part salesman and all Broadway!
“My Fair Lady” “Bed, bed, I couldn’t go to bed . . .” and well should Eliza Doolittle go to bed! After all it’s past three A.M. and she has been working long, grueling hours for weeks. Professor Henry Higgins has made her a “project.” He is trying to teach her to talk “like a lady in a flower shop” instead of the poor, dirty flower girl she is. He will try to pass her off as a high-born lady at a ball in six months. Progress, unfortunately, has been slow. Higgins has drilled her, berated her and generally treated her like, well, a poor flower girl. But in a rare merciful mood earlier that evening, he had taken pity on her, soothed her aching head and given her a speech expressing confidence in her. Encouraged by the attention for which she is so starved, Eliza makes a breakthrough. “The rain in Spain,” she correctly pronounces, “stays mainly in the plain.” Thrilled at this accomplishment, Higgins takes her into his arms and dances with her. It ends all too soon for the infatuated Eliza. As the housekeeper and maids admonish her to get to bed, she sings “I could have danced all night, and still have begged for more!” Tomorrow the grind will begin again, and there is still a long way to go. But at least tonight, Eliza has no need of sleep. “Sleep, sleep, I couldn’t get to sleep, not for all the jewels in the crown!”
“Pippin” “People like the way dreams have of sticking to your soul.” Every show has a song, usually the first or second number, where the central problem of the play is spelled out. This is one of my favorites. Pippin is the son of the great Charlemagne. Everyone (even the Pope!) thinks his dad is the hope of a new Roman Empire. But Pippin is having an identity crisis. He has no idea how he can become a success and get out from under the noble shadow of his father. “Why do I feel I don’t fit in anywhere I go?” He laments. “I’ve got to be where my spirit can run free!” His ambition and longing for identity will lead him (with the help of the “Leading Player” who is part narrator and part Satan figure) to try many paths to glory. He tries war, sex, money and other vices but none of them seem to satisfy. “I won’t rest until I know I’ve got it all!” Finally, as he realizes the Leading Player has been steering him wrong, Pippin rejects his advice. Pippin is stripped of everything – money, titles, glory and left with only his wife and family. That’s when he realizes, he already has found his “corner of the sky.”
“West Side Story” “The Jets are gonna have their way tonight . . .” Another great Act I ending. In “Les Mis” all the talk as the first act draws to a close is about how all of the subplots will come together in “One Day More.” But in this Bernstein/Sondheim reimagining of “Romeo and Juliet” it’s all going to happen tonight. “Tonight there will be no morning star,” sing Tony and Maria – not realizing how literal that will be. Tony and Maria are looking forward to being together. Anita is looking to spend some “quality time” with her lover (Maria’s brother Bernardo) tonight as well. “He’ll come in hot and tired, so what? No matter if he’s tired, as long as he’s hot!” But the Jets and Sharks are gearing up for a rumble. Tony is a Jet and Bernardo is a Shark. A lot plans will be changed tonight. There will, in fact, be a morning star, but some of them won’t see it.
“Rent” “I will cover you.” Mark, Roger, and their friends are struggling artists trying to live “La Vie Boheme.” But the specter of AIDS hangs over them – and this is the 1980s. All too soon Angel, the talented street performer, and conscience of the group has passed away from the disease. At her funeral, her companion, Tom Collins, sings to her about the love and support they shared. “With a thousand sweet kisses, I’ll cover you. If you're cold and you're lonely, you've got one nickel only, when you're worn out and tired, when your heart has expired. Oh lover, I’ll cover you.” Her friends sing, too, about celebrating the “seasons of love” they had together. For a moment the petty differences tearing the group apart are forgotten in their shared grief. Angel is gone, but her spirit will remain with the group. In the end, as drug-addict Mimi is near to death, she miraculously comes back. Angel was there on the other side says Mimi, “and she looked GOOD!” Angel sends Mimi back. Even after death, Angel is a healing presence.
“Gypsy” “Got the time and the place and I got rhythm . . .” Louis is the untalented sister of talented “Baby” June Havoc. Their mother, Rose, is the ultimate stage mother. They travel the dying vaudeville circuit with a troupe of “newsboys” and a cow (which is played by Rose as the front and Louise as the rear!). But times are tough, gigs are scarce and Rose can barely afford to keep them in eggrolls on the allowances the troupers’ parents send in the mail. Some of the boys are thinking of striking out on their own. Louise has a budding crush on one of them, Tulsa. She stumbles upon him working on a separate routine. She is just coming from her own practice, and is still dressed in the cow-bottom costume. He swears here to secrecy, and then excitedly starts showing her the routine. He imagines himself getting ready for a night on the town. “Got my tweeds pressed, got my best vest, all I need now is the girl!” Louise wants to be the girl, and as he describes his moves to her, she begins dancing with herself, clumsy cow hooves and all. She mirrors the moves he makes, dreaming of running away with him. “If she’ll just appear, we’ll take this big town for a whirl . . .” As she dances along, suddenly Tulsa notices her moves and invites her to dance along. Louis, like Eliza, could dance all night. But it is not to be. All Tulsa needs is the girl, but that girl isn’t Louise. He runs off not with her, but with June. Mama Rose is left with one, untalented daughter, and a ravenous appetite for vicarious fame. The untalented, unpretty and unloved Louis will get fame – and she will dance - not on vaudeville, but in burlesque as the stripper Gypsy Rose Lee.
“Cinderella” “I have found her! She’s an angel . . .” Nothing is quite as pleasing as a Cinderella story – especially when it IS the Cinderella story. Rogers and Hammerstein’s treatment of the classic fairy tale was made for TV in 1957 starring Julie Andrews but is better known for the 1964 remake with Leslie Anne Warren. (There has been a third version made but it is nowhere near as satisfying.) We all know the story. Poor abused girl goes to the ball with the help of her fairy godmother. Dick and Oscar were naturals for this fairytale romance. They know how to write a good love song. This one is sung shortly after Cinderella makes her entrance into the ball. The Prince is immediately charmed and off they go! After finding a more private place to waltz, the Prince marvels about how quickly he has fallen for her. “Ten minutes ago I met you. I looked up when you came through the door. My head started reeling, you gave me the feeling, the room had no ceiling or floor!” Why doesn’t anybody waltz anymore? The Prince and Cinderella do, with Cindy showing an awful lot of poise for a girl who just rode to town in a pumpkin pulled by rats! The Prince sings, “I like it so well that for all I can tell I may never come down again.” But he does have to come down. The clock suddenly strikes twelve, the hour when the coach and four become a pumpkin and rodents again (and Cinderella turns into, well Cinderella). We know the rest of the story – the frantic escape, the glass slipper, the magic ending. But this moment, when they each “wanted to ring out the bells, and fling out my arms and to sing out the news” is my favorite fairy tale musical moment.
“Oklahoma” “I ain’t gonna dream ‘bout her arms no more.” Not all great musical moments are about the good guys. Judd Frye - a dark, brooding farmhand - works for Laurie and Aunt Eller. Laurie, though far too proud to admit it, is sweet on Curley, a handsome cowboy who promises to take her to a planned social in a “shiny little surrey with the fringe on the top.” But annoyed by Curley’s bragging, she plays hard to get. Judd asks her to go to the social, but though she tries to be kind, her rejection is clear – and Judd does not take it too well. Defeated in love by Curley, Judd sits in his lonely room, gloomily contemplating his life “The floor creaks, the door squeaks. There’s a field mouse nibbling on the broom . . .” But he dreams of a life where he’s “better than that smart-aleck cowboy, who thinks he’s better than me!” Taken away in a romantic fantasy, he dreams that “The girl that I love ain’t afraid of my arms, and her own soft arms keep me warm.” But suddenly he is brought back to reality, and realizes his dreams are “all a pack o’ lies!” His romantic fantasy dashed, he decides that he will have his way with Laurie, whether Curley (or she) likes it or not. “I ain’t gonna leave her alone! Going outside, get myself a bride! Get me a woman to call my own!”
Did I leave anything out? Well, yeah! How about “Pilate’s Dream” in “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Edelweiss” in “The Sound of Music,” or the classic “Make Believe,” from “Showboat?” Then there is the ironically melancholy “There’s a Sunny Side to Every Situation” from “42nd Street,” “It’s All for the Best” from “Godspell,” or the haunting “Music of the Night” from “Phantom of the Opera.” Furthermore, I’ve limited myself to just one moment per musical – and that took some doing! I snuck in a reference to the Act I finish in “Les Mis.” But I could also list the beautiful “On My Own” or “Bring Him Home,” – not to mention the brilliant comedy of “Master of the House” from that musical. That’s true of all of the great shows – one wonderful moment after another. These are 15 of my favorites. I could easily list fifteen more. In case I didn’t mention it – I LOVE MUSICALS!
