Belting Out Broadway Showtunes

A to Z challenge continues with B.

It'll have to be a short one since it's super late and I am falling on my face.  I am so tired.  I was going to wait until later today to post, but I know the kids will be up and running around and I have a house to clean, so I didn't want to miss it.

One of the things that really motivates me to do housework is to crank up my iTunes on a Broadway playlist and sing along.

Here are a few of my favorite Broadway shows and bits:

The Phantom of the Opera:
My husband took me to see this at Atlanta's Fox Theatre when I was 15 & 3/4 years old for my very first "date".  Did I mention that we had 5th row centre seats?  Yeah.  The only way for him to top that was to marry me.  So 8 years later... he did. :)  Last July we went and saw it at the Fox for the 4th and final time.  It's no longer on tour and the only way we can see it now is if we go to New York and see it on Broadway, or to London and see it at West End.  10th Anniversary Trip, anyone?!  That's the plan at any rate!  At the farewell show in July I cried from the first notes of the organ overture to the final curtain.  I. Love. This. Musical.  You can find "Think of Me", "Phantom Theme", "Music of the Night" and "All I Ask Of You" rotating through my iTunes regularly. (That last song was played at our wedding in '04)

At the end of '04, Joel Schumacher made a film of it that, while not as breathtaking as a live stage performance, continues to feed my insatiable appetite for all things PTO. :)




Les Miserables:
Celebrating it's 25th anniversary this year, Les Mis is a special musical to me because it was something that my dad and I shared less than 2 years before he died.  The score and the emotion of the entire thing gives me goosey pimples every time I hear it.  Long before Susan Boyle came on the scene, I was singing "I Dreamed A Dream" as though my heart would break.  And to be honest, singing it during times of real life heartache and pain is strangely therapeutic and healing.  "Bring Him Home" always made Dad cry.  "One Day More" makes me feel ready to take on the world.
Les Mis is coming back to the Fox next Spring.  Guess who's going to be there to see it? ;)

Here is "One Day More" sung at the 25th Anniversary Concert at the O2 in London by the entire cast and the original London cast:



While this is GORGEOUS, my favorite performance was this one of the same song at the 10th Anniversary Concert in 1995:




Wicked:
While I have not seen this musical in person, I am familiar with it's score and storyline.  Every time we have heard it was coming to Atlanta, it sold out before we could scrape up the money for tickets.  Not a fan of the original novel, I nonetheless ADORE the amazing vocals and orchestrations of the Broadway phenomenon.  I alternate singing the parts of Galinda ("Popular") and Elphaba ("Defying Gravity") as I can, and will sing "For Good" through twice, so I can cover both parts. :)
Wicked is coming to Atlanta again in September and for once I will be ready to snag tickets for my husband and me this time around!

Here is a trailer for the London show:




I love all of the other musicals too, of course.  I grew up with Cats, The King and I, The Sound of Music, West Side Story, The Lion King, Chicago, South Pacific, Oklahoma and many more.
My mom played Gertie in the Douglas County High School Class of 78 production of Oklahoma (obnoxious laugh and all!).

Three more videos for you, and I have to crash in the bed!

From The Music Man, here is Robert Preston as Professor Harold Hill, telling River City citizens all about their
"Trouble":



And Matthew Broderick and Kristen Chenoweth (who is in the original Wicked cast, btw!) in the Disney mid-2000s remake, singing "Til There Was You":



And finally, a musical that I have not yet seen, but find myself singing this number from on a regular basis.  Here is the opening number from the 1998 musical,
"Ragtime":



There you have it, my darlings.

So much for a short post, but Broadway is one of my deepest rooted passions and I'm happy to share it with you.  I'll be belting out these Broadway tunes and more tomorrow as I get ready to send us all on Spring Break next week!

Not to worry; I've got "C" ready and waiting to be written on Monday. :)