Assemble the perfect broadway musical

Cafe Society
1

So, for all you broadway lovers, assemble the perfect musical out of parts from other musicals. Each musical must have the following:
(1) An opening number
(2) An act 1 closer
(3) An act 2 opener
(4) A finale
(5) A (romantic) love song
(6) A medley
(7) A humorous song
(8) A song that doesn’t fit any of the above

All 8 songs must be from different shows.

(I’m not imagining that you’re actually fitting a plot in here, just assembling your 8 favorite songs in the above categories… but if you’re more ambitious than I, go ahead).
My choices:
(1) The opening from Ragtime does a fanastic job of introducing all the characters and the mood and the storylines and some history all while being fun and exciting and toe-tapping. (Try to Remember from The Fantasticks is a better song, but not as good an opening number.)
(2) La Vie Boheme from Rent. Not my favorite song from Rent, but a perfect up note to bring in intermission, and one of those songs you have to sing along with loud in the car.
(3) Not a great choice, but I’m not coming up with much, so I’ll go with The Last Supper from Jesus Christ Superstar. It’s, uhh, nice.
(4) The finale from Les Miz. “Take my hand, and lead me to salvation…”. I just never get sick of it. Les Miz may be the greatest work of art of my lifetime.
(5) Perhaps the most beautiful broadway song ever written, Tonight from West Side Story. (Actually, the best version of Tonight is the awesome medley with the gangs and Anita and Tony+Maria, but only part of it is a love song.)
(6) At the Ballet from A Chorus Line. This song is melodically beautiful, and also introduces characters with a level of honesty and intimacy that is rare.
(7) Popular from Wicked. “Don’t be offended by my frank analysis, think of it as personality dialysis”. Clever wordplay and a catchy melody. (Only gets in because Springtime For Hitler gets disqualified, as it originally came from the movie.)
(8) Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat from Guys and Dolls. One of the rare songs that makes me want to get up and dance. And I don’t dance.

2

(1) Requiem from EVITA
(2) Close Every Door from Joseph
(3) Masquarade from Phantom of the Opera
(4) Starlight MegaMix from Starlight Express
(5) Half A Moment from Jeeves
(6) As If We Never Said Good-bye from Sunset Boulevard
(7) It’s A Pig from By Jeeves
(8) Take That Look Off Your Face from Song & Dance

3

Fun game, but tough. Let’s see…

(1) An opening number
“Ragtime” from Ragtime

(2) An act 1 closer
“Comfort and Joy” from Bat Boy

(3) An act 2 opener
“Bui Doi” from Miss Saigon

(4) A finale
“Louder Than Words” from Tick… Tick… Boom!

(5) A (romantic) love song
“The Next Ten Minutes” from The Last Five Years

(6) A medley
“Goodbye / Boom Boom” from Elegies

(7) A humorous song
“Big Ass Rock” from The Full Monty

(8) A song that doesn’t fit any of the above
“On the Steps of the Palace” from Into the Woods

4

All 8 songs must be from different shows.

Each musical must have the following:

(1) An opening number
“All that Jazz” from Chicago

(2) An act 1 closer
“Anthem” from Chess

(3) An act 2 opener
“Masquerade” from Phantom of the Opera

(4) A finale
“One” (Reprise) from A Chorus Line

(5) A (romantic) love song
“Written in the Stars” from Aida

(6) A medley
Curtain call/“Joseph Megamix” from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

(7) A humorous song
“Reviewing the Situation” from Oliver!

(8) A song that doesn’t fit any of the above
“Tomorrow Belongs to Me” from Cabaret

5

You left out splashy gratuitous dance number, so I’ll add Shall We Dance from THE KING & I.

For over-the-top funny number, Kids! from BYE BYE BIRDIE (but only if Maureen Stapleton will return from the grave long enough to stick her head in an oven).

For A Song That Doesn’t Fit Any of the Above, I’ll go with I Know Where I’ve Been, a beautiful song from Hairspray that one critic said was as out-of-place as a Hebrew prayer for Holocaust victims would have been in The Producers.