When my chorus did a concert performance of TWoO, we included Jitterbug, as one of the dance numbers, with four couples. It was a show-stopper; got a standing O.
But the movie should have included Ray Bolger’s extended scarecrow dance number. That was a treasure. But at least they had the sense to keep a copy of it in their vault.
“Shipoopi” is a fun, catchy song and all, but it’s what TV Tropes calls an Irrelevant Act Opener. Songs like these are throwaways, with little relevance to the plot–they’re designed to ease the audience back into the musical theater “everyone-is-singing” atmosphere, and to give stragglers time to get back in from intermission without too much worry that they’re missing out on the plot. (The stage version of The Music Man had “Shipoopi” at the top of the second act.)
Years ago, I saw a staged concert rendition of The Music Man. The actor playing Marcellus broke character to tell the audience, “Well, we welcome you back with what is probably the most useless song in all musical theater!”
Haha, can’t say he’s wrong! I must respectfully disagree with the “fun, catchy” part. It’s just sooooo baaaaaad.
Not just you–“Mama Look Sharp” is one of my favorite moments as well. Just thinking of it gives me the chills.
I’m with those who support “Mama, Look Sharp.” It’s at the heart of the movie.
the movie of the musical a Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum actually cut most of the songs from the stage production.
In recent years, things have gone the other way - the movie added songs that then got re-added to subsequent stage productions. That happened with “Morning Report” in The Lion King, but it’s happened with a lot of non-animated productions, as well.
I appeared in a community theater production of 1776 a few months ago (Samuel Chase of Maryland, here). “Mama, Look Sharp” got a huge ovation, and the young man who sang it was swarmed by admirers after every performance.
Most necessary song in the show.
I want to correct myself. The erroneous tune in the original Close Encounters was not Over the Rainbow, but When You Wish Upon a Star. At least that’s what I heard in the original LP test pressing. When I saw the movie later, I don’t recall it being there, and I wasn’t surprised, since it evoked laughter in my office when I first played the test pressing. If you did see WYWUAS in any version of the movie, perhaps it was re-inserted in a Director’s Cut – I understand several edited movie versions were made.
WYWUAS was used, IIRC, for the “Special Edition” of CE3K.
Unjustifiably left out:
“The King of Broadway” from The Producers.
“Once in a While” from the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
The musical Grease, while hardly high art, has been destroyed by musical additions made for the film:
The ‘hit’ songs that were added for the film:
Grease
Hopelessly Devoted
Sandy
You’re The One That I Want
. . . are not period appropriate. Given that the redeeming charm of Grease is that it is a silly, slightly off-color pastiche of the 50s, these numbers just wreck the show (I admit that ‘Hopelessly Devoted’ and ‘Sandy’ could maybe pass, but they get my ire-by-association).
Even worse is that revivals have incorporated these songs into the stage version. I’ve music directed a few school productions where the director has wanted to incorporate those songs (not strictly legal, as the licensed version is still the original version), and there is nothing I hate more than beginning a “50s Rock 'N Roll Musical” with the 70s disco/funk tune ‘Grease’.
To further confuse matters, I have my LP of “CE3K” (the first version) in front of me and the second-to-last tune (“The Appearance of the Visitors”) contains WYWUAS “interpolated” 
. I can’t play it to confirm, as my turntable met a nasty end some years back and hasn’t been replaced.
But I would bet JohnT is right: it was probably used in the “Special Edition” when Dreyfuss goes aboard the mothership. ::snore::
Came here to mention this.
There is a story that a theater in Southeast Asia thought “The Sound of Music” ran too long… so they cut all the songs.
Hear, hear. It makes my eyes misty. I’d bet those who dismiss it as inconsequential have not been in the military.
In "My Fair Lady, the song “I’ve grown accustomed to her face” is OK, as far as songs go. But the recorded production with Rex Harrison and Audrey Hepburn brings Eliza back for no readily explained reason during the last few chords (especially jarring after the absolutely brilliant “Without You”).
I recommend all new viewers to stop watching immediately after “Without You,” as it makes for a much more palatable musical overall.
(The fact that Rex Harrison can’t actually sing, and instead talks through all his lines, is another prickly issue, and makes me hope for a remake in the near future).
“Sandy” just isn’t a good song, so I’m with you on that one. The other three, however, are. “You’re the One That I Want” seems 50s-by-way-of-the-70s-ish, so I wouldn’t say it wrecks things, though I do see your point.
I fully see your point with respect to the openings credits song “Grease”; it’s not 50s at all. The only thing is, that song is a masterpiece! That song and the animated credits blew my 6-year-old mind in 1977. (I remember my dearly departed uncle asking if the movie had the “F-word” in it. My older female cousins assured him it didn’t, and we were off to see the movie!) The brothers Gibb were sure getting around with their songwriting at this point in time. 
The WYWUAS hat-tip is when the spaceship leaves, which was part of the original 77 release. It’s always been there (a music cue that complements Roy’s discussion of Pinocchio earlier in the film) but it’s just the opening two bars of the song as part of Williams’s final flourish.
And another vote on how Mama Look Sharp is a remarkable song and essential to the story for reasons previously stated.
It wasn’t. The Beatles album by that name is different than the film’s soundtrack. A third of the songs on that studio album (“Things We Said Today”, “I’ll Be Back”, “Any Time at All”, etc.) have no relationship to the film.
Also, Stubby Kaye barrels through “Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat” as if his house is on fire.
You got to report on the massacre of turkeys at the army camp, right? (If I’m remembering the part correctly)
Yeah, “Mama, Look Sharp” and “Molasses to Rum to Slaves” are key moments in the show.