Eleven O'clock numbers- Page 3

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 3/11/08 at 1:18pm

Wouldn't Gypsy's 11 o'clock number be "You Gotta Have a Gimmick"? The show ends about two minutes after "Rose's Turn," so I don't see how that would be considered the 11 o'clock number.

I think many posters have the wrong idea of an 11 o'clock number. It is supposed to be the big number at the END of a show usually for the star.

No, actually you have the wrong idea of an 11 o'clock number.
Updated On: 3/11/08 at 01:18 PM

[Gothampc]

Posted: 3/11/08 at 1:21pm

"I think many posters have the wrong idea of an 11 o'clock number. It is supposed to be the big number at the END of a show usually for the star."

I don't agree with that. "You'll Never Walk Alone" has always been considered an 11:00 number but doesn't come near the end nor is it sung by the star.

"What I Did For Love" is another example. Not at the end of the show and is sung by the ensemble.

Updated On: 3/11/08 at 01:21 PM

[follies85]

Posted: 3/11/08 at 3:21pm

"The Ladies Who Lunch" - Company
"When I'm Drunk I'm Beautiful" - Prettybelle
"Fifty Percent" - Ballroom

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 3/11/08 at 3:39pm

Isn't it ironic that Stepehen Sondheim was involved in the writing of the greatest "11 o'clock number" of them all when he penned the lyrics for "Rose's Turn"?

[Urban]

Posted: 3/12/08 at 5:11am

That's not irony, that is just coinsidence. [/Bender]

[BroadwayBound062]

Posted: 3/12/08 at 6:57am

Again I guess its what you consider the 11 o'clock number. I think its a song before the end of the show that shows the characters change in heart or attitude, or is a realization....like in My Fair Lady, I'd consider Without Him the 11 o'clock number....

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 3/12/08 at 9:15am

Max's BETRAYED in THE PRODUCERS

[Gothampc]

Posted: 3/12/08 at 9:54am

I'm one that doesn't consider "Rose's Turn" an 11:00 number. To me, it's the finale. My guess is that it would be "Gotta Get A Gimmick"

I think an 11:00 number has to be memorable. It's the song that people leave the theater humming and the reason they want to buy the cast album. You can't hum "Rose's Turn".

[JulianHookbucks]

Posted: 3/12/08 at 10:30am

How can you say that Rose's Turn is an elevEn o'clock number but "Being Alive" is not. They're both the last numbers in the show, the characters are basically learning the lesson and summing up the whole show... and I just think that Ladies Who Lunch is just another character/story song. Fantastic, but not 11 o'clock number...

While they are different in themselves... I don't really say they're both 11 o'clock numbers or finales... They're something different all together. They're not the kinds of shows that warrant an 11 o'clock. and if all shows had the formula where they did, the musical theatre would just be dang boring.

However, 11 o'clock number is not a set term... it's a theatrical invention and can't really be defined by anyone's standards because of differing opinions... but if all shows

[jrb]

Posted: 3/12/08 at 11:02am

I think there's a distinct difference between an 11 o'clock number and the "turn" - the "turn" being a song that displays catharsis and realization (often, the "point" of the show) and the 11 o'clock number being an up-tempo song after the apex of a show (the golden mean) that, while it may mark the denoument, is distinguished by a lively tempo and its ability to reinvigorate an audience?
The 11 o'clock number should be up-tempo. At least that's how it was, originally. It had nothing to do with catharsis - thus, Ladies who Lunch would be thrown out as a possibility right off the bat, if we're going by the classic definition, that is. It's just too slow.

I think shows like Company have several "turns" but lack an 11 o'clock number. Modern shows don't need 11 o'clock numbers nearly as much as more classic pieces.

Of course it's all up to the listener - it's really a subjective thing.

[madbrian]

Posted: 3/12/08 at 11:22am

I would add Why Do The Wrong People Travel from Sail Away.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 3/12/08 at 11:25am

Gee, Officer Krupke is also considered by most to be West Side Story's 11 O'Clock number.

[Tom148502]

Posted: 3/12/08 at 11:29am

I wonder where you and your friends are coming from, Phyllis. An 11 o'clock number HAS to come somewhere near the very end of the show. And the 11 i'clock designation is based on the time when curtains rose at 8:30, not 8:00.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 3/12/08 at 11:38am

Yes, I understand that. Krupke pretty much fits the textbook definition of an 11 O'Clock number - there's only one full musical number after it, it's a big, splashy number that jolts the audience in the middle of the second act, etc.

Updated On: 3/12/08 at 11:38 AM

[Gloryday225]

Posted: 3/12/08 at 1:41pm

This Nearly Was Mine- South Pacific

I actually got that from Brian Stokes Mitchell; I went to a concert of his in February and that was how he introduced the song. Beautiful.