Which musical do you think has the best Act I finale? For me it's a tie between Phantom of the Opera and Wicked.
The Producers ("Along Came Bialy")
Beauty and the Beast ("If I Can't Love Her")
I can't really state, though, that they are the best Act I Finales of all time, though.
Sweeney Todd - hands down. IMO, it is the absolute, unchallanged, best musical ever written. It's brilliant in every way, shape, and form, and the ACT I Finale is incredible. I just love it! I seriously do not think it will ever be topped. It is a timeless tale that is told so magnificantly. Do I love it, or what?
Honorable mention would probably go to Les Miserables or Ragtime, for me! These, IMO, are the 2nd (Ragtime) and 3rd (Les Miz) best musicals ever written. It's still a sin that TLK won best musical over Ragtime. I lost all respect for the Tony Awards that year.
i think Rent or Wicked.
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
love Rent's, wicked's is awesome, oklahoma's is really good too (the revival), but my all time favorite is 42nd Street. It leaves you wondering.."Oh no! What's going to happen, is the show going to close? oh boy!" hehe :)
Broadway Star Joined: 10/30/04
Phantom, Les Miz, Rent, and Mamma Mia- yes, I think that was a good ending to the first act. (personal opinion of what I've seen)
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/5/04
This thread comes up literally EVERY month (do a search and you'll find at least a dozen of them).
Anyway, I'm bored at work so......
Nothing comes close to GYPSY and DREAMGIRLS, IMO.
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/20/04
Margo,
I agree...nothing comes close in terms of solo spots that bring down the curtain. But my heart belongs to an epic finale featuring an entire cast in turn of the century Swedish outfits and birch trees...A Weekend in the Country.
SUBLIME!
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/23/04
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
I agree Margo- try the search- but definitely Dreamgirls.
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
Obviously not many of you saw Evita when it was on Broadway. And obviously this thread is a desperate cry to bring it back.
The Act I finale of Evita has the entire cast onstage singing "A New Argentina". There are crowds, there are torches, there are banners...there is excitement. The crowd is singing: "The voice of the people can not be and will not be and must not be denied." It was the best ensemble work ever.
SWEENEY TODD, hands down.
You can't beat 'A Little Priest'
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/5/04
Gee, Priest I never would have guessed that that would be your pick
Priest,
You couldn't just once defy expectations and pick the Act 1 finale of HOW NOW, DOW JONES, could you?
NOT ONCE?????
Sweeney Todd
Anyone Can Whistle
City of Angels
Really? I think the finale to Phantom is pretty anticlimactic (could that chandelier fall any slower?)
The best Act I finale is Les Miz's "One Day More". It brings all the characters onstage, it gets the audience on the edge of their seats about what is to come, and it's triumphant and thrilling.
Wicked and Rent.
Can't believe I'm the first one (this time around) to mention RAGTIME.
EDIT: Also, PARADE's Act One finale is wonderful as well.
*Sigh*
No show from the 90's to the present would probably even make my Top 20.
The only two that might would be THE PRODUCERS and RAGTIME.
Understudy Joined: 9/11/04
WICKED. it gave me chills!
Really, "The Producers"?? I thought the Act I finale was pretty "meh."
Well, I was thinking long and hard for another show from the 90's and on, besides RAGTIME, that even compared to shows before that.
And really, only RAGTIME even competes.
You're right. THE PRODUCERS really doesn't.
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/2/04
Hello, Dolly! has a pretty great Act 1 ending! Before the parade passes by
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