10 Most Important Musical Theatre Songs? — Page 2

"Who Will Love Me As I Am?" - SIDE SHOW
"Tonight" - WEST SIDE STORY
"No One Is Alone" - INTO THE WOODS
"Anything Goes" - ANYTHING GOES
"Everything's Coming Up Roses" - GYPSY
"I Could Have Danced All Night" - MY FAIR LADY
"Memory" - CATS
"Hello Dolly" - HELLO, DOLLY!
"Don't Rain On My Parade" - FUNNY GIRL
"Seasons Of Love" - RENT

No One is Alone from Into the Woods
Another Hundred People from Company
Time Heals Everything from Mack and Mabel
Defying Gravity from Wicked
Uncle Tom's Cabin Ballet from The King and I
Everything's Coming up Roses from Gypsy
Dance at the Gym from West Side Story
Far From the Home I Love from Fiddler in the Roof
Don't Rain on my Parade from Funny Girl
Summertime from Porgy and Bess

Honorable Mentions:I Read, At the Ballet, On My Own, Hello Dolly, I Get a Kick out of You, Anything Goes, Someone to Watch Over Me, Stay With Me, Finishing the Hat, Suddenly Seymour

Updated On: 9/30/14 at 08:07 PM

Mjohnson knows. Anyone who hasn't listed YNWA in their top ten is just, well... wrong

Reading each of your lists, I would have to list at least 20. But, if I must, my choices are:

Brotherhood of Man - How to Succeed Without Really Trying
You'll Never Walk Alone - Carousel
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes - Roberta
Memory - Cats
White I Did for Love & One -A Chorus Line
Tonight - West Side Story
Oklahoma - Oklahoma
Send In the Clowns - A Little Night Music
Wilkommen - Cabaret
Bring Him Home - Les Miserables

If were really looking at what would be considered the "most important" musical theatre songs either for what they did in terms of the development of musical theatre storytelling or bringing a bold message to audiences and not necessarily the "best songs" it narrows it down to these 10 (in no particular order):

-You Have to be Taught (South Pacific) caused people to protest its stance on racism.
-What I did for Love (Chorus Line)Gave a voice the musical theatre actors.
-You'll Never Walk Alone (Carousel)was the first moment in which a musical made it ok for the protagonist, or any likeable character to die in a musical.
-Sue Me (Guys and Dolls)allowed songs to be written in the way characters actually talk, not "song writer" language.
-Oh What a Beautiful Morning (Oklahoma)put the story before the music by not opening the show with a big production number.
-Being Alive/ Ladies who Lunch (Company)brought purpose to what had been an entirely non-liner story. Made the theme the most important part of the show
-Send in the Clowns (A Little Night Music)brought show tunes back to pop culture in the age of rock and roll.
-Ol Man River (Show Boat)gave a voice to a group of people that the at the time were extremely oppressed.
-I am What I am (La Cage Aux Folles) became an anthem for people who were different, especially the LGBT community right in the middle of the AIDS crisis
-No Business Like Show Business (Annie Get Your Gun)is the unofficial anthem of the musical theatre.

Honorable Mentions:
-Seasons of Love (RENT)
-Cabaret (Cabaret)
-Move On (Sunday in the Park With George)
-Three Five Zero Zero/ Let the Sunshine in (Hair)
-Too Darn Hot (Kiss Me Kate)