11 O'Clock number question

#1

11 O'Clock number question

Posted: 3/26/05 at 9:46pm

What does exactly is an 11 O'clock number? All I know is that he usually comes after the showstopper.

If anyone can shed some light on this for me, please do.

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#2

re: 11 O'Clock number question

Posted: 3/26/05 at 9:46pm

A showstopping number at the end of a show.

#3

re: 11 O'Clock number question

Posted: 3/26/05 at 9:49pm

Back when shows started at eight-thirty (I think), the number that took place around eleven o'clock was meant to kind of jolt the audience back awake. It's generally the second-to-last or third-to-last song. Or...I could be totally wrong.

#4

re: 11 O'Clock number question

Posted: 3/26/05 at 9:52pm

Curtain times used to be at 8:30 and not 8:00, so the climactic, showstopping number (usually a big solo number) would happen at roughly 11:00 ("Rose's Turn," for example).

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#5

re: 11 O'Clock number question

Posted: 3/26/05 at 9:53pm

EXAMPLES
Rose's Turn
Lot's Wife
Not While I'm Around
Move On
You'll Never Walk Alone

#6

re: 11 O'Clock number question

Posted: 3/26/05 at 9:54pm

Thank you so much for the info.

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#7

re: 11 O'Clock number question

Posted: 3/26/05 at 9:57pm

Would Fable from The Light in the Piazza be their 11 o'clock number?

I know its the last song, its just so great.

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#8

re: 11 O'Clock number question

Posted: 3/27/05 at 2:13pm

It's basically the main character's star turn. Yep, "Rose's Turn" and more recently Sutton's "Gimme Gimme" from TMM.It usually is the star performer's final number and is written so that the star can WOW the audience with their singing talent (think Streisand's "My Man"/"Music That Makes Me Dance"). In a nutshell, it's the star's final "tour de force". It doesn't have to neccesarilly be the best number of the show and it usually is strictly a vocal performance without dance. Most of all it involves only one performer and book wise can often sum up the show's main character's anguish, self awareness and cathartic realization of change.

#9

re: 11 O'Clock number question

Posted: 3/27/05 at 2:26pm

Yes, TGIF; I consider "Fable" an 11 O'clock Number, and an excellent one at that!

#10

re: 11 O'Clock number question

Posted: 3/27/05 at 2:28pm

Margo (or anyone), would "I Am Changing" from Dreamgirls be considered as an 11 o'clock number even though it is rather early in the 2nd Act?

Updated On: 3/27/05 at 02:28 PM

#11

re: 11 O'Clock number question

Posted: 3/27/05 at 2:34pm

NO NO NO!!!

An 11 O'Clock Number is not necessarily the "star" song. Half of the time it is usually a big company number that revitalizes the audience. In classic shows, it was rarely a star number. Some of really good examples are:

Sit Down You're Rockin the Boat
Always True to You (In My Fashion)
You Gotta Get a Gimmick
Lullaby of Broadway
A Lot Of Livin' To Do
Swing
Run, Freedom, Run
Gee, Office Krupke!
I Know Where I've Been

Updated On: 3/27/05 at 02:34 PM

#12

re: 11 O'Clock number question

Posted: 3/27/05 at 2:43pm

newer shows:

No Good Deed (Wicked)
There's a Fine Fine Line (Avenue Q)
Once Before I Go (The Boy From Oz)

#13

re: 11 O'Clock number question

Posted: 3/27/05 at 2:45pm

Actually, Avenue Q's is "I Wish I Could Go Back To College"
11 o'clock numbers are not to be confused with Act 1 finales
(It's the difference between "Everything's Coming Up Roses" and "Rose's Turn")

#14

re: 11 O'Clock number question

Posted: 3/27/05 at 2:47pm

Actually, the 11 O' Clock number is, for the most part, a solo.

Ragtime: Back to Before
Big River: Free At Last
Company: Being Alive
In Les Mis' case it would be On My Own, cuz that's about the time the song comes on anyway (just a joke, people)

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#15

re: 11 O'Clock number question

Posted: 3/27/05 at 2:48pm

Another great 11 O'Clock Number:

"The Music Still Plays On" from A NEW BRAIN

#16

re: 11 O'Clock number question

Posted: 3/27/05 at 3:01pm

Don't forget "I Know Where I've Been" from Hairspray and "Easy As Life" from Aida.

#17

re: 11 O'Clock number question

Posted: 3/27/05 at 3:01pm

Already got I Know Where I've Been in my first post in this thread

#18

re: 11 O'Clock number question

Posted: 3/27/05 at 3:43pm

NO! NO! NO!

Thesbe....you're forgetting the most glaring words in this theater reference...the time element involved..11 O'CLOCK!!!!!!As someone stated earlier, in the Golden Age of theater, shows normally began at 8:30 and given the usual 2 1/2 hour running time duration, usually ended around eleven o'clock. Quite a few of your examples came WAY before the very end of the show. As far as NOT being a solo star turn, google up Peter Filichia's Diary on the TheaterMania.com site. He speaks of how upset Judy Holiday was about not getting an eleven o'clock number in "Bells Are Ringing' so they quickly wrote her "I'm Goin' Back"(to the Bonjour Tristesse Brazziere Company) at the last minute.

#19

re: 11 O'Clock number question

Posted: 3/27/05 at 3:49pm

Also, the 11 o'clock number is frequently a revelation on the part of the lead character or characters. Thesbijean, I agree with Dem - a lot of those are way too early to be the 11 o'clock number.

#20

re: 11 O'Clock number question

Posted: 3/27/05 at 4:01pm

Would "A Change in Me" be Beauty and the Beast's 11 o'clock number? I've always tried to figure out what exactly its 11 o'clock was. Before "Change in Me" I would have said "Beauty and the Beast" was its 11 o'clock even though it occurs a little early and really doesn't deal with the main character's feelings or emotions.

#21

re: 11 O'Clock number question

Posted: 3/27/05 at 4:02pm

A Change in Me is in the beginning of the First Act.

#22

re: 11 O'Clock number question

Posted: 3/27/05 at 4:04pm

There's no way "On My Own" is the 11 o'clock number.

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#23

re: 11 O'Clock number question

Posted: 3/27/05 at 4:20pm

Just assume it's the last solo number in a show which isn't a reprise.

#24

re: 11 O'Clock number question

Posted: 3/27/05 at 4:22pm

Remember, not every show has an 11 o'clock number. Some of the ones listed here are ridiculous (how is "There's a Fine, Fine Line" AVENUE Q's 11 o'clock number??! IF the show has one, the closest possibility would be "The Money Song").

I don't think LES MIZ has an 11 o'clock number.

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#25

re: 11 O'Clock number question

Posted: 3/27/05 at 4:27pm

If Les Mis has one (and I'm not sure it does) it's "Bring Him Home".

What I like is when the 11 o'clock number comes from an unexpected source. Like in Bare (and Jenna hit it out of the park)

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JOHN LITHGOW I just realized, your last name is Butz! Both "Norbert" AND "Butz" are in your name! You must have gotten picked on a lot as a child!