Act I finales
Act I finales
#0Act I finales
Posted: 11/23/04 at 3:28pmWhich musical do you think has the best Act I finale? For me it's a tie between Phantom of the Opera and Wicked.
millie_dillmount
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/22/04
#1re: Act I finales
Posted: 11/23/04 at 3:32pm
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.
#2re: Act I finales
Posted: 11/23/04 at 3:32pm
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.
#3re: Act I finales
Posted: 11/23/04 at 3:35pmi think Rent or Wicked.
Unknown User
Joined: 12/31/69
#4re: Act I finales
Posted: 11/23/04 at 3:37pmlove 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 :)
FabalaCohen
Broadway Star Joined: 10/30/04
#5re: Act I finales
Posted: 11/23/04 at 3:38pmPhantom, 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)
MargoChanning
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/5/04
#6re: Act I finales
Posted: 11/23/04 at 3:47pm
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.
Yankeefan007
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/20/04
robbiej
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#8re: Act I finales
Posted: 11/23/04 at 3:54pm
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!
BWayBoy88
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/23/04
Unknown User
Joined: 12/31/69
#10re: Act I finales
Posted: 11/23/04 at 4:16pmI agree Margo- try the search- but definitely Dreamgirls.
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#11re: Act I finales
Posted: 11/23/04 at 4:40pm
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.
Marquise
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/1/04
#13ACT I FINALE
Posted: 11/23/04 at 4:48pm
SWEENEY TODD, hands down.
You can't beat 'A Little Priest'
The opposite of creation isn't war, it's stagnation.
MargoChanning
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/5/04
#14ACT I FINALE
Posted: 11/23/04 at 4:50pm
Gee, Priest I never would have guessed that that would be your pick 
robbiej
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#15ACT I FINALE
Posted: 11/23/04 at 4:51pm
Priest,
You couldn't just once defy expectations and pick the Act 1 finale of HOW NOW, DOW JONES, could you?
NOT ONCE?????
#16ACT I FINALE
Posted: 11/23/04 at 4:58pm
Sweeney Todd
Anyone Can Whistle
City of Angels
#17ACT I FINALE
Posted: 11/23/04 at 5:03pm
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.
#18ACT I FINALE
Posted: 11/23/04 at 5:05pmWicked and Rent.
#19ACT I FINALE
Posted: 11/23/04 at 5:08pm
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.
#20ACT I FINALE
Posted: 11/23/04 at 5:09pm
*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.
The opposite of creation isn't war, it's stagnation.
geri loves wicked
Understudy Joined: 9/11/04
#21ACT I FINALE
Posted: 11/23/04 at 5:15pmWICKED. it gave me chills!
#22ACT I FINALE
Posted: 11/23/04 at 5:15pmReally, "The Producers"?? I thought the Act I finale was pretty "meh."
#23ACT I FINALE
Posted: 11/23/04 at 5:24pm
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.
The opposite of creation isn't war, it's stagnation.
Allie
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/2/04
#24ACT I FINALE
Posted: 11/23/04 at 5:26pmHello, Dolly! has a pretty great Act 1 ending! Before the parade passes by
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