Act One Closing 'Montage'

[Katurian2]

Posted: 3/26/11 at 9:39am

Is there a proper name for what I can only think of to otherwise call a 'montage' closing to the first act of a show? Most recently in Book of Mormon's 'Man Up,' but also used by Parker/Stone in the South Park movie with 'La Resistance,' in reference to 'Les Miserables' 'One Day More.'

I'm talking about the part of the song where several groups of characters overlap one central song with reprises of previous songs used in the act leading to a sort of cliffhanger for intermission.

Does anyone also know where this technique was first used or other shows that use it? So far I can think of Les Mis, Book of Mormon, South Park the movie and The Producers (Along Came Bialy). My only thought was that it may have started with 'Quintet' in West Side Story, even though that's only three overlapping groups with two songs, as opposed to the 5-ish Les Mis eventually used.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 3/26/11 at 9:53am

TV Tropes calls it the Massive Multiplayer Ensemble Number.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MassiveMultiplayerEnsembleNumber

[HistoryBoy2]

Posted: 3/26/11 at 9:55am

I look forward to people's suggestions, as these numbers are pretty much my favourite thing in the history of ever.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 3/26/11 at 10:00am

I believe the term for it is quodlibet.

[Katurian2]

Posted: 3/26/11 at 10:13am

haha- Massive Multiplayer Ensemble Number does seem to describe it, although it seems Smaxie's more proper quodlibet should also be added, since most on that link's list are just larger group numbers that still remain one central song.

I actually really enjoy these numbers as well. It's a bit like a finale reprise only all at once and only half way through the show! They bring quite a bit of excitement to the atmosphere.

Still wondering what the first show to have used it in musical theatre is though. It seems Quintet is still the closest thing to it that was used the earliest, and then Les Mis sort of blew it into larger proportions.

[Skywalker3]

Posted: 3/26/11 at 10:28am

In the original Dutch production '3 musketiers' (three musketeers) was a song called Vecht (fight).
It started with Vecht, but at the ending all the characters came onstage and start singing reprises of there own songs. It's kinda awesome!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3juVNxFSDU8
(It's an official dvd recording)

The song was later cut when it transferd to Germany..

[Kad]

Posted: 3/26/11 at 12:32pm

"I look forward to people's suggestions, as these numbers are pretty much my favourite thing in the history of ever."

Likewise. I always just called them act closer medleys. There's something just really compelling about them, I find. I know that in the case of The Producers, their inspiration was indeed West Side Story.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 3/26/11 at 1:16pm

It's called a "finaletto."

I would say Rossini either invented it, or it was a common device in 17th- and 18th-century opera and he did it more than anyone else. (Mozart tended to end his first acts better than Rossini.)

Gershwin used finalettos ("finaletti"?) throughout the 1920s in his musical comedies and then in the 30s in his more sophisticated musicals like Strike Up the Band. Other 1920s musicals had one too, like No, No Nanette. Jerome Kern and Kurt Weill used them too.

There's even one on Broadway now: The first act of How to Succeed ends with a song Frank Loesser actually called "Finaletto."

I'm not a Viennese operetta expert, but I think it was a common way to end a first or second act (when there were three acts). It makes sense when you think of it: the big choral sound is exciting.

That's part of what was revolutionary about West Side: You have this orgasmic quintet, the audience applauds, they think they're going out on a high, and wham! It's a choreographed fight scene that leave two of the main characters dead and the male lead a murderer. Intermission!

[TheKandyLife]

Posted: 3/26/11 at 5:24pm

I didn't enjoy it... But "Buffy: Once More With Feeling" did it with the song "Walk Through The Fire"

Scrubs The Musical...The song title escapes me, i'm sure you can find it on youtube somewhere!

Shrek The Musical also does a smaller version in "Who I'd Be"

...that's all i can think of just now. I tried searching the internet for the first musical to ever do this sort of song, but can't put a finger on it, sorry!

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 3/26/11 at 5:56pm

Someone I know once called them "Status Quo songs." As in, a song coming in, usually at the end of the first act, where we are reminded of what all of the characters want and what problem they have found themselves in. But I agree, they are often one of the most compelling parts of a show.

One of many signs pointing to how truly, wonderfully traditional The Book of Mormon is is that they do a pretty good one at the end of their first act.

[Katurian2]

Posted: 3/26/11 at 5:58pm

haha- I totally forgot about the 'Scrubs' musical using it in 'When the Truth Comes Out!' Nice catch!

Here's the link to the segment of the show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd2zjgdgKx0


Thanks for the operatic roots information, PalJoey! The finaletto in How to Succeed is overlapping parts, but all the characters seem to be singing a version of 'Rosemary.' So would something like a quodlibet mentioned earlier, or the multiple songs referenced earlier also have its roots in opera then, or was the original finaletto specifically multiple overlapping parts, so could be applied also to something like 'Weekend in the Country?'

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 3/26/11 at 6:00pm

They kinda used something like that in the Australian production of Chess. In this new rewrite, Heaven Help My Heart was the last song of Act One and all of the characters started overlapping towards the end of the song all culminating in a big reprise of One Night in Bangkok.

[bwayfan7000]

Posted: 3/26/11 at 11:03pm

Whatever it's called, I loved the act 1 finale of Book of Mormon, and I still have "Salt Lake City" stuck in my head.