Best Act I Finales - Page 6

[TheSassySam]

Posted: 4/29/17 at 1:12pm

In the past five and a half years since the last message on this thread, have any Act I Finales stolen your heart? 

[jmuep]

Posted: 4/29/17 at 7:53pm

I can't remember ever being as moved by an Act 1 finale as I was by "You Will Be Found."  I think it does a fantastic job of summing up the emotional turmoil in DEAR EVAN HANSEN while also setting up what Act Two is gonna be. 

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 4/29/17 at 8:10pm

Uprgade from Be More Chill and Daffodils from Big Fish are pretty good. 

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 4/29/17 at 8:16pm

I love the Act One finale to TCP. "What About Love?" plus Celie finding Nettie's letters.

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 4/29/17 at 8:52pm

"You Will Be Found," Dear Evan Hansen

 

[bear88]

Posted: 4/29/17 at 10:33pm

"Non-Stop" from Hamilton is a brilliant first-act finale, advancing the plot, including all the characters, setting up the second act, and just being fun to watch because of the imaginative staging. Plus, "Hamilton wrote the other 51," has to be one of oddest inspirational lines in musical theatre history. 

Updated On: 4/29/17 at 10:33 PM

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 5/2/17 at 9:06am

"Anything Goes"

It was novel to see a stage full of tapping feet on Broadway as Sutton Foster cemented her reputation as a triple-threat and won herself a Tony.

[broadwayboy223]

Posted: 5/2/17 at 9:12am

Face to Face from War Paint is pretty thrilling 

[brdway411]

Posted: 5/2/17 at 9:55am

Morning glow PIPPIN

[alienstar]

Posted: 5/2/17 at 11:15am

Rock of Ages - Here I Go Again

Dear Evan Hansen - You Will Be Found

Wicked - Defying Gravity

[Chicken_Flavor]

Posted: 5/2/17 at 3:39pm

Man Up is my freaking jam

[ItsJavert]

Posted: 5/3/17 at 1:25am

Les Miserables - One Day More

Wicked - Defying Gravity

Legally Blonde - So Much Better

 

 

[PatrickDC]

Posted: 5/3/17 at 2:08am

brdway411 said: "Morning glow PIPPIN"

 

Agreed...the magic involved with Charlemagne's body disappearing was cool. 

[justoldbill]

Posted: 5/3/17 at 2:20am

TOSCA.

And then, THE KING AND I.

(And, just for fun- Best Act 2 Opening: "Steam Heat"

[Jessetenny]

Posted: 5/3/17 at 2:56am

Surprise - If/Then is just an incredible Act One closing 

[remark]

Posted: 5/3/17 at 3:25am

TimesSquareRegular said: "Does any Act I finale send audiences to intermission more "wowed" that WICKED's DEFYING GRAVITY? "

Bored yes, wowed no. Such a boring moment. Very clearly just running through the motions when I saw it. 

[wish i were here2]

Posted: 5/3/17 at 8:39am

"Sunday" from Sunday in the Park With George will always take my breath away 

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 5/3/17 at 9:35am

I don't like to use the word "best" because it's spine-chilling in the saddest way, but I just saw the tour of CABARET and it reminded me how effective the staging of "Tomorrow Belongs To Me" is.

[HenryTDobson]

Posted: 5/3/17 at 10:28am

The act 1 finale of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying is excellent. 

[PatrickDC]

Posted: 5/3/17 at 11:08am

Can I ask a question related to an Act 1 finale? As Laura ran down the stairs in R+H CINDERELLA, how did her slipper come off at the same spot every time? She ran across the top of the stairs and down them, so the slipper couldn't easily fall off. And her descent was so fast she couldn't use her other foot to take it off. That always fascinated me. I have a theory about a bit of stage craft that might have made it happen but I'm curious if anyone knows how she did it. 

[Dysquith13]

Posted: 5/3/17 at 11:36am

When I had first heard the WAITRESS cast album, I was under the impression that the reprise of Bad Idea was the Act 1 finale. As a rule of thumb, I generally tend to adore finales that intertwine different characters and plotlines into one epic conclusion. Turns out I was slightly off.

Bad Idea itself is a fun Act 1 finale, setting the plot for Act 2 while having a pretty strong playoff.

[Mackdizzy]

Posted: 5/9/17 at 11:53am

Ooh boy! This is a fun one.

 

Vocally, Defying Gravity is fun, but visually it's nothing special. So much better was okay, but it didn't do anything magical for me. The ones that did, however--

 

Obviously, One Day More and La Vie Boheme are excellent choices, if not a bit obvious. Nonstop from Hamilton can easily join this list, in my opinion. Bringing the entire cast out on stage, different harmonies, one classical and one modern, they're truly magical. For some less obvious-

 

Urinetown: Act 1 finale ((Yes, that's the title of the song.))

If staged correctly, the choreograph is usually insane. Multiple parts, check. (Breaks into 4 parts at the end.) Crazy contemporary dancing, double check. Narrator's interlude, especially witty and creative? Triple check. Everyone running in slow motion? Why not. Truly a number to remember. We did it in a little church venue and it was spectacular.

 

In the Heights: Blackout.

Say what you will, but the chaos in this number is somewhat perfect. I think it's a perfect act 1 finale for a musical about down-and-out souls. It's almost incomprehensible as every character comes together under the umbrella of utter chaos-but it's incomprehensible in a good way. The harmonies are insane. And everyone stopping what they're doing for that refrain-"Look at the fireworks///Light up the night sky". Magical.

 

For an approach that's a bit subtler, "Light in the Dark" from Next to Normal is haunting and beautiful. Not really a song, but the end of act 1 in Fiddler on the Roof-"Clean up, everyone"-is touching to say the least.

 

And holy cow, has nobody mentioned Book of Mormon? Multiple parts, crazy costumes, and Elder Cunningham rocking his ass off with some hilarious lyrics in the center of it all-this number is great! 

 

 

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

Posted: 5/10/17 at 11:42am

"Sunday" and "Mame" are two that come to mind. I also have a soft spot for "Defying Gravity" because it was the first Act 1 Finale that I clearly remember.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 5/10/17 at 11:59am

PatrickDC said: "Can I ask a question related to an Act 1 finale? As Laura ran down the stairs in R+H CINDERELLA, how did her slipper come off at the same spot every time? She ran across the top of the stairs and down them, so the slipper couldn't easily fall off. And her descent was so fast she couldn't use her other foot to take it off. That always fascinated me. I have a theory about a bit of stage craft that might have made it happen but I'm curious if anyone knows how she did it. 

 

"

Didn't she just take it off with her hand? Or was that a later scene? 

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 5/10/17 at 11:24pm

Anastasia's "Journey to the Past" as a first act closer is utterly thrilling.