#126
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?
Best Act I Finales — Page 6
#127
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.
#128
Posted: 4/29/17 at 8:10pm
Uprgade from Be More Chill and Daffodils from Big Fish are pretty good.
#129
Posted: 4/29/17 at 8:16pm
I love the Act One finale to TCP. "What About Love?" plus Celie finding Nettie's letters.
#131
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
#132
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.
#133
Posted: 5/2/17 at 9:12am
Face to Face from War Paint is pretty thrilling
#135
Posted: 5/2/17 at 11:15am
Rock of Ages - Here I Go Again
Dear Evan Hansen - You Will Be Found
Wicked - Defying Gravity
#137
Posted: 5/3/17 at 1:25am
Les Miserables - One Day More
Wicked - Defying Gravity
Legally Blonde - So Much Better
#138
Posted: 5/3/17 at 2:08am
brdway411 said: "Morning glow PIPPIN"
Agreed...the magic involved with Charlemagne's body disappearing was cool.
#139
Posted: 5/3/17 at 2:20am
TOSCA.
And then, THE KING AND I.
(And, just for fun- Best Act 2 Opening: "Steam Heat"
Well-well-well-what-do-you-think-of-that-I-have-nothing-here-to-pay-my-train-fare-with-only-large-bills-fives-and-sevens....
#140
Posted: 5/3/17 at 2:56am
Surprise - If/Then is just an incredible Act One closing
#141
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.
#142
Posted: 5/3/17 at 8:39am
"Sunday" from Sunday in the Park With George will always take my breath away
#143
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.
"Oh look at the time, three more intelligent plays just closed and THE ADDAMS FAMILY made another million dollars" -Jackie Hoffman, Broadway.com Audience Awards
#144
Posted: 5/3/17 at 10:28am
The act 1 finale of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying is excellent.
#145
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.
#146
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.
#147
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!
#148
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.
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#149
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?
My father (AIDS)
My sister (AIDS)
My uncle and my cousin and her best friend (AIDS, AIDS, AIDS)
The gays and the straights
And the white and the spades
#150
Posted: 5/10/17 at 11:24pm
Anastasia's "Journey to the Past" as a first act closer is utterly thrilling.
