Encores after songs in a Broadway show? — Page 2

And just like the Joseph mega-mix, we can't forget the one in Footloose as well.

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To me, "Kiss Me, Kate"'s "Always True to You in My Fashion" is the best example of a traditional encore, because I think there are two full ones written out, and then the third one (if Lisa Kirk gets that many) is different ("anchors aweigh"), clueing in the audience that they should stop demanding more encores because there aren't any more.

And a question: what was the first encore that was written to get interrupted, so that there isn't a second chance for applause? It wasn't "Shall We Dance?", was it? This is a very effective device, but I think it got to where it is overused and a little predictable. Highly effective in small doses, however.

Josh Freilich, what your talking about is a reprise. They reprise Under The Sea and it is even on the cast album with the name Under The Sea Reprise.

An example of an Encore would be what Mamma Mia does AFTER the bows. Or Anything can Happen and Supercal AFTER the bows. An encore is done after the bows but a reprise is when they reprise a song or a bit of a song during the show.

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Yes, but those reprises not encores.

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O, and Paul, the encore for "I'm Gonna Wash That Man..." in South Pacific (written before The King and I) is interrupted when Nellie realizes that Emile is there. It's used for comedy, not the same effect as "Shall We Dance," but it's still an interruption of an encore.

~Steven

HeyMrMusic, your right. I mean I can't count the number of times a show has done something like this. There is a song and it is over. And then they use the same tune as backround music while they are changing the sets or something like that. I guess that the backround music of the song would be considered an encore. There were people on this thread who were confusing encores with a reprise thought.

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The Scarlet Pimpernel in every version of hte show I have seen/remember has always done "Into the Fire" (Reprise: by the album's standards) after curtain calls. And usually the curtain falls, the Percy comes out and has a bow, then everyone comes on and sings it. Whooooooo

Josh Freilich, what your talking about is a reprise. They reprise Under The Sea and it is even on the cast album with the name Under The Sea Reprise.

It can't count. It can only count if it's sung after dialogue, and not directly after a song, hence, that specific reprisal "Under the Sea" must have been mistitled as a reprise when it works more along the lines of an ENCORE.

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I hate to be putting my foot down here, but I think we need to get our terminology straight.

An "encore" is when a number stops (ostensibly for applause) and then starts again, either to repeat the last chorus or to sing a verse/chorus again, especially with new lyrics. Classically speaking, this would occur at the decision of the actor or the conductor, based on audience reaction. Later, such "encores" were written in so as to further the action with an interuption, or were just so expected that the production did the encore whether the audience responded at a particular performance or not.

A "tag" is a way to get an actor off stage and/or end a scene with a musical number, even though the audience has already had a chance to applaud. Perhaps this developed because the writers wanted to end the scene with a number, but the actor wanted to stand onstage and receive applause. I think you can have a few lines of dialogue between number and tag and it still counts as a tag.

A "playout" or "playoff" is the same as a "tag," only there is no vocal, it's only instrumental.

A "reprise" is when a song or a part thereof is repeated, either verbatim or with changes, later in the show than when it first appears.

A "curtain call" is whatever music happens after the plot is over and the bows have started, whether or not the actors fully drop their characterizations. This is of course going to be a "reprise" of one or more tunes from the show. It could even be quite lengthy, which gained popularity with the 1990s "Joseph" revival and its "Megamix." The only exception to a curtain call being a "reprise" is the rare example of a number appearing as a surprise to the audience, as in "Waterloo" from "Mamma Mia."

"Exit music" is what the orchestra plays after the bows are finished and the cast has exited. Again, this is always a "reprise," unless it is a new piece, as was the case with the exit music from "City of Angels."

Therefore, doing a number later in the show is NEVER an encore. Encores happen in the same scene, usually as a direct segue, and never after a plot point has occured. Anything else is a type of reprise.

As Doctor Pangloss would say, "Any questions?"

Updated On: 10/29/08 at 11:19 PM

You are correct again! I stand corrected. I don't know what I was thinking of--maybe it'll come to me.

But yes, "Double Talk Walk" is incredible. As I recall, hardly anyone left the theater until it was over!

No worries, Paul. You probably just thought it was its own entity since it's so incredible.

~Steven

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe "Together Wherever We Go" from Gypsy also has an encore.

Yes, it does... after the characters SAY something first.

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The encore was originally "Through thick and through thin, all out or all in," but with the addition of "When the audience boos, we won't drop our cues", the lyrics "We go in a group, we tour in a troupe" were moved to the encore.

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