Favorite Openings?

[Nettik]

Posted: 10/11/11 at 7:02pm

We have a topic floating around discussing favorite finales, but I didn't see one about favorite openings.

Mine are Lion King's "Circle of Life," Next to Normal's "Just Another Day," and Ragtime's "Prologue."

What about the rest of BWW?

[binau]

Posted: 10/11/11 at 7:14pm

I think Sondheim shows generally have very memorable openings: (e.g. ASSASSINS, SWEENEY TODD, COMPANY, FOLLIES, A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, PASSION, PACIFIC OVERTURES, SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, INTO THE WOODS etc.)

The opening for THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS was also pretty thrilling. My Favourites are probably "Just Another Day" (NEXT TO NORMAL) and "Willkommen" (CABARET).

Also, it may be too early to call but judging from that preview of CARRIE the new "In" looks like it will be a great opener.

Updated On: 10/11/11 at 07:14 PM

[shrekster224]

Posted: 10/11/11 at 7:43pm

In the Heights, again.
A Little Night Music
How to Succeed
West Side Story Proulouge
Spiderman. The weaving is also so beautiful. Great opening scene, actually. Updated On: 10/11/11 at 07:43 PM

[michellek45]

Posted: 10/11/11 at 7:49pm

I second the Cabaret opening. It's almost chilling, in a certain way. In terms of setting the tone for the show, I think Hairspray's opening does an excellent job. A Little Night Music has a gorgeous opening number as well.

And just for sheer hilarity, there's the West Side Story movie opening, which I love because of the ~scandalously tough way the gang members snap their fingers, dance, and steal basketballs.
Updated On: 10/11/11 at 07:49 PM

[ACL2006]

Posted: 10/11/11 at 8:12pm

my favs: A Chorus Line, Company, Book of Mormon, Lion King, Ragtime, 42nd Street.

[AwesomeDanny]

Posted: 10/11/11 at 8:26pm

Ragtime
My Favorite Year
Parade
Follies
West Side Story
Sweeney Todd
Candide and Gypsy (for their overtures)

[Katt1721]

Posted: 10/11/11 at 8:26pm

- A Chorus Line
- Assassins
- Company
- Cabaret
- The Lion King
- And for sentimentality mostly, Phantom of the Opera. It was one of the first big musicals I saw on Broadway, so the moment the Overture starts playing and the chandelier rises was pretty cool

[broadwaydevil]

Posted: 10/11/11 at 8:33pm

The Lion King
Sweeney Todd
Hairspray
The Phantom of the Opera

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 10/11/11 at 9:03pm

A LITLE NIGHT MUSIC famously has two openings. Are we choosing between them or counting them as one?

I think PIPPIN has to be mentioned here. The use of the light curtain may be old hat to us now, but it was pretty sensational in its day.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 10/11/11 at 9:04pm

Neil Patrick Harris or Lewis Cleale

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 10/11/11 at 9:47pm

The Lion King
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Phantom
Anything Goes
Chicago
Mary Poppins
The Book of Mormon
Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark

[ggersten]

Posted: 10/11/11 at 9:48pm

A Chorus Line
Ragtime
Man of La Mancha
Oklahoma - perhaps hackneyed now, but starting off stage and building - can be wow!
The Wedding Singer

[Nettik]

Posted: 10/11/11 at 10:09pm

I forgot Book of Mormon!

I also forgot bare: a pop opera's opening, "Epiphany," which hasn't been mentioned yet.

[madbrian]

Posted: 10/11/11 at 10:16pm

Fiddler
In The Heights
A Chorus Line
West Side Story

[sunnyleo]

Posted: 10/12/11 at 12:27am

Opening scenes or just the songs themselves? In terms of great opening tunes.

In the heights
Avenue Q
Legally Blonde

For the younger set, Dear Edwina and Beauty and the Beast.

[chewy5000]

Posted: 10/12/11 at 5:30am

When the moooooooon is in the seventh house...

[dreaming]

Posted: 10/12/11 at 10:39am

Phantom will probably be the one that never ceases to take my breath away, no matter how many times I see it.

I also loved "The Circle of Life" in "The Lion King"-another that took my breath away.

For simpler openings, I love "Sunday in the Park With George", and "Follies"-the sense of anticipation is really exciting in the latter.

[Inigomontoya]

Posted: 10/12/11 at 11:07am

Man in chair talk to audience in the dark

Something funny going on from Lucky stiff always makes me love the show even more

and Opening night/The king of Broadway from The Producers

[charlesjguiteau]

Posted: 10/12/11 at 11:18am

Love those Curtain-Up-on-a-Million-Dancing-Feet openings:
Kiss Me Kate
42nd Street
A Chorus Line
(and the movie All That Jazz)!

And how about a ballet opening that actually tells a great story?:
On the Town
Carousel ('94 revival)
Guys and Dolls
West Side Story
A Little Night Music

But nothing I know beats a killer opening song:
Porgy and Bess
... Forum
Company
Pippin
Chicago
On the Twentieth Century
The Lion King
Ragtime
Parade

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 10/12/11 at 12:35pm

Carousel - one of the most beautiful pieces of American music ever written coupled with exquisite dance telling everyone that what we are about to see is going to be something of unparalleled sensitivity

South Pacific - when well played, pulls one into the central romance and who these two people are immediately - exquisitely quiet scene which benefits exponentially from following soaring overture

Forum - "Comedy Tonight" is the most influential opening number in musical theater history, a model of introducing a show's spirit

The Frogs - wit

On The Twentieth Century - excitement of a journey about to happen

Titanic - ditto plus irony

Zorba - "Life Is" is a damn good song

Pacific Overtures - overlooking the fact that Sondheim's central premise that "nothing happens" in pre-Perry Japan, in an effort to describe relative isolation from modernity, as if there was no history, conflict or complexity until the Americans landed, is downright idiotic and Occicentric, it's a fantastic opening number to a fantastic show

1776 - highly emotional, literate, sweetly tuneful and right in line with the fireworks about to happen

The Mikado - "If you want to know who we are..." what a great first line (as right as Hamlet's "Who's there?"), what a great melody, and what costumes!

Fiddler - community, star/hero, comedy, poignancy, theme, throughline, Bock, Stein, Harnick.... genius

Gypsy - brilliant overture, curtain up on sad show biz cattle call with cute kids, then bam - mother of all star entrances! pretty damn cool!

[labwyfan]

Posted: 10/12/11 at 1:07pm

Fiddler.

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 10/12/11 at 1:48pm

Li'l Abner, in which all the characters in Dogpatch are introduced.

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 10/12/11 at 1:57pm

My immediate response to seeing the thread title was Sharon Stone in Fatal attraction... but to actually answer the question at hand it is Phantom of the Opera. The chandelier's rise to the ceiling gets me every time. I also found Lion King's opening to be quite impressive, and A Chrous Line's opening effective.

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 10/12/11 at 3:14pm

Ragtime
Edwin Drood
Cabaret

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 10/12/11 at 4:39pm

Because of this thread I can't get "Life Is" from Zorba out of my head, and worse, yet, there seem to be few videos of it online.

But I did find this one. The fact that it's in Polish is abou the the least unusual thing about it. For one thing, the role of The Leader appears to have been reenvisioned as an oversized Greek car ornament (Aphrodite? Minerva?)

"Zorba" the Pole Updated On: 10/12/11 at 04:39 PM