Favorite: Itty-Bitty Minor Sung Moment

[EugLoven]

Posted: 5/7/06 at 11:50pm

In every musical there are one or two moments, usually sung by an ensemble or really minor underscoring or instruments, that you totally love but other people don't pick up on or passes over them...

Let me elaborate. What parts of what songs do you wait and wait for just so you can hum/sing/flick your finger to them.

FOR EXAMPLE:
1. The moment the ensemble sings "Oh-Oh-Oh-Ooooh-Woah!" in "It's Your Wedding" in The Wedding Singer

2. The moment Matthew Morrison sings "Salve mi" in "Aiutimi" in The Light in the Piazza followed by Patti singing "YES!" and the piano is playing each off-beat.

3. I skip to the end of "Barber and His Wife" in "Sweeney Todd" (original cast) just I can hear the blissful 25 seconds of booming orchestra and the *rattle*rattle*rattle* of the tin can in the interlude just before "Worst Pies in London."

4. I'm sure many people sing "Defying Gravity" this way... melding the words from each singer so it comes out like this: "Bring me down I hope you're happy look at her she's wicked get her bring me the wicked dooowwn!"

5. In "Cop Song" of "Urinetown" at the end when the officers each come into the round slowly by singing "Julie Cassidy" and "Jacob Rosenbloom" and there's a *crrraank* instrument inbetween each... all the way to the end of the song with the boo-dum, boo-dum rhythm.

6. It's hilarious trying to sing all the parts of "Christmas Bells" in Rent (and I do it, looking like a psycho downtown). But I keep my ears perked for Anthony Rapp's "But I am over her" ballad.

7. The electric guitar and music getting louder and louder between each whip during "Trial Before Pilate" in Jesus Christ Superstar

Am I crazy for noticing these things? There are just so many awesome musicalities of some songs that make this genre of music that much more special. NOW YOU SHARE!
Updated On: 5/7/06 at 11:50 PM

[alterego]

Posted: 5/7/06 at 11:57pm

Here's one from A Little Night Music when Anne and Henrik are just about to run off together when they sing " Think of how I adore you/Think of how much you love me/If I were perfect for you/Wouldn't you tire of me, soon...? it's all over in about ten seconds. But it is special....to me!

[Chopstitute]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 12:05am

Christmas Bells... yes... I call that song "Jonathan Larson's Showing off Moment"
Just to prove that he is brilliant.

Ovvvverr her.. *do do* fa la la la la, *do* fa la la la la la la, you have the right to ...okay I'm done...

It's not exactly a bity moment, but in why, from TTB, I go crazy every single time he sings "come to your senses, defenses are not the way to go". Also, in the workshop of Rent... which I shouldn't have... Collins has a four second moment where he sings a bit of Goodbye Love.
But I don't have that.

So....

All my moments are from Rent... wow... looking at the list of Broadway soundtracks on my iPod that I just posted, that's sad.

[peggyandvelma]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 12:05am

I like the moment in "Slap that Bass" from Crazy For You when there is an instrumental break then they all come back. My fave part is when they start on the last "In which case, if you wanna bubble..." to the end of the song. Glorious orchestrations, I tell ya.

[shesamarshmallow]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 12:12am

For some reason, I have about fifty I love from Phantom of the Opera - most notably "Don Juan triumphant!" I get such a kick out of it. I also love the way Emmy Rossum growls on the movie version of Point of No Return. I know she has her haters, but that's such an awesome choice.

I wait for all of the song for "Apple juice, please!"

Aaaand there are some from bootlegs that I probably shouldn't mention. :)

[GretchaSketh]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 12:13am

Well until they took it out of the show I LOVED the way Laura Benanti sang "or hello, I'm in denial" in Right on Time from the Wedding singer.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 12:17am

I love the "Ooohhs" in "It's your Wedding Day" - by far my favorite part. I liked in the "Rehearsal Video" on Broadway.com how the ensemble reprises that part for the end. They don't do that anymore - at least they didnt when I saw the show. I also love in "Il Adore" from "Taboo" - when they "Ah, Ah" at the end. It's so beautiful.

[EugLoven]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 12:23am

I'm with you, shesamarshmallow, on "Don Juan Triumphant."
It's brilliant how Webber can make something so musically inconsistant and "messy" to sound so pretty! I try to hum it or tap it out but it's just so crazy... I love it!

[loganp37]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 12:29am

In Thuy's Death/You Will Not Touch Him from Miss Saigon, right after Kim shoots Thuy and the ensemble begins to sing "This is the hour..". Both beautiful and amazing onstage as well as on the recording.

[fairygodmother]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 7:20am

ooooh, i've always had tons of these, even since i was a little kid i'd get excited at the most random bits. but now i can't think of any!

right:

the loudhailer moment in les mis - "you at the barricades listen to this", always love that bit, esp. "you're on your owwwwwwn" - when we listened to it in the car everything had to stop for that moment

totally agree with christmas bells, i do that schizophrenic ensemble thing too. "siiilent night oh holy night is that a warning"
used to do that with one day more too, as i'm sure most ppl out there did at one point!

the oscillating bass at the opening of the ballad of sweeney todd - shivers

the lush 3 part harmony at the end of the "l love you song" in spelling bee

actually, i'm a complete sucker for harmonies generally.

[circusliz]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 12:19pm

It's totally random, but I always sing the chorus' "Ha-ha-ha-ha...excited! Ha-ha-ha.....ignited" etc during "Christmas" in Tommy.

[Sant]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 12:26pm

Mme Giry's "This is a game you cannot hope to win!" in POTO's Prima Donna. Unfortunately it's usually 'drowned' under the managers' vocals.

[jsg03jd]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 12:40pm

I remember from LES MIZ: (i) when Eponine sings "Cosette, now I remember, Cosette how could/can it be? We were children together; look what's become of me?"; (ii) when Eponine and Marius see each other and Marius sings "Hey, little boy, what's this I see? God, Eponine the things you do!" and she responds w/, "I know this is no place for me, still I would rather be w/ you." This passage concludes w/ Eponine's initial singing of "Little he knows, little he sees!"

From MISS SAIGON: I love all the small recitative parts. In particular: (i) before Dju Vui Vay, Kim sings, "He simply asked me, I said yes," when the other girls asked about her new dress; (ii) when Kim sings the reprise of Dju Vui Vay in her encounter w/ Thuy right before YOU WILL NOT TOUCH HIM ("Somewhere deep in my soul..."); (iii) Kim's reunion w/ John and Kim telling him how she and Tam were out for one month at sea and she was sure they would drown but for Chris's love; (iv) right before and after the Nightmare Scene; and (v) after NOW THAT I'VE SEEN HER, when the Americans decide that Tam would be left behind in Bangkok to be educated in American schools, Kim sings "I still taste your kisses" while Chris and Ellen kiss, and Kim prepares for her "last performance", giving the Engineer the impression that Chris would take her, Tam and the Engineer all back to the States.

From CAROUSEL: the reprise of IF I LOVED YOU, especially when Billy now has the courage to ask for Julie's forgiveness when he sings, "Longin' to tell you but afraid and shy, I let my golden chances pass me by. Now I've lost you, soon I will go in the mist of day, and you never will know how I loved you. How I loved you."

Loved those moments. Those are the only musicals I can think of right now, but I like those "itty-bitty minor sung moments" because they give so much insight to the character outside of their "big" numbers.
Updated On: 5/8/06 at 12:40 PM

[jonartdesigns]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 1:29pm

one exceptionally minor one- in the shoeless joe reprise on the damn yankees revival recording theres a section when a group is singing "came a long long way to be with us today" and one voice goes over it, Similarly i enjoy collins' "woah-oh-oh!" during the "ohhh oh oh oh oh"'s in santan fe

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 1:45pm

I love the two orchestral accents towards the end of Nobody's Side in Chess just after Florence sings, "Nobody's on nobody's side..."

BAM! BAM!

When I saw the show, it was choreographed so that she was angrily hurling her clothes into a suitcase on those beats. It was very effective.

I've also always liked the little "Bumpa-bum-bum" break in Gordo's Law of Genetics from A New Brain. It wasn't until I did the show that I learned how all the parts fit together and it was so much fun to sing. The counter-melodies in Heart and Music were also great fun. Our MD took the unconventional approach to have me sing the Alto I part:

"Heart and Music
Heart and Music
You gotta have some heart and music
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!"

I loved that.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 1:51pm

FULL MONTY:

Big Ass Rock:
Over Malcolm's 'I've got Friends' Jerry and Dave sing
"Friends who will
Love you like a maniac
And lead you like a lamb
to the railroad track
And tie you down

Or tickle your wrist
With a single-edge razor
Or buy you a beer with
A Draino chaser"

The harmony on that is fun too.

[theatahguy]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 2:03pm

Nine revival recording--in Only With You just before Guido starts singing to Claudia, Laura Benanti (aka GODDESS!) says "Guiiii-do." Amazing.

[bella cantato]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 2:09pm

"Save him please, just save him. My poor Boq, my sweet, my brave, him. Don't leave me til my lonely life has ceased. Alone and loveless here, just the girl in the mirror. Just her and me, the wicked witch of the east."

Yes, I'm a wicked fangirl! hahaha

[SNLMedia]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 2:18pm

This is not on the recording, but in Hairspray during "Without Love", right as Penny and Prudy enter from stage right, the orchestra quickly plays the first six notes of "You Can't Stop the Beat". I just love how it's foreshadowing the finale, and I always strike my fingers in mid-air as if I'm playing it on a piano.

Eug, I also love Aiutami, especially when Patti says "Think about it!" followed by that utterly cacophonous sound. It's such a great wrap-up to the chaos of that song.

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 2:35pm

When I used to listen to Wicked pretty much non-stop, in the very beginning, I had a thing I had to do. I sing, "Good News. She's dead. The witch of the west is dead..." and right there on the drum beat I have to make this deep, "uh!" noise. The kind of "uh!" noise that would probably normally be accompanied by some sort of pelvic thrust dance movement or something. I didn't notice I did it for the longest time. Still do it though.

To Phantom in highschool we used to sing, "Christine you must have been drinking. What the hell happened to you? Christine you're speaking in riddles and you smell like poo." Yeah, not that funny, I know. Guess you had to be there.

[neomystyk29]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 3:14pm

6. It's hilarious trying to sing all the parts of "Christmas Bells" in Rent (and I do it, looking like a psycho downtown). But I keep my ears perked for Anthony Rapp's "But I am over her" ballad.
- I do that too.

Also in Pippin during the Finale, I love when the ensemble sings "Rivers belong where they can ramble, eagles belong where they can fly". It's just perfect.

In See What I Wanna See I love Idina's line in The Prayer Reprise as well as Mary Testa's. I also love Idina's line in the finale.

In See What I Wanna See I love the way Aaron Lohr sings, Boo Hoo. Also in that show, I love ALL of the spoken lines recorded.

In Avenue Q I love the parts in the Money Song that are similar to "ALL I'm asking you is to do what Jesus Christ with you". There's just something about the direction the line goes.

In Parade when Frankie sings "When she laughed you swore you'd never cry again", while the ensemble sings under him during the funeral.

All the parts of the Phantom of the Opera where the Phatom sings the line similar to "You will curse the day you did not do, all that the phantom asked of you".

In Your Daddy's Son, when Audra sings "forgive me". It moves me.

In Seussical, when Gertrude sings her last "notice me Horton" and goes up on the '-ton'.

In The last 5 years...
- during "A Part of That" when Cathy sings 'Aren't I...'
- during "If I Didn't Believe In You" when Jamie sings 'If I'm cheering on your side Cathy, why can't you support mine...'.
- The fourth I Suck... fans will know what I mean.

In Piazza I love the opening lines to Let's Walk.

In the Beauty Is (Reprise), I love "This is wishing just to have one moment back".

In TTB- I also go crazy for the part in WHY when he sings "come to your senses..."

So many, this is why I love music.