Help a newbie with some Broadway tunes....

[austengirl]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 5:37pm

So I'd like to make a Broadway cd and I am not really familiar with a lot shows. The only recordings I own are Legally Blonde, Phantom and Grease. Does anybody have any songs or shows they could recommend for a newbie? I am interested in expanding my knowledge of Broadway!

Please be nice...I'm new here.

[defyingravity07]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 5:38pm

Anything from Gypsy, Les Miz, Grey Gardens, The Color Purple.

[austengirl]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 5:41pm

I do have "On My Own" and two songs from Wicked...I forgot.
Thanks for the suggestions. I know nothing about Gypsy, Grey Gardens or The Color Purple.

[Marianne2]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 5:42pm

Some of my favorite shows are Mamma Mia, In The Heights, and Spamalot. Actually, I mostly recommend Spamalot because it is really funny, but Sara Ramirez is absolutely amazing.

Oh yeah, I also love Hairspray, Into the Woods and have a guilty pleasure for Cats.

Updated On: 7/11/08 at 05:42 PM

[defyingravity07]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 5:43pm

Most of Bernadette's Gypsy CD is on the Tube go look it up. Grey Garden's is heartbreaking while still making you laugh. The Color Purple is I can't even explain the music is beautiful. Just listen to the samples on iTunes.

Edit: Isn't Cats everyone's guilty pleasure, except mine I just love it (seen it twice).
Updated On: 7/11/08 at 05:43 PM

[austengirl]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 5:44pm

I am definitely interested in Spamalot...I just rented Monty Python's Holy Grail for the first time this week and I am a fan of Christian Borle. Is he on the cast recording?

[TooDarnHot]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 5:44pm

why are all of these suggestions from more contemporary (or newer) musicals?

what happened to introducing a newbie to Broadway with some good classics like GYPSY, MY FAIR LADY, SHOW BOAT, OKLAHOMA!, and so on??

[defyingravity07]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 5:46pm

Yeah I know but it was all that I could think of at the time.

[austengirl]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 5:46pm

I'm writing ALL this down!

[Marianne2]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 5:46pm

That's true. Those are all very good suggestions too. I was just naming my current obsessions.

And yes, Christian Borle is on the Spamalot cast recording. :)

[Weez]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 5:47pm

Welcome to the board! I can't promise we'll be gentle with you, but if the Broadway board does get a bit much, the Off-topic and Student boards have a much gentler pace.

From the shows you already have, I would suggest 'Hairspray', 'Les Miserables', 'Wicked' (YEAH I said it!), and 'Rent' to begin with. They're fairly gentle and not so much older that we're throwing you in with a whole different musical style. The classics are awesome, but totally different from what's currently going down, so we can get to them later if you're interested.

Also, everyone should own 'The Last Five Years' whether they're newbies or not. Not technically Broadway, but no one cares. It's awesome. Personally, I'd say you should get 'Floyd Collins', but I say everyone should get 'Floyd Collins'. It's from Adam Guettel, the same guy who did 'The Light In The Piazza', which is very popular but has a more classical sound than most contemporary Broadway. 'Floyd Collins' is his least classical work and also his most awesome. I'm very fond of it. :3

If you're going to get into Broadway thoroughly, you'll need to discover Sondheim sooner or later. Most people seem to find 'In The Woods' his most accessible work, but 'Sweeney Todd' is bloody (pun intended) awesome too, as long as you quite fancy something dark in tone. For me, Sondheim's most accessible work was 'Assassins', but I probably wouldn't kick off with that one if I were you.

If you like 'Phantom', maybe check out more Andrew Lloyd Webber too. 'Evita' and 'Sunset Boulevard' are rather decent. 'Cats' is a great favourite of a great many, but incomprehensible tripe to a great many more.

My brain is running low. Someone else come up with ideas. (Sorry for not recommending individual songs, but I genuinely can't just listen to one or two songs from a show. I need the context and the entirety. Also my tastes are only mainstream up to a point, and that point is where we begin picking favourite songs from a show, so my advice may not be best to take. XD)

Updated On: 7/11/08 at 05:47 PM

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 5:50pm

The first thing I'd do is go to your local library, and discover that Broadway shows were written before 1987.

[austengirl]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 5:51pm

Thanks Weez! Your brain is running LOW??? That was a whole lot of info for a low brain. I was kind of afraid of the one or two songs from a show thing also, but if I like the music, I will probably go back and buy the whole show.

[Marianne2]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 5:51pm

Oh yeah, I also like The Sound of Music too.

[FuturePenny2]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 5:53pm

HAIRSPRAY is a MUST!!! and don't go watch the movie..it can't compare to the show and didn't do it justice at all.

also, Les Miserables, Gypsy, Little Shop of Horrors, Fiddler on the Roof, West Side Story, Wicked, Rent, Annie, and Beauty and the Beast.

Quite a long list, but those are some of my favorite classics hehe.

[austengirl]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 5:53pm

Not sure what you mean by the comment about Broadway shows were written before 1987. I am open to any shows, no matter when they were written. I want to learn more, so that is why I'm asking.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 5:58pm

"Monica" from I LOVE MY WIFE
"Call from the Vatican" from NINE (1982 and revival)
"A New Deal for Christmas" from ANNIE
"With One Look" from SUNSET BLVD.
"Turkey Lurkey Time" from PROMISES, PROMISES
"I Want to Be Seen With You" from FUNNY GIRL
"Tonight" (Quintet) from WEST SIDE STORY
"Little Lamb" from GYPSY
"Bushel and a Peck" from GUYS & DOLLS (1992 Revival)
"A Perfect Relationship" from BELLS ARE RINGING

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 6:04pm

austengirl. I'd get a book about Broadway musicals. I enjoy this book, a great way to test the waters and get familiar with all the big names.

http://www.amazon.com/Broadway-Musicals-Greatest-Shows-Time/dp/1579123139/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1215813850&sr=8-1

[singalongsong2]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 6:05pm

Anything from Jesus Christ Superstar. "Heaven on Their Minds" is my personal favorite.

[uncageg]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 6:11pm

CD's:

Songs For a New World
Caroline or Change
Hair (Original Cast)
Runaways
The Wiz
Sweeney Todd
Merrily We Roll Along
Annie (Original cast)
Evita
A Chorus Line (Original Cast)
Dreamgirls (Original cast)
A Little Night Music
Assassins (Revival)
Purlie
Bright Lights Big City

Just some that came to mind!

[philly03]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 6:16pm

Start with the older stuff/classic-ier sounding and go forward with more contempary for today:
Oklahoma
My Fair Lady
Fiddler..
Gypsy
The Sound of Music
EVITA
Sweeney Todd
Les Miserables
Sunset BLVD.
Woman in White
Light in the Piazza
Beauty and the Beast
Jekyll & HYDE
The Scarlet Pimpernel (great songs!)
Hairspray
Spamalot
In the Heights
Mamma Mia!

[cmwx122]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 6:30pm

You need some Sondheim!

Try

Sunday In The Park With George (Revival & Original)
Company (Revival & Original)
Sweeney Todd (Revival & Original)
Gypsy (Revival & Original)
Into The Woods (Revival & Original)



Also Spring Awakening, South Pacific, In The Heights

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 6:46pm

Miss Saigon
The Light in the Piazza
Parade
Ragtime
Passion - might take you a while to get into it, if you get into it at all. It's not for everyone, and certainly not an easily-accessible score.
Sweeney Todd
Carousel
Side Show
Jane Eyre
The Secret Garden
The Last Five Years
Reefer Madness - if you can't get a recording, just rent the movie musical. Though it's rated R, IIRC.
Once On This Island
Jekyll and Hyde
Les Miserables
The Scarlet Pimpernel
West Side Story
She Loves Me
Kiss of the Spider Woman
Jesus Christ Superstar
Evita
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Floyd Collins
My Life With Albertine
Godspell
The Life
Flower Drum Song
Guys and Dolls
Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella
In the Heights (for a newer show)

Updated On: 7/11/08 at 06:46 PM

[austengirl]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 6:54pm

Ok you guys are AWESOME! Looks like I will be dowloading enough for two cds!

[supportivemom]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 7:02pm

I'm so proud of everyone helping out austengirl! Not one snarky comment in the bunch and such wonderful suggestions!