Heres one: Best Show Endings...- Page 3

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 8/31/04 at 3:18pm

;-D i have a fondness for Hairspray's "You Can't Stop The Beat"... and peter throughing up the hat at the end of BARE.

[The Goat]

Posted: 8/31/04 at 8:57pm

Also not a musical, but the ending of David Hare's "Amy's View" was beautiful. The main character (played by Judi Dench) is an actress, whose adult daughter has died earlier in the play and, years later, she has a final showdown in her dressing room with the son-in-law she never liked over their memories of the daughter. They part on a strained and melancholic note. She finishes putting on her makeup, goes out to meet her costar backstage, and says, simply, "Shall we?" as she takes his hand. They proceed together onstage, over large, billowing white sheets on the floor and out towards the footlights (which are upstage)with their backs towards the audience, as the stage lights fade to black. A haunting, poetic, almost transcendental finale.

[POLisPOL]

Posted: 8/31/04 at 9:00pm

Hairspray and Sunset boulevard
and I disagree with AIDA, i prefer the original one

[jtropia]

Posted: 9/1/04 at 1:22am

Hi, all:

While many of my favorite endings have already been mentioned, I have to throw a vote behind "Sweeney Todd", too, not just the very end reprise of The Ballad, but the entire final sequence. It's amazing how it ties up the main plot lines AND really hits home the 'to seek revenge may lead to Hell' idea. There are a number of twists in the last sequence...but the key one (which, of course, I won't spoil) blew my mind the first time I experienced it, and still gives me chills to this day. I love seeing the show with people who've never seen it, esp. to see how they react to the last 10 minutes.

I also think the reprise of Everbody's Got the Right at the end of "Assassins" is incredibly powerful, especially in the revivial...'Something Just Broke' worked for me more than I thought it would in the revival, and it provided a fierce contrast to the reprise.

& since people are bringing them up (and yay for those who do, maybe we can start a 'Best play ending' thread!), two Albee endings come to mind as being quite devastating --- the end of "Virginia Woolf" (which I'm anticipating like WHOA for this season!) and the end of "The Goat", both of which are slight 'twists' which I won't spoil...'The Goat' one works for some people and not for others, but I really found it quite devastating.

--- Joe T.

Posted: 9/1/04 at 2:31am

I totally agree that Rent's ending seems forced, but that didn't stop me from seeing it umpteen times or even getting choked up by it...

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 9/1/04 at 9:08am

Forgot about Phantom. A really haunting and thought-provoking ending!

[jayem1968]

Posted: 9/1/04 at 9:09am

Assassins.

[Craig]

Posted: 9/1/04 at 9:45am

While I agree with all the huge finale #'s, one of my favorite endings to a musical of all time is still PIPPIN. I also think the end of GYPSY ranks right up there as one of the best.

[jezzebelle]

Posted: 9/1/04 at 10:16am

Les Miserables
Hairspray
West Side Story
Ragtime

[boxers7]

Posted: 9/1/04 at 2:27pm

When done with the alternative ending Pippin can have the most chilling ending in musical theatre history. When I played Theo in a recent production the ending went like this: The Leading Player gave us (Pippin, Catherine, and myself) his long rant and left us on stage "undressed". The Orchestera shut off their little lights. We were left in "theatre darkness". Pippin sang his last verse and him and Catherine started to walk offstage. I stayed behind and took center. I sang "Rivers belong where they can ramble, Eagles belong where they can fly", the Orchestera's lights went back on. "I've got to be where my spirit can run free" Pinspot on me. The cast crept onstage to take the opening positions (floating hands). "Gotta find my corner of the sky". The spot widens to show our three Leading Players (a man and two women) surrounding me in a very Fosse-like pose. The opening number begins again. The company does the ooo's. Blackout. The audience were so surprised it took them a minute to realize they were supposed to clap.

[boxers7]

Posted: 9/1/04 at 2:27pm

sorry!

Updated On: 9/1/04 at 02:27 PM

[boxers7]

Posted: 9/1/04 at 2:27pm

Triple post. That was my first one, by the way!

Updated On: 9/1/04 at 02:27 PM

[DiRrTy_ReNtHEAD420]

Posted: 9/1/04 at 2:41pm

AIDA
RENT - jsut cause its rent adn great......
Hairspray - the energy is jsut crazy
LSOH - Audrey II was just the show
Les Miz
Man of La Mancha - never saw it on Broadway but i was in it and the story was just awsome and the ending is sooo sad........

[tthomas76]

Posted: 9/1/04 at 3:48pm

Wicked
Millie
Chicago
Nine

[Copeman63]

Posted: 9/1/04 at 4:36pm

Mamma Mia! has always got the crowd overjoyed as they leave the theatre, often singing their favorite song again.

Ragtime made me cry, it was so moving.

Cabret scared the hell out of me.

Phantom's ending is great with the Phantom breaking down, then disapering, then Meg entering and holding the mask with the tiny spotlight on it.

Miss Saigon wanted me to blow my own brains out, well not really... But it was pretty freakin' depressing.

Chicago is great, but I'm always pissed, cause I always miss the roses!

And finaly, Hairspray is so full of energy, even though it's never as loud as it should be.

[CJR]

Posted: 9/1/04 at 4:38pm

Chicago is great, but I'm always pissed, cause I always miss the roses!

You have to sit close.... and scream and cheer your head off....

... knowing either Velma or Roxie helps too

[bwaycrazyfreak]

Posted: 9/1/04 at 4:44pm

aida's bitter sweet ending is my favorite

[Copeman63]

Posted: 9/1/04 at 4:53pm

I've tried sitting close lots, but as a gay man, my catching skills aren't quite up to par. Someday...

I did have Donna Marie Ashbury use me as her focal point for the show when she was in Denver, I guess I'd rather have "All That Jazz" sung to me instead of a rose, haha.

[mmajer]

Posted: 9/1/04 at 5:20pm

Sweeney Todd- This is the ultimate finale, I love that it takes the opening number and moves it up a step which makes the "sweeney..sweeney...SWEENEY" with the sopranos on the D sound amazing, not the mention the entire finale sequence is shocking (if done right). I saw a horrible high school production that butchered the ending (along with the entire show). All they had for their orchestra was a keyboard, I'm sorry but you need an orchestra to do this show a justice, not a keyboard.

Parade- Absolutely chilling, the reprise gaves me chills when I saw the tour.

Titanic- I love the music to the show and I thought the ending tableau was a perfect way to leave the show.

Into the Woods- A great way to end a phenominal show.

Sunday in the Park with George- What can I say, I'm a sucker for reprise finales But again this final scene is amazing. The cast enters and sings one of most beautiful pieces ever written and everyone clears the stage to leave George alone reading, just phenominal.


Reefer Madness- I think the ending sequence of this show is hysterical. The entire faux-finale complete with confetti cannons which leads into the follow up of the characters and the finale.

Les Miserables- Very powerful, but I must say my favorite part is the duet/trio between Fantine, Eponine, and Jean Valjen. When the Fantine and the Eponine blend perfectly it is a slice of heaven.

Candide- "Make Our Garden Grow"...what else needs to be said?

Tommy- Tommy was the first show I ever really "got into". My parents were hippies so I heard music by the Who since I was born. The reprise of "Listening to You" is great.

Caroline, or Change- Very powerful. I can't listen to the finale without listening to "Underwater" first. I love how that entire symbol ties together in that song. It is heartbreaking.

[mallardo]

Posted: 9/1/04 at 10:31pm

I don't know about "best" but there is no more moving ending than the three kids at the end of Caroline or Change.

[virgil blessing2]

Posted: 9/2/04 at 3:16am

INCORRECT ENDINGS:

I saw a production of WEST SIDE STORY where the blocking got all muffed-up in the final scene...u know, where Tony gets shot. Chino, the nimrod, entered from the wrong wing and shot MARIA!! It was a split second decision. The gun was aimed right AT her (there was no way for her to say, 'opps, ya MISSED me!", so she had to die. She fell and died. Rather than Tony do her dialogue for her, there was this earth-shattering silence. Chino was aghast at his mistake. Tony looked like he wanted to pummel him. The conductor played the final strains and they rang down the curtain. I laughed so hard I think I wet my pants.
This was the same night where during the "Anita near-rape scene", the Jets got VERY rough with her and HURLED her all OVER, smashing her into piece of scenery. I thought, 'wow, who BLOCKED this scene? is she allright?' she looked astounded that the scene had gone completely out of control with these boys. JUST as I thought that, they HURLED her against Doc's counter, and it BROKE. She went THRU the wood, crashing to the floor. We gasped. It was obvious it was not blocked for her to go THRU the thing. They didn't even give her time to recover. The JUMPED her. When Doc saved her, she looked like she had been beaten with a lead pipe. She almost CHARGED & beat the crap outta them in response. Doc had to like, LIFT her outta these piles of wood. She WENT for them. Doc had to hold her BACK. lol She limped outta Doc's candy shop.