I Want Songs

[Elizabeth Little]

I Want Songs#1

Posted: 6/17/17 at 11:43am

Hi all! I'm making a playlist of "I Want" songs and would love suggestions of your favorites! Thanks so much!

Updated On: 6/17/17 at 11:43 AM

[CT2NYC]

I Want Songs#2

Posted: 6/17/17 at 12:01pm

In my opinion, "Part of Your World" from THE LITTLE MERMAID is the ultimate "I Want" song. 2 more of my favorites are "Sal Tlay Ka Siti" from THE BOOK OF MORMON, & its ancestor, "Somewhere That's Green" from LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS.

Updated On: 6/17/17 at 12:01 PM

[BroadwayConcierge]

I Want Songs#3

Posted: 6/17/17 at 12:18pm

"The Wizard and I" and "My Shot" are two of the best "I want" songs ever written.

[Sondheimite]

I Want Songs#4

Posted: 6/17/17 at 12:18pm

Howard Ashman and Alan Menken were the kings of "I want songs."  So many to choose from in their repertoire 

Broadway World's Fireman.

[JennH]

I Want Songs#5

Posted: 6/17/17 at 12:28pm

^ Yeah basically Menken revived that concept and ran with it so just make a playlist of all the 90's Disney ones you'll be set lolz! 

[leighmiserables]

I Want Songs#6

Posted: 6/17/17 at 12:36pm

Some other ones...
- "Everything Else" from Next to Normal 
- "God I Hate Shakespeare (Reprise)" from Something Rotten! 
- "Dust and Ashes" from The Great Comet 
- "All That's Known" from Spring Awakening 
- "Lady's Maid" from Titanic 

[_IrisTInkerbell]

I Want Songs#7

Posted: 6/17/17 at 12:42pm

Journey To The Past from Anastasia is one of my favorites (although it's no longer in the place of an I Want Song in the show, but it still is a great example.

[bwayrose7]

I Want Songs#8

Posted: 6/17/17 at 12:48pm

Musical theatre structure is one of my favorite things :) So, from older shows, I'd suggest "Wouldn't It Be Loverly" from My Fair Lady, "In My Own Little Corner" from Cinderella, "Simple Joys of Maidenhood" from Camelot, "If I Were A Rich Man" from Fiddler on the Roof, "Something's Coming" from West Side Story, "Some People" from Gypsy and "Corner of the Sky" from Pippin.

Moving into the Disney canon, you've got "Part of Your World", "Belle (Reprise)", "Proud of Your Boy" from Aladdin, "Just Around The Riverbend" from Pocahontas, "Out There" from Hunchback, "Go The Distance" from Hercules, "Reflection" from Mulan, "Almost There" from The Princess and the Frog, and "When Will My Life Begin?" from Tangled. "For the First Time in Forever" from Frozen and "How Far I'll Go" from Moana would also count, as would "Journey to the Past" from Anastasia (not a Disney movie but in the same genre).

Modern Broadway musicals have really embraced this, so a selection might include: "The Wizard and I", "Where I Want To Be" from Chess, "Temporarily Lost" from The Bridges of Madison County, "Foolish to Think" from Gentleman's Guide, "One Song Glory" from Rent, "My Shot", "Waving Through A Window", "Pierre", and "Everything Else" from Next to Normal,

[JBroadway]

I Want Songs#9

Posted: 6/17/17 at 1:00pm

When I first read the thread title I definitely thought the OP was just very bluntly asking us to give her songs. 

[Elizabeth Little]

I Want Songs#10

Posted: 6/17/17 at 1:03pm

Lol. I want I want songs!

[Rumpelstiltskin]

I Want Songs#11

Posted: 6/17/17 at 1:17pm

Baby - I Want it All

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

I Want Songs#12

Posted: 6/17/17 at 8:21pm

My favorites that haven't been mentioned yet (and another shout out to "My Shot," a genius take on the I Want song):

"I Want to Go to Hollywood"-Jane Krakowski, GRAND HOTEL

"Simple Little Things"-Audra McDonald, 110 IN THE SHADE

"I'm the Greatest Star"-Barbra Streisand (OBCR or Movie Soundtrack), FUNNY GIRL

"It Won't Be Long Now"-Karen Olivo, IN THE HEIGHTS

 

"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"

[poisonivy2]

I Want Songs#13

Posted: 6/17/17 at 8:41pm

If we're going way back I think "Over the Rainbow" is the alpha and omega of "I Want" songs.

[mehtotheworld]

I Want Songs#14

Posted: 6/17/17 at 10:34pm

Perhaps Gimme Gimme from Thoroughly Modern Millie.

[TheSassySam]

I Want Songs#15

Posted: 4/21/20 at 2:26pm

Playbill has an Instagram challenge where you choose a song from a daily theme. Today, my friends and I landed on "I Want" songs and thought it'd be a fun idea to bring this board back. 

 

My favorite "I Want" song is "Somewhere That's Green," but since I chose that song in last month's challenge. I settled on, "Some People" from Gypsy. My friend chose, "It Won't Be Long Now" from In the Heights, while another chose, "The Wizard and I" from Wicked. 

What are your favorite I Want songs? 

[aliceripleyofficial]

I Want Songs#16

Posted: 4/21/20 at 2:42pm

Made dinner the other night with "The Beauty Is" from The Light in the Piazza on repeat... it was transcendent

[AEA AGMA SM]

I Want Songs#17

Posted: 4/21/20 at 7:13pm

CT2NYC said: "In my opinion, "Part of Your World" from THE LITTLE MERMAID is the ultimate "I Want" song. 2 moreof my favorites are "Sal Tlay Ka Siti" from THE BOOK OF MORMON, &itsancestor,"Somewhere That's Green" from LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS."

And yet one of the many mistakes Menken and the rest of the team made with the stage adaptation of The Little Mermaid was giving Ariel a new "I want" song to sing before getting to "Part of Your World." So the first song we hear her sing is a mediocre song that says the exact same thing as "Part of Your World," just not done nearly as well or memorably. It just set up an evening of exasperating mediocrity.

[Highland Guy]

I Want Songs#18

Posted: 4/21/20 at 8:12pm

"The Impossible Dream" from Man of La Mancha.

Non sibi sed patriae

[fosterfan2]

I Want Songs#19

Posted: 4/21/20 at 8:47pm

"Waiting",from The Band's Visit,although it's sung by more than one person. Does that still count?