Longest Showtune

[Gothampc]

Posted: 6/28/10 at 3:49pm

Does anyone know what the longest song from a musical is?

Would it be one of the ones from A Chorus Line like "Hello Twelve..." or "Music and the Mirror"?

[ljay889]

Posted: 6/28/10 at 3:50pm

Do Sondheim song/scenes count? If they do, "Putting it Together" is up there.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 6/28/10 at 3:54pm

I also thought about "Meadowlark" from The Baker's Wife. I didn't check the run time, but it just seems like a long song.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 6/28/10 at 3:55pm

I guess it depends on what you mean by length. I don't see how there could be an actual answer since tempo and arrangement will vary from production to production.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 6/28/10 at 3:56pm

Good point, Phyl. I suppose you could count number of bars.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 6/28/10 at 3:58pm

^ but that still isn't accurate, because it doesn't take tempo into account.

[newintown]

Posted: 6/28/10 at 3:58pm

Aren't "The Coconut Girl" and the London sequence from The Girl Who Came To Supper pretty lengthy?

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 6/28/10 at 4:00pm

But, givesmevoice, it would be accurate if that was the criterion you were measuring by.

Otherwise, as PRS points out, the question is unanswerable.

[Kad]

Posted: 6/28/10 at 4:01pm

The lengthiest songs from cast recordings I have are:
Final Sequence (Sweeney Todd OBC- 14:10)
Simple (Anyone Can Whistle OBC- 12:57)
Prologue: Into the Woods (ITW OBC 11:5

The Final Sequence from Sweeney and the opening from ITW are comprised of several smaller songs, so I don't think those would count. Simple, however, is fairly musically consistent.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 6/28/10 at 4:04pm

Reg, that's true.

Kad, I had never realized how long Simple is until I saw Anyone Can Whistle at Encores.

[ljay889]

Posted: 6/28/10 at 4:05pm

Yeah, but Simple is another Sondheim scene/song. It's not a traditional song.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 6/28/10 at 4:43pm

If you're talking 1 person or 2 person songs, traditional ballads, uptempos, patters, whatever... NOT scenes?

1. Soliloquy, Carousel
2. Meadowlark, The Baker's Wife,
3. Carrie, Carrie
4. The Ballad of Billy McCaw, Cats

...to name a few.

[Mark_E]

Posted: 6/28/10 at 4:52pm

Hard work from Fame runs at around 12 minutes.

Notes/Prima Donna from Phantom around 11

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 6/28/10 at 9:07pm

The Baby Love Miracle Show - The Grass Harp

[Mildred Plotka]

Posted: 6/28/10 at 9:17pm

Words cannot express my love for The Babylove Miracle Show.

Updated On: 6/28/10 at 09:17 PM

[twinbelters]

Posted: 6/28/10 at 10:27pm

Halleluuu, heed the call! Babylove loves you all! Exactly what I was going to say. Amazing song.

[twinbelters]

Posted: 6/28/10 at 10:27pm

Halleluuu, heed the call! Babylove loves you all! Exactly what I was going to say. Amazing song.

[twinbelters]

Posted: 6/28/10 at 10:27pm

Halleluuu, heed the call! Babylove loves you all! Exactly what I was going to say. Amazing song.

[Cabarob]

Posted: 6/29/10 at 12:58am

they were cut down significanly on their respective cast albums, but in the shows Too Darn Hot in "Kiss Me Kate" and I've Got Rhythm in "Crazy For You" both run over 14 minutes.