References or nods to musicals in other musicals- Page 2

[jimnysf]

Posted: 6/17/06 at 3:57am

Another one in "Hairspray"...Penny says "I'm a pretty girl, momma".

[best12bars]

Posted: 6/17/06 at 9:57am

In "Merrily We Roll Along," Sondheim has the producer tell them to "just write a plain old melo-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee..."

He's humming the melody for "Some Enchanted Evening" (South Pacific).

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 6/17/06 at 10:53am

These are great! Keep them coming! maybe I can think of some more later this weekend

Thanks for particiapting! You guys are wonderful

[bwayboi4life42]

Posted: 6/17/06 at 11:38am

"jonartdesigns, could you describe Glinda's EVITA entrance? I've seen a photograph of Kristen wearing a white dress, standing before a microphone on a platform, and arms outstreched -- I immediately thought of the Casa Rosada balcony scene."

It's the opening of Act II, Glinda has just been officially named "Glinda the Good" by the Wizard, blah, blah, blah, she's addressing the people, blah, blah, blah, it's just like "Evita" only it takes place in Oz. I was so bored, I was humming "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina" the whole scene.

[freeadmission]

Posted: 6/17/06 at 11:40am

There's a couple in DRS. After Great Big Stuff, when deciding in his mind to take Freddy on as a student Lawrence says to Andre: "Look at him. So deliciously low...so horribly dirty" which is exactly what Higgins says to Pickering when he decides to take Eliza on as a student in My Fair Lady.

My Fair Lady is one of my absolute favorite shows of all time, so i laughed really, really, really hard at that, but, I swear to God, NO ONE ELSE in the entire packed house laughed. It made me want to cry.

[ILoveMyDictionary]

Posted: 6/17/06 at 12:34pm

Not sure if anyone posted this yet, but also in Spamalot when King Arthur and his army are traviling to wherever a bit of America from West Side Story plays.

[rKrispyt]

Posted: 6/17/06 at 12:44pm

Not sure if this counts, but I've heard Stephen Schwartz talk about how Wizard and I was structured along the lines of One (I believe it was that number - somethinh from ACL) - that when he was that show and was watching that number, there were so many times that they looked as if they were going to go into a kickline and each time it was a tease - they never did, so that there was so much anticipation for it and it was so incredibly rewarding when they finally did at the end.

Supposedly when they decided on Idina, miss high belter, he fashioned the song in accordance; knowing that everyone would be waiting to hear her belt the hell out of stuff in the stratosphere, so on her first song he put in all those 'teasers'; all those moments that you think she's about to wail, and instead she goes somewhere else vocally, so that it's rewarding when she finally hits that high stuff at the end.

Not sure if that counts...

[wickedrentq]

Posted: 6/17/06 at 12:46pm

I know freeadmission. I laugh almost every time I hear that part and it's rare that others laugh with me. Occassionally maybe like 2 other people in the theatre will. They all start laughing when Freddy says he's still in the room. Oh well.

[gumbo2]

Posted: 6/17/06 at 12:51pm

Isn't something that Mrs. Lovett sings in "Worst Pies in London" a parody on Annie, or something...you guys would know better than me. And also in Avenue Q Rod is reading his book of musicals, so I guess that counts. Also in Beauty and the Beast, Gaston says "Go to the woods and bring me back...a deer for my wedding feast" which just reminds me of Into The Woods, but it's probably coincidental.

[SweetQintheLights]

Posted: 6/17/06 at 12:53pm

Avenue Q has some. The only one I can think of off-hand is "Pal Joey"

[GreenGirl22406]

Posted: 6/17/06 at 12:54pm

In the DRS oklahoma, it has a "?" at the end instead of the classic "!"

just thought that was a clever touch.

[TheMecca]

Posted: 6/17/06 at 1:00pm

"Avenue Q has some. The only one I can think of off-hand is "Pal Joey""
I don't think they count, but during "If You Were Gay", while Rod is reading his book, he's trying to ignore Nicky by reading some of the titles loudly (which, I think, are High Button Shoes and the aforementioned Pal Joey).

[jasobres]

Posted: 6/17/06 at 1:05pm

Originally in the revival of La Cage, Georges tells Albin that he has played a lot of men and women and was even up for the lead role in Mame, (which, of course, is also a Jerry Herman musical.) I don't know why they removed that line later.

[Jazzysuite82]

Posted: 6/17/06 at 1:09pm

A couple of Sondheim one's that no one really knows about occur in Frogs. They were cut before they opened officially, but they're genius.


In Dress Big, when Burke Moses tells Nathan Lane "Ya gotta be me.", Nathan sings 4 bars of Jerry Herman's "I am who I am".


In the boatman scene, the boatman's singing All Aboard. At the very end he sings "...if you've flown the coup, kicked the bucket, if you're pushing up daisies. Hell...EVERYONE'S PUSHING UP DAISY DOWN HERE. (to the tun of everything's coming up roses). Alas that too was cut. I thought they were both clever touches.

[alicia_11212]

Posted: 6/17/06 at 1:28pm

This one's kinda obvious since the whole show is one big reference to the original characters from the Wizard of Oz, but in the song "The Wizard and I" from Wicked, the first seven notes beginning at the line "Unlimited, my future is unlimited.." are the exact notes from the title line in "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". I thought that was kinda clever when I heard about it. Something about Stephen Schwartz doing that as a little more subtler nod, musically, to Wizard of Oz, but yet not going more than seven notes in sequence.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 6/17/06 at 2:05pm

1927's Good News references 1917's Leave it to Jane. Both shows are football musicals set on a college campus. In Leave it to Jane, the rival college is named Bingham. The authors of Good News paid tribute to the earlier show by naming one of their characters Patricia Bingham.

Of Thee I Sing's sequel Let 'Em Eat Cake references the earlier show several times, but my favorite is when the president's wife, Mary Turner tries to halt a political proceeding in Let 'Em Eat Cake by claiming she is pregnant, a plot point in Of Thee I Sing. A character in Let 'Em Eat Cake says to her, "What is it - TWINS again?"

Me and Juliet contains a song called "Intermission Talk," which references many then current shows, including Rodgers and Hammerstein's own The King & I.

Two on the Aisle's very popular "If," contains the lyric about "two seats for South Pacif'" Also, the song "Show Train" also has some funny capsule synopses of then current musicals.

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying's "Cinderella Darling" was a parody of the nuns from the still running Sound of Music (which was playing across 46th Street).

Updated On: 6/17/06 at 02:05 PM

[Smaxie]

Posted: 6/17/06 at 2:13pm

There's also the transformed Gooch's descent on a grand staircase, accompanied by rambunctious orchestral fanfare in Mame, which parodies Dolly's entrance to the Harmonia Gardens.

[SweetQintheLights]

Posted: 6/17/06 at 2:14pm

""Avenue Q has some. The only one I can think of off-hand is "Pal Joey""
I don't think they count..."

Why don't they count? lol

[lamentingenvelope]

Posted: 6/17/06 at 3:54pm

"The Producers" is just full of them - my favorite being the black accountant's bit "until dem ledgers be right..." - it cracks me up every time. I was so upset they cut it out of the movie.

[BDrischBDemented]

Posted: 6/17/06 at 4:44pm

I think Gaston's line about getting a deer is more a reference to "Bambi", becuase in the movie they imply that Gaston was the one who shot Mrs. Bambi.

[FranklinShepard-Inc.]

Posted: 6/17/06 at 4:55pm

The part in "Keep it gay" in Producers from "I see a line..." reminds me strongly of the title tune of "La Cage aux Folles".

[Scottie310]

Posted: 6/17/06 at 7:33pm

Its not a Broadway musical, but in the South Park movie there are a bunch of musical references. Like the end of "Shut your F*cking Face Uncle F*cker" is exactly like "Oklahoma" or the Les Mis/West Side Story style Quartet

[StageManager2]

Posted: 6/17/06 at 7:41pm

gumbo2, "The Worst Pies in London" sounds a little like "Tomorrow" from ANNIE. Apparently, it's supposed to be a parody, but I don't see it.

[Jon]

Posted: 6/17/06 at 7:50pm

Sondheim deliberately used part of the "Tomorrow" melody in "Worst Pies..." because ANNIE was the biggest hit on Broadway at that time.

Scottie310 - were you aware that the voice of the kid who leads the Revolution song in South Park is Howard McGillin?

[Jazzysuite82]

Posted: 6/17/06 at 8:53pm

Where did you hear that Worst pies was a parody of tomorrow?