Rousing Male-Male duets

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Rousing Male-Male duets

Posted: 5/5/16 at 12:55pm

Last night, I was music coordinator and pianist for a gala fundraiser for high school theatre. One high school production featured was a cast of "Beauty and the Beast" so large that it had double-cast all its leads. The two Beasts tag-teamed "If I Can't Love Her," each one taking a verse, singing together on the bridge and then into the final chorus. When they hit the climactic key change, they split into a harmony, and the entire Broadway-sized theatre went nuts simultaneously, giving them a standing ovation when they hit the high notes at the end on "let the world be done with ME!"

I couldn't help but think, the "rousing non-romantic duet" is a female genre much more than it is a male one. The only one coming to me off the top of my head in that fashion is "Lily's Eyes," and maybe "You're Nothing Without Me." But audiences love these! Am I missing some? I feel like there are some obvious showstoppers for two male voices that I'm missing...

Rousing Male-Male duets

Posted: 5/5/16 at 1:05pm

Agony - Into the Woods

Pretty Women - Sweeney Todd

It Would Have Been Wonderful - A Little Night Music

Dirty Rotten Number - Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

We Can Do It - The Producers

No More/Running Away - Into the Woods (not really a duet, but it works in a pinch)

A Powerful Thing - Steel Pier

We'll Take a Glass Together - Grand Hotel

"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe." -John Guare, Landscape of the Body

Rousing Male-Male duets

Posted: 5/5/16 at 1:13pm

Confrontation - Les Miserables

Rousing Male-Male duets

Posted: 5/5/16 at 1:16pm

You and Me (But Mostly Me) from Book of Mormon.

Butter Outta Cream and Stuck Together (Strange But True) from Catch Me If You Can.

"Anybody that goes to the theater, I think we’re all misfits, so we ended up on stage or in the audience.” --- Patti LuPone.

Rousing Male-Male duets

Posted: 5/5/16 at 1:17pm

"I Don't Need Anything But You" - ANNIE

"Tonight" - WEST SIDE STORY

"It's Our Little Secret" - PROMISES, PROMISES

"Conga" - ON YOUR FEET!

Rousing Male-Male duets

Posted: 5/5/16 at 1:18pm

"Dirty Rotten Number" is a great choice. I'm always surprised how much I forget this number exists, considering how much I enjoy it in the show. "Agony as well."

I thought about adding "Pretty Women" to the list, but like "No More," it ends with a whimper more than a bang (in fact, "Pretty Women" doesn't really end at all).

Rousing Male-Male duets

Posted: 5/5/16 at 1:42pm

You're Nothing Without Me.

It's the Act I finale so it definitely doesn't trail off at the end.

The harmonies of the two actors during the chorus is perfection.

....but the world goes 'round

Updated On: 5/5/16 at 01:42 PM

Rousing Male-Male duets

Posted: 5/5/16 at 1:44pm

Your Nothing Without Me - City Of Angels

Rousing Male-Male duets

Posted: 5/5/16 at 1:48pm

Agony and We Can Do It come to mind.

#10

Rousing Male-Male duets

Posted: 5/5/16 at 1:50pm

I guess "Confrontation" from "Jekyll and Hyde" doesn't count as a duet?

Joking aside, though, I would guess that Wildhorn shows may have a few of these, since they have rousing everything...I can think of a few rousing all-male numbers like "Into the Fire" ("Scarlet Pimpernel", "Red and Black" ("Les Miserables", etc., and a few nice trios with two men ("Journey On" from "Ragtime", but yeah, hard to think of blow-the-roof-off male duets...I guess Radames has that duet with his father in "Aida," but I dunno, I wouldn't exactly say I was roused in any sense by that. :/ There are some great Jesus/Judas bits in "Superstar," but mostly recitative-type stuff. Are there any true male-male duets in "American Idiot" or "Spring Awakening"...?

#11

Rousing Male-Male duets

Posted: 5/5/16 at 1:56pm

"Take Me Along"- Take Me Along

"Grand Old Ivy"- How to Succeed

"I'll Learn Ya"- Let It Ride!

#12

Rousing Male-Male duets

Posted: 5/5/16 at 1:57pm

One Rock n' Roll Too Many - Starlight Express

Mine - On the 20th Century

What Would I Do? - Falsettoland

Be Yourself - Lend Me a Tenor

....but the world goes 'round

#13

Rousing Male-Male duets

Posted: 5/5/16 at 1:57pm

Lily's Eyes.

Why hasn't this been mentioned yet lol.

#14

Rousing Male-Male duets

Posted: 5/5/16 at 1:59pm

I'm guessing Cabinet Battle #1 from Hamilton is not exactly a traditional "duet", is it? :)

I love Confrontation, from Les Mis.

Caption: Every so often there was a rare moment of perfect balance when I soared above him.

#15

Rousing Male-Male duets

Posted: 5/5/16 at 2:01pm

Where are the Hamilton people with Dear Theodosia?

http://backstagebarbie.blogspot.com

#16

Rousing Male-Male duets

Posted: 5/5/16 at 2:13pm

BroadwayKiwi said: "Lily's Eyes.

Why hasn't this been mentioned yet lol.

"

It was mentioned in the very first post.

#17

Rousing Male-Male duets

Posted: 5/5/16 at 2:29pm

Also, "What You Own" from Rent.

#18

Rousing Male-Male duets

Posted: 5/5/16 at 2:31pm

The Proposal/The Night Was Alive from Titanic.

"It was mentioned in the very first post."

I assumed that was a joke.

#19

Rousing Male-Male duets

Posted: 5/5/16 at 5:13pm

You've Got What I Need - "It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman."

I Can See it - "The Fantasticks"

Be a Performer - "Little Me"

threepanelmusicals.blogspot.com

#20

Rousing Male-Male duets

Posted: 5/5/16 at 5:32pm

"We Can Do It"- The Producers

The only review of a show that matters is your own.

#21

Rousing Male-Male duets

Posted: 5/5/16 at 5:41pm

BrodyFosse123 said: ""I Don't Need Anything But You" - ANNIE

"Tonight" - WEST SIDE STORY

"It's Our Little Secret" - PROMISES, PROMISES

"Conga" - ON YOUR FEET! "

Actually none of those are duets for men.

"Contentment, it seems, simply happens. It appears accompanied by no bravos and no tears."

#22

Rousing Male-Male duets

Posted: 5/5/16 at 8:35pm

To a poster above, J/ H Confrontation should definitely be considered a duet albeit an odd one

Man #1 Jekyll

Man #2 Hyde

Poster Emeritus

#23

Rousing Male-Male duets

Posted: 5/5/16 at 9:30pm

Pretty Women from Sweeney

Never Say No from Fantasticks (maybe not "rousing" but fun).

Confrontation from Les Mis.

All for the Best from Godspell is fun too.

#24

Rousing Male-Male duets

Posted: 5/5/16 at 9:40pm

"To a poster above, J/ H Confrontation should definitely be considered a duet albeit an odd one

Man #1 Jekyll

Man #2 Hyde"

Very true, Mr. Cuccioli was quite amazing on that song. BTW - My wife knew him in his HS days.

#25

Rousing Male-Male duets

Posted: 5/5/16 at 9:42pm

The Cooch, they called him.

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