Simular tunes in different musicals

Posted: 9/3/04 at 3:21am

Can you think of any? I think that "The Music of the Night" from Phantom sounds very close to "Come to Me, Bend to Me" from Brigadoon..

What about you?

Posted: 9/3/04 at 6:07am

This isn't what you asked but I have noticed that some non-musical songs sound like showtunes!

Clay Aiken's This is the Night has a part that sounds just like Lift Me Up from The Secret Garden. I have heard others notice it as well.

Until from Kate and Leopold sounds just like The riddle from Scarlet Pimpenel in one part. I enclosed the link so people can hear.

Also there was a running joke in Forget Paris where Billy Crystal says Andrew Lloyd Webber stole the song School Days and renamed it Music of the Night. I had never noticed it before but it's EERY how similar they are!
Until Updated On: 9/3/04 at 06:07 AM

[J-Pill]

Posted: 9/3/04 at 8:14am

Another one for ALW...

Parts of Song & Dance sound a lot like bits of POTO.

[Jon]

Posted: 9/3/04 at 8:22am

Jerry Herman constantly steals from himself:

"Oh it takes a woman, a dainty woman..." - is the same as...
"Oh we need a little Christmas, right this very minute..."

Forbidden Broadway pointed out that "Why God Why" from MISS SAIGON is "There's a Small Hotel" from ON YOUR TOES.

Now, to piss off the Sondheim freaks:
"Mother isn't here now..." (from No One Is Alone - INTO THE WOODS) sounds an awful lot like "Who can take the sunrise..." from "Candy Man"!

Finally, for real fun, sing the title lines of these songs:
"I Want It All" from BABY
"It's Not Too Late" from ROMANCE ROMANCE
"A Bit of Earth" from SECRET GARDEN
"This is the Mo... (ment)" from JECKYLL & HYDE.

[joeyjoe]

Posted: 9/3/04 at 8:29am

then there are those secret Wicked moments that are lifted right from the Wizard of Oz...

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 9/3/04 at 8:39am

The Speed Test in Millie and Modern Major General from Pirates of Penzance are VERY similar.

[ShbrtAlley44]

Posted: 9/3/04 at 8:49am

"The Speed Test" is actually the song "My Eyes Are Fully Open," which first appeared in Ruddigore and was then added to The Pirates of Penzance. They have the exact same tune; the lyrics were just changed for Millie.

[Jon]

Posted: 9/3/04 at 8:52am

Original lyrics from Ruddigore:

MY EYES ARE FULLY OPEN TO MY AWFUL SITUATION
I SHOULD GO AT ONCE TO RODERICK AND MAKE HIM AN ORATION
I SHOULD TELL HIM I'VE RECOVERED MY FORGOTTEN MORAL SENSES
AND I DON'T CARE TUPPENCE HAYPENNY FOR ANY CONSEQUENCES
NOW I DO NOT WANT TO PERISH BY THE SWORD OR BY THE DAGGER
BUT A MARTYR MAY INDULGE A LITTLE PARDONABLE SWAGGER
NOW A WORD OR TWO OF CONFIDENCE MY VANITY WOULD SWAGGER
BUT I'VE GOT TO DIE TOMORROW SO IT REALLY DOESN'T MATTER

NO IT REALLY DOESN'T MATTER MATTER MATTER MATTER MATTER...

and so on... Updated On: 9/3/04 at 08:52 AM

[WOSQ]

Posted: 9/3/04 at 10:02am

Webber says the Come to Me reference in Music of the Night is a direct homage because Alan Jay Lerner was the original librettist-lyricist for Phanton but died early in the writing.

However he has never explained the direct steal (forget calling it a 'reference') from Puccini's Girl of the Golden West. The music that matches the lyric "Turn your head away from the naked light of day, etc." is the exact same melody line in I believe the same key as a repeated theme in Puccini. Almost the same orchestration at times.

Rumor has it that the Puccini Foundation asked for and got some royalty settlement.

As for Jerry Herman, I think some enterprising cabaret singer ought to do a "Herman Steals Herman" medley. "There's No Tune Like a Show Tune" and "It's Today" are another pair of same melodies.

[CurtainUp]

Posted: 9/3/04 at 2:06pm

"Keep it Gay" and "Be Our Guest"

[jonartdesigns]

Posted: 9/3/04 at 2:20pm

dress big- the frogs and me-b&tb

[Jon]

Posted: 9/3/04 at 4:43pm

Actually, "Be Our Guest" always reminds me of:
"Here we come, on the run
With a burger on a bun..."
from The Flintstones.

It also reminds mt of the "Ah Detente, oui detente.." section of "PLease Hello" rom PACIFIC OVERTURES, which in turn has the same melody as "What's the Use?" from CANDIDE.

[Mattio98]

Posted: 9/3/04 at 4:44pm

A lot of Wicked is from other Schwartz musicals.

[NuggetMonkeys]

Posted: 9/3/04 at 4:51pm

jonart, i did not hear the similarities, but perhaps you think so because the same male voice sings both in his same STYLE?
Burke Moses originated the role of Gaston
Burke Moses originated the role of Herocles.(sp?)

-d.b.j-

[Mythus]

Posted: 9/3/04 at 5:54pm

Maybe it's just me, but I think "A Little Fall of Rain" from Les Miz and "Somewhere That's Green (Reprise)" from Little Shop sound similar.

[jonartdesigns]

Posted: 9/3/04 at 6:01pm

n.m.- after listening again you are corrent...oops

[AnothaPartofMe]

Posted: 9/3/04 at 6:11pm

Listen to all of Lloyd Weber's scores... he steals from other composers, and when he ran out of ideas in general-- he used his own material. For example, listen to the first few lines "Who's the Thief" from JOSEPH... slowed down, and compare to "Superstar" from JCS... exactly the same.

[Rose_MacShane]

Posted: 9/3/04 at 6:41pm

Actually, Mythus, "Somewhere That's Green" reminds me of "Part of Your World" but I can see how "A Little Fall Of Rain" is similar too.

Posted: 9/3/04 at 7:32pm

There's Me from Starlight Express is Think of Me from Phantom but I think it was cut from Starlight Express so it probably doesn't count. Still it bothers me whenever I hear that song pop up on compilation CDs. Updated On: 9/3/04 at 07:32 PM

[Sumofallthings]

Posted: 9/3/04 at 7:33pm

Every other song ever made copied No One Mourns the Wicked!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


IDINAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 9/3/04 at 7:35pm

"There's Gotta Be Something Better Than This" from Sweet Charity is a complete riff on "America" from you-know-what.

[PleaseChangeMe]

Posted: 9/3/04 at 8:07pm

ALW has commited self-plagurism so many times, it's not worth pointing out all the times. But one example is one theme from Cats (I forgot which one) matches "Hello Rusty, king of the Track..." from Starlight Express.

This may not be Broadway, but Noah's "Caroline takes my money home..." from Caroline, or Change sounds a lot like "Ol' Mc Donald had a farm..."

[Thoroughly Modern Cara]

Posted: 9/3/04 at 8:12pm

Yeah the tune for the speed test in Millie was taken from Pirates of Penzance and also "Ah Sweet mystery of life" was taken from a movie made in the 20's I think. We watched in my musical theatre class but I can't think of the name of the movie at the moment.

Posted: 9/3/04 at 8:18pm

"What do you do with a BA in English" sounds alot like "Try To Remember" from Fantasicks

[jonartdesigns]

Posted: 9/3/04 at 8:21pm

b.a. in english has almost the same melody of the rainbow connection