The five best 11 o'clock numbers in Broadway history- Page 4

[Matt1]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 4:27pm

I don't agree with Fly Fly Away, but the rest are great!

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 4:33pm

The Ladies Who Lunch
Rose's Turn
Is Anybody There?
You'll Never Walk Alone
Sit Down You're Rockin' the Boat

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 5:00pm

"I always thought the 11 o'clock number was supposed to be a showstopper to wake the audience up and give them something to sing on the way out."

I always thought it was the number that excites the audience enough to keep them awake and interested in the final scenes that follow. With that in mind, I submit:

"Sit Down You're Rocking the Boat" GUYS AND DOLLS

"Leaning on a Lamppost" ME AND MY GIRL

"Get Me to The Church on Time" MY FAIR LADY

"Good Morning Starshine" HAIR

"The Miller's Son" A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC

Hon. mention:

"Buddy Beware" ANYTHING GOES

[kdogg36]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 5:02pm

I'd like to put in a plug for "Anything But Lonely" from Aspects of Love. It's clearly no "Being Alive" or "Rose's Turn" (though it is sung by Rose!), but if the eleven-o'clock number is supposed to wake us up for the final bit of action, then it does what it's supposed to do.

[NoName3]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 5:25pm

Join the Circus from Barnum

[lovebwy]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 6:14pm

Officer Krupke

[Comden Green]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 8:29pm

"I haven't seen it mentioned, so I will now: "Is Anybody There?" from 1776"

Funny, I watched the video of 1776 just the other night. and thought about starting a thread about the worst 11 o clock number ever. That's what "Is Anybody There" was, to me. It sure didn't convey the feeling it was intended to. And the repeated phrase, "Is anybody there? Does anybody care?"

Puhleeze

Is there a worse 11 o clock number?

[gleek4114]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 8:55pm

For good from Wicked

[justoldbill]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 9:34pm

Stephen Sondheim has often cited "When I'm Not Near The Girl I Love" from FINIAN'S RAINBOW. That would be hard to argue with.
I love the fact that a charming Act One number in FLOWER DRUM SONG, "Don't Marry Me", becomes a very effective 11 o'clock number in the film.
(I'm not sure "Sit Down, You're Rocking The Boat" could be considered GUYS AND DOLLS' 11 o'clock number- that spot is technically covered by "Marry The Man Today", if not all that brilliantly.)

Updated On: 8/2/13 at 09:34 PM

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 9:50pm

I've always thought of Rose's Turn as an 11 o'clock number. Too late for my little brain to start questioning that.

I think Lot's Wife fits the bill too, not to mention how brilliant of a song it is. If we're talking about Caroline finding resolve or at least coming to terms with her problems, I don't think it necessarily all happens in Lot's Wife. A lot comes in the much-less famous but still flawless Underwater. That's when she really opens up to someone about her sorrow, which I think is the real turning point for her. Lot's Wife is screaming at God, and Underwater is quietly telling Noah that she misses him and, in so many words, she is sorry. It's like how Rose has Rose's Turn but still needs the final scene with Louise to tie her story up.

And a few pages back someone mentioned Blow, Gabriel, Blow. I think the second act opener is far too early to be considered.

Updated On: 8/2/13 at 09:50 PM

[joshbrown31]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 10:02pm

Fable from Light in the Piazza is my absolute favorite 11 o'clock number. hands down, no contest.

[jnb9872]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 10:22pm

"When I'm Not Near the Girl I Love" is definitely a great pick. Christopher Fitzgerald really made that a delight in the last revival.

I agree with so many of the choices here, but one not mentioned I have to speak for is "Work the Wound" from PASSING STRANGE. Unconventional as that show is, it pretty clearly reads as a true 11 O'Clock Number for me, and a devastating one at that.

Also, I know most of these songs are solos or solo-led ensemble numbers (Anything You Can Do being a notable, and great, exception), so how would people feel if I floated "Joseph Smith American Moses" here?

[jo]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 10:30pm

"Once Before I Go" - from THE BOY FROM OZ.

It regularly drew standing ovations - but it could have been both for the rousing and emotional number which was second to the last (the finale spectacle of "I Go to Rio!")...or due to Jackman's outstanding performance!

Most of the songs in the show were autobiographical in nature in this Peter Allen musical story although he was supposed to have written that song as a finale for Ann Margret's concerts. But it worked well as an 11 O'Clock number in this musical biopic!

Updated On: 8/3/13 at 10:30 PM

[all that jazz]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 10:44pm

I think Memory is my absolute favorite 11 o' clock number, with Cabaret a close second.

I also love:

Ross's turn
If he walked into my life
Being Alive
Once Before I go
You must love me

[E.Davis]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 10:56pm

As silly as it is I love "I love to Cry at Weddings" from Sweet Charity.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 8/3/13 at 12:53am

Lots of good points and opinions here, but also a lot of people are looking and forcing the term on any and every show.
But, as has been stated, not all shows have 'em.
I always thought there was another song or a reprise after the 11 O'clock, therefore giving 11'O clock another meaning, so the Finale would be the 12'O'clock or Final song of the night.
I don't think it was or has to be an answer to the "I want" song.

[ucjrdude902]

Posted: 8/3/13 at 1:10am

They Just Keep Moving The Line - Bombshell

[jdrye222]

Posted: 8/3/13 at 1:28am

Definitely my favorites include ----

ANOTHER WINTER IN A SUMMER TOWN (Grey Gardens)

YOU CAN'T DO ME (The Scottsboro Boys)

CABARET (Cabaret)

THE MUSIC THAT MAKES ME DANCE (Funny Girl)

BILL (Show Boat)

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 8/3/13 at 11:19am

It occurred to me a minute ago that I'd neglected to mention Invisible from Women on the Verge. The show was messy but it's one of my favorite songs of the last few years.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 8/3/13 at 2:02pm

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who has been confused by the term.

I grew up understanding the "11 o'clock" number to be the mid-Act II showstopper that woke up the audience. Some of these have been mentioned above: "It's Not Where You Start" (SEESAW), "Oklahoma!", "Tap Your Troubles Away" (MACK AND MABEL), etc.

The term dates from when Broadway shows started at 8:30 and the average musical was 3 hours or more. So around 11 (or halfway through Act II), audiences--who may have spent the day working or shopping--needed something big to wake them up and carry them through to the end of the show.

Nowadays, however, shows start earlier and tend to be shorter, so the term seems to have morphed into what one poster called "the answer to the I want song" and tends to refer to the leading character's final "aria".

So it's hard to compare GUYS AND DOLLS ("Sit Down You're Rocking the Boat") with BALLROOM ("Fifty Percent").

[amoni2]

Posted: 8/3/13 at 4:41pm

Apparently those five shows must be the only ones Michael Musto has ever seen.

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 8/3/13 at 8:31pm

1776 - "Is anybody there?" Still get chills thinking about it a gazillion years later.

I don't think it worked in the movie version but on stage it was magical with the full orchestra and tower bells ringing.
Updated On: 8/3/13 at 08:31 PM

[Comden Green]

Posted: 8/3/13 at 9:37pm

"1776 - "Is anybody there?" Still get chills thinking about it a gazillion years later.

I don't think it worked in the movie version but on stage it was magical with the full orchestra and tower bells ringing."


Thanks for explaining. As I say, I just couldn't imagine how that was received as an inspiring number.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 8/6/13 at 8:19pm

When I hear "11 o'clock" number my mind immediately goes to "Sing Happy" from "Flora The Red Menace."

[Dave19]

Posted: 8/6/13 at 8:24pm

"I know the truth" from Aida