best/most powerful finales of a show- Page 4

[bwayobsessed]

Posted: 3/29/17 at 3:04pm

The Hunchback of Notre Dame: hearing "what makes a monster and what makes a man" again after seeing the whole play with the harmonies and giant bells is just earth shattering.

also You Can't Stop the Beat

[Unknown User]

Posted: 3/29/17 at 4:02pm

Blood Brothers.  I saw it with Stephanie Lawrence and it tore my heart out

[pupscotch]

Posted: 3/29/17 at 4:21pm

I concur on Sunday. The reprise of that song to end the second act is absolutely stunning and emotional. When all the characters bow to George, it's just absolutely glorious. 

[Valentina3]

Posted: 3/29/17 at 4:22pm

The musical that has affected me the most in recent years was Fun Home. The 3 Allisons coming together singing "Flying Away" is a fierce ending to that show, especially since the scene right before leaves the theater thoroughly depressed. The harmonies manage to bring me up in the most gentle yet sure way. 

"Caption - every so often there was a rare moment of perfect balance when I soared above him."

*howls in oddly delightful pain*

[rattleNwoolypenguin]

Posted: 3/29/17 at 4:39pm

Agree about Sunday, Rent, and West Side Story

I DO get such a kick out of "Don't Feed the Plants" from Little Shop.

It's just such a wacky and fun ending and it's also just tonally different from usual theatre endings and I love that. I mean it ends with vines coming down and them telling you, you're gonna get eaten by a man eating plant that's taking over the world. It's a bold end to a comedy horror musical.

And it leaves the audiences feeling upbeat even though all the main characters are dead. It's such a tricky balancing act but a good production of Little Shop will achieve it.

Updated On: 3/29/17 at 04:39 PM

[Cat Guy]

Posted: 3/29/17 at 5:04pm

Hair.  I first saw it in London in the late 1960s Vietnam Era when I was in the U.S. Navy.  I wore my Navy Blues (with two white stars on the collar) to the performance.  The anti-war message had me a bit nervous because I didn't know how the audience would react to me the military guy.  At intermission and after the show, however, people kept coming up to me to pat the white stars on my back as a way to wish me luck. That was a common practice when I traveled in uniform in Europe.  What with the exceptionally moving final scene and audience members practically hugging me, I was a crying mess.  My most powerful theatrical experience.

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 3/29/17 at 7:05pm

Fiddler on the Roof. I saw men and women of all ages crying. For a musical that has such joy and humor the sadness of the final scene is overwhelming.

Fun Home. I lost it when I hear young Alison sing "I wanna play airplane." 

Carousel. For obvious reasons. 

[C.Jack]

Posted: 3/29/17 at 7:07pm

I personally love Pippins. It encapsulates the show perfectly and is a great climax and showcases the message. And that image of theo at the end is haunting.

[UrNotAMachine]

Posted: 3/29/17 at 7:29pm

In terms of a feel-good ending, I've always loved the finale In The Heights. 

[MichelleCraig]

Posted: 3/29/17 at 7:52pm

Man, I choked up reading many of these posts...as I'd had the same experience that many of you have mentioned. I also want to throw in the "so over-the-top happy" finale of the most recent (2000-2001) revival of THE MUSIC MAN. Wow...those trombones!!

[stlrod]

Posted: 3/29/17 at 7:57pm

Light from N2N.  Otherwise, A Chorus Line, Wicked and Hamilton.

[kellyhallo]

Posted: 3/30/17 at 11:37am

Falsettos

[haterobics]

Posted: 3/30/17 at 12:20pm

People at Charlie and the Chocolate Factory seemed to be very moved by the show, I never saw people run out of a theater faster after the curtain call... 

[theatregeek6]

Posted: 3/30/17 at 12:30pm

Blood Brothers for pure punch , Spring Awakening, Falsettos, Next to Normal and Big Fish for making me feel deeply; Pippin (the revival) and American Psycho for a chill up my spine, and Hairspray for the perfect pure joy ending of a show.  That being said, have yet to see Hamilton so I reserve my judgement.

[icecreambenjamin]

Posted: 3/30/17 at 12:44pm

Sunday in the Park with George, Carousel, Falsettos, Fun Home, Sweeney Todd, South Pacific, Cabaret, Ragtime, Gypsy, The Light in the Piazza.

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 3/30/17 at 1:16pm

American Psycho finale 'This is Not An Exit' is chilling.

[uncageg]

Posted: 3/30/17 at 1:54pm

Stephanie Mills singing HOME in The Wiz.

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 3/30/17 at 2:02pm

"Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story"

[Lot666]

Posted: 3/30/17 at 2:11pm

Some made me cry tears of heartbreak, some tears of joy, while others simply made my jaw drop:

Phantom of the Opera

Matilda the Musical

Sunset Boulevard

Love Never Dies

Cabaret

The Woman in White

American Psycho

Sunday in the Park with George

Updated On: 3/31/17 at 02:11 PM

[dev101]

Posted: 3/30/17 at 2:28pm

Sunday is certainly beautifully emotional. I also sobbed like a baby at the Les Mis finale. 

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 3/30/17 at 2:33pm

Also, "Anatevka" from Fiddler on the Roof always gives me chills. (Some may not consider it a "finale," since there's stuff after it, but I'm mentioning it since it is the last song)

[BuddyStarr]

Posted: 3/30/17 at 2:38pm

Is the show is done well, Follies.  Ben's breakdown and the sad fact that they're all going back to their same lives is heartbreaking.

I wasn't a big fan of the show, but Mamma Mia had a great ending with everyone standing up and singing to the ABBA songs.

The recent revival of Falsettos left me speechless and was so much more fulfilling than the original.

The original "Little Shop of Horrors" had a surprise ending when it first appeared off Broadway.

 

[thirtythirtyninety]

Posted: 3/30/17 at 2:38pm

The Who's Tommy

Falsettos

Rent

Carousel

 

 

[uncageg]

Posted: 3/30/17 at 4:04pm

Can't believe I forgot Sweeney Todd. Saw the original Broadway cast and was so blown away I just sat there staring at the stage until an usher came over to me to tell me they were closing the theater! I then realized I had been sitting in the empty Uris theater for about 10 minutes.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 3/30/17 at 4:47pm

I have to admit that I associate the word powerful with dramatic, so these tend to be heavy.  Finale suggests musicals, but i decided to include both.

 

Dramas (In no order):

Long Day's Journey into Night...Mary Tyrone rambling around in a narcotic stupor is spellbinding, if the actor is up to it.

A Streetcar Named Desire.  What can top 'I have always relied on the kindness of strangers'.

Cyrano de Bergerac.  At least the version with Derek Jacobi in the 80s.

Moon for the Misbegotten:  To this day, the 1973 production with Jason Robards Jr. and Colleen Dewhurst represents the single most powerful evening in the theatre, and the ending was unforgettable.

The Great White Hope:  I don't remember if it is the absolute ending of the play, or close to the end, but James Earl Jones carrying Jane Alexander's body across the stage would have had bigots in tears.

 

 

Musicals (in no order):

Cabaret.  The Sam Mendes version specifically

Man of La Mancha.  I may have missed references, but I was surprised this wasn't mentioned...the best part of the show.

Gypsy / Rose's Turn.  Goes without saying.  To me, Angela Lansbury's was the best of the many I've seen to date...her acting ability made it just that more powerful.

Sweeney Todd, Follies.  Boy, could Sondheim and Prince create powerful endings... although, in some ways, they are very similar...chaos erupting on stage.

Hamilton.  That ending, complete with Eliza's discussing what she does for the rest of her life, is spellbinding.

1776:  No music, just bells, and boy are they powerful.