"Be Our Guest" is the perfect welcome song for our Coe College Cabaret, and allows the cast to work together to set the stage for the rest of the show. Alan Menken (b. 1949) composed the song for the Disney musical Beauty and the Beast, which debuted in 1991. The film was the highest-grossing animated film to date at that time, and was the first in a long string of successful Disney musicals. The stage version of the musical took Broadway by storm in 1994. When it closed in 2007, it was Broadway's sixth-longest running production. In this scene the household objects (like cupboards, candleabras, plates, and dishes) in the Beast's castle come to life and welcome Belle, their first guest in a long time. And we welcome YOU to the Coe College Cabaret!
“Vanilla Ice Cream,” from the musical She Loves Me, premiered on April 23rd, 1963 on Broadway. This playful, upbeat song was composed by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick. Jerry Bock (1928-2010) was born in New Haven, Connecticut and was raised in Flushing, Queens, New York and made his broadway debut in 1955 after he and Lawrence Holofcener contributed songs to Catch a Star. Sheldon Harnick (1924-2023) was born and raised in Chicago and got his big break when he made the musical The Body Beautiful with non-other than Jerry Bock. To give you a little context about this song, my character, Amalia, has a realization that she has strong feelings for her coworker Georg, who she has been secretly talking to through anonymous letters. I know, shocking right? In this scene she is reflecting on a small gesture of Georg giving her vanilla ice cream. While writing this letter she realizes her growing love and affection for Georg.
“The Wizard and I” is from the Broadway musical Wicked with music and lyrics by Steven Schwartz. Wicked was first performed in 2003 at the Gershwin theatre. Wicked is one of the best selling musicals of all time. The story is loosely based on the story of “The Wizard of Oz” and follows Elphaba, who eventually becomes the wicked witch of the west. “The Wizard and I” is early on in the musical and Elphaba, the character I play, has just been given the chance to learn magic under the instruction of Madame Morrible with the chance to meet the wizard and become the next most powerful Wizard of Oz. Elphaba is fantasizing about meeting the wizard and being given the chance to wish for her heart's desire.
"76 Trombones" is a song from Meredith Willson's musical, The Music Man, which premiered in 1957 and was made into a movie in 1962 and then again in 2003. Willson wrote the lyrics and the music for The Music Man while the plot is based on a book he had written with Franklin Lacey. In the context of the musical, this song was “Professor” Harold Hill’s way to rally the townsfolk of River City, Iowa, to play in a marching band. He used a story where he claimed to see a marching band with “76 trombones”, “110 cornets”, and “over a thousand reeds.”
"There Are Worse Things I Could Do" is a song from the 1971 musical Grease, with music and lyrics by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Set in the 1950s, Grease follows the lives and loves of a group of high school students. In this poignant ballad, the character Rizzo reflects on her reputation and inner vulnerability, revealing a more complex and emotional side of her persona. The song offers a rare moment of introspection amidst the otherwise upbeat and energetic tone of the musical.
“How it Ends” is from the musical Big Fish, a 2013 musical with a book by John August (b. August 4th, 1970, Boulder, CO) and music by Andrew Lippa (b. December 22nd, 1964, Leeds, UK), based on the novel by Daniel Wallace. The story follows the ill Edward Bloom and his son, who have a strained relationship, mostly because Edward always would tell William stories about his life that were very exaggerated. This remains true on Edward’s deathbed, where the stories continue to be told. When William starts to look into his father’s tales, he starts to understand him more and his passion for storytelling. Edward, is going through a tough time. He’s battling cancer, trying to reconnect with his son William before he passes away, telling him all the stories in the same old exaggerated sense. Right before Edward is about to pass away, as everyone in the hospital room leaves, Edward reflects for the final time on his entire life.
