Musical Songs, Musical Dances

I’m back! (Too soon? Not soon enough?)

I had a bit of an inspiration while working on a different playlist article and thought, “hey, that’s a bit more fun.” I thought, why not focus on a particular genre? Specifically, I thought, why not try musicals?

For this playlist, send me a song from a musical—any musical, from film to theater to television episodes. In particular, send me a song that impacts you emotionally and/or holds particular meaning. Of course, you don’t have to tell me about the connection or impact, but if you did want to, you could write a stand alone piece about it; I'd love to read it!

While I’m not super into musical theater or musical films myself, there are a few exceptions. The most relevant example to this article would be West Side Story. If I had to label it, it's probably my favorite musical. Keep in mind that I’ve only seen a handful, though, so this is certainly an uninformed preference on my part. BUT the music in it is so good. I’ve listened to three different soundtracks, including that of the recent remake of the film, and I get the songs stuck in my head. I hold a reverence for the symbolism, themes, dissonance—all of it. It’s immaculate. It’s art.

The number of times I've binge-listened to the soundtracks—all of them, sometimes back to back—is amazing. The songs got into my head and wouldn't leave. I'd just play it on constant loop at work, in the car, while cooking, etc. It's like when I became obsessed with the 2005 version of Pride & Prejudice and ended up watching it nearly every day for a month. Or when my husband and I binged the soundtrack to Bo Burnham's Inside during the lockdowns, memorizing it in record time. I swear, I will go to my deathbed being able to sing the entirety of "Welcome to the Internet" with no mistakes, lol.

On a side note, is there anyone else who will back me up for my opinion that the 2021 version of West Side Story was not good? True, the dancing was great. But the central theme was ruined! They changed who sang "Somewhere," which utterly decimated the foundation for Maria and Tony's love story and its significance in the musical score. It ended up muddying the main storyline with external commentary instead. A travesty.

Years ago, before the remake, I watched a video from the YT channel Sideways, where he breaks down the devil’s tritone and its sort of redemption in the song, “Maria” from West Side Story. This tritone, which can be heard if you just sing “Maria” per the melody, is the motif of the entire musical.

I’ll link the video here if you’re interested in learning more about this—and a fraction of music theory to boot.

Ever since I watched it, I’ve been able to hear the entire soundtrack with new appreciation. Each song has been intentionally written to convey the central love story, even in the songs with the gang conflicts, because both are intrinsically connected. Leonard Bernstein is out-of-this world incredible, to say the least.

So, my choice from this musical has to be “Maria," but I didn’t choose the film version. I chose the Broadway version from 1957 (the original cast) because Larry Kert’s voice is not only the best of the three versions I’m familiar with, but also sounds the most natural. It physically affects me when I listen, something that's rare for me.

In this version, the recording and arrangement are better than the others; it isn't rushed, and the emotions feel genuine. Maybe Kert was a better actor, lol.

I still recommend you listen to those versions, though. It's very interesting to compare them all!

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Now it’s your turn. What is one of your favorite songs from a musical? Drop the link in the comments below! I’m excited to put this playlist together!

I am a bit trepidatious I’ll have a hard time arranging them in the optimal order… but on the other hand, it could be a fun exercise.

Cheers everyone! See you in the comments!