Favorite 'I want' song in a musical- Page 3

[PatrickDC]

Posted: 8/26/17 at 1:01pm

Updated On: 8/26/17 at 01:01 PM

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 8/26/17 at 1:04pm

Auggie27 said: "Odd, people assuming any song with an expressed wish is "I Want."  "I Want" songs are defined thus by placement, i.e. in craft terms entirely structural, generally the second song in a show in which the protagonist voices his or her goal.  "I Want" songs are not in act two. 

But it's not my opinion. Read Stephen Schwartz or Jack Viertel's "Secret Life of the American Musical."

"

Well then with those definitions:

- Waving Through a Window is the second song in DEH

- My Shot is also the second song in Hamilton

- If I Were a Rich Man is the third song, but Matchmaker Matchmaker is also an "I Want" song and it's the second number

- What Baking Can Do is the third song, but the first two are expositional. WBCD is the first time we're alone with Jenna and she expresses her hopes and dreams.

- Wouldn't It Be Loverly - second number of the song

- You and Me but Mostly Me is the third number but it definitely counts as an I Want song because we learn about what drives both Price and Cunningham

- Something's Coming is also the second number

[PatrickDC]

Posted: 8/26/17 at 1:22pm

Are there shows without an IW song, or where the want is not so clealy expressed?

i would suggest CATS does not have an IW. Memory is emotional, but it's about what Grizabella is feeling, not directly what she wants. It also doesn't fit the placement requirement being at the end (with a sniper at the end of Act 1). 

 

[PatrickDC]

Posted: 8/26/17 at 1:23pm

Updated On: 8/26/17 at 01:23 PM

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 8/26/17 at 2:08pm

PatrickDC said: "Are there shows without an IW song, or where the want is not so clealy expressed?

i would suggest CATS does not have an IW. Memory is emotional, but it's about what Grizabella is feeling, not directly what she wants. It also doesn't fit the placement requirement being at the end (with a sniper at the end of Act 1). 
 

"

The original Great Comet didn't have an "I Want" song. But for Broadway they put in "Dust and Ashes" which is definitely an I Want song.

Kiss Me Kate doesn't have an I Want song?

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 8/26/17 at 3:57pm

Recent musicals:

"In My Dreams" from Anastasia

"Waving Through a Window" from Dear Evan Hansen

"Donny Novitski" from Bandstand

"What Baking Can Do" from Waitress

"My Shot" from Hamilton

 

[PatrickDC]

Posted: 8/26/17 at 4:19pm

Good Girl, Winnie Foster (and it's reprise) from TUCK EVERLASTING. 

 

[Itonlytakesajourney]

Posted: 8/26/17 at 6:20pm

Totally forgot about Donny Novitski and What Baking Can Do! Both absolutely gorgeous songs with the perfect actors to sing them.

[aimeric]

Posted: 8/26/17 at 6:51pm

poisonivy2 said: "The original Great Comet didn't have an "I Want" song. But for Broadway they put in "Dust and Ashes" which is definitely an I Want song.

Kiss Me Kate doesn't have an I Want song?

 

"

I think someone on this board expressed it well when they said that "Pierre" (the second song of the show, incidentally) functions as Pierre's "I-Don't-Know-What-I-Want" song, a question that "Dust and Ashes" then seems to answer.  Along with the finale (the "I Got" song?), they form a full arc for his character that defines the beginning, middle, and end of the show.  

This said, why were so many people on the board insisting around Tonys time that Pierre's not a "leading" character of this show.....?  With the addition of "Dust and Ashes," his arc is the backbone of the show's structure.

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 8/26/17 at 7:13pm

Also strange that Stephen Sondheim who was all about revolutionizing the musical was always so scrupulous about including an "I Want" song.

Even "Merrily We Roll Along" had the second-to-last (since the musical moves backwards) song as the "I Want" song. "Our Time" is one of the most beautiful I Want songs ever written.

"Finishing the Hat" also qualifies as an I Want song.

[theater_tech]

Posted: 8/26/17 at 7:26pm

poisonivy2 said: "PatrickDC said: "Are there shows without an IW song, or where the want is not so clealy expressed?


"

The original Great Comet didn't have an "I Want" song. But for Broadway they put in "Dust and Ashes" which is definitely an I Want song.

Kiss Me Kate doesn't have an I Want song?

 

"

Isn't "No One Else" also an I Want song?

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 8/26/17 at 7:41pm

I don't think "No One Else" is an I Want song. It's more of an "I Am" song. Natasha is singing about her love for Pierre, and showing how naive she is and how little she knows about what love really is.

To me "I Want" songs have to hint at a character's growth and story arc. For this reason "Dust and Ashes" is more of an "I Want" song because Pierre sees how his life is going and wants to change it.

Lyrics:

 

They say we are asleep
Until we fall in love
And I’m so ready
To wake up now
 

That's a classic "I want" lyric. He doesn't have what he wants, but he knows what he wants, and it will hint and what he eventually gets.

Another good example is "What Baking Will Do."

So with flour on my hands
I'll show them all how
Goddamn happy I am
Sugar, butter, flour
Don't let me down!
Let's see the next amazing thing baking does now

Again, Jenna is not happy, she's not empowered, in fact she's pregnant and trapped in an abusive marriage. But this "I Want" song signals that she has spunk in her, and she's going to fight to get what she wants. By the way this "I Want" song is so effective that every time I've seen the show at the second "Sugar, butter, flour" the audience always starts cheering. 

 

[leighmiserables]

Posted: 8/26/17 at 10:14pm

I'm surprised that some people don't see "Pierre" as an IW song, especially considering its placement as—technically—the second song in the show, and the fact that it includes the lyrics "I still want to do something." It fits the basic definition of an IW song: the main character singing about how they're dissatisfied with their life and what they're looking for. Just because what Pierre wants isn't strictly defined doesn't alter the fact that he's looking for a change. If anything, you could say that the thing Pierre wants is an "I Want" song, but that's a level of meta I don't feel like delving into. 

But that all aside, I propose the fact that the show's IW song is more accurately Natasha's section in "Moscow" (which, if you group "Prologue" and "Pierre" together—as you should—is the true second song in the show) I mean: 

Cousin dear, I love you
Trust no one but you
But I can't bear this waiting
I cry and I cry
Andrey, where are you?
I want him now, at once
To embrace him and cling to him
No one can understand

I love him
I know him
He loves me only
He'll come home one day
And take me away
I want nothing more
I want nothing more

While this section is nestled within what on the surface is an "I Am" song, I think it fits the bill of being an IW song better than "Pierre" and "Dust and Ashes" because a.) it comes in the correct place in the show, while D&A does not, and b.) it involves (one of) the show's main characters talking about her current dissatisfaction with her life, while defining a specific thing she wants, something that "Pierre" does not achieve.

Plus this section was the first part of the musical Dave Malloy ever wrote; not sure what that proves, but it makes it sound important, no? 

Updated On: 8/26/17 at 10:14 PM

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 8/26/17 at 10:38pm

IDK, I feel like the structure of The Great Comet is a bit different from other musicals. Because of the many characters it spends so much time on I Am songs. The first six numbers IMO are I Am songs. All of them focus on introducing the characters and who they are on the surface. Natasha is young, Sonya's good, Anatole is hot, Andrey isn't here, etc. 

It's not until The Opera that the musical's dramatic arc changes from I Am to I Want. The characters have stepped out of their comfort zone, and are exploring what they want vs. who they are. Natasha meets Anatole and all her fixed romantic ideas about Andrey are tossed out the window. Pierre hits rock bottom after the duel and realizes that he too can't spend the rest of his life drinking and being miserable. Natasha wants real passion, as opposed to a fiance who "isn't there." Pierre is "ready to wake up." 

Because the musical is sung through I tend to think that it's better broken up into sections rather than individual numbers. I think Numbers 1-6 are "I Am" and after The Opera the next section is "I Want."

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 8/26/17 at 10:40pm

PatrickDC said: "Danielle87 said: "Good Morning Baltimore in Hairspray."

 

I don't think of GMB as an "I Want" song. Tracey is illustrating a typical day in her hometown and what life is like then. An I Want song needs to propel the story by giving the characters something to aspire to and the audience something to engage them in the arc of the musical. 

I think I Can Hear the Bells is Hairslray's I Want song, since Tracey is sharing her fantasies and dreams for a future life with Link. 

A runner-up would be Mama, I'm a Big Girl Now, since Tracey, Penny, and Amber challenge their mothers in attempts to break away and grow up following a path they want to define for themselves. (As an aside Mama... is also my favorite song in the show. I love the way three separate girls -- particularly the main protagonist and antagonist -- have lots more in common than their public rivalry lets them show.) 

 

"

Good points all. You may have just explained why one of the songs was cut from the film version: because all of Tracy's early numbers accomplish more or less the same thing. I missed "Big Girl" when I saw the film, but I see the wisdom of leaving it out.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 8/26/17 at 10:50pm

"Color and Light" is the I Want song in "Sunday in the Park," not "Finishing the Hat," which is much later and involves confronting an obstacle not just articulating a goal. "Hat" advances the action, it does not start it. Again, it's about structure and craft.

Updated On: 8/26/17 at 10:50 PM

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 8/26/17 at 11:03pm

PatrickDC said: "Are there shows without an IW song, or where the want is not so clealy expressed?

i would suggest CATS does not have an IW. Memory is emotional, but it's about what Grizabella is feeling, not directly what she wants. It also doesn't fit the placement requirement being at the end (with a sniper at the end of Act 1). 

 

 

"

Absolutely. The "I Want" song was defined by Lehman Engel (sorry, kids, look it up) during the heyday of R&H-type shows. The rise of "concept musicals" required different show structures, most particularly ones that allowed the content to dictate the form.

FOLLIES hasn't a true "I want" song, because the characters are all looking backward rather than forward. The Loveland numbers resemble "I want" songs, but are placed too late in the show to be anything but ironic.

MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG doesn't have a classic "I Want" song in the beginning because the beginning is the end. Late in the evening, Sondheim presents some of his best songs of the type: "Not a Day Goes By" and "It's Our Time". So the "I want" songs are there, but too late to serve their usual function.

COMPANY doesn't get around to an "I want" until halfway through Act I with "Someone Is Waiting". The characters are too busy commenting on one another to articulate a want, and the content dictates that we see what Robert sees: an assortment of different marriages, each with its own assets.

Because of the way it was written, FALSETTOS gives Marvin an "I want" at the beginning of each act. ("A Tight-Knit Family", obviously, but also Marvin's sections of "The Baseball Game".)

CHICAGO gives nearly every principal an "I want", but they are scattered throughout the show--everywhere but at the beginning where the "I want" used to go. And some of them are tongue-in-cheek, which was certainly NOT the convention during the R&H years.

Etc. and so forth.

 

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 8/26/17 at 11:14pm

poisonivy2 said: "...Kiss Me Kate doesn't have an I Want song?

 

"

Several, actually. For the secondary couple, there's "Why Can't You Behave?" right there in second position where it belongs.

But then Porter does something different and kind of brilliant: "Wunderbar" appears where the "I want" for the main couple might go. It's a parody of operetta, of course, but we're supposed to get the impression that the emotions reflect Fred and Lili's true feelings. And if there's any doubt, Lili gives us another "I want" immediately after with "So in Love".

The first 20 minutes KMK is nothing but wanting.

[theater_tech]

Posted: 8/28/17 at 2:32am

Dave Malloy has answered this question on twitter: https://twitter.com/dave_malloy/status/901787642030895104

"this is somewhat debatable...but "Dust & Ashes" and the "I love him..." section of "Moscow" for sure;"

"and "Pierre" is kind of a "I don't know what I want but I want SOMETHING" song"

"oh and "No One Else" is kind of implied I want (to be with you and no one else)...and Anatole's Duel moment is kind of "I want to be a duck""

So we were all kind of right? 

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 8/28/17 at 7:04am

theater_tech said: "Dave Malloy has answered this question on twitter: https://twitter.com/dave_malloy/status/901787642030895104

"this is somewhat debatable...but "Dust & Ashes" and the "I love him..." section of "Moscow" for sure;"

"and "Pierre" is kind of a "I don't know what I want but I want SOMETHING" song"

"oh and "No One Else" is kind of implied I want (to be with you and no one else)...and Anatole's Duel moment is kind of "I want to be a duck""

So we were all kind of right? 

 

"

Wow that's cool that he answered. Yeah, I guess we're all sort of right. Interesting that "Pierre" is slotted as the second number of the show too ...

 

[TNick926]

Posted: 8/28/17 at 9:09am

There is a great "I Want" song in the musical IRENE - "The World Must Be Bigger Than An Avenue" (1973 revival production with Debbie Reynolds). The original 1919 production did not include this "I Want" song, but the 1973 producers and creatives gave this revival a structure along the lines of Ernest Lehman's textbook musical pattern.

By the way, the original 1919 production ran for almost 700 perfs and held the record for longest running Broadway show for 2 decades!

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_rb3e9f5mpM

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 8/28/17 at 8:36pm

This is possibly the greatest performance of an "I Want" song I've ever seen:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7q6l_S8ngc

Zero Mostel starts out quiet and humble, with a "Dear G_d." As he imagines more and more things he wants, his performance turns more bizarre and surreal, with him making all sorts of faces and noises as he's dreaming himself into a frenzy about all these wonderful things. The song ends with an explosion of joy as Tevye is completely immersed into a fantasy about all the things he wants (but doesn't have). What a life-affirming, endearing performance. 

[broadwayboy223]

Posted: 8/28/17 at 8:54pm

I think Who I Was from bandstand qualifies as a "I want" song. It's beautiful 

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 8/28/17 at 11:38pm

Nine years and three pages later...but NO ONE has mentioned I'm The Greatest Star from FUNNY GIRL?

For shame, queens.  For shaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaame.  

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 8/29/17 at 12:39am

Literally, you can't beat Hallelujah Baby's.."My Own Morning"...if you want an I WANT song:

I want a door that belongs to me
I want a bed that belongs to me
I wanna know when I climb into bed I'll wake up in my own morning - a morning that really belongs to me.
I want a floor that belongs to me.
I want a chair that belongs to me.
I wanna know when I rock in that chair,
I'll look up at my own ceiling.
And oh, what a feeling that's gonna be.....