That is easy for me. "Near To You" from DAMN YANKEES! I was living in NYC hosting a talk show on Lifetime, when Jerry Lewis was doing the lead...and went in and caught the second act every night. Perhaps it was a combination of the staging and the beautiful harmony, but the words were so good as well. Put it all together...it spells romantic to me!

My favorite love song is MY FOOLISH HEART. It's just the most perfect of lyric and melody and every word rings true to the way falling in love happens.

On Monday I had my first rehearsal for THE MOST HAPPY FELLA at City Opera. At the read through we came to "Warm All Over", which I always knew was a beautiful song, but when Lisa Vroman sang it I thought that is one of the most romantic and sexy songs I've ever heard. So there you have it, Happy Valentines Day to you and whomever you spend it with!

I guess my all time favorite would have to be "My Funny Valentine". I just think it is a perfect song, and a realistic version of love, that is to say, its about someone totally not perfect, but she adores him anyway.

The most romantic Broadway song ever written has to be "They Can't Take That Away from Me." It captures that bittersweet beauty and transitive nature of love. You never know just how long it will last and how precious that time is. I loved the song when Fred Astaire sang it in SHALL WE DANCE," when Harry Groener sang it in CRAZY FOR YOU and when Fayard Nicholas, in his last screen performance, sang it in the last moments of my film "Broadway: The Golden Age." It is about so much more than even romance - it is about life. And the song never dates, for the Ira Gershwin lyrics are timeless.

Favorite #1. "Soon It's Gonna Rain" from THE FANTASTICKS The show is really Off-Broadway, so I'll include my other favorite. Favorite #2. "Sweet Time" from RAISIN. It's a love song about trying to continue to love...what made love possible in the first place, and how to keep going. It also has such a great bluesy-jazz urban sound to it.

"Do You Love Me?" from FIDDLER ON THE ROOF. There's a whole lifetime of attachment, struggle, care and sacrifice summed up in this tiny song, sung by two older people who've never given love a thought until this moment. "For twenty five years, I've lived with him, fought with him, starved with him. Twenty-five years, my bed is his. If that's not love, what is?" Sentimental? No way. Deep, true, funny and moving? Absolutely.

Hands down the best Broadway love song ever written is "If I Loved You" from CAROUSEL, not only because of the amazingly poignant melody and those heartbreaking harmonies, but also because of the simplicity and honesty of the lyric. Romantic denial as poetry. The song is also framed by in one of the best-written book scenes ever written for a musical. I had the privilege of hearing Sally Murphy and Michael Hayden perform the song and scene at a Lincoln Center Theater gala last year and was once again blown away by its enduring power and beauty. Happy Valentine's Day to all!

In my opinion the Most Romantic Broadway Love Song ever is "Loving You" from Stephen Sondheim's PASSION. Plain and simple, "I will live and I would die for you." What more can you say to one who has captured your heart?

"You Are My Dream" from DREAMGIRLS because I remember thinking..."one day, someone will say that to me"...and he did.

My favorite romantic song is Richard Rodgers and Larry Hart's "Spring Is Here." Hart understood romance, which is to say he knew it doesn't last and for many lonely souls doesn't exist at all. "Spring is Here" contains the most poignant last line I know: "Spring is here, I hear!"

In high school, I would listen to "Some Girls" from ONCE ON THIS ISLAND and just cry the tears of 10,000 dramatic teenage girls. "Don't you get it, Ti Moune? He loves you, but he can't love you! The cruel realities of social class will tear your love asunder!!" It was pretty deep. Truth be told, it still gets me.

To me, what makes a love song poignant and romantic is when it's sung by a real person to or about a real person. And real people are imperfect. And mature love is a lot about loving someone's imperfections -- or loving despite their imperfections. There are two songs that fit this description perfectly, and they never fail to move me. The first, fittingly enough, is "My Funny Valentine". (Pal Joey, Rodgers & Hart.) "Your looks are laughable/Unphotographable/Yet you're my favorite work of art". The other is "What Makes Me Love Him?". (The Apple Tree, Bock & Harnick.) "What makes me love him?/It's not his singing/I've heard his singing/It spoils the milk/And yet, it's gotten to the point where I prefer that kind of milk". It's set to a brilliantly simple melody, which makes it all the more romantic and poignant. I don't mind admitting that it makes me cry every time I hear it.

I love "UNFORGETTABLE" by Nat King Cole because not only is it sophisticated musically and lyrically, but my sweet husband Tom, who is not a performer, often out of the blue, sweeps me in his arms, waltzes me around humming that song gentle into my ear. Talk about romantic-I swoon every time.

I'm very partial to "Out of my Dreams", from OKLAHOMA, even though people are usually watching a ballet while it's being sung. The melody is transporting and the lyric is about a fantasy love affair, which is the most romantic kind. In fact, the only kind, lately.

In attempting to choose what I felt was the most romantic Broadway love song EVER (a very tall order), I discovered one constant -- Rodgers and Hammerstein. Songs like "We Kiss In A Shadow," "I Have Dreamed," "If I Loved You," "When The Children Are Asleep," "Younger Than Springtime," "An Ordinary Couple" and "People Will Say We're In Love" all immediately came to mind. The combination of Hammerstein's deceptively simple, but masterfully crafted lyrics and Rodgers' ability to match the lyric with a perfectly gorgeous melody is nothing short of masterful.

I think the most romantic love song is "The Music That Makes Me Dance" from FUNNY GIRL. If you are fortunate enough to have that deep kind of love for someone,which the song is clearly addressing, it is pure magic. It works for me because I have been dancing to the same music for 28 fantastic years and there is nothing better. Happy Valentine's Day.

"With Every Breath I Take" from CITY OF ANGELS. Ahhhh - it's pretty, romantic...gut-wrenching. It goes to different places musically - and stretches the singer too. The melody is haunting and the lyrics by David Zippel are incredible (they just say it all) - and they remind you what really being in love is about. You take a deep breath and you just sigh...it's also soulful and jazzy.

"Spankin'" from ENG: FANTASY 101 is my personal favorite (look for it to be on Broadway soon!), but "Dulcinea" from MAN OF LA MANCHA makes me cry.

"Say It Somehow" from LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA because the music and lyrics are just beyond beautiful. "Sixteen Going On Seventeen" from THE SOUND OF MUSIC, because it reminds me of how young and free love can make you feel.

Without a doubt, for me, it's Rodgers & Hammerstein's "Some Enchanted Evening", from their musical, SOUTH PACIFIC. Growing up, I remembered my parents trying to explain to me the passion everyone remembered - seeing Ezio Pinza and Mary Martin sing this song together, on the stage. People SWORE they were having an affair. Do I know? Of course not. The song itself is a magical love song because it's FULL of POSSIBILITY. Just what you want when "chemistry" is at play. When Bernadette Peters and I first faced the R&H songs, to begin making choices for the BERNADETTE PETERS LOVES RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN recording ... all she had to do was sing it once, in her apt. w/ just the piano, and I was a mess!

"Someone To Watch Over Me". It may be a bit cliche, but the lyrics are so simple, and the intent is so clear......anyone can sing it and relate to that need. It would be the best if Judy Kuhn sang it!

I'm a sucker for the obvious standards, the ones that I'm sure are going to be mentioned a zillion times. I love "My Romance" because it's a perfect blend of lyric and melody and it expresses the idea that simplicity is best. And "All The Things You Are" is a bit more harmonically complex but is also a simple statement of honor and romance. But the most romantic songs are the silly songs that people write and sing to each other to make them laugh. My husband wrote a song for me about how corny it was that I like Barry Manilow, and it's far and away the most romantic (if completely stupid) song I've ever heard.

The first song that popped into my mind is "With So Little To Be Sure Of" from ANYONE CAN WHISTLE. The song is all about the moment. We may not always have each other, but we do now, and isn't it "marvelous". It also has that beautiful lyric: "The more I memorize your face, the more I never want to leave." Wow, I'm a bigger sap than I thought!

"Tonight" from WEST SIDE STORY. It's so in the moment. Immediate, dangerous and fleeting. Everything that makes new love so irresistible. My favorite score by the ultimate "dream team."

Can't pick one. Having been in a splendid and amazing relationship for nearly 11 years, (5 of the best years of my life!), my idea of romance lead me to choose: "You'll Never Get Away From Me" from GYPSY, because it has the humor and committment necessary to true, long term romance - It says "Whatever happens, I ain't going anywhere. I love you and we're stuck!." Also, "Not While I'm Around," from Sweeney Todd, which really captures the selflessness you have when you're truly in love. Staying with Sondheim, "Anyone Can Whistle", while not a typical love song, is about the kind of trust required to have the real thing - "I am flawed, I am scared, maybe you can help me be better." Good stuff. And finally, and mostly, Kurt Weill's "It Never Was You," which just kills me. Typically, I chose a song about lost love. But then, you're talking to someone whose song lists in concert and on cds read like one long suicide note. Even my uptempos are just tragedy with a beat...

Ok, I'm torn between "Not While I'm Around" from SWEENEY TODD - the melody is just gorgeous and the bridge takes my breath away -and "Maria" from WEST SIDE STORY - well, the simplicity is just awesome and talk about romantic? Having someone say your name over and over and exclaim how it's the most beautiful word? Well, no more to say on that. Happy Valentines Day!

"Timeless to Me", of course. That song celebrates the depth of love for the long haul. (would you expect me to say anything else!) A close second is "I Could Have Danced All Night". It captures the exhilaration and promise of the very first moment of falling in love.

Hard to pick just one - there are so many that I love. But if pressed, I'd have to say: "All The Things You Are" - Happy Valentine's Day!

"If I Loved You" from CAROUSEL... In the show, that song wasn't a declaration, it was an "if". I thought that it was very tenderly done, because it was discussing how they'd feel "if", even though the audience knew that they were clearly falling in love.