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They say that falling in love is wonderful... and doesn't Broadway know it! Valentine's Day is here and love is all around us. At this most romantic time of the year, we can't help but wonder... what is the greatest Broadway love song ever?
BroadwayWorld continues our great tradition of finding that consensus- and this year we have more answers than ever! We've gathered responses from over 1500 performers, composers, industry professionals, and entertainment personalities from all over the world.
Performer
Paradise Lost
“Falling Slowly” from Once. When the film first came out, I was the only person in the movie theater, and I sat in the middle of the aisle and cried the whole time. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Performer
Bronx Bombers | Chicago | The Phantom of the Opera | Les Miserables | A Chorus Line
"Love Song" from Pippin!
Performer
Mary Poppins National Tour
The most romantic love song EVER, EVER, EVER is "Love to Me" from THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA. I had it at my wedding!
Performer
HAIR | White Noise | We Will Rock You
"A Boy Like That/ I Have A Love" from WEST SIDE STORY
Performer
In The Heights
I'll have to go with "Somewhere" from WEST SIDE STORY. Just because.
Performer
Wonderland | Legally Blonde | Cabaret | Jekyll and Hyde
The first love song that comes to mind is 'Good Thing Going', which may tell you something about me. Is that weird? It might be weird. Not necessarily the song people are looking for on Valentine's Day. As an alternative, I offer Kander and Ebb's 'A Quiet Thing'...also awesome.
Performer
A Man of No Importance | Paradise Square | Bright Star
Marshall Paillet and A. D. Penedo's BAGHDADDY (OR HOW I STARTED THE IRAQ WAR) is an intelligent, hilarious, and insane account of the miscommunications and confirmation biases that led to the 2003 US invasion of Iraq. The show is relentlessly paced with a high-octane score, but right before the act break we hear a solo banjo playing an easy, beautiful melody: the unrequited love song "Music To Me". In a story with a guaranteed unhappy ending, it is a moment of simplicity, light, and stillness. Paillet's music/lyrics/vocal arrangement and Ethan Slater's straightforward, honest performance made the whole audience lean forward.
Performer
Paramour | The Little Mermaid | Amazing Grace
“If I Loved You" from Carousel (The Bench Scene) is the perfect musical theatre love song. They never directly say what they are thinking, they flirt and smoothly flow from singing to talking, and it’s exactly how I wish real life was!
Performer
Curtains | Dracula The Musical | Wonderful Town | Wicked | Thoroughly Modern Millie | 42nd Street
One of my favorite love songs is "What Makes Me Love Him?" from THE APPLE TREE. It's a song that I love to sing and listen to. I love the story telling and it just warms my heart.
Performer
A Sign of the Times | Side Show | Cry Baby | The Phantom of the Opera | Chicago
One of my favorites is "Where or When" just because I think it is one of the most perfect songs. It's so intimately sung and the way that it's built always makes the hair stand up on my arms. I think it's perfect for Valentine's Day.
Performer
The Woodsman
My favorite Broadway love song is “So in Love” by Cole Porter. When I was 9 years old I saw the Broadway revival of Kiss Me Kate with Marin Mazzie and Brian Stokes Mitchell. They play two people in love who can’t seem to figure it out. They both sing this song (she in act 1, he in act 2) but only once the other person has left the stage. I remember my nine year old brain wrestling with the thought, “love is…complicated?!" To this day, I feel that “So In Love" is the most perfect expression how powerful, consuming, and humbling love is.
Performer
SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical
I would have to say the song "All the Things You Are" from the musical Very Warm for May by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II is at the top of my list for favorite Broadway love songs.
Performer
Schmigadoon | New York New York | The Cher Show | Prince of Broadway | Billy Elliot | The Full Monty | James Joyce's The Dead | Side Show
My Valentine's Day song, I think would be "If I Loved You" from Carousel. I don't think you can top that for romance, longing.
Performer
NYTW’s Hurricane Diane
“PARADISE BY THE DASHBOARD LIGHT”.....the record was found by us, as children, in my Uncle Pete's attic. My sisters, cousins and I listened to it; due to the kickass cover. We fell in love with the song immediately. We created several different enactments of the song and enjoyed performing it, ad infinitum, to any and all in our immediate vicinity.
Performer
Cirque du Soleil Paramour
One of my favorite Broadway love songs is "Happiness" from Stephen Sondheim's Passion.
Performer
Spamalot | Billy Elliot | To Be Or Not To Be | The Little Mermaid | Man of la Mancha | The Full Monty
One of my all time favorite love songs from a musical is “I’ll Cover You” from RENT. The lyrics are so beautiful and it makes me cry every time
Performer
Be More Chill | Shuffle Along | After Midnight
"If Ever I Would Leave You" from Camelot because it allows my baritone voice to ring out.
Performer
Avenue Q
"Somewhere" from West Side Story. Simple and to the point. No matter what we'll find a way to overcome all obstacles and be together. Somehow, Someday, Somewhere... Where's my tissue?...
Performer
Tuck Everlasting | A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder | Nice Work If You Can Get It | A Tale of Two Cities
"Suddenly Seymour" from Little Shop of Horrors. The moment the bombshell realizes she is in love with the misfit. A great song from a great show and so fulfilling to sing because it is written so well!
Performer
Significant Other
My favorite Broadway love song is "All The Things You Are." It's classic and it speaks to holistically what it means to be in love with someone, in better words than I could ever use or come up with.
Performer
Come From Away | Les Miserables | Mary Poppins
I'd say one of my favorite love songs is "If I Loved You" from Carousel because I have been there....not admitting how much you love and care for someone, when inside you are really feeling ALL the feelings. Unrequited love can be romantic and nostalgic.
Performer
Love | Loss | and What I Wore | Yeardley Smith: More | The Real Thing
My favorite is “Somewhere” from West Side Story.
Performer
.Irish Rep’s O’Casey Cycle
“Almost Like Being in Love” from Brigadoon. Unadulterated, joyful, uncynical, not-too-clever, golden-era, and with perfect memories of Gene Kelly.
Performer
Twisted Sister
"Somewhere." When I was growing up it was glued to the turntable. We played it endlessly, it really touches me. I've been with my wife for 37 years now and that song means a lot to me.
Performer
Mack & Mabel | Head Over Heels | Hey | Look Me Over | Fun Home | Death Takes a Holiday
My favorite Broadway love song is "All the Things You Are," by Jerome Kern, which is actually from a musical called Very Warm for May- that I have never seen and probably never will! I grew up hearing my mother sing that song and I just think it's the most beautiful odes to a loved one ever written.
Performer
WONDERLAND | THE X FACTOR
Wow, I don't have much experience in this area.......I'm only 11.......but I do know music! So, I am going to have to say "On my Own" sung by Eponine in LES MIS. During the run of LES MIS I would go onstage every night singing "Castle on a Cloud" (another beautiful song...but not quite a love song) and be wishing I could also sing "On My Own" and play Eponine (one of my DREAM roles). Still, IN THE HEIGHTS is probably my favorite show ever. In fact I cried the night it closed on Broadway! I would say "Sunrise" from IN THE HEIGHTS, this is sung by Benny and Nina (another dream role...)!
Performer
Chicago | The Wedding Singer | Rock of Ages
I choose "All The Way" by Sammy Kahn from the musical Robin and the Seven Hoods. My husband Brian and I met and fell in love on that show in the summer of 2010. Brian and I slow danced during every show backstage while Kelly Sullivan sang "All The Way." We were married in the Fall of 2011.
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