Best Songs From Best Scores: 2005 - 2006

Today, we return to our series, Best Songs From Best Scores, in which we take a look at the numbers from a season's Best Original Score Tony nominees. Of course, "best" is in the eye ear of the beholder, and we are pretty sure you won't always agree with our choices. So, please feel free to let us know what you think via email or Twitter!

This time, we decided to look at nominees from the 2005 - 2006 season, which included two shows based on films. The others were a less-than-successful Andrew Lloyd Webber novel adaptation and a splashy, completely original Canadian musical. Some twenty years later (give or take), looking back at these scores makes me hope one is revived, one is appreciated more, thankful for a much better revival of one than its original staging, and one probably best not heard from again. Still, there are many worthy songs to consider from all four. Here are the ones we like the best:

Best Songs From Best Scores

2005 - 2006

Nominee: The Color Purple

Music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray

Best Song: 11 O'clock Number: "I'm Here" - Celie

By all rights, this poetic power ballad should be heard far and wide, in music venues and every contemporary Broadway concert. A gorgeous ode on the beauty of self-awareness and love for oneself. Both breathtaking and sobering, this is one of the great theater songs of the early 21st century.

Best Song: Character Number: "Miss Celie's Pants" - Celie and the Women

A catchy jazz/boogie woogie number that highlights each principal actress, the clever word play and showy, belty riffs is exhilarating! And it is the perfect contrast musically, to earlier numbers where Celie and her female friends suffered were in fear. I love a good toe-tapper!

Nominee: The Wedding Singer

Music by Matthew Sklar     Lyrics by Chad Beguelin

Best Song: A catchy production number: "Pop" - Holly, Julia, Angie and Company

As a Gen-Xer who actually was the age of the characters in The Wedding Singer in the 1980s, I loved the whole score for this show. The writers nailed the sound and style of the MTV era, not to mention the clever (and often vapid) lyrics of that time. So how could they not include a Debbie Gibson/Madonna mash-up that screams 80s and advances the plot? Add to that a character, Holly, played to sassy perfection by Amy Spanger, who not only dressed like Madonna, but sounded like her, and it couldn't miss. Pop music at its most fun. 

Best Song: A turning point ballad: "Come Out of the Dumpster" - Julia and Robbie Hart

High in emotional content - heart on your sleeve kind of stuff - this pseudo power ballad could have been recorded by Journey, REO Speedwagon or Peter Cetera-era Chicago. But here, as sung by Laura Benanti, it becomes a sweet, clever ("It's a metaphor!") play on the 80s style of lyrics that somehow managed to be both banal and profound. Here the literal becomes figurative and back to literal. You can't help but smile.

Nominee: The Woman in White

Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber     Lyrics by David Zippel

Best Song: Heartfelt Ballad: "All For Laura" - Marian Halcombe

Realizing that her own jealous feelings for Walter have led her to be an accomplice in her sister’s ruin, Marian vows to dedicate her life to saving her from this terrible predicament. The music, sad and intense, is based on a repeated four-note motif whose first few iterations lead to a precipitous melodic fall, reflecting Marian’s desperation; further repetitions lead to louder, more determined outbursts, and finally to iron-clad resolve (“I will somehow learn to be strong/I will live to right this wrong”). Sung as it is by a former Fosca (Maria Friedman), this obsessively sorrowful song is surely the only thing ALW has written that might sort-of fit in with the score of Passion.

Best Song: Emotional Trio: "Trying Not To Notice" - Marian Halcombe, Walter Hartright and Laura Fairle

This vibrant trio is musically of a similar ilk to “All I Ask of You” and “Too Much in Love to Care,” but more poignant than those two earlier ALW songs because of its chromatic touches and its function in the story. The two devoted sisters are each falling for him, but he’s only falling for the younger Laura (Jill Paice). (The melody that accompanies the title words evokes the bridge from “As If We Never Said Goodbye” and, especially, the Jeeves song from which it was recycled, “Half a Moment.”)

WINNER: The Drowsy Chaperone

Music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison

Best Song: Torch Song: "As We Stumble Along" - The Drowsy Chaperone

Performing a self-described "rousing anthem," the Chaperone (Beth Leavel) offers such sage advice as, "keep you eyeball on the high ball...in your hand." Part of a wholly delicious score willed with pastiche numbers that hearken back to the 20s and 30s, this number stands out for me because of the build up, the crazy nut smart lyrics, and that Ms. Leavel belts the hell out of it, and fully in character - drunken slurry voice and all. Even on the recording she captivates. Antarctica? Oh, please. #IYKYK

Best Song: Character Entrance Production Number: "Show Off" - Janet Van De Graaff and Company

The perfect vehicle for the "star" of The Drowsy Chaperone, the show within the show, Janet Van DeGraff, and the star of The Drowsy Chaperone, the Broadway musical, Sutton Foster. A rousing tribute to self-deprecation and enormous ego, this number grows and grows, making a feast out of every diva trope and old-fashioned theater cliche. Foster chewed the scenery here and we loved watching her every bite. This is the one that proved Millie was no fluke.

At This Theater: The Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre

Opening in 1927 as the Royale Theatre, the house was renamed the John Golden for a few years (the John Golden today is one door down now, of course), then back to the Royale for 65 years. That's the name on several Playbills in my collection. Then, in 2005, the theater was renamed for the longtime president of the Shubert Organization: The Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre. Home to the plays and musicals of many legends, the theater has hosted premieres of Thornton Wilder's The Matchmaker, and both The Glass Menagerie and The Night of the Iguana by Tennessee Williams, among others. Modern classics include 'night Mother, Cactus Flower, Who's Life Is It Anyway?, Speed-the Plow, Lend Me a Tenor and Art. Among the musicals that have left their mark are Grease, Hollywood/Ukraine, and a pair of Andrew Lloyd Webber works: Joseph...Dreamcoat and Song and Dance. 

  

  

Much like its neighbor, the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, there hasn't been a single performance I've seen there that I didn't enjoy. My first was A.R. Gurney's Sweet Sue starring Mary Tyler Moore and Lynn Redgrave, and most recently, the 2024 Best Musical Tony winner, The Outsiders. All told, I've seen 12 productions there. It is one of my favorite Broadway houses.

At This Theatre:

The Bernard B. Jacobs

Number of Shows We've Seen There: 12

      

      

      

The Shows We've Seen There:

13, Almost Famous, An Inspector Calls, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Company (2021), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Once, Parade (2023), Sweet Sue, The Color Purple, The Outsiders, and Triumph of Love

Our Favorite Shows Here:

Of the even dozen, here are our six favorites. We loved each of them so much, it would be impossible to rank them, so here they are in alphabetical order:

Almost Famous: Here's a show I went into knowing very little about it beyond knowing that it was based on a beloved film that I had never seen, and it featured a score by one of my favorite composers, Tom Kitt. What a delightful surprise! I loved every single minute of it. And with it, I was introduced to some of my now-favorite performers like Casey Likes and Chris Wood, as well as reconnecting with other already favorites like Drew Gehling, Gerard Canonico and Van Hughes. I wish I'd have had the chance to see it again.

Company (2021 Revival): Marianne Elliott reinterpreted one of my favorite Stephen Sondheim shows/scores, and with a cast full of my Broadway favorites including Tony-winners Patti LuPone and Matt Doyle, as well as star Katrina Lenk. Then there's Etai Benson, Nikki Rene Daniels, Claybourne Elder, Christopher Seiber and Jennifer Simard. And it was an absolute thrill to be in the same room as LuPone singing "The Ladies Who Lunch."

Once: Much like Almost Famous, I went into this one knowing only that it was based on a small independent film. It took all of about five minutes for me to fall completely in love with the love story of Guy (Steve Kazee) and Girl (Cristin Milioti) and their pub friends. Creatively told and with a lovely score, I cried throughout most of it, most inconsolably during its signature song, "Falling Slowly."

Parade (2023): Michael Arden does it again, reinventing and reinvigorating modern classics in such a way as to make them feel brand new. After Spring Awakening and Once On This Island, I couldn't wait to see what he'd do with Parade. I was not disappointed. Ben Platt has never been better with a simultaneously powerful and fragile performance, and Micaela Diamond soared as the tower of strength that was Lucille Frank. Stellar performances from Sean Alan Krill, Paul Alexander Nolan, Howard McGillin, Alex Joseph Grayson and Jay Armstrong Johnson were truly an embarrassment of riches. 

The Color Purple: Here's a show we almost didn't see, but we have Audra to thank for our seeing this brilliant production. I had seen the original production and really didn't care for it, so we got tickets for Shuffle Along. But that day, Ms. McDonald was out, so we got a refund, and scored tickets for this instead. Turns out that John Doyle stripped it down, tightened it up, and assembled a company of actors up to the challenge. We saw the return of Heather Headley in a dazzling turn as Shug, and the supreme privilege of seeing the star turn of Cynthia Erivo - a true performance for the ages.

The Outsiders: I'm still reeling from the sheer theatricality of Danya Taymor's staging, the gritty design of every element, and the brilliance of the earthy and violent choreography of Rick and Jeff Kuperman. For me, though, it is the poetic and rich book by Adam Rapp and Justin Levine, and score by Jamestown Revival that elevated and expanded the already exquisite novel by S.E. Hinton. Then, too, there is the thrill of seeing a crop of new, exciting talent explode on the scene. I expect big futures from Brody Grant, Sky Lakota-Lynch, Brent Comer, Joshua Boone and Jason Schmidt to name a few.

Broadway Who's Who: Heather Headley

This month's honoree is Tony and Grammy Award winner, Heather Headley. With 5 studio albums - two certified Gold - she's made an impact on the music world. With starring roles in such television programs as Chicago Med and Sweet Magnolias, she's taken the small screen by storm. She starred in the West End production of The Bodyguard, earning a Best Actress in a Musical Olivier Award nomination. So why have we selected her as one of Broadway's Who's Who? Though she has only four Main Stem credits, she is definitely Broadway royalty. Whether she's originating roles in blockbuster musicals, making a role her own as a high-profile replacement, or guest-starring at a concert of international superstars, her impact is always important, breathtaking and cause for celebration.

Broadway Who's Who:

Heather Headley

    

   

DID YOU KNOW?

• BIRTH DATE: October 5, 1974
• BIRTHPLACE: Barataria, Trinidad and Tobago
• FAMILY: Married to Brian Musso, 3 children
• EDUCATION: Northwestern University
• RECORDING HISTORY: This Is Who I Am (Gold), In My Mind (Gold), Audience of One (Grammy Award), Only One in the World, Broadway My Way

West End and Off-Broadway:

The Bodyguard - Aldelphi Theatre (West End); November 2012 - August 2013; Rachel Marron

⭐ Best Actress in a Musical Nominee: 2012 Olivier Awards and What's On Stage Awards

   

Into the Woods - City Center (Off-Broadway); 2022; The Witch

   

Broadway:

The Lion King - New Amsterdam Theatre; 1997; Nala, Original Broadway Cast

   

AIDA - Palace Theatre; 2000 - 2001; Aida, Original Broadway Cast

⭐ Tony Award Winner! Best Actress in a Musical

   

Il Divo - Marquis Theatre; November 2013; Special Guest Star

The Color Purple - Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre; May - October 2016; Shug Avery, replacement