Show tune
Ashow tuneis asongoriginally written as part of the score of a work ofmusical theatreormusical film,especially if the piece in question has become astandard,more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context.[2]
Though show tunes vary in style, they do tend to share common characteristics—they usually fit the context of a story being told in the original musical, they are useful in enhancing and heightening choice moments. A particularly common form of show tune is the"I Want" song,which composer Stephen Schwartz noted as being particularly likely to have a lifespan outside the show that spawned it.[3]
Show tunes were a major venue for popular music before therock and rollandtelevisionera; most of the hits of such songwriters asJerome Kern,Cole Porter,andGeorge Gershwincame from their shows. (Even into the television and rock era, a few stage musicals managed to turn their show tunes into major pop music hits, sometimes aided by film adaptations and exposure throughvariety shows.) Although show tunes no longer have such a major role in popular music as they did in their heyday, they remain somewhat popular, especially among niche audiences. Show tunes make up a disproportionate part of the songs in most variations of theGreat American Songbook.
The reverse phenomenon, when already popular songs are used to form the basis of a stage production, is known as ajukebox musical.[4]
Examples[edit]
Particular musicals that have yielded popular “show tunes” include:
- Richard RodgersandOscar Hammerstein'sOklahoma!,Carousel,South Pacific,The King and I,Flower Drum Song,The Sound of Music
- Jerome Kernand Hammerstein'sShow Boat
- Rudolf Friml,Herbert Stothart,Otto Harbachand Hammerstein'sRose-Marie
- Rodgers andLorenz Hart'sPal JoeyandBabes in Arms
- Irving Berlin'sAnnie Get Your Gun,As Thousands Cheer,Call Me Madam
- Cole Porter'sAnything Goes,Kiss Me, Kate,Can-Can
- GeorgeandIra Gershwin'sGirl Crazy,Oh, Kay!
- Jerry BockandSheldon Harnick'sFiddler on the Roof
- Alan Jay LernerandFrederick Loewe'sBrigadoon,Paint Your Wagon,My Fair Lady,Gigi,Camelot
- Meredith Willson'sThe Music Man
- Frank Loesser'sGuys and Dolls,How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
- Leonard BernsteinandStephen Sondheim'sWest Side Story
- Leslie BricusseandAnthony Newley'sStop the World – I Want to Get Off,The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd
- Lin-Manuel Miranda'sHamilton
- Bricusse,Frank WildhornandSteve Cuden'sJekyll & Hyde
- Jerry Herman'sMilk and Honey,Hello, Dolly!,Mame,Dear World,Mack and Mabel,La Cage aux Folles
- Stephen Sondheim'sA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,Company,Follies,Sunday in the Park with George,Sweeney Todd,A Little Night MusicandInto the Woods
- John KanderandFred Ebb'sCabaret,andChicago
- Andrew Lloyd Webber'sEvita,Jesus Christ Superstar,Cats,The Phantom of the Opera,Starlight Express,Sunset Boulevard,Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
- Stephen Schwartz'sPippin,Godspell,andWicked
- Jonathan Larson'sRent
- Claude-Michel Schönberg'sLes Misérables,Miss Saigon
- Jim JacobsandWarren Casey'sGrease
References[edit]
- ^Morley, Sheridan (1987).Spread A Little Happiness.New York: Thames and Hudson. p. 15.ISBN0500013985.
- ^"Show Tunes",AllMusic, accessed March 13, 2016
- ^de Giere, Carol."Writing" I Want Songs "for Musicals".MusicalWriters.RetrievedMay 31,2014.
- ^"Definition of JUKEBOX MUSICAL".merriam-webster.Retrieved2019-05-21.
Bibliography[edit]
- Green, Stanley.Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre.New York: Dodd, Mead, 1976