The best love songs for a special evening with your Broadway baby
Jun 01 '00
There are a bunch of really great love songs out there that are often overlooked because they're showtunes. I think this is a terrible oversight. Therefore, I have taken it upon myself to make up perhaps the best romantic mix of showtunes ever created. So cozy up to your Broadway baby and maybe even sing along...
Unexpected Song from Song & Dance.
Arguably the best song Andrew Lloyd Webber ever wrote. Slow and romantic, Emma (Bernadette Peters) puts her true feelings toward Joe into a song. "I have never felt like this / for once I'm lost for words / your smile has really thrown me. / I just can't believe my eyes / I never thought I'd know / the kind of love you've shown me. / Now, no matter where I am / no matter what I do / I see your face appearing / Like an unexpected song / an unexpected song / that only we are hearing..."
In His Eyes from Jekyll & Hyde.
I prefer the version of this song off the Original Concept Album. Lisa (Jekyll's fiance) and Lucy (the prostitute Hyde is hooking up with) sing about "his" eyes and why they both love him... neither one realizing the other one is singing about the same man... who really isn't quite the same man. A very passionate song, like every other song on this recording, it's a great one.
I Know Him So Well from Chess.
Okay, so it's not exactly a happy song. But it is a very pretty song, one that I've sung numerous times with my gal pals. I prefer the London Recording of Chess. This particular song features Svetlana (the Russian's wife) and Florence (the Russian's lover) singing about the man they both love... and neither one can ever really have. You may have heard the version sung by Whitney Houston. But trust me, the original is the best.
Last Night of the World from Miss Saigon.
How completely romantic... Chris (the American Marine) and Kim (the Vietnamese 17-year-old prostitute) fall in love under the most unlikely and unfortunate circumstances. Another very powerful song, it's a good one to sing to each other... and dance. "So stay with me / and hold me tight / and dance like it's the last night of the world."
Music of the Night from Phantom of the Opera.
It may be sung by the Phantom, the "bad guy" in this musical, but it one of the sexiest songs ever sung on the Broadway stage. I guarantee you, if any Leading Man were to sing this to his Leading Lady, she'd melt completely in his arms. You'll be begging each other to "Help me make the music of the night..."
Without You from RENT.
The song may seem repetitive and flat, but it really isn't. It just builds momentum. Though Mimi and Roger are the ones singing, they are the voices of the other lovers in the musical. Bittersweet and sad, it's the song where most people start to cry when they actually see the show on stage. "Life goes on / but I'm gone / 'cause I die / without you."
Sarah Brown Eyes from Ragtime.
If you can get this song isolated from its flashback (which is rather eerie sounding), it is a wonderful song to sing, especially if your Leading Lady has brown eyes or goes by the name of Sarah. In the show, Coalhouse (Brian Stokes Mitchell) is remembering the day his first met Sarah (Audra McDonald) and caught her eye by singing a song about her. "Sarah Brown Eyes / Don't be shy now / Sarah Brown Eyes oughta take that chance / The stars are silver notes / across that sky now / Sarah Brown Eyes... / Come let's dance..."
One Hand, One Heart from West Side Story.
What better song to include in a romance mix than Maria & Tony's "wedding" song? Though they couldn't get married in front of a preacher because of their circumstances, they married each other in spirit in their own private ceremony. Maybe you'll want to do the same? "Make of our hands / one hand / Make of our hearts / one heart / Make of our vows / one last vow / even death / won't part us now..."
Since I Don't Have You from Grease.
Okay, so this one is about unrequited love. But it's still a love song, and one that your Leading Lady won't mind belting out at the top of her lungs. It was a toss-up for me to decide whether to include this one or "Hopelessly Devoted to You," but this one won out.
On My Own from Les Miserables.
Another great torch song. I don't know many Broadway Babies who don't know this song by heart. When single, it's usually the personal anthem of many a young lady. "In the rain / the pavement shines like silver / All the lights / are misty in the river / In the darkness / the trees are full of starlight / and all I see / is him and me / forever and forever..."
Yesterday I Loved You from Once Upon a Mattress.
This is one of the lighter songs in this list. Sung by Sir Harry and the pregnant-and-praying Lady Larken, this song is basically their reconciliation after a very bad argument. It starts out not sounding so good, but then you realize that all IS well. "Yesterday I loved you / like never before / but now I must confess / Today I love you less / than I will tomorrow morning / My heart cannot be trusted / I give you fair warning / I tremble at your touch / not nearly half so much / as I will tomorrow morning..."
Lily's Eyes from Secret Garden.
This is not QUITE a love song, but it's close. The two brothers sing about how much the girl Mary's eyes look like her mother's (Lily's) eyes. One brother loved Lily from afar, while the other brother's affections were returned. But they both lost her when she died in the garden, and they sing this song. Women really love this song. One of my friends described it as a musical orgasm. You may want to keep that in mind.
They Were You from The Fantasticks.
Perhaps not the best-written song on this list, but charming in its simplicity. Louisa and Matt have reunited after going their separate ways and learning the ways of the world. The song ends on the perfect note for a sweet and lovely kiss. "When the dance was done / when I went my way / when I tried to find rainbows far away / all the lovely lights / fade away from view / they were you / they were you / they were you..."
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