Broadway's Best 72 Songs
Clips from superb high school productions from Show Boat to Hamilton released
To help students prepare for the upcoming Introduction to Broadway course, The Broadway Maven has released nine videos with eight songs each, tracing the history of Broadway music from Show Boat to Hamilton.
The videos will be part of the homework for each of the nine weekly classes in that course, but they’re enjoyable for anyone who wants to watch high school students perform some of Broadway’s best.
Below are some highlights of what you can expect from each video, plus a link… watch the ones that interest you most!
-David Benkof, The Broadway Maven
Volume 1/9: An "Anything Goes" with an amazing dance break and a gender-bending "Brush Up Your Shakespeare" (Kiss Me Kate):
Volume 2/9: Performances of two iconic Broadway characters by high school actors with talent beyond their years: a Harold Hill (The Music Man) with a remarkable patter and a Mama Rose (Gypsy) with a powerful nervous breakdown:
Volume 3/9: Some great dancing, including a duo tap number for "Put on a Happy Face" (Bye Bye Birdie) and a boardroom "Brotherhood of Man" (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying) with extraordinary group dancing for high school boys:
Volume 4/9: A Sally Bowles (Cabaret) with an amazing voice singing "Maybe This Time" and the best (age-appropriate) Danny Zuko I've seen singing "Summer Nights" from Grease:
Volume 5/9: A youthful and energetic "Corner of the Sky" from Pippin and a high school Evita hitting all the high notes in "A New Argentina":
Volume 6/9: Particularly good singing by the Phantom of the Opera ("Music of the Night") and Chris from Miss Saigon ("Why God Why"):
Volume 7/9: A table-jumping "La Vie Bohème" from Rent and a version of "Does Your Mother Know?" from Mamma Mia! in which beach-clad students perform gymnastics-fueled and electrically charged dancing:
Volume 8/9: A "Defying Gravity" from Wicked with a flying witch and "Written in the Stars" from Aida in which Prince Radames is portrayed by a young man with a phenomenal voice:
Volume 9/9: "Seize the Day" from Newsies with shockingly professional dancing and a vivid and vigorous "Alexander Hamilton" with a cast made up of mostly African-American teens:
Enjoy!
(You can sign up for Introduction to Broadway here.)