Theatre
Tune in for our top musical hits – Day #5
Today concludes our countdown of some of the most-iconic and most-popular tunes from musical theatre productions. The final three are below; we hope you have enjoyed the series.
Oklahoma! – Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’
Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’ is the opening song from the musical Oklahoma!, which was the first musical written by famous duo Rodgers and Hammerstein. The leading character Curly McLain sings the song, which is full of optimism. The musical first appeared on Broadway in 1943 and Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’ remains a popular tune today. It has been covered by many popular artists including Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Ray Charles and James Taylor. Australia’s own Hugh Jackman has performed the song during his turn as McLain in Oklahoma!.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNEUtN21cuU
Cats – Memory
Memory is performed by Grizabella in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1981 musical Cats. The song is briefly performed in the first act and in full near the end of the production. Cats is one of the longest running musicals of all time, having held the record in both the West End and Broadway before being surpassed by Les Miserables and The Pahntom of the Opera respectively. Memory was originally performed by Elaine Page, who played Grizabella in both the 1981 stage premiere and the 1998 film of the same name. The song has been covered by many popular performing artists, including Celine Dion, Shirley Bassey, Jose Carreras, Barry Manilow and Barbra Streisand.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWNWt3kiTWc
Strictly Ballroom – Love is in the Air
Love is in the Air is a 1977 song sung by John Paul Young that was also the theme song for Baz Luhrmann’s 1992 feature film, Strictly Ballroom. Written by George Young and Harry Vanda, Love is in the Air is just one of the popular songs in Strictly Ballroom, which also includes Time After Time, by Cyndi Lauper. Luhrmann and a group of NIDA students originally wrote Strictly Ballroom for the stage before turning it into an award-winning film, which has now gone full circle and is being performed as a stage musical. Click here for tickets to Strictly Ballroom at the Sydney Lyric.
