My favorites are the “Wait For Me” reprise (Eva singing her part gives me chills!) from Hadestown, and the “I Want It That Way” reprise from & Juliet. Stark’s emotions really come through in it. (Stark Sands is William Shakespeare in the original Broadway Cast.)
Excellent list but I can't believe the "Somewhere That's Green" reprise from Little Shop was left out! The song first appears as a comical yet sincere "I Want" anthem in Act I with Audrey dreaming of a better life, and is a tearjerking goodbye in Act II as she faces her death and rationalizes that it'll be OK since she's doing it for the man she loves. It's absolutely heartbreaking!
"Wait for Me" is so hard to compare. I cried during the original WfM because of all the staging, and the light dancing, it was really overwhelming. But you're also leaving out how Eurydice jumps in for the reprise, literally watching as Orpheus starts going, determined and she has this moment of pure hesitation as Persephone and Hermes watch, the Workers all trying to have hope that they can do it, and then she just GOES for it, calling out to Orpheus who, presumably, can't hear her, like she's shouting in her head as loud as she can. And then Doubt Comes In hits and you KNOW what happens. I can't choose a favorite between the two, it's impossible.
I think my favorite is "I'll Cover You (Reprise)" just because it breaks my heart into a million pieces but a lot of great choices in the video. One that isn't mentioned here (& will only really be known by fans of the show) is the reprise of "Good Kid" in The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical at the end of the show when the reveal is made about who the thief really was & sung by said person (I'll keep it a secret here for those who haven't read the book & want to not know going into the Disney+ series next year) when the original was sung by Percy towards the start of the show. It's shows a nice contrast between the two characters as they battle it out. Said reprise was even the part given a shout out by Lin-Manuel Miranda after seeing the show during it's limited Broadway run. Oh & I listen to "Wait For Me" original more but reprise still wins for me.
I don’t know if it counts but “No one mourns the wicked” and “Finale Wicked”, the opening and ending songs of wicked respectively. They’re the same moment in the show but with added context and with an extra section between Glinda and Elphaba. Also the stay alive reprise in Hamilton is so emotional and beautiful to me. Hamilton is quite full of repeated music however I think Stay Alive still deserves a mention.
Falsettoland reprise not being here is mindblowning, it makes me cry every single time ive seen it, flips every lyric on it heads and breaks literally everyone heart. Definitely up there for one of the best!
Oh how I wish you could have seen Joshua Henry and Gavin Creel perform "Agony." I know how much you love the show and you would have gone nuts. I actually saw the most recent production 6 times, including the last performance. And perhaps my all-time favorite "moment in the woods" was Joshua and Gavin's final "Agony." Since it was the last show, there was literally a standing ovation for every single song. There was a standing ovation for Stephanie J. Block's "Justify the beans!" I didn't spend much of that performance seated in my chair, but that was so much fun and so memorable. I'm not complaining. I knew the last "Agony" was coming up and I remember thinking, "Oh boy. Here it comes." They performed the song and it was perfection, of course, and then the audience started applauding, but no one stood up right away. I didn't want to be the only one, but I was so confused. And then, after a few seconds, as if someone was directing them, the entire audience leapt to its feet and cheered for what felt like forever. Joshua and Gavin just stood there taking it in. I think they both started to cry. (Gavin definitely did.) I think they gave each other a hug and then parted ways. There's a picture of it on the ITW Instagram account. It was so good.
“It’s no sicker than your thing with dwarves.” “Dwarfs!” “Dwarfs.” “Dwarfs are very upsetting.” I love that he’s so anti-Dwarf, but still corrects the plural 😆 And yes please go off on Into The Woods! That movie infuriated me!
I played Collins last year and every time I had to sing the reprise with the backing vocals behind as well as what had happened previously and adding into the fact the tragic passing of Jonathan Larson, I have NEVER felt so much emotion in one song.
My favourite reprise is the reprise of do you hear the people sing during the les miserable epilogue as it has my favourite line “even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise”
how is nobody mentioning sweeney todd! the reprise and repetition of songs with different themes and context is incredible like the repeating of the barber and his wife reworked in mrs lovetts perspective in poor thing the way the ballad of sweeney todd repeats through the entire show and of course the johanna quartet in act 2 which is one of the greatest ways a song has been repeated and reworked in a show showing every characters changing feelings and the culmination of so many parts of the story all to set the stage as they propel towards the ending like they are not really traditional reprises but really tie together the storytelling and themes of sweeney todd through music so beautifully with their repetition and push the concept of a reprise forward
Omg, yes!! The "If Only You Would Listen" reprise moment is CRIMINALLY underrated. One I love that didn't get a shoutout in the video was "Dead Girl Walking" from Heathers. It starts off in Act 1 being a silly teenage metaphor -- she feels like her life is over because she's not going to be popular anymore. But then in Act 2 the stakes become literally life & death and she plans on actually sacrificing herself!
I love all of these you listed, and I wanted to add a few more! Twisted's "The Golden Rule (Reprise)" is great because it takes an optimistic hero's song and turns it into a villain's song, from "follow the golden rule of treating others the way you want to be treated" to "whoever has the gold makes the rules." Also, I really like the a cappella reprise of "Gold" from Once and "The Color Purple (Reprise)."
Although I love all of your reprises you listed, Next To Normal has the most reprises that work the best. The reprise of I’m Alive, Gonna be Good, You Don’t Know are all textbook reprises done to perfection, but the one that gets me is the final reprise of I am the one, where you realize how badly the father has been struggling. Ugh! I need videos on both into the woods and Next to Normal asap! I’m so glad you are talking about going back to more listicals and essays. I’d love to see a video of you breaking down some of your favorite scores of shows.
I can’t believe you started with Mack & Mabel… one of my all-time favorites! When I was a young man (younger than you now MJ), I was an usher at the Los Angeles Music Center, which opened M&M before it went to Broadway. I saw it about 40 times and loved Bernadette Peters and Robert Preston as they worked through the different kinks in the show. I Won’t Send Roses touched me each time I heard it. Ultimately it didn’t do well on Broadway, but it always holds a special place in my heart! Oh my God, thanks! 🎭
The #1 answer is "I'll Cover You" and it's not up for debate. LOL Anyone who says otherwise is wrong. (I'm joking...Kind of. 😉) Maybe the people who don't agree just didn't get to see Jesse L. Martin perform it with the OBC. Trust me, it was life changing. The one I think you missed is "Don't Rain on My Parade" from "Funny Girl." I saw it three times and I don't even really love the show. There's too much filler. But Lea Michele gave the performance of a lifetime. When she does the reprise and hits that huge note at the end? I was ugly crying! I'm not even kidding. I was WEEPING. 🤣 There's a "slime tutorial" of it on UA-cam and I've watched it like 100 times. But seeing her go from so sad and so defeated to so confident is amazing. "Let's give 'em hell, Brice. We'll cry a little later. Well, Brice, that's life in the theatre!" Ugh! It gets me every time.
This is one of my favourites. Not exactly a full reprise, but a really beautiful, stirring call-back. In EVITA, at the and of Waltz for Eva and Che, Evita's "oh, what I'd give for a hundred years..." is a sad lament about how she doesn't have time left to accomplish all she wants, but it is the same melody as the bridge from Buenos Aires "and, if ever I go to far..." an upbeat number where she's expressing her youthful excitement to be starting life in a big city.
Part of Your World Reprise is SO iconic, but I also adore the perfect full-circle resolution and sheer romance of the second reprise that comes in the Finale of the musical: [ALL] Now they can be who they're meant to be Now they can gaze on a new horizon Here between ocean and sky Forever and on! Now they can walk Now they can run Now they can stay all day in the sun [ERIC] Just you and me [ARIEL] And I will be [ALL] Part of your world!
I was in this scene in a community production of The Little Mermaid in 2018. I really was almost crying on stage because this reprise was so beautiful.
Ok...I know it breaks the rule a bit, but I love the moment in Love Never Dies when the Phantom comes to Christine in her dressing room and sings: " In moments, mere moments Drums will roll There you'll stand, just like before The crowd will hush And then in one sweet rush I will hear you sing once more And music, our music Will swell and then unwind Like two strands of melody At last entwined Fulfill us, complete us Make us whole Seal our bond forevermore Tonight, for me, embrace your destiny Let me hear you sing Once more!" Say what you will about the show...I think that moment is beautiful. You also forgot the Beast's If I Can't Love Her reprise, which comes after the Ballroom scene: "No spell has been broken No words have been spoken No point anymore if she can't love me No hope she would do so No dream to pursue, so I finally know that I will always be In this hopeless state And condemned to wait- Wait for death to set me free." 💜
‘Flying Away’ from Fun Home 🏡🏳️🌈👕📝. I recently saw the show at the Gate Theatre where it’s making its Irish debut, and never have I been so moved by a musical. It reminded me why I got into performing in the first place. The power of that story and Jeanine Tesori’s music and the ACTING. Killian Donnelly just…wow. If you’re in Ireland between now and the end of August, Mickey Jo, I NEED you to see it!
Into the Woods is indeed the greatest musical of all time, period, end of story. I can't tell you my favorite book, song, movie, or play is, but Into the Woods wins every time.
I watched this this morning and have been thinking about it all day! Before you even started, I thought of a few that you mentioned, but I've since been thinking more and have a list (not that anyone asked). • I Won't Send Roses - Mack & Mabel - One of my favourites as well, love that you mentioned this! Gets me for personal reasons every time! • I'm Not That Girl - Wicked - Beautifully bookends the love triangle, and as you say, those low notes! I love that the "There's a girl I know..." line works both times but that Glinda doesn't sing "I wasn't born for the rose and pearl", because she knows that she was, but clearly it doesn't matter. • Sandra Dee - Grease - Questionable morals but beautiful words. • I'll Cover You - Rent - I agree, I mean, you really can't get much better. • Somewhere That's Green - Clearly, Alan Menken does a good reprise. I love that this goes from being her "I want" song of the dream she's always had, to being her reality as (spoiler alert 😂) she's about to be eaten by a plant and therefore be somewhere very green. Not the deepest or emotional of meanings, but genius! • 38 Planes - Come From Away - Perhaps not the best "reprise" as a whole, but it gets that title on the soundtrack so it's worth mentioning. I love that the counting of the planes taking off and leaving the island is the same as the counting in the first version as they arrive - another good "bookend" type reprise. A lot of the older musicals do have many reprises, but a few stick out for me. Carousel • If I Loved You - Breaks my heart every time. When Billy is alive, they only ever say "If I loved you", as they're too afraid to say it. Then, once he's gone, he sings "How I loved you", and she'll never know 😭 • You'll Never Walk Alone - What a way to end a show. And the way it begins spoken, with voices gradually joining... Gah! Oliver! Oliver! has quite a few reprises, but some are immediate ones like you say, which don't really count. I love: • It's A Fine Life - Couldn't be more different from the first version, so feisty! • As Long As He Needs Me - Goes from being purely about Bill to being about Oliver as well, while still staying loyal to Bill. • Reviewing The Situation - Everything has changed for Fagin, and after a (very) long song about how he'll never change his ways, suddenly he wonders if he can. And those final CHORDS! • Wouldn't It Be Loverly - My Fair Lady - Eliza begins by singing this with her friends in Covent Garden as she dreams of what a finer life could be like. Once she has that life, and it's not all as it seemed, she comes back to Covent Garden, where everyone is still singing this song, but nobody recognises her anymore. Eliza sits and sings this by herself, wondering if it was quite as "loverly" as she'd imagined, and realising that in some ways, the life she used to have with her friends was much more "loverly"! This is never included in cast recordings etc. as it's so short, but, as a former Eliza, I think it's quite poignant. I also want to give a shoutout to Calamity Jane for having surely the most record breaking number of reprises. I did the show earlier this year and had never realised before! It's mad! • The Deadwood Stage - Reprised in the final scene • Careless With The Truth - Reprise closes act I • Adelaide - Reprised both as the can-can music, and then later in act I but sad this time (aka Sadelaide) • Ev'ryone Complains About The Weather - literally the only song that doesn't come back • Men! - Reprise half way through act II • A Hive Full of Honey - Reprised as part of the finale • I Can Do Without You - Not quite a reprise, but it's used as the polka music at the ball • It's Harry I'm Planning To Marry - Reprised immediately by Katie Brown but different enough to be a reprise • Windy City - Reprised twice in final scene • Keep It Under Your Hat - Has an immediate reprise so doesn't follow your rules, but the score does have them as two songs • A Woman's Touch - Reprised as part of the finale • Higher Than A Hawk - Reprised as part of the finale • Black Hills of Dakota - Reprised immediately and as walkdown/encore music • Love You Dearly - Reprised as part of the finale • Secret Love - Reprised quickly after as a duet I mean... Honestly! They just wrote a few good tunes and stuck with them! Thank you for getting all of my family thinking about this today - loved it! Thank you for coming to my TED Talk 😂. xxx
Not so much a reprise, but when Barbara and Adam FINALLY sing "Ready, Set, let's Go!" towards the end of Beetlejuice (after their entire introduction being "ready, set, not yet") I'm in tears. I don't even know what it is about that moment but it always gets me.
Love that list, would like to add a couple to the list: Spongebob the Musical - Bikini Bottom Day (Reprise 2) - The reprise at the top of act 2. While the opening number 'Bikini Bottom Day' is a cheerful outlook on a new day coming to the underwater town, the reprise is a much darker take with Spongebob singing about how this could be the last day of his life and the mission ahead of him. Shame the TV version cut that number. Aladdin - Proud of your Boy (Reprise 2) - The one right before the 'Prince Ali' reprises. After lying to Jasmine and disappointing his friends, Aladdin realises that he has to come clean to everyone and be an honest man, as his mother wanted him to. Les Mis - Javert's Soliloquy - A haunting reprise of Valjean's soliloquy from the beginning of the show. Using the same melody and several of the same lyrics, what was Valjean's moment of enlightenment, is now Javert's darkest. Both decided to take a way out of their previous lives: Valjean by starting new as an honest man, with a final high note in the lyric "Another story must begin". Javert by taking his own life, with a final low note in "No way to go on". & Juliet - I Want it That Way (Reprise) - Not often do you see a reprise in a jukebox musical, but &J uses the iconic Backstreet Boys song in an amazing way. When the song first appears, it's about the fight for creative control over the story between William & Anne. The reprise is William finally understanding that the most important thing in his life isn't his writing, but his wife. "Because I can write endless plays, I can write plays for days, but there will never be another Anne Hathaway" MJ the Musical - Keep the Faith (Reprise) - Michael uses the advice he once got at a low point to cheer up Rob, the tour director. In act 1, the song is performed by Quincy Jones, cheering up young Michael after "Off the Wall" doesn't become the hit they hoped for. In act 2, Michael sings this to Rob, the tour director when he feels overwhelmed by the size of the upcoming "Dangerous" tour and the huge risks that come with it. The reprise later turns into a big pep talk as the dancers, musicians and singers come in and join the song together.
Javert's Soliloquy gives me more chills than Valjean's Soliloquy in the Prologue. In my opinion, it's criminally underappreciated and beyond goosebump-inducing! To add, we have been so blessed to have so many great vocally astute baritones / low tenors with their own unique but very powerful takes on Javert on Broadway, the West End, and internationally over the years - so I couldn't tell you who my favourite Javert was to begin with, because I love most, if not all of them!
@@dukeofrodtown1705The finale reprise is on the original cast recording from back during the Chicago run. However, the first Bikini Bottom Day Reprise ties into the original song, and the reprise in Act 2 isn't on the album at all. Both of them are incredible reprises with sadder, darker tones, and I wish they had released an album with the updated songs, if not just for those reprises.
@@Delilah_Fields I seem to have only encountered the OBC recording, if that's the case. It's several months since I've last listened to this amazing show in full, which is in fact one my huge favourites. Thanks!
I always loved the reprise (or coda) of “send in the clowns” from a little night Music. The way it starts as the most emotional and vulnerable confession of a song, that then gets turned Into a beautiful love duet is truly an example of utilizing Melodies. I always tear up when Frederick says “and Fredericka…” realizing she is his daughter, followed by the whole orchestra setting in, playing the motive
I love the reprise of somewhere that's green (and little shop in general). In act 1, Audrey sings it as an I want song. She sings "Far from skid row, I dream we'll go, somewhere that's green." Later on, in act 2, when she is about to (spoiler alert) die, she sings it to Seymour. As she's about to be fed to the human-eating plant (Audrey II), she sings, "Oh don't you see, finally I'll be, somewhere that's green." It's such a heart-breaking scene where we realise Audrey's character has come full-circle. It smashes my heart into a million pieces every time...
Surely one of the greatest reprises in the history of musical theatre is the second act joint reprise of "Seventy Six Trombones" and "Goodnight, My Someone" by Harold Hill and Marian Paroo in *The Music Man.* Each reprises the song they introduced in Act One, but then at a certain point, they switch. Marian sings Harold's song, and vice-versa, and you can't fail to notice, even if you've missed it up to this point, that these two very different-sounding songs (one an up-tempo march, and the other a slow romantic ballad) actually have the same melody. They've been singing the same song from the very beginning.
27:53 Wait for Me reprise is so freaking cool. It makes me cry every time. I do love both songs, but they have a very different vibe and EVA NOBLEZADA IS A POWERHOUSE. one of my favorite reprises that you didn't mention was Still/The Neva Flows Reprise because the staging is both breathtaking and heartbreaking; the Romanovs being executed right behind Gleb and Anya. Overall, Anastasia is a really underrated musical.
Yes we need the into the woods video. I’ll never get tired of watching people tear into that movie I’ve listened to wait for me a lot more than the original. Something about it just hits different. I think the reason why it’s so great is that we start to see how our main characters changed. Eurydice is now the confident and hopeful one, while Orpheus is more uncertain. This is further shown in the next song
Thank you so much for doing a video like this. Living in America, and having four young children, I can’t go see shows as much as I used to, and I have seen a lot of original Broadway casts, but a lot of the new shows I’m just not able to see…but content like this is amazing because it’s super easy to go look up some of these songs and reprises, even if you don’t know them. Love this video!
My favourite ever is Die Schatten werden länger from Elisabeth. I think the full version is technically a reprise because a shorter version appears earlier like a haunting preview! So coool.
Some fantastic picks here... (and there are of course, instant tears whenever I think about I'll Cover You Reprise)... HOWEVER! The sickening feeling of the passing of the mental health baton that happens in Next To Normal's- I Am The One- Reprise, gives me chills every time! And the super simplistic colours of the costume design, how Diana is now wearing white, and Dan and Gabe are now dressed in her signature red. Simple. Effective and oh so bleak.
The Johanna quartet reprise from Sweeney Todd has always been a favorite of mine! And then since you mentioned school of rock I also want to shout out the competition encore of stick it to the man cuz it’s totally awesome when the kids are actually playing the instruments (during act 1 the song had them dancing while the pit played but in the reprise at the end of the show it’s the kids themselves playing)
Some great choices and beautifully explained into why they work. I was surprised, considering your love of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, that you didn't mention "Somewhere that's green" from Little Shop of Horrors. Yes it is an iconic song (and, lord knows, the number of times I have watched Ellen Greene et al. sing it - frequently bringing a tear to my eye) but it's the reprise that shows Menken and Ashman's genius - Audrey's 'I Want' song dream is fulfilled as she gets to go (or more accurately, in) somewhere that's green. Audrey is the one who, in her last moments, is able to clearly see a way to be with Seymour, in fact as clearly as she saw the house in Levitt town, and being with Seymour is the thing she most wants; 'where' that is doesn't matter as long as they are together. With performers who can play the delicate balance of the horror elements with the emotional truthfulness of the sadness and of the love fulfilment it gives me that favourite emotion of Truvy the salon owner in the film/play Steel Magnolias - "Laughter through tears!" The reprise also has this glorious line of dialogue in its intro: Seymour:- "I've done terrible things, but not to you. Never to you!" Audrey:- "But, I want you to Seymour!"
"Shine A Light" reprise from Heathers is one of my favourites. Shine A Light is already a sinister song just hidden by a happy upbeat tone. The reprise strips this all down and is outright evil sounding but it still manages to keep the humor of Heathers. Having it right in between the two saddest songs in the musical also helps keep the tension and insanity of the final act while allowing Lifeboat and Kindergarten Boyfriend to shine (heh) Literally every reprise in Next To Normal. Hey #3/Perfect For You reprise is such a good way of expanding the themes of the other version of the song(s). I Am The One reprise is great and sets up for the end of Dan's character arc. I'm Alive does a similar thing to Shine A Light reprise so I won't get into it. You Don't Know reprise is so sad and intense i love how they change "you don't know, i know you don't know" into "I don't know, the things I don't know" it shows how much she has changed in the second act because of the ECT, Its Gonna Be Good is I'm Alive again in themes, Make Up Your Mind/Catch Me I'm Falling takes away the franticness of the original song showing the clarity Diana is feeling. Finally I couldn't not talk about Johanna reprise from Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street. It takes the subtle yet unintentional creepiness of Johanna (from Anthony's perspective) and turns it up while still being subtle enough to keep the feeling linger instead of just feeling excessive (or at least thats how I felt)
When I heard "Rent" I went yep. Yep. That is, indeed, the greatest reprise. The 1st I'll Cover You is on my playlists constantly. The 2nd one is just for awful, awful, cry-worthy days.
Totally agree about part of your world. Personally my favourite Disney and favourite Menken reprise is "When will my life begin" SECOND reprise. A beautiful song that conveys what Rapunzel is feeling so well, and shows off some of the best parts of Menken's songwriting genius imo. A perfect pairing for an I want song.
Definitely agree with the ones you listed!! Also wanna mention Seventeen at the end of Heathers, I like how happy it sounds. I like the reprises in Falsettos too!
I was surprised Stay Alive from Hamilton wasn't in there - it goes from Eliza hoping Hamilton will stay alive through the war and Hamilton's resolve through this, to Eliza and Hamilton holding their son as he died and begging him to stay alive. Absolutely one of my favourites!
Another terrific reprise is “Lovely” from Forum. In act one it’s a love song sung by Hero and Phyllia. In the second act it’s an hysterical reprise sung by Pseudolus to Hysterium who is pretending to be Phyllia.
That is a devastating chance to Life I Never Led (reprise) ! Sister Act is such a brilliant show. Also, very up for hearing your rant about the film adaptation of Into The Woods!
I'm glad 'Wait for Me' and 'I'll Cover You' made the list, but I'd like to throw in honourable mentions for 'Dead Girl Walking' - Heathers and 'Everything About You' - Groundhog Day (although the latter may be too close to the original to fit your rules)
I was so glad someone mentioned I’ll cover you (reprise). It is rarely talked about, but it is by far one of my favorite reprises along with wait for me (reprise) and good kid (reprise)
Another beautiful part of wait for me reprise is that doubt comes in IMMEDIATELY starts the second eyuridice is done singing cutting off the applause a bit, making the emotions and tension high in the theater.
Mmm yes loved this video! Definitely enjoy this kind of content talking about a bunch of different shows! You mentioned all the ones I could think of - my personal favourite reprises are Not A Day Goes By and Wicked Little Town. And yeah I do prefer the Wait For Me reprise for that fantastic Eurydice vocal :)
"Let Me Entertain You" from Gypsy is a great reprise turn. It shows up throughout the show as the upbeat signature song of the family act, and ends up as the sultry double-entende laden torch song at the end. Thanks for a fun video.
Absolutely agree. That 2nd Act Burlesque Montage with Louise/Gypsy working her way up the ladder while singing Baby June's number - brilliant concept, and always brings out the best in the actor playing Louise/Gypsy.
i do prefer the wait for me reprise but my favourite reprise in hadestown is chant 2...the breaking away from the "keep your head low" chant, incorporating If It's True, the more urgent energy + hades' anger makes it sell so well for me. great list!
Say what you want about rent as a show, but dang if ‘I’ll cover you’ doesn’t destroy me utterly every time I hear that opening line in Colins’ heartbreaking tone 😭 Loved this video, it woke my heart up in a fun way. Gonna go watch musical clips and cry now 😂😂😂
Completely agree about the genius of the line "Dwarfs are very upsetting". Indeed Agony (Reprise) has some of the most clever lyrics of any song - and it steals the show in nearly every production. However - I was not sure if you clocked that they are bickering about dwarves vs dwarfs. It's dwarfs with an F, not dwarves with a V 'cause dwarves with a V goes vvvvvvvvvv, not ffffffffff.
secret of happiness from daddy long legs is my absolute favorite (although in the cast recording the first time it’s sung is labeled as the reprise for some reason). Jerusha sings it first in a letter to “daddy long legs” as a reflection of what she’s learned both at school and at Lockwillow. in the reprise, it’s sung by Jervis after he’s read her original letter about her secret of happiness. he sings it because his secret of happiness in her and her letter about finding the secret of happiness has opened his eyes to his secret if happiness which is HERRRRR. they sing the end alternating together and it’s absolutely STUNNING. makes me cry every time. absolutely a piece of art.
Aldonza’s short reprise of “Dulcinea” in the last scene of Man of La Mancha is it for me. One of my favourite moments in musical theatre! Moves me to tears just hearing it.
I was in a production of Sister Act and was in bits during our final Take Me To Heaven reprise. One of my favourites is "As Long As He Needs Me" from Oliver. It's conveying the same feelings as the original but Nancy's feelings are now complicated by her care for Oliver. It shows so much bravery and is a tragic way to lead into her death.
Great list, but there's one great reprise I'm missing. I am the one from Next to Normal. That little reprise sent the whole ending of the show in a tailspin, it's so great.
Another great choice, and one where I feel the song doesn't fully arrive UNTIL the reprise, which feels less like a repeat and more like a culmination!
A couple of reprises I really like are Manchester and Let The Sunshine In from Hair - especially the 2009 production. There's just something so fun and upbeat about Gavin Creel's (as well as the rest of the cast's) delivery. Also, to my knowledge, audience members were allowed onstage to sing and dance during the Let The Sunshine In reprise.
My favorites are the “Wait For Me” reprise (Eva singing her part gives me chills!) from Hadestown, and the “I Want It That Way” reprise from & Juliet. Stark’s emotions really come through in it. (Stark Sands is William Shakespeare in the original Broadway Cast.)
I actually prefer Eva singing wait for me to reeve
Excellent list but I can't believe the "Somewhere That's Green" reprise from Little Shop was left out! The song first appears as a comical yet sincere "I Want" anthem in Act I with Audrey dreaming of a better life, and is a tearjerking goodbye in Act II as she faces her death and rationalizes that it'll be OK since she's doing it for the man she loves. It's absolutely heartbreaking!
“You’ll water me, and care for me, and see me bud and bloom. I’m feeling rather happy now, contented and serene.” Love it!!❤️😭
"Wait for Me" is so hard to compare. I cried during the original WfM because of all the staging, and the light dancing, it was really overwhelming. But you're also leaving out how Eurydice jumps in for the reprise, literally watching as Orpheus starts going, determined and she has this moment of pure hesitation as Persephone and Hermes watch, the Workers all trying to have hope that they can do it, and then she just GOES for it, calling out to Orpheus who, presumably, can't hear her, like she's shouting in her head as loud as she can. And then Doubt Comes In hits and you KNOW what happens. I can't choose a favorite between the two, it's impossible.
P
I think my favorite is "I'll Cover You (Reprise)" just because it breaks my heart into a million pieces but a lot of great choices in the video. One that isn't mentioned here (& will only really be known by fans of the show) is the reprise of "Good Kid" in The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical at the end of the show when the reveal is made about who the thief really was & sung by said person (I'll keep it a secret here for those who haven't read the book & want to not know going into the Disney+ series next year) when the original was sung by Percy towards the start of the show. It's shows a nice contrast between the two characters as they battle it out. Said reprise was even the part given a shout out by Lin-Manuel Miranda after seeing the show during it's limited Broadway run. Oh & I listen to "Wait For Me" original more but reprise still wins for me.
Into the Woods rage essay needed immediately! Please and thank you.
I don’t know if it counts but “No one mourns the wicked” and “Finale Wicked”, the opening and ending songs of wicked respectively. They’re the same moment in the show but with added context and with an extra section between Glinda and Elphaba. Also the stay alive reprise in Hamilton is so emotional and beautiful to me. Hamilton is quite full of repeated music however I think Stay Alive still deserves a mention.
Falsettoland reprise not being here is mindblowning, it makes me cry every single time ive seen it, flips every lyric on it heads and breaks literally everyone heart. Definitely up there for one of the best!
I just wrote a couple, but how did that one skip my mind, absolutely
100%!!
YUP
The music of the final Falsettoland is also a reprise of the ending song from In Trousers.
Oh how I wish you could have seen Joshua Henry and Gavin Creel perform "Agony." I know how much you love the show and you would have gone nuts. I actually saw the most recent production 6 times, including the last performance. And perhaps my all-time favorite "moment in the woods" was Joshua and Gavin's final "Agony."
Since it was the last show, there was literally a standing ovation for every single song. There was a standing ovation for Stephanie J. Block's "Justify the beans!" I didn't spend much of that performance seated in my chair, but that was so much fun and so memorable. I'm not complaining. I knew the last "Agony" was coming up and I remember thinking, "Oh boy. Here it comes." They performed the song and it was perfection, of course, and then the audience started applauding, but no one stood up right away. I didn't want to be the only one, but I was so confused. And then, after a few seconds, as if someone was directing them, the entire audience leapt to its feet and cheered for what felt like forever. Joshua and Gavin just stood there taking it in. I think they both started to cry. (Gavin definitely did.) I think they gave each other a hug and then parted ways. There's a picture of it on the ITW Instagram account. It was so good.
“It’s no sicker than your thing with dwarves.”
“Dwarfs!”
“Dwarfs.”
“Dwarfs are very upsetting.”
I love that he’s so anti-Dwarf, but still corrects the plural 😆
And yes please go off on Into The Woods! That movie infuriated me!
Please no do not go off on Into The Woods. I'd forgotten it existed and I don't need any further reminders.
I played Collins last year and every time I had to sing the reprise with the backing vocals behind as well as what had happened previously and adding into the fact the tragic passing of Jonathan Larson, I have NEVER felt so much emotion in one song.
This was extremely interesting.🥰Thanks! Yes, I want to hear your rage about movie vs stage versions of "Into the Woods"! 🤔🙂
My favourite reprise is the reprise of do you hear the people sing during the les miserable epilogue as it has my favourite line “even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise”
how is nobody mentioning sweeney todd! the reprise and repetition of songs with different themes and context is incredible like the repeating of the barber and his wife reworked in mrs lovetts perspective in poor thing the way the ballad of sweeney todd repeats through the entire show and of course the johanna quartet in act 2 which is one of the greatest ways a song has been repeated and reworked in a show showing every characters changing feelings and the culmination of so many parts of the story all to set the stage as they propel towards the ending like they are not really traditional reprises but really tie together the storytelling and themes of sweeney todd through music so beautifully with their repetition and push the concept of a reprise forward
I’d love to hear both your favorite repeated melodies in shows and also your Into the Woods film adaptation rant.
Second for repeated melodies! That's the main reason I think Les Mis is so brilliant, they're all intentional.
I’d like to see both these videos.
Omg, yes!! The "If Only You Would Listen" reprise moment is CRIMINALLY underrated.
One I love that didn't get a shoutout in the video was "Dead Girl Walking" from Heathers. It starts off in Act 1 being a silly teenage metaphor -- she feels like her life is over because she's not going to be popular anymore. But then in Act 2 the stakes become literally life & death and she plans on actually sacrificing herself!
Thank you! "I'll cover you" was the one, only reprise I thought of the moment I read the title of your video.
Please do more this kind of videos . I like your singing voice
I’m going to need a MickeyJoTheatre one man show of Sister Act asap please 🙏😂
Certainly not going to fight you on "I'll Cover You (Reprise)". Just saw this show again at Stratford (Canada) and it floored me again.
I love all of these you listed, and I wanted to add a few more! Twisted's "The Golden Rule (Reprise)" is great because it takes an optimistic hero's song and turns it into a villain's song, from "follow the golden rule of treating others the way you want to be treated" to "whoever has the gold makes the rules." Also, I really like the a cappella reprise of "Gold" from Once and "The Color Purple (Reprise)."
Hello, fellow Starkid fan!
Although I love all of your reprises you listed, Next To Normal has the most reprises that work the best. The reprise of I’m Alive, Gonna be Good, You Don’t Know are all textbook reprises done to perfection, but the one that gets me is the final reprise of I am the one, where you realize how badly the father has been struggling. Ugh! I need videos on both into the woods and Next to Normal asap! I’m so glad you are talking about going back to more listicals and essays. I’d love to see a video of you breaking down some of your favorite scores of shows.
yes, next to normal is a great example for this!
me: where's next to normal it rules the reprise! i am glad i'm not alone in the comments
I was going to hold my like hostage until you inevitably mentioned Next to Normal. I Am the One. You didnt. My obsession continues.
The film version of Rent is mildly disappointing, but Jesse L Martin nailing I'll Cover You (Reprise) is undeniably magnificent in its heartbreak.
absolutely. I don't care what everyone's opinion is about the movie in general, but this scene? Wonderful.
Agreed, Jesse L Martin’s performance in that scene never fails to make me ugly cry. Rest of the film is what it is.
The “I’ll cover you (reprise)” is an absolute heartbreaker, completely agree it’s an amazing reprise.
Would love to hear your thoughts on the Into the Woods movie adaptation!
I can’t believe you started with Mack & Mabel… one of my all-time favorites! When I was a young man (younger than you now MJ), I was an usher at the Los Angeles Music Center, which opened M&M before it went to Broadway. I saw it about 40 times and loved Bernadette Peters and Robert Preston as they worked through the different kinks in the show. I Won’t Send Roses touched me each time I heard it. Ultimately it didn’t do well on Broadway, but it always holds a special place in my heart! Oh my God, thanks! 🎭
The #1 answer is "I'll Cover You" and it's not up for debate. LOL Anyone who says otherwise is wrong. (I'm joking...Kind of. 😉) Maybe the people who don't agree just didn't get to see Jesse L. Martin perform it with the OBC. Trust me, it was life changing.
The one I think you missed is "Don't Rain on My Parade" from "Funny Girl." I saw it three times and I don't even really love the show. There's too much filler. But Lea Michele gave the performance of a lifetime. When she does the reprise and hits that huge note at the end? I was ugly crying! I'm not even kidding. I was WEEPING. 🤣
There's a "slime tutorial" of it on UA-cam and I've watched it like 100 times. But seeing her go from so sad and so defeated to so confident is amazing. "Let's give 'em hell, Brice. We'll cry a little later. Well, Brice, that's life in the theatre!" Ugh! It gets me every time.
I’m really glad that you’re bringing these lighthearted topics back! These are what hooked me onto your channel.
I got choked up just by the mention of the I’ll Cover You reprise
The “I’ll Cover You Reprise” makes me bawl even when I hear it out of context
Saammmeee.
This is one of my favourites. Not exactly a full reprise, but a really beautiful, stirring call-back. In EVITA, at the and of Waltz for Eva and Che, Evita's "oh, what I'd give for a hundred years..." is a sad lament about how she doesn't have time left to accomplish all she wants, but it is the same melody as the bridge from Buenos Aires "and, if ever I go to far..." an upbeat number where she's expressing her youthful excitement to be starting life in a big city.
“What is the good of the strongest heart in a body that is falling apart?” devastates me every single time I hear it
Part of Your World Reprise is SO iconic, but I also adore the perfect full-circle resolution and sheer romance of the second reprise that comes in the Finale of the musical:
[ALL]
Now they can be who they're meant to be
Now they can gaze on a new horizon
Here between ocean and sky
Forever and on!
Now they can walk
Now they can run
Now they can stay all day in the sun
[ERIC]
Just you and me
[ARIEL]
And I will be
[ALL]
Part of your world!
I was in this scene in a community production of The Little Mermaid in 2018. I really was almost crying on stage because this reprise was so beautiful.
Ok...I know it breaks the rule a bit, but I love the moment in Love Never Dies when the Phantom comes to Christine in her dressing room and sings:
"
In moments, mere moments
Drums will roll
There you'll stand, just like before
The crowd will hush
And then in one sweet rush
I will hear you sing once more
And music, our music
Will swell and then unwind
Like two strands of melody
At last entwined
Fulfill us, complete us
Make us whole
Seal our bond forevermore
Tonight, for me, embrace your destiny
Let me hear you sing
Once more!"
Say what you will about the show...I think that moment is beautiful.
You also forgot the Beast's If I Can't Love Her reprise, which comes after the Ballroom scene:
"No spell has been broken
No words have been spoken
No point anymore if she can't love me
No hope she would do so
No dream to pursue, so
I finally know that I will always be
In this hopeless state
And condemned to wait-
Wait for death to set me free."
💜
‘Flying Away’ from Fun Home 🏡🏳️🌈👕📝.
I recently saw the show at the Gate Theatre where it’s making its Irish debut, and never have I been so moved by a musical. It reminded me why I got into performing in the first place. The power of that story and Jeanine Tesori’s music and the ACTING. Killian Donnelly just…wow. If you’re in Ireland between now and the end of August, Mickey Jo, I NEED you to see it!
INTO THE WOODS! INTO THE WOODS! DO MORE INTO THE WOODS!
Into the Woods is indeed the greatest musical of all time, period, end of story. I can't tell you my favorite book, song, movie, or play is, but Into the Woods wins every time.
BRING US THE RAGE ESSAY!
I watched this this morning and have been thinking about it all day! Before you even started, I thought of a few that you mentioned, but I've since been thinking more and have a list (not that anyone asked).
• I Won't Send Roses - Mack & Mabel - One of my favourites as well, love that you mentioned this! Gets me for personal reasons every time!
• I'm Not That Girl - Wicked - Beautifully bookends the love triangle, and as you say, those low notes! I love that the "There's a girl I know..." line works both times but that Glinda doesn't sing "I wasn't born for the rose and pearl", because she knows that she was, but clearly it doesn't matter.
• Sandra Dee - Grease - Questionable morals but beautiful words.
• I'll Cover You - Rent - I agree, I mean, you really can't get much better.
• Somewhere That's Green - Clearly, Alan Menken does a good reprise. I love that this goes from being her "I want" song of the dream she's always had, to being her reality as (spoiler alert 😂) she's about to be eaten by a plant and therefore be somewhere very green. Not the deepest or emotional of meanings, but genius!
• 38 Planes - Come From Away - Perhaps not the best "reprise" as a whole, but it gets that title on the soundtrack so it's worth mentioning. I love that the counting of the planes taking off and leaving the island is the same as the counting in the first version as they arrive - another good "bookend" type reprise.
A lot of the older musicals do have many reprises, but a few stick out for me.
Carousel
• If I Loved You - Breaks my heart every time. When Billy is alive, they only ever say "If I loved you", as they're too afraid to say it. Then, once he's gone, he sings "How I loved you", and she'll never know 😭
• You'll Never Walk Alone - What a way to end a show. And the way it begins spoken, with voices gradually joining... Gah!
Oliver!
Oliver! has quite a few reprises, but some are immediate ones like you say, which don't really count. I love:
• It's A Fine Life - Couldn't be more different from the first version, so feisty!
• As Long As He Needs Me - Goes from being purely about Bill to being about Oliver as well, while still staying loyal to Bill.
• Reviewing The Situation - Everything has changed for Fagin, and after a (very) long song about how he'll never change his ways, suddenly he wonders if he can. And those final CHORDS!
• Wouldn't It Be Loverly - My Fair Lady - Eliza begins by singing this with her friends in Covent Garden as she dreams of what a finer life could be like. Once she has that life, and it's not all as it seemed, she comes back to Covent Garden, where everyone is still singing this song, but nobody recognises her anymore. Eliza sits and sings this by herself, wondering if it was quite as "loverly" as she'd imagined, and realising that in some ways, the life she used to have with her friends was much more "loverly"! This is never included in cast recordings etc. as it's so short, but, as a former Eliza, I think it's quite poignant.
I also want to give a shoutout to Calamity Jane for having surely the most record breaking number of reprises. I did the show earlier this year and had never realised before! It's mad!
• The Deadwood Stage - Reprised in the final scene
• Careless With The Truth - Reprise closes act I
• Adelaide - Reprised both as the can-can music, and then later in act I but sad this time (aka Sadelaide)
• Ev'ryone Complains About The Weather - literally the only song that doesn't come back
• Men! - Reprise half way through act II
• A Hive Full of Honey - Reprised as part of the finale
• I Can Do Without You - Not quite a reprise, but it's used as the polka music at the ball
• It's Harry I'm Planning To Marry - Reprised immediately by Katie Brown but different enough to be a reprise
• Windy City - Reprised twice in final scene
• Keep It Under Your Hat - Has an immediate reprise so doesn't follow your rules, but the score does have them as two songs
• A Woman's Touch - Reprised as part of the finale
• Higher Than A Hawk - Reprised as part of the finale
• Black Hills of Dakota - Reprised immediately and as walkdown/encore music
• Love You Dearly - Reprised as part of the finale
• Secret Love - Reprised quickly after as a duet
I mean... Honestly! They just wrote a few good tunes and stuck with them!
Thank you for getting all of my family thinking about this today - loved it! Thank you for coming to my TED Talk 😂. xxx
Not so much a reprise, but when Barbara and Adam FINALLY sing "Ready, Set, let's Go!" towards the end of Beetlejuice (after their entire introduction being "ready, set, not yet") I'm in tears. I don't even know what it is about that moment but it always gets me.
Okay Mickey, with those low notes that I didn’t expect! Would love to hear a full version of you singing “I’ll Cover You”.
The reprise of “I’ll Cover You” makes me weep like a baby 😭
Love that list, would like to add a couple to the list:
Spongebob the Musical - Bikini Bottom Day (Reprise 2) - The reprise at the top of act 2.
While the opening number 'Bikini Bottom Day' is a cheerful outlook on a new day coming to the underwater town, the reprise is a much darker take with Spongebob singing about how this could be the last day of his life and the mission ahead of him. Shame the TV version cut that number.
Aladdin - Proud of your Boy (Reprise 2) - The one right before the 'Prince Ali' reprises.
After lying to Jasmine and disappointing his friends, Aladdin realises that he has to come clean to everyone and be an honest man, as his mother wanted him to.
Les Mis - Javert's Soliloquy - A haunting reprise of Valjean's soliloquy from the beginning of the show.
Using the same melody and several of the same lyrics, what was Valjean's moment of enlightenment, is now Javert's darkest.
Both decided to take a way out of their previous lives:
Valjean by starting new as an honest man, with a final high note in the lyric "Another story must begin".
Javert by taking his own life, with a final low note in "No way to go on".
& Juliet - I Want it That Way (Reprise) - Not often do you see a reprise in a jukebox musical, but &J uses the iconic Backstreet Boys song in an amazing way.
When the song first appears, it's about the fight for creative control over the story between William & Anne.
The reprise is William finally understanding that the most important thing in his life isn't his writing, but his wife.
"Because I can write endless plays, I can write plays for days, but there will never be another Anne Hathaway"
MJ the Musical - Keep the Faith (Reprise) - Michael uses the advice he once got at a low point to cheer up Rob, the tour director.
In act 1, the song is performed by Quincy Jones, cheering up young Michael after "Off the Wall" doesn't become the hit they hoped for.
In act 2, Michael sings this to Rob, the tour director when he feels overwhelmed by the size of the upcoming "Dangerous" tour and the huge risks that come with it.
The reprise later turns into a big pep talk as the dancers, musicians and singers come in and join the song together.
Javert's Soliloquy gives me more chills than Valjean's Soliloquy in the Prologue. In my opinion, it's criminally underappreciated and beyond goosebump-inducing! To add, we have been so blessed to have so many great vocally astute baritones / low tenors with their own unique but very powerful takes on Javert on Broadway, the West End, and internationally over the years - so I couldn't tell you who my favourite Javert was to begin with, because I love most, if not all of them!
I hate that Bikini Bottom Day reprise was left off the album
@@mollymcdade4031 Actually, it is on the album. (The original Broadway cast album, that is)
@@dukeofrodtown1705The finale reprise is on the original cast recording from back during the Chicago run. However, the first Bikini Bottom Day Reprise ties into the original song, and the reprise in Act 2 isn't on the album at all. Both of them are incredible reprises with sadder, darker tones, and I wish they had released an album with the updated songs, if not just for those reprises.
@@Delilah_Fields I seem to have only encountered the OBC recording, if that's the case. It's several months since I've last listened to this amazing show in full, which is in fact one my huge favourites. Thanks!
I always loved the reprise (or coda) of “send in the clowns” from a little night Music. The way it starts as the most emotional and vulnerable confession of a song, that then gets turned Into a beautiful love duet is truly an example of utilizing Melodies. I always tear up when Frederick says “and Fredericka…” realizing she is his daughter, followed by the whole orchestra setting in, playing the motive
I love the reprise of somewhere that's green (and little shop in general).
In act 1, Audrey sings it as an I want song. She sings "Far from skid row, I dream we'll go, somewhere that's green."
Later on, in act 2, when she is about to (spoiler alert) die, she sings it to Seymour. As she's about to be fed to the human-eating plant (Audrey II), she sings, "Oh don't you see, finally I'll be, somewhere that's green." It's such a heart-breaking scene where we realise Audrey's character has come full-circle.
It smashes my heart into a million pieces every time...
My favourite is All I Ask of You (Reprised) from Phantom but also a shout out to Shine a Light (Reprised) from Heathers
Surely one of the greatest reprises in the history of musical theatre is the second act joint reprise of "Seventy Six Trombones" and "Goodnight, My Someone" by Harold Hill and Marian Paroo in *The Music Man.* Each reprises the song they introduced in Act One, but then at a certain point, they switch. Marian sings Harold's song, and vice-versa, and you can't fail to notice, even if you've missed it up to this point, that these two very different-sounding songs (one an up-tempo march, and the other a slow romantic ballad) actually have the same melody. They've been singing the same song from the very beginning.
27:53 Wait for Me reprise is so freaking cool. It makes me cry every time. I do love both songs, but they have a very different vibe and EVA NOBLEZADA IS A POWERHOUSE. one of my favorite reprises that you didn't mention was Still/The Neva Flows Reprise because the staging is both breathtaking and heartbreaking; the Romanovs being executed right behind Gleb and Anya. Overall, Anastasia is a really underrated musical.
Yes we need the into the woods video. I’ll never get tired of watching people tear into that movie
I’ve listened to wait for me a lot more than the original. Something about it just hits different. I think the reason why it’s so great is that we start to see how our main characters changed. Eurydice is now the confident and hopeful one, while Orpheus is more uncertain. This is further shown in the next song
Definitely want to see the into the woods rage video!
More of these videos please! Your enthusiasm is infectious.
Greatly enjoyed this! And I am 100% here for your Into the Woods rage.
Thank you so much for doing a video like this. Living in America, and having four young children, I can’t go see shows as much as I used to, and I have seen a lot of original Broadway casts, but a lot of the new shows I’m just not able to see…but content like this is amazing because it’s super easy to go look up some of these songs and reprises, even if you don’t know them. Love this video!
Oh my goodness! You’ve blown my mind that One Day More and On My Own are the same song! Please make that video! I loved this one!!
Practically every tune in *Les Miserables* is the same tune as every other tune.
YES PLEASE I WANT THE RAGE ESSAY ABOUT INTO THE WOODS. Also I'll Cover You is the best reprise. Just hearing you talk about it is enough to break me.
My favourite ever is Die Schatten werden länger from Elisabeth. I think the full version is technically a reprise because a shorter version appears earlier like a haunting preview! So coool.
Some fantastic picks here... (and there are of course, instant tears whenever I think about I'll Cover You Reprise)...
HOWEVER! The sickening feeling of the passing of the mental health baton that happens in Next To Normal's- I Am The One- Reprise, gives me chills every time!
And the super simplistic colours of the costume design, how Diana is now wearing white, and Dan and Gabe are now dressed in her signature red. Simple. Effective and oh so bleak.
Glad to hear appreciation for "Dwarfs are very upsetting"
The Johanna quartet reprise from Sweeney Todd has always been a favorite of mine! And then since you mentioned school of rock I also want to shout out the competition encore of stick it to the man cuz it’s totally awesome when the kids are actually playing the instruments (during act 1 the song had them dancing while the pit played but in the reprise at the end of the show it’s the kids themselves playing)
A favourite of mine is in the Lightning Thief, during The Last Day of Summer there’s a reprise of Good Kid sung by Luke that always hits
Kate Shindle singing the Legally Blonde remix gives me LIFE
Not gonna lie, the Someone gets hurts in mean girls is a bop
Some great choices and beautifully explained into why they work. I was surprised, considering your love of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, that you didn't mention "Somewhere that's green" from Little Shop of Horrors. Yes it is an iconic song (and, lord knows, the number of times I have watched Ellen Greene et al. sing it - frequently bringing a tear to my eye) but it's the reprise that shows Menken and Ashman's genius - Audrey's 'I Want' song dream is fulfilled as she gets to go (or more accurately, in) somewhere that's green. Audrey is the one who, in her last moments, is able to clearly see a way to be with Seymour, in fact as clearly as she saw the house in Levitt town, and being with Seymour is the thing she most wants; 'where' that is doesn't matter as long as they are together. With performers who can play the delicate balance of the horror elements with the emotional truthfulness of the sadness and of the love fulfilment it gives me that favourite emotion of Truvy the salon owner in the film/play Steel Magnolias - "Laughter through tears!"
The reprise also has this glorious line of dialogue in its intro:
Seymour:- "I've done terrible things, but not to you. Never to you!"
Audrey:- "But, I want you to Seymour!"
every time someone mentions dwarves my friend and i must reply with 'Dwarves are very upsetting!' such a great line!
"Shine A Light" reprise from Heathers is one of my favourites. Shine A Light is already a sinister song just hidden by a happy upbeat tone. The reprise strips this all down and is outright evil sounding but it still manages to keep the humor of Heathers. Having it right in between the two saddest songs in the musical also helps keep the tension and insanity of the final act while allowing Lifeboat and Kindergarten Boyfriend to shine (heh)
Literally every reprise in Next To Normal. Hey #3/Perfect For You reprise is such a good way of expanding the themes of the other version of the song(s). I Am The One reprise is great and sets up for the end of Dan's character arc. I'm Alive does a similar thing to Shine A Light reprise so I won't get into it. You Don't Know reprise is so sad and intense i love how they change "you don't know, i know you don't know" into "I don't know, the things I don't know" it shows how much she has changed in the second act because of the ECT, Its Gonna Be Good is I'm Alive again in themes, Make Up Your Mind/Catch Me I'm Falling takes away the franticness of the original song showing the clarity Diana is feeling.
Finally I couldn't not talk about Johanna reprise from Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street. It takes the subtle yet unintentional creepiness of Johanna (from Anthony's perspective) and turns it up while still being subtle enough to keep the feeling linger instead of just feeling excessive (or at least thats how I felt)
When I heard "Rent" I went yep. Yep. That is, indeed, the greatest reprise. The 1st I'll Cover You is on my playlists constantly. The 2nd one is just for awful, awful, cry-worthy days.
I'll Cover You Reprise never fails to make me cry. Wait for Me Reprise is a bettter song, but not staging.
I think we NEED to hear your educational rant on the Into the Woods movie adaption!
Totally agree about part of your world. Personally my favourite Disney and favourite Menken reprise is "When will my life begin" SECOND reprise. A beautiful song that conveys what Rapunzel is feeling so well, and shows off some of the best parts of Menken's songwriting genius imo. A perfect pairing for an I want song.
Please please please! The anger I hold for the film of into the woods is immeasurable
Definitely agree with the ones you listed!! Also wanna mention Seventeen at the end of Heathers, I like how happy it sounds. I like the reprises in Falsettos too!
First one I thought of was Dead Girl Walking
I was surprised Stay Alive from Hamilton wasn't in there - it goes from Eliza hoping Hamilton will stay alive through the war and Hamilton's resolve through this, to Eliza and Hamilton holding their son as he died and begging him to stay alive. Absolutely one of my favourites!
I love your reviews but I would love to see more like this. And totally down for all the videos you mentioned.
Another terrific reprise is “Lovely” from Forum. In act one it’s a love song sung by Hero and Phyllia. In the second act it’s an hysterical reprise sung by Pseudolus to Hysterium who is pretending to be Phyllia.
That is a devastating chance to Life I Never Led (reprise) ! Sister Act is such a brilliant show. Also, very up for hearing your rant about the film adaptation of Into The Woods!
I'm glad 'Wait for Me' and 'I'll Cover You' made the list, but I'd like to throw in honourable mentions for 'Dead Girl Walking' - Heathers and 'Everything About You' - Groundhog Day (although the latter may be too close to the original to fit your rules)
I was so glad someone mentioned I’ll cover you (reprise). It is rarely talked about, but it is by far one of my favorite reprises along with wait for me (reprise) and good kid (reprise)
Another beautiful part of wait for me reprise is that doubt comes in IMMEDIATELY starts the second eyuridice is done singing cutting off the applause a bit, making the emotions and tension high in the theater.
Mmm yes loved this video! Definitely enjoy this kind of content talking about a bunch of different shows! You mentioned all the ones I could think of - my personal favourite reprises are Not A Day Goes By and Wicked Little Town.
And yeah I do prefer the Wait For Me reprise for that fantastic Eurydice vocal :)
"Let Me Entertain You" from Gypsy is a great reprise turn. It shows up throughout the show as the upbeat signature song of the family act, and ends up as the sultry double-entende laden torch song at the end. Thanks for a fun video.
Absolutely agree. That 2nd Act Burlesque Montage with Louise/Gypsy working her way up the ladder while singing Baby June's number - brilliant concept, and always brings out the best in the actor playing Louise/Gypsy.
The line "I'll dance when she's done" is my favorite bit of foreshadowing ever!
i do prefer the wait for me reprise but my favourite reprise in hadestown is chant 2...the breaking away from the "keep your head low" chant, incorporating If It's True, the more urgent energy + hades' anger makes it sell so well for me. great list!
Say what you want about rent as a show, but dang if ‘I’ll cover you’ doesn’t destroy me utterly every time I hear that opening line in Colins’ heartbreaking tone 😭
Loved this video, it woke my heart up in a fun way. Gonna go watch musical clips and cry now 😂😂😂
Jesse won my heart with that opening line
I was prepared to fight you in the beginning if you hadn't mentioned I'll Cover You from Rent. It is the best reprise out there.
cant wait for mickey jo’s 3 hour long rant about the into the woods adaptation
Completely agree about the genius of the line "Dwarfs are very upsetting". Indeed Agony (Reprise) has some of the most clever lyrics of any song - and it steals the show in nearly every production.
However - I was not sure if you clocked that they are bickering about dwarves vs dwarfs. It's dwarfs with an F, not dwarves with a V 'cause dwarves with a V goes vvvvvvvvvv, not ffffffffff.
Got to say my favorites are Wait for me (Hadestown), Stupid with love (Mean Girls) and Watch what happens (Newsies)
secret of happiness from daddy long legs is my absolute favorite (although in the cast recording the first time it’s sung is labeled as the reprise for some reason). Jerusha sings it first in a letter to “daddy long legs” as a reflection of what she’s learned both at school and at Lockwillow. in the reprise, it’s sung by Jervis after he’s read her original letter about her secret of happiness. he sings it because his secret of happiness in her and her letter about finding the secret of happiness has opened his eyes to his secret if happiness which is HERRRRR. they sing the end alternating together and it’s absolutely STUNNING. makes me cry every time. absolutely a piece of art.
Loved this!! So many I had forgotten about!
And yes, yes yes to all those possible videos mentioned!! Xx
Into the Woods rage essay..LET THE CHAOS UNFOLD
Great list Mickey Jo. I agree with everything you said about the reprises from the shows I’ve seen or been in.
Please... I NEED that video about into the woods film.
I love this kind of video! Feel free to make more!
Love a reprise! It has to be As long as he needs me from Oliver though. The reprise is chefs kiss x
Aldonza’s short reprise of “Dulcinea” in the last scene of Man of La Mancha is it for me. One of my favourite moments in musical theatre! Moves me to tears just hearing it.
I want to hear your rage-essay about Into the Woods: the movie.
This was so much fun! IA with all of your opinions about reprises.
I was in a production of Sister Act and was in bits during our final Take Me To Heaven reprise. One of my favourites is "As Long As He Needs Me" from Oliver. It's conveying the same feelings as the original but Nancy's feelings are now complicated by her care for Oliver. It shows so much bravery and is a tragic way to lead into her death.
Justice for I’m Alive Reprise from Next to Normal! (But Wicked Little Town Reprise is 10/10 and soo underrated! Great list!)
Sometimes I start the whole Hadestown album with the wait for me reprise 💁♀️
Great list, but there's one great reprise I'm missing. I am the one from Next to Normal. That little reprise sent the whole ending of the show in a tailspin, it's so great.
“He Lives In You” from The Lion King is one of my favourite reprises.
Another great choice, and one where I feel the song doesn't fully arrive UNTIL the reprise, which feels less like a repeat and more like a culmination!
A couple of reprises I really like are Manchester and Let The Sunshine In from Hair - especially the 2009 production. There's just something so fun and upbeat about Gavin Creel's (as well as the rest of the cast's) delivery. Also, to my knowledge, audience members were allowed onstage to sing and dance during the Let The Sunshine In reprise.
I love "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria" and it's reprise