This weeks Friday Five is here and we are talking about one of my favorite genres of music- Broadway musicals!

It was actually kind of tough for me to narrow down my love of show tunes into 5 songs.  So, I decided to pick songs from shows I’ve seen on Broadway.  That left me 11 musicals to pick from and I feel like my songs show a variety and are from 5 shows I really love.

I don’t know if I would say they are my favorite Broadway songs but they are in the discussion for sure.  But here are my picks (in no particular order:

The Beauty Is from Light in the Piazza- musical about a young mentally special needs American girl going to Italy with her Mother and falling in love with an Italian. The musical in Light combines melodic and non-melodic sequences in the same song in a way I’ve never seen before.  Also the way they use harmonies and change keys within the songs gives them a uniquely beautiful song.

Stars from Les Miserables- Javert is one of my favorite villains because he isn’t really a villain.  He believes in justice which is a noble attribute but he  forgets about mercy.  In Stars he sings about his beliefs in upholding the law.

As We Stumble Along from Drowsy Chaperon- This show makes fun of musicals and is the funniest Broadway show I’ve ever seen.  It was also brilliant the way the story and the jokes came alive in the apartment of the Man in the Chair. This song lampoons the anthem songs of the modern musical and is very funny.

Defying Gravity from Wicked- As we saw from my last entry I love Idina Menzel and I think Stephen Schwartz did a great job with this prequel to Wizard of Oz (no small task considering every other film version has been terrible).  Defying Gravity is the most difficult song of the show and shows Idina’s amazing belt skills.  It is also the emotional heart of the show where Elphaba has made her decision and there is no going back.

76 Trombones from Music Man- Meredith Wilson’s Music Man will always have a special place in my heart because I saw this musical when I went to New York with my cousin Lisa.  She died 4 months after that trip. But even without that it is a story of redemption and how even a con man isn’t a total lost cause. Plus, there are some really catchy music to boot!

So that is my five choices.  What would you pick for your favorite songs from Broadway musicals?