Applause

Ah! Another one I've only ever heard one song from. This one costed me $10, so it better be worth it! :p

Applause opened up on Broadway in 1970 and appeared on television in 1973. The music is by Charles Strouse, the lyrics are by Lee Adams, and the book is by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. It's based on the screenplay for the Bette Davis film All About Eve. The main character of the show is Margo Channing, a star who takes a sort of apprentice, Eve, unaware that Eve is planning to steal her career and man. Groovy, let's dig in.

The overture is upbeat, as an overture should be. You can definitely tell that the show was made in the 70s, given the instrument choice. There is a lot of nice brass in this one, almost like a marching band.

"Backstage Babble" is the first song and has Margo Channing's dressing room flooded with admirers. The dialogue by all the admirers is mostly in "yabba dabbas" and "blah blahs". It's a pretty clever song and a nice way to start the show off.

"Think How it's Gonna Be" has her fiance and director, Bill Sampson, telling her goodbye as he goes on a trip to Rome to direct a movie. Len Cariou has an absolutely dreamy voice (did I just say dreamy? Wow. Well, it's true)

"But Alive" has Margo feeling uneasy about attending the opening party alone, but she's still alive and that gives her a little confidence. She persuades her gay hairdresser to take her to the gay discotheque in The Village. She's a little...bitchy in this song, but that's okay, because she's a Broadway diva and they're allowed to be bitchy every now and then.

"The Best Night of My Life" has Eve summing up her feelings about winning the Tony at the beginning of the play. It's short and pretty and leaves me wondering if she's really the antagonist Wikipedia makes her out to be. Time will tell.

"Who's That Girl?" has Margo jokingly asking herself who she is when she sees herself in an old episode of The Late Show. She's a bit cynical about life, but she seems to be enjoying herself. This is another very upbeat song with a healthy dose of self-deprecation.

"Applause" has a "gypsy" singing about the best sound in the world...applause! Being the title song, it's probably no question that it's catchy.

"Hurry Back" is a longing song from Margo, who is dying to see Bill, who is still overseas.

Between this song and the next, Bill has made it home, and his homecoming party becomes disastrous after a misunderstanding.

"Fasten Your Seat Belts" is a strange one. I'm not quite sure what's happening in it. It's not bad, of course, but I'm not sure what's going on.

"Welcome to the Theatre" has Margo confronting Eve, who she isn't happy about. She basically tries to dissuade her from the career with this one. This song is dripping with venom, though it's fairly subtle at the beginning.

Bill accuses Margo of being paranoid about Eve and they fight. They say goodbye after this and Act I ends.

Act II starts with Margo missing a performance and is stuck in the country for a night.

"Good Friends" is a song about friendship and how one can rely on good friends. This is a pretty cookie cutter song, but I like the banjo accompaniment.

"She's No Longer a Gypsy" is a parody of a girl who became an instant success, obviously a jab at Eve, who took over for Margo after she couldn't make it. I like this song because of the jabs at narcissism and slight references to other musicals.

"One of a Kind" is a song from Bill to Margo after he's recognized what Eve was up to. He's still in love with her, but she's married to her career. The references to their past are funny and sweet.

"One Hallowe'en" has Eve remembering a Halloween. She's smugly congratulating herself on how good of an actress she is for fooling people. It's an upbeat song, for a villain. She is kind of a bitch too.

"Something Greater" has Margo realizing her career is over, but now she can be with Bill forever. It's basically about silver linings. Just because things are terrible, it doesn't mean there aren't good things to find. In this case, she gets to be with the one she loves. Bill joins in and we see happiness between the two.

The "Finale" answers the question "Why do we live this crazy life?". This finale harkens back to Applause, of course. It's a pretty good ending to a pretty good show.

As I said, the show itself is pretty good, but not much to write home about. I wonder what the ole' randomizer will give us tomorrow? :)