11 o'clock number

Last updated

11 o'clock number is a theatre term for a big, show-stopping song that occurs late in the second act of a two-act musical, in which a major character, often the protagonist, comes to an important realization. Examples include "So Long Dearie" from Hello, Dolly! , "If He Walked Into My Life" from Mame , "Rose's Turn" from Gypsy , "Work the Wound" from Passing Strange , and "Cabaret" from Cabaret . [1] It was so named because in the days when musical performances would start at 8:30 p.m., this song would occur around 11:00 p.m. [2]

Among the theatre community, there is some debate as to the characteristics of an 11 o'clock number. It often signifies a moment of revelation or change of heart of a lead character, although there are exceptions to this. [3] The 11 o'clock number is also differentiated from the finale in that it is not the final number in the show, but even this is not considered a requirement by some commenters. [4] Broadway producer Jack Viertel defines an 11 o'clock number as "a final star turn". [5]

Other notable 11 o'clock numbers include "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat" from Guys and Dolls , [3] "Memory" from Cats , [6] "Brotherhood of Man" from How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying , [7] “No Good Deed” from Wicked , "Gimme Gimme" from Thoroughly Modern Millie , [4] "Another National Anthem" from Assassins , [8] "The American Dream" from Miss Saigon , "Goodbye" from Catch Me If You Can , "Revolting Children" from Matilda The Musical , "I'm Here" from The Color Purple , [9] and "Always Starting Over" from If/Then . [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Fosse</span> American actor, choreographer, dancer, and director (1927– 1987)

Robert Louis Fosse was an American actor, choreographer, dancer, and film and stage director. He directed and choreographed musical works on stage and screen, including the stage musicals The Pajama Game (1954), Damn Yankees (1955), How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1961), Sweet Charity (1966), Pippin (1972), and Chicago (1975). He directed the films Sweet Charity (1969), Cabaret (1972), Lenny (1974), All That Jazz (1979), and Star 80 (1983).

<i>How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying</i> (musical) 1961 musical by Frank Loesser, Abe Burrows, Jack Harlow, and Willie Gilbert

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying is a 1961 musical by Frank Loesser and book by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock, and Willie Gilbert, based on Shepherd Mead's 1952 book of the same name. The story concerns young, ambitious J. Pierrepont Finch, who, with the help of the book How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, rises from window washer to chairman of the board of the World Wide Wicket Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Cook</span> American actress and singer (1927–2017)

Barbara Cook was an American actress and singer who first came to prominence in the 1950s as the lead in the original Broadway musicals Plain and Fancy (1955), Candide (1956) and The Music Man (1957) among others, winning a Tony Award for the last. She continued performing mostly in theatre until the mid-1970s, when she began a second career as a cabaret and concert singer. She also made numerous recordings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jake Epstein</span> Canadian actor, singer (b. 1987)

Jacob Lee Epstein is a Canadian actor and singer. He played Craig Manning, a musician with bipolar disorder, on Degrassi: The Next Generation. He also played Will in the First National Tour of American Idiot, and originated the role of Gerry Goffin in the Broadway production of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.

Kathleen Marshall is an American director, choreographer, and creative consultant.

Ann Harada is an American actress and singer who was first known for the musical Avenue Q, in which she originated the role of Christmas Eve, the heavily accented Japanese therapist.

<i>I Love You, Youre Perfect, Now Change</i> 1995 musical by Joe DiPietro and Jimmy Roberts

I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change is a musical comedy with book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro, and music by Jimmy Roberts. It is the second-longest running Off-Broadway musical. The musical was nominated for the Outer Critics Circle Award as Outstanding Off-Broadway musical in 1997.

Marin Joy Mazzie was an American actress and singer known for her work in musical theatre.

Encores! is a Tony-honored concert series dedicated to reviving American musicals, usually with their original orchestrations. Presented by New York City Center since 1994, Encores! has revived shows by Irving Berlin, Rodgers & Hart, George and Ira Gershwin, Cole Porter, Leonard Bernstein, and Stephen Sondheim, among many others. Encores! was the brainchild of Judith Daykin, who launched the series shortly after becoming Executive Director of City Center in 1992. Besides initiating Encores!, Daykin is credited for turning City Center from a rental hall into a presenting organization. The series has spawned nineteen cast recordings and numerous Broadway transfers, including Kander and Ebb's Chicago, which is now the second longest-running musical in Broadway history. Videotapes of many Encores! productions are collected at the Billy Rose Theater Collection of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. The series was led by artistic director Jack Viertel from 2001 to 2020; in October 2019, City Center announced that Lear deBessonet will take over as artistic director beginning with the 2021 Encores! season.

Jason Graae is an American musical theater actor, best known for his musical theater performances but with a varied career spanning Broadway, opera, television and film. He has won four Bistro Awards, two Ovation Awards, two New York Nightlife Awards, the Theatre Bay Area Award for Best Actor in a Musical and the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Joel Hirschhorn Award for Outstanding Achievement in Musical Theatre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Bolton (actor)</span> American actor and Broadway regular

John Bolton is an American actor and Broadway regular. Bolton is best known for originating the role of "The Old Man" in the Broadway show A Christmas Story: The Musical. He created the role of Vlad Popov in the Broadway musical Anastasia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marriott Theatre</span> Theatre in Lincolnshire, Illinois, United States

The Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, Illinois is a respected Chicago area regional theatre. Attached to the Marriott Lincolnshire Resort, the theatre produces an average of five musicals each year, presented in the round, as well as productions aimed at younger audiences. A small, live orchestra provides accompaniment.

"Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat" is a song written by Frank Loesser and published in 1950. The song was introduced in the Broadway musical, Guys and Dolls, which opened at the 46th Street Theatre on November 24, 1950. In the context of the show, gambler Nicely-Nicely Johnson invents a dream about being saved from hell in order to bring together the members of the prayer meeting. It was performed on stage by Stubby Kaye who later reprised his role as Nicely-Nicely Johnson in the 1953 London production, as well as the 1955 film version of the play.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jill Haworth</span> English-American actress (1945-2011)

Valerie Jill Haworth was an English-American actress. She appeared in films throughout the 1960s, and started making guest appearances on television in 1963. She originated the role of Sally Bowles in the musical Cabaret on Broadway in 1966.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rachel Tucker</span> Northern Irish actress and singer

Rachel Kelly Tucker is a Northern Irish West End and Broadway actress, best known for her portrayal of Elphaba in the hit musical Wicked. She also starred in Come from Away on Broadway, having originated the role on the West End. Rachel has starred in various other musicals and plays, including one alongside Sting.

Andrew Keenan-Bolger is an American actor and filmmaker. He is best known for originating the roles of Crutchie in Newsies and Jesse Tuck in Tuck Everlasting on Broadway. His other Broadway credits include Robertson Ay in Mary Poppins, Jojo in Seussical, and Chip in Beauty and the Beast.

Lesli Margherita is an American stage and screen actress. She is best known for originating the roles of Inez in the musical Zorro, for which she won a Laurence Olivier Award, and Mrs. Wormwood in the Broadway cast of Matilda the Musical.

Gordon Stanley is an American stage actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erin Markey</span> American writer, comedian, and performance artist

Erin Markey is an American writer, comedian, and performance artist based in New York City. Markey's work combines elements of cabaret theater and comedy and often incorporates stories of their childhood in the Midwest. The New York Times has described Markey variously as "hilariously sociopathic" and as having "a cult following as an alt-cabaret star with swaggering confidence and off-kilter sense of humor."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Viertel</span>

Jack Viertel is an American theatrical producer and writer. He was born in Stamford, Connecticut. During his 34 years at Jujamcyn Theaters from 1987 to 2021, he occupied positions including Creative Director and Senior Vice President. He was "conceiver of the longest running musical revue in Broadway history, Smokey Joe's Cafe, conceived the critically acclaimed After Midnight, and served as the dramaturg for Hairspray. The musical and movie The Prom were developed from his original concept."

References

  1. ↑ Scott Miller, "May I Have a Definition?", The Bad Boy of Musical Theatre blog, 2014
  2. ↑ Ben Rimalower (19 July 2014). "'This Time For Me': The Essential 11 O'Clock Numbers". Playbill.com. Accessed 2015-02-02. Archived 2015-03-28.
  3. 1 2 "'Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ The Boat:' An Unusual 11 o’clock Number". The Marquee, News and Views from MTI. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
  4. 1 2 Michael Musto (29 April 2011). "The Five Best 11 O'Clock Numbers in Broadway History" Archived 2011-07-27 at the Wayback Machine . The Village Voice theater blog.
  5. ↑ Viertel, Jack (2016). The Secret Life of the American Musical. Sarah Crichton Books. p. 206.
  6. ↑ Peter Marks (27 August 1999). "CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK; Theater's Thrill Rides". The New York Times.
  7. ↑ Brendan Lemon (28 March 2011). "How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Al Hirschfeld Theatre, New York". The Financial Times.
  8. ↑ Gordon, Robert (2014). The Oxford Handbook of Sondheim Studies. Oxford University Press. p. 91. ISBN   9780199909278 . Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  9. ↑ Schulman, Michael (17 December 2015). "The Top Ten Showstoppers of 2015". The New Yorker. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  10. ↑ Peter Marks (25 November 2013), "I Believe" from The Book of Mormon. "Eagerly awaited musical ‘If/Then’ is a winning blob, with many kinks to be worked out". The Washington Post.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.