Showtune is a musical revue celebrating the words and music of Broadway composer and lyricist Jerry Herman. Its title was inspired by Herman's autobiography of the same name. The revue's original title was Tune the Grand Up. After its 1985 San Francisco premiere and several regional productions through the 1990s, the piece played in the West End in 1998 under the title The Best of Times, and Off-Broadway in 2003, titled Showtune.
The forty songs featured in Showtune come from Herman's Broadway musicals Milk and Honey (1961), Hello, Dolly! (1964), Mame (1966), Dear World (1969), Mack & Mabel (1974), The Grand Tour (1979), A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine (1980), and La Cage aux Folles (1983).
Conceived by Paul Gilger, the revue has no dialogue. Its songs are grouped into thematic scenes that tell stories and place a strong emphasis on Herman's lyrics and their optimistic messages. The song-cycle format creates dramatic sub-texts giving through-lines to the show.
Scene and Song List
Act I
It's Today! (Mame) Big Time (Mack & Mabel) We Need a Little Christmas (Mame) Put On Your Sunday Clothes (Hello, Dolly!) Little More Mascara (La Cage aux Folles) The Man In the Moon (Mame) I Am What I Am (La Cage aux Folles) Song On the Sand – Prelude (La Cage aux Folles) I Won't Send Roses (Mack & Mabel) Ribbons Down My Back (Hello, Dolly!) Dancing (Hello, Dolly!) It Takes a Woman (Hello, Dolly!) Wherever He Ain't (Mack & Mabel) Hundreds of Girls (Mack & Mabel) So Long Dearie (Hello, Dolly!) It Takes a Woman – Reprise And I Was Beautiful (Dear World) Kiss Her Now (Dear World) And I Was Beautiful / Kiss Her Now – Counterpoint Time Heals Everything (Mack & Mabel) Before the Parade Passes By (Hello, Dolly!) One Person (Dear World) Open a New Window (Mame) Counterpoint March Before the Parade Passes By – Reprise
Act II
"Hello, Dolly!" – Entr'acte (Hello, Dolly!) Movies Were Movies (Mack & Mabel) Look What Happened to Mabel (Mack & Mabel) That's How Young I Feel (Mame) Look What Happened to Mabel – Reprise My Best Girl (Mame) Nelson (A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine) Just Go to the Movies (A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine) It Only Takes a Moment (Hello, Dolly!) Gooch's Song (Mame) Tap Your Troubles Away (Mack & Mabel) Bosom Buddies (Mame) I Don't Want to Know (Dear World) I Don't Want to Know – Reprise Song On the Sand (La Cage aux Folles) Shalom (Milk and Honey) I'll Be Here Tomorrow (The Grand Tour) If He Walked Into My Life (Mame) I Promise You a Happy Ending (Mack & Mabel) Mame (Mame) The Best of Times (La Cage aux Folles) It's Today! – Reprise Hello, Dolly! – Encore
Synopsis
Act I
Herman's optimistic view of show business life is presented in "It's Today!", the opening number from Mame, and "Big Time", from Mack and Mabel. On the other hand, "We Need A Little Christmas" and "Put On Your Sunday Clothes!" present his strategies for dealing with bad news and hard times. In the latter number, the cast simulates a train, with the men's bowler hats becoming smokestacks and the ladies' parasols acting as the wheels. Backstage at a Cabaret, an actor makes up as "Zaza" the star of La Cage Aux Folles! ("A Little More Mascara"). A crescent moon descends, and Zaza performs "The Man in the Moon". The cast sings "I Am What I Am."
"The Four Seasons" is the theme for Herman's outlook on love. Spring is represented by "I Won't Send Roses", "Ribbons Down My Back" and "Dancing"; summer is a battle of the sexes, with "It Takes A Woman" (men) "Wherever He Ain't!" (women), "Hundreds of Girls" (men) and "So Long, Dearie" (women); and autumn includes "And I Was Beautiful" and "Kiss Her Now" (While She's Young), with the two songs then given in counterpoint. During these numbers, the warring couples reconcile. Finally, in winter, the sequence is philosophical: Although "Time Heals Everything", one must act "Before the Parade Passes By!", and "One Person" can change the world, if he or she will "Open a New Window".