What do you guys think? I'd say Michael Bennett has two of them with Turkey Lurkey Time and Who's That Woman, and Gower Champion has two with Put On Your Sunday Clothes and Hello, Dolly! Any others?
Bennett was a master, of course. It doesn't get better than The Mirror Number, or The Music and the Mirror (motif, huh?), or the finale of A CHORUS LINE.
But for my money, Jerome Robbins wins the triple crown with "Shall We Dance?" from THE KING AND I, "The Dance at the Gym" from WEST SIDE STORY and especially "All I Need is the Girl" from GYPSY. And then think of the other treasures he gave us as runner-ups: the Charleston in BILLION DOLLAR BABY, the Bottle Dance in FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, etc.
So, there you have it. Oh, and "Hot Honey Rag" from CHICAGO.
One of the numbers from 42nd Street. Maybe "We're In the Money"
"Turkey Lurkey Time" or "Hello Twelve, Hello Thirteen" or something from "Dreamgirls"
If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
Dance at the Gym -West Side Story Defying Gravity -Wicked Angry Dance -Billy Elliot Willkommen -Cabaret (98'/2014 Revival) Circle of Life -The Lion King Magic to Do -Pippin (2013 Revival) The Phantom of the Opera -The Phantom of the Opera Be Our Guest -Beauty and the Beast Buenos Aires -Evita (2012 Revival) Seize the Day -Newsies As If We Never Said Goodbye -Sunset Boulevard Blackout -In the Heights
I don't know what All I Need is the Girl looks like on stage, but I will second you jv92 with Shall We Dance as well as the Dance at the Gym. The title number of Mame is also great. Also love the Hot Honey Rag.
You Cant Stop the Beat-Hairspray Raise You Up-Kinky Boots One Finale-A Chorus Line The American Dream-Miss Saigon Oklahoma-Oklahoma Laurey's Dream Ballet-Oklahoma Springtime For Hitler-The Producers Mein Herr-Cabaret (movie) Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats-Cats Jellicle Ball-Cats
"Hot Honey Rag" is one of those numbers that never fails to move me. It's not from a very emotional musical. There's nothing sentimental or romantic or remotely touching about CHICAGO, really. But it's so joyful, I can't help but get a little tingly during it. At least, when people are doing it well. Joy moves me very much.
It's literally impossible to beat the moment when Orestes arrives at Agamemnon's tomb in The Libation Bearers. It can't be held against the show that it has been copied directly so many times since because it was groundbreaking.
I feel like I can't contribute much to this thread since I haven't been able to see a lot of shows' original productions, but I'll bite with a bit of what I have seen so far.
As mentioned previously, the Phantom title song is pretty iconic with the boat bit. I'm also fond of the "Stärker als wir sind" scene (or "Red Boots Ballet" as we knew it on Broadway) in Tanz der Vampire, probably my favorite scene in the entire show. Also, as much as I disliked Lion King, I have to grudgingly admit that the first five minutes were some of the most exciting I've seen on a stage...Too bad the rest didn't live up to the hype.
EDIT: "Defying Gravity" I guess should also be added to the list.
"Was uns befreit, das muss stärker sein als wir es sind." -Tanz der Vampire