When I see the phrase "the ____ estate", I imagine a vast mansion in the country full of monocled men and high-collared women receiving letters about productions across the country and doing spit-takes at whatever they contain.
-Kad
Definitely "Overture" - Promises, Promises. It really sets up the style and sound of the show.
I'd also say that "Prelude" - Next to Normal is pretty damn incredible.
"All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts..."
~Jaques - "As You Like It" Act 2, scene 7
Definitely the overture from Phantom of the Opera. Also love the prologue from Beauty and the Beast, although I already loved the movie when I saw the show.
Overture to Oklahoma! and Oh, what a beautiful mornin'
Coach Bob knew it all along: you've got to get obsessed and stay obsessed. You have to keep passing the open windows. (John Irving, The Hotel New Hampshire)
"You have two kinds of shows on Broadway – revivals and the same kind of musicals over and over again, all spectacles. You get your tickets for The Lion King a year in advance, and essentially a family... pass on to their children the idea that that's what the theater is – a spectacular musical you see once a year, a stage version of a movie. It has nothing to do with theater at all. It has to do with seeing what is familiar.... I don't think the theatre will die per se, but it's never going to be what it was.... It's a tourist attraction." Stephen Sondheim