I'm putting together a playlist of showtunes for the holiday season. They don't just need to be from Christmas shows, or even songs that take place during the holidays, but songs that deal with the "meaning of Christmas" would work too.
"A New Deal for Christmas" from Annie "Christmas is My Favorite Time of Year" from Catch Me If You Can Most of Menken's A Christmas Carol "The Schmuel Song" from The Last Five Years "Christmas Lullaby" from Songs For a New World "Surabaya Santa" from Songs For a New World "Christmas" from The Who's Tommy Most of White Christmas
Also look at the Carols For a Cure albums. "I Wonder as I Wander" from the cast of Spring Awakening is a personal favorite.
"I Saw Three Ships" from Caroline, or Change "Merry Christmas, Maggie Thatcher" from Billy Elliott I second "A Place Called Home"--a really lovely song, well-performed on the cast album by a then-unknown Emily Skinner.
Menken's Christmas Carol is one of my holiday staples each year. I've seen three regional productions and I adore the cast album. Definitely one of my favs.
Harold Gould, the cartoonist who created Little Orphan Annie, would roll over in his grave at "A New Deal for Christmas." Gould LOATHED FDR, as many people did then.
The alternate "festive pop single version" of "Christmas Is My Favorite Time Of Year" that is briefly played in the stage show of Catch Me If You Can, can be found in its entirety on Carols for a Cure.
Additionally, Elton John's pop version of "Merry Christmas, Maggie Thatcher" is more fun than the stage version- partially because it is a pitch-perfect deconstruction of the mid-Eighties Christmas pop tunes the song satirizes in the stage show.
Meredith Wilson's IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS, which is done in counterpoint (?) with his lovely PINE CONES AND HOLY BERRIES in HERE'S LOVE.
"Christmas Day" from PROMISES, PROMISES is rather haunting, even though it's muted and only sung by the chorus. The ending, "time to live each day like Christmas Day..." is eloquent in its simplicity.
I always loved "Big Clown Balloons" from HERE'S, LOVE, even though it's technically a Thanksgiving song. Maybe the only Thanksgiving song in musical theater?
"Twelve Days to Christmas/Dear Friend" from SLM (kidding-- SHE LOVES ME). One of the best tear-inducing Christmas finales ever written for the musical stage.
Does "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" count? It's from a musical that didn't run on Broadway (Meet Me in St. Louis) which seems to be done quite a bit in community theaters these days.
Not yet mentioned (on this thread) - Lovers On Christmas Eve - I LOVE MY WIFE Greenwillow Christmas - GREENWILLOW Snowflakes And Sweethearts - ANYA At Christmastime - SONG OF NORWAY Ribbons And Wrappings - SONG OF NORWAY (film) Happy Christmas, Little Friend - Rodgers and Hammerstein Thank You For Your Love - Jones and Schmidt Most of SCROOGE and THE STINGIEST MAN IN TOWN
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Posted: 11/24/12 at 02:14pm