Top 10 Showtune Intros
Posted on 18 January 2017
You know the moment. You're shuffling the copious showtunes on your phone and, suddenly, a song starts and you just have to stop what you're doing and belt out the entire number... Some showtunes just have epic intros – and here are my Top Ten.
10) Capped Teeth and Caesar Salad (Tell Me On a Sunday) Tell Me On a Sunday is one of Lloyd-Webber's less well known musicals, but the songs in the show are stupendously catchy – not least, Capped Teeth and Caesar Salad. I challenge you to not whistle along to the start of it.
09) All That Jazz (Chicago) After all, there's no intro quite as … well … jazzy.
08) Let's Have Lunch (Sunset Boulevard) This has to be one of Lloyd-Webber's catchiest intros. From the stunning Sunset Boulevard, the start of this song will be in your head for … forever … once you've listened to the it a couple of times.
07) Alexander Hamilton (Hamilton) I can't wait for this show to land in the West End this year. And, like all great shows, the opening of the opening number is epic.
06) Grease (Title Song) Every time I hear the first few notes of Grease, I am reminded why this show is still so popular.
05) No Me Diga (In The Heights) This is a slightly more obscure intro. Whilst all of Lin Manuel Miranda's intros are great, I particularly like this one from In The Heights.
04) Ten Duel Commandments (Hamilton) After listening to the intro of this song, I don't think I've ever counted to 10 'normally' again.
03) Circle of Life (The Lion King) Naaaaaaaaaa … I love the intro of this song. It can put you in a Disney mood instantaneously, and make you feel like climbing the nearest large rock and lifting your cat skywards (which, by the way, is not a good idea).
02) The Phantom of the Opera (Title Song) If you've seen Phantom in the West End, you'll know how awesome it is when the orchestra bursts into the intro of the show's title song. You feel compelled to sing along to the instrumental intro ... Da da da da daaaaaaa … Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about.
01) Summer Nights (Grease) This iconic showtune intro is surely the best of the best. Wherever you are, whatever you doing, when you hear the opening notes of Summer Nights, we all know you're going to burst into song and dance. There are lots of great showtune intros out there, but I don't think any of them can quite compete with this.
Did I miss out any of your favourite showtune intros? Tweet us on @theatre_direct and @Harri_L_002 and join the debate.
