Before any argues the showtune Another Hundred People Just Got Off of the Train from Company, I don’t think there is a show more dedicated to trains than a show that “stars” them called Starlight Express. Starlight Express is a bunch of people on rollerblades that are train cars that race each other. Just like many other Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals, each train has an emotion, a theme and songs about them. The show is actually kind of fun and what’s neat is that the stage actually comes out into the audience a bit so that the Actors skate right by you. I remember seeing Starlight Express when I was a little kid.

I thought it was incredible to see the trains on the movie screens and then all of the sudden they would come skating out. They would go up and down ramps, spin and look like they were flying. It was one of the most incredible shows and a perfect one for you to bring kids to. Not only do the trains entertain them, but the music was actually fun as well since it is about trains if you’re a kid and about a love story and wanting to be the best if you’re an adult. The show was perfect for everyone of all ages and I still remember being in the audience and being amazed with how well the cast was able to sing and dance on skates, not to mention come out of the movie screens. It’s kind of funny how Andrew Lloyd Webber can take something like a train or a cat or any other random object, write a ton of stories about them, then write music to match the story and come out with an amazing show.

He takes a ton of types of trains like a coal train vs. a steam train and then has an old train, a caboose, an engine, etc… and creates characters for them as well as songs. Then he combines them all together and has them compete while also telling a love story. That is one of the things that makes him unique with his shows and one of the reasons that there are so many people who flock to his shows. When I was thinking about what show or showtunes to write about or include for trains, this was the only one that I think was absolutely perfect for it.

When I was thinking of what to do for air travel with showtunes week about transportation and travel I instantly thought of I Do I Do In The Sky from the Drowsey Chaperone. Another option would have been to do a post about Miss Saigon with the helicopter that barely worked, but I think that I Do I Do In The Sky from The Drowsey Chaperone is a better choice because it is actually about transporting people and the cast is literally lifted up on an airplane that is facing the audience.

At the end of the show, you hear this amazing black lady come out, and they introduce her as a lesbian because of her name as slang back in the time the show takes place, and start belting out a song while marrying the happy couple. Not only is she an aviator, but she gets the entire cast to stand across the plane she is flying and they all sing together. I Do I Do In the Sky from The Drowsey Chaperone is one of my favorite songs from the show. It’s up beat, happy and easy to sing a long too. It blends in on almost any mix of showtunes or play list and is also one that is perfect for background noise if you just need something to play while you are working.

It was kind of sad when The Drowsey Chaperone shut down on broadway. It was at the Marriott Marquis right in Times Square and was a fun show. It had everything from dancing and singing to a drunken old lady singing about being drunk through life and was actually kind of funny as well. Unfortunately the show definitely didn’t have any songs that will last forever like Les Miserables or any of the major classic shows. At the same time it was definitely a fun and campy show that I thought should have lasted for at least one more season. The songs were fun and the characters were great, but the show altogether wasn’t the best. Anyways, the song I Do I Do In the Sky from The Drowsey Chaperone is the perfect song for the list of showtunes about travel and transportation since they perform it on an airplane.

When trying to figure out what show to do for boats, I instantly thought Titanic and The Ship of Dreams. It’s a fun song that they play at Sidetracks in Chicago and they have audience participation with it when you throw napkins and yell at the screen. It’s almost like the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Then I also remembered another awesome showtune which is from the Poseidon Adventure by Maureen McGovern and got stuck on which one I wanted to use. That’s why I decided to use both of these showtunes and theme it ships that sink.

The Ship of Dreams – Titanic.

Although the show sunk like the original ship, some of the music was great. What I love about The Ship of Dreams from Titanic is that you get to see a ton of amazing costumes as well as how large the actual cast is. If you see this showtune video being played at an actual Showtunes night in Chicago, you’ll also hear a ton of audience participation and everyone in the room singing a long to it. Especially the parts that no one knows where they sing blah, blah, blah, blah, blah to the tune of song. It’s actually kind of a fun showtune about the Titanic when you see it in Chicago.

There’s Got to Be a Morning After – The Poseidon Adventure

I love this showtune about ships as much as The Ship of Dreams because it has as much participation as the other song. Not only do people yell back at the screen, but it is almost funny to watch this horrible scene of another ship sinking, but luckily everyone is saved, and turn an emotional and scary scene of people sinking on a ship into a comedy. There’s Got to Be a Morning After from the Poseidon Advernture is one of the most famous movie showtunes. You hear it mentioned in pop culture still on shows like King of the Hill, Family Guy and a ton of other shows. Although people may not remember where the showtune came from, they all know Maureen McGovern and everyone knows the song which is why it is one of the most famous showtunes about boats

How could you get any more classic with a showtune about traveling and transportation than the Trolley Song from Meet Me in St. Louis. Not only do you get classic, fun and gorgeous costumes, but you also get Judy Garland performing one of her most famous songs. I remember hearing this song and my mom having us sing a long to it when I was a little kid, but I never knew it was actually from a show. The Trolley Song from Meet Me in St. Louis is a classic song that just about everyone knows and the video is completely fun. It’s also one of the most well known and loved sing a long songs for everyone from kids who are in kindergarten to grown ups who are at piano bar sing a longs as well.

The Trolley Song from Meet Me In St. Louis is actually kind of annoying because it completely gets stuck in your head. At the same time, it’s also sort of a fun one to have stuck in your head because it is easy to sing a long to and somewhat easy to get rid of as well. Besides the song getting stuck in your head, there is one other reason I love the song, the video.

The video is one of my favorites. For some reason I always love old clothing and costuming with huge hats and overdone dresses. I don’t know if people would actually be dressed up as much to ride a trolley, but at the same time, I love the fact that the people on the trolley are actually dressed up enough to go to a small event, a brunch, a fundraiser or pretty much any other type of social event for the time period. When you think about it though, people may actually have dressed up that much if it was a sunday and to avoid having to walk and get their clothes dirty they may have taken public transportation like the trolley. The other thing that would sort of make sense is that the trolley may have been to expensive for everyone so maybe it was only upper middle class or wealthy people would ride it. Either way, The Trolley Song is one of the most well known showtunes about transportation and travel and that is why it made this list.

Since I’m traveling this week I thought I would dedicate the week to showtunes about travel. Broadway has written shows and showtunes about everything from boats to cars, planes, public transportation and everything in between. Unfortunately, instead of starting with a showtune today, I wanted to do a funny parody video from Mad TV with Oprah and the cast of Jackass where Oprah travels by Trash Can, Port o Potty and Pie.

This isn’t really a showtune, but they do play the video a lot at different clubs and bars that have showtunes nights which is why I like this video and am going to include it. Plus it is actually pretty funny, and they have Oprah’s partner Steadman…not Gail. =0). Anyways, even if you don’t like Mad TV, this is a great skit where Oprah decides to take on the cast of Jackass and perform some of the ridiculous stunts that they do.

Not only do they do a great job of imitating her, but they actually make it a somewhat believable interview that she may have actually done, if she was insane. Oprah is definitely one of the more outgoing talk show hosts and that is why this is somewhat believable. If she was going to get ratings for it, or it would make her audience happy, I could actually see her jumping into a garbage can and being rolled down a hill. I don’t think she would do the dirty one though. I could also easily see her jumping out of the can and yelling with her arms up that she did it.

Besides being a talk show host, Oprah and a bunch of people from Mad TV have been supportive of the Performing Arts and musical theatre. They have done shows, written parodies and spoofs of them and even supported theatre. That is why I am also including this skit on this blog today. The rest of the week will actually be about showtunes and musicals written about transportation and traveling, not Oprah recommending traveling by dirty garbage can down a hill. I love the Oprah Jackass skit from Mad TV and think it is absolutely perfect for this post.

Ok, so I’ve never actually listened to the words from this showtune, especially when the video is playing, and I don’t think you have ever listened either if you’ve only seen the video for Is Anyone Here For Love from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. They basically took a ton of really hot guys and put them in flesh colored short shorts and have them working out, swimming, exercising, playing sports and showing off for each other. At first I just stare at them and then all of the sudden I realize I need to get my fat butt back to the gym. I absolutely love the video for Is Anyone Here For Love from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, not just because of the hot guys, but because it is an awesome showtune and video to help you get ready for summer.

The gym that everyone is in is bright colored and everyone looks healthy. It reminds you of spring or summer and sort of gets you ready for the beach, motivated to work out and also ready to find love. What always bugs me about it though is that they have the actress who starred in Mommy Dearest so when you’re watching her in a completely different role where she is actually not abusive, still absolutely gorgeous and also being a nice person, it kind of throws you off. It’s a complete turn around from one character to another and in this one you actually love her as opposed to when she played Joan Crawford.

Is Anyone Here For Love is definitely an awesome video and one that I think everyone watches over and over if they haven’t seen it before. It isn’t as well known as some of the other songs from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes like Diamonds Are a Girls Best Friend, but it is one that people always recognize when they see the video. The funny thing is that even though they have seen the video, most of the people that watch it don’t know any of the words, the name of the song or what show it is from. All they know is that it is the video with all of the really hot guys dressed to look naked and working out. It’s kind of funny how such a well known video is also one of the least known showtunes and people also don’t know the show it’s from because they get confused of the actress or they just don’t know the show. Is Anyone Here For Love is an awesome showtune to help you get ready for Summer and definitely one of my favorite videos to help motivate me to go to the gym. The video for Is Anyone Here For Love from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is a great motivator as well so I think I am going to go running real quick. Have a good one and I hope you enjoy the video.

Last weekend I went to the Smithsonian Museum of American History with a friend. It was great to see that they had a ton of amazing displays and exhibits like the dresses of the First Ladies and an exhibit for American Films and the movie industry. They even had a singing performance that reminded me of the Scottsboro Boys that you could watch and participate with. The one thing missing was an exhibit about the only art that has ever originated in America which is Musical Theatre.

There were plays in Ancient Greece and there were operas in Italy. You could watch ballet in Russia, but there was absolutely no version of Musical Theatre until the Americans created it and made it famous. Now you can find shows everywhere from the West End in London to Scandinavia, Australia and virtually every modern country. That is why I was shocked that the Smithsonian Museum of American History ignored America’s only original contribution to the fine arts.

Ruby Slippers from The Wizard of Oz

They did have Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers on display which is a movie musical, but that is part of America’s History with Film and movies, not pure Broadway. They have Archie Bunker’s chair on display which is great because it was such an iconic show that could represent a generation, however only those generations would recognize the name Archie Bunker. When you say Star Spangled Banner, everyone in the US in just about every generation will recognize the name, even if they don’t know it is an actual flag, because of the song written by Francis Scott Key, just like almost everyone in the US would think theatre, singing and dancing when you say Broadway.

Something that is so widely recognized and loved around the world that originated in the USA has been excluded from the Smithsonian Museum of American History and I think it is an absolute shame. Displays and merchandise should be easy to get as well as donations of sets, costumes and even playbills would be fairly easy to acquire. They could have interactive displays to make kids and adults enjoy it like match a note with a famous star and get people to sing, as well as trying to memorize lines and repeat them back. They could play cast recordings, video clips from stage productions and really spark memories from people who have grown up with Broadway and loving Musical Theatre.

I don’t know if there is a reason that they don’t have an exhibit or even mention Broadway in the Smithsonian Museum of American History, but I hope that they choose to create a display, and I would be more than happy to donate my time and energy to helping them build it. Broadway is one of the most important forms of art in the world and the only one that originated in America. There is a great documentary called Broadway, The American Musical that I watch and they have a Matching CD set that is available and I hope that the Smithsonian Museum of American History finds this, watches it and discovers why and how Broadway has been a huge piece of American history and why it deserves to have it’s own exhibit in the Smithsonian Museum of American History.

I just realized it’s about to be my cats birthday so when thinking about what to post I figured it would be fun to do a post about the top ten broadway songs about cats. Broadway loves these animals more than anything which is why there have been shows all about them, having them as a main character and the movies are the same. Some shows mention them briefly like in the song Out Tonight from Rent and others are written specifically for them.

Cats – Andrew Lloyd Webber

The show Cats by Andrew Lloyd Webber is literally about cats. All of the characters, most of the songs and every theme is about Cats. If you want showtunes about cats, this is the one to watch first. Not only was it one of the longest running shows in Broadway history, but it is one that you can easily sing a long to and that you can watch with your family.

Suessical – The Cat in The Hat

Suessical the Musical is all about Dr. Suess and the main character is the Cat in the Hat. Although the Cat in the Hat is creepy and I would never want him in my house, the show was a flop with a couple of fun songs. Anyways, this show makes the top then broadway shows about cats because the leading character is one of the most famous and well known cats in history.

Puss In Boots – Shrek The Musical

One of the most popular characters in the movie and show Shrek the Musical is Puss In Boots. The Latino Hitman Cat. Not only is he one of the most funny and loveable characters, but he even gets his own songs and got his own movies. Puss In Boots is one of the most memorable characters from the show which is why he makes the top ten showtunes about cats list.

Binks – Hocus Pocus

Any show with Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy in it has to be amazing. When you make the story line about taking over the world and helping a talking cat named binks take his revenge on the witches, you have a definite hit. Because the main story line revolves around Binks and you have three amazing Actors in the movie, Binks makes the top ten list of shows about cats.

The Worst Pies in London – Sweeny Todd

So this one is a bit different. Instead of being about cats, it is about cooking cats and why cat meat does not taste good. Leave it to Broadway to have a showtune about meat pies made from cat meat and make it actually funny and memorable. It definitely isn’t a good showtune about cats, but it is a funny one.

Pouncer – Beaches

Sorry to do another Bette Midler movie musical, but in the show beaches Pouncer plays a major role. Not only does he help to keep Hillary’s daughter company, but he discovers her when she collapses, goes to the beach with them and plays a vital role in letting the audience know when things are good and bad. He also has a short song that Hillary’s daughter sings to him in the back yard.

I couldn’t find a video clip of her singing Pouncer Pouncer the Wonder Cat.

The Lion King – Disney

If you want another movie musical and broadway show about a cat, The Lion King is about as much as you can get as well. Not only does Disney turn the movie into an amazing show, but the songs are incredible as well. Everyone is amazed at the costumes and the set and the characters are incredible.

Aristocats – Disney

Pretty much every animated Disney movie is singing animals or characters and Disney did an entire movie musical about wealthy cats called the Aristocats. Aristocats is a show that I haven’t actually watched, but it does have a couple of fun songs. If you love Disney, then you may want to try watching the Aristocats.

An American Tale –

This was one of my favorite movies as a kid. Unfortunately in this movie musical, the cats are the evil ones, except for the one that becomes friends with Fivel the mouse. An American Tale is an awesome movie musical and there are a ton of amazing broadway songs in this show that aren’t technically broadway showtunes, but are definitely able to be performed by broadway stars.

Les Miserable – I Dreamed a Dream

So the only reason that I am including I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables in this list is that in the song they sing about Tigers right before they perform one of the most memorable parts of the song. Not only do I love this show and the showtune I Dreamed a Dream, but because they mention Tigers in it, I had to include it in the list.

There are a ton of showtunes about cats on broadway and even musicals dedicated to them. There is pretty much everything you can think of in a show that involves a cat in at least one show. There are songs about loving them, songs about cooking them and even songs about them not being around. Broadway loves cats and they play an important part in many shows.

I don’t think there is a better showtune out there about being bitter or that can be sung acting drunker than Happily Ever After from Once Upon a Mattress. The song is about a woman who is bitter because everyone else is getting a happy ending and she is stuck waiting for her dreams to come true. Not only does she sing like she’s drunk about all of the princesses having their dreams come true, but she wobbles around, slurs words and is absolutely hilarious. There are other songs about being bitter and great for characters to sing when they are drink like the Ladies Who Lunch from Company or just drunk songs like As We Stumble Along, but Happily Ever After from Once Upon a Mattress performed by Carol Burnett is definitely one of my favorites.

Once Upon a Mattress is an awesome show that is usually only done by small community theatres and hasn’t been back to broadway for a long time. The songs are fun and easy to sing and the characters are awesome. One of my favorite outfits is the one that Carol Burnett wears during the reprise of Happily Ever After from Once Upon a Mattress because it sort of reminds me of something we should see in the show Wicked. It’s a huge green jeweled gown with weird shoulder pads and a really strange looking crown. She’s also singing about a green pea which is her answer to finding her happily ever after, which is very similar to some of the plot in Wicked as well. The costuming being green and oddly shaped and the mentions of green really are similar, but Wicked is completely orignal and doesn’t use as many jewels on the main characters, except for Galinda who is covered in her opening gown.

Happily Ever After from Once Upon a Mattress is an awesome showtunes that I love and wish people would play more often. The show is ok, but the songs are great. It is a definite must listen to if you are looking for a fun soundtrack or cast recording and one that people will either remember and get excited about or love because they have never heard it before. Check out the broadway shop on this site if you want to do a search and buy the cast recording.

I cannot believe I forgot about this showtune when I did my blog post about broadway songs about being gay. Then again I probably wouldn’t have added this to the list if I remembered it because it is sort of a bad representation of gay people since it is about a huge stereotype that gay men are all queeny, overdressed feminine people. Unfortunately I actually love this song still and absolutely love the performance and when I’m at showtunes night or at a theatre, I have to admit I turn into that queeny person that loves to get dressed up and sing and cry during the show.

When I heard Kurt mention performing this song on Glee this week I wasn’t sure if they were going to actually do it, then I realized they were definitely going to do it. Oddly enough Kurt actually did an amazing job with it. It was just like Hugh Jackman’s performance and Kurt hit it perfectly. Unlike Hugh, Kurt got to do it pre-recorded and had editors to help. When you watch Hugh do it live, it is just as amazing and that is why he won the Tony award. Chris Colfer is a great performer now, but at the same time this is a number that is absolutely insane to do live which is why I give him credit if he decides to perform it again live on the next tour, if he is on the next tour.

Not the Boy Nextdoor from The Boy From Oz is an awesome song and one that I love. Chris Colfer did an amazing job with it and it was awesome to see them pull it off without having to change anything. I also loved Whoopi Goldberg’s reaction to him performing it. What was shocking was when Rachel chocked and the amazing acting that came out of Lea Michele. I’m definitely not a Lea Michele fan because of a couple things, but her acting is amazing now. When she bursted out in tears and shocked, it was incredible. I think I am started to like her again and am definitely giving her credit as an Actress.

Not the Boy Nextdoor is a fun song, but not one that is about being gay. It is about some gay people, but not all and shouldn’t represent the gay community. At the same time it is a ton of fun and that’s why I’m including on this blog. I’m probably also going to add it to my playlist again but not sure which version I want to use.