So I've often made my opinions of Andrew Lloyd Webber quite clear--I am completely aware that his music is less intellectual than other composers (cough Stephen Sondheim) and that he recycles melodies from show to show, but he does have some killer songs, at least in my opinion. One that I recently discovered was "Tell Me On A Sunday, Please" which Bernadette Peters performed in the Webber musical Song & Dance. While I didn't enjoy the show as a whole, this song really grabbed me. The lyrics really tell a story and the melody has an inherent emotional life that really struck a chord with me. When I attempted to find a video of Peters performing this song, I found a really funny clip from Forbidden Broadway, an off-Broadway cabaret-style show that spoofs popular musicals. This particular number pokes fun at the demands of Peters' role in the show, from Webber's penchant for long musical phrases that rarely allow the singers to take a breath to his tendencies to write notes that jump all over the map and leave the singers exhausted. I of course was not around yet when the show was playing in 1985/1986 but apparently it was a common occurrence for Bernadette to miss shows due to vocal strain and this song, "See Me On A Monday" plays heavily on that. While I think this video is hilarious, do yourself a favor and also listen to Peters singing the original track "Tell Me On A Sunday".
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