Seeing
the revival of this Ahrens & Flaherty musical last summer was so great. As
is typical for this duo, there’s some breathtaking music here and some pretty
gorgeous lyrics, both of which brought tears to my eyes when I saw it live. These are my favorites (a few spoilers.)
“We Dance” – As I say each time I do a Top Five
Songs for an Ahrens & Flaherty show, these two really know their way around an opening number. This song introduces the island, the gods,
the peasants, and the grand hommes, and it does it all in a beautifully-melodic
way that immerses you in the world of the show from the first note.
Best
lyric: “How fine our clothes are! / How
fast we drive! / We dance at parties…” – “While we are dancing just to stay
alive.”
“One Small Girl” – Such a lovely,
lovely number, showing how Mama and Tonton find young Ti Moune in the tree and
take her in. It so beautifully captures
the way love can change hearts, can make room in lives that were thought full enough
already, can go against our judgment for the better. The melody is simple but wonderfully sweet.
Best
lyric: “And the hut was crowded / And
food was scarce, / And somehow, their lives held more. / One small girl / To
live for.”
“Waiting for Life” – Easily the standout
song of the show, Ti Moune’s “I want” number is as full of yearning as it is
spirit. Our leading lady is effervescent
dreaming about more than unchanging peasant life, praying for the real
beginning she knows has to be coming.
Best
lyric: Oh, Gods, / Oh, Gods, / Please,
be there. / Don’t you remember / Your little Ti Moune from the tree? / Wake up!
/ Look down! / Hear my prayer! / Don’t single me out / And then forget me!”
“Forever Yours” – This is where, out
of her love for Daniel, Ti Moune offers her life to Papa Ge in exchange for
his. And look, I know Daniel isn’t worth
it – hell, I know no guy would’ve
been worth it. And that’s right, it’s as
it should be. But there’s still
something bold about Ti Moune standing up to a demon of death, not only for the
sake of this man she wants to save, but also for the life she’s never known
that she dreams of. The melody is
haunting, and LaChanze sounds amazing on the original cast recording.
Best
lyric: “Even the gods / Won’t dare to
cross this line / Where my life is forever yours / And you are mine…”
“The Sad Tale of the Beauxhommes” – A handy way to
explain the socio-cultural divide on the island, the history of how the
light-skinned grand hommes came to be and what fuels their dislike of the Black
peasants. The “beautiful one…” refrain
is really pretty, and I love the wistfulness that fills the melody as the
storytellers explain the curse.
Best
lyric: “They despise us for our
blackness - / It reminds them where they’re from…”
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