Showtune

Showtune
Logo, 2003 New York Production
Music	Jerry Herman
Lyrics	Jerry Herman
Book	Paul Gilger
Productions	1985 San Francisco 1998 West End 2003 Off-Broadway

Showtune is a musical revue celebrating the words and music of Broadway composer and lyricist Jerry Herman. Its title was inspired by Herman's autobiography of the same name. The revue's original title was Tune the Grand Up. After its 1985 San Francisco premiere and several regional productions through the 1990s, the piece played in the West End in 1998 under the title The Best of Times, and Off-Broadway in 2003, titled Showtune.

The forty songs featured in Showtune come from Herman's Broadway musicals Milk and Honey (1961), Hello, Dolly! (1964), Mame (1966), Dear World (1969), Mack & Mabel (1974), The Grand Tour (1979), A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine (1980), and La Cage aux Folles (1983).

Conceived by Paul Gilger, the revue has no dialogue. Its songs are grouped into thematic scenes that tell little stories and place a strong emphasis on Herman's lyrics and their optimistic messages. The song-cycle format creates dramatic sub-texts giving through-lines to the show.

Act I

Herman's optimistic view of show business life is presented in "It's Today!", the opening number from Mame, and "Big Time", from Mack and Mabel. On the other hand, "We Need A Little Christmas" and "Put On Your Sunday Clothes!" present his strategies for dealing with bad news and hard times. In the latter number, the cast simulates a train, with the men's bowler hats becoming smokestacks and the ladies' parasols acting as the wheels. Backstage at a Cabaret, an actor makes up as "Zaza" the star of La Cage Aux Folles! ("A Little More Mascara"). A crescent moon descends, and Zaza performs "The Man in the Moon". The cast sings "I Am What I Am."