Why are opening numbers important in musicals?
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The Opening Number is literally the audience’s first peek into the world of your show. It’s their way in to the story. You control the key!
What do you call the start of a Broadway show?
A medley of tunes from the score of a musical, the overture plays after the lights go down and before the curtain goes up as an introduction to the show. The term comes from the French ouverture, which means “opening.”

What is the purpose of the 11 o’clock number?
The 11 o’clock number is the theatre term for that big, show-stopping song that happens late in Act 2, usually sung by a major character that comes to a realization. They have this name because the song would often occur around 11 o’clock.
What shows are opening first on Broadway?
Broadway Productions (Re)opening in 2021-2022

- Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of The Temptations – CLOSED JANUARY 16.
- Aladdin – begins performances September 28, 2021.
- American Buffalo – begins performances March 22, 2022.
- Beetlejuice – begins performances April 8, 2022.
What is the biggest Broadway show of all times?
The Lion King
The Lion King is the highest-grossing Broadway show of all time.
How are musicals structured?
The three main components of a musical are its book (also known as its libretto—Italian for “little book”), its music, and its lyrics. The book is the story, as defined by the Aristotelian elements of drama noted above. It is enhanced by the music and the lyrics, which together make up the score of the piece.
What makes a successful opening number?
For me, it helps to think of an opening number as a promise to the audience: “Hey there! This is the show you’ll be seeing tonight.” Funny or gloomy, naturalistic or abstract, all-sung or spoken or danced – whatever tone is set in those first few minutes is what the audience will expect all night long.
What is the opening number in a musical called?
The house lights in the theatre dim; as the first chords of the musical score are sounded by the orchestra, the curtain rises to reveal a world called “musical theatre.” The next five or ten minutes are crucial, for it is during this time, referred to in Broadway jargon as “the opening number,” that the creators of the …
What is the opening of a play called?
prologue
The prologue is the opening segment that introduces the rest of the play.
What is a 12 o’clock number?
12 o’clock usually refers the time as shown on a 12-hour clock, either noon – 12 o’clock at daytime – or midnight – 12 o’clock at nighttime. 12 o’clock may also refer to: 12-hour clock, a time convention in which the 24 hours of the day are divided into two periods.
What is the 11 o’clock number in Phantom of the Opera?
The song usually represents an emotional turning point or revelation for the main character(s) and is almost always the last number in the show that isn’t a reprise of an earlier song or the absolute final song.