History Main / MedleyOverture

Entr'actes for musicals were often written in a similar medley style, and could be found in musicals that otherwise had no overture; cast recordings of shows often substituted them for the actual overtures. They can also be considered examples.

* ''Theatre/{{Brigadoon}}'' has a short introduction based on the Sword Dance music in place of an overture, while the Entr'act (sic) is a medley of "Almost Like Being In Love," "Come to Me, Bend to Me," "The Heather on the Hill" and "I'll Go Home with Bonnie Jean."

* ''Lost in the Stars'', unusually overture-less for a 1949 Broadway musical, does have an medley Entr'act (sic) using part of the title song, "Thousands of Miles" and "Stay Well."

* ''Music in the Air'' has the Entr'acte repeat most of "There's A Hill Beyond A Hill," followed by the Act I opening music (which stands in place of an overture) and a half-chorus of "The Song Is You."

** The Overture to the 1927 version included only "Mis'ry's Comin' Round" and "Why Do I Love You?" The former song, played in full, had already been cut when the overture was written.

** The original entr'acte was a medley of "I'll Know," "A Bushel And A Peck" and "I've Never Been In Love Before."

* ''Theatre/ALittleNightMusic'' has an unusual sung-through medley overture. The GreekChorus begins with free vocalizations and continues with "Remember," "Soon," and "The Glamorous Life."

In the GoldenAgeOfHollywood, many movie musicals had song medleys for their title music, generally not following the typical Broadway form. During the UsefulNotes/FallOfTheStudioSystem, when the movie musical genre became dominated by lavish or slavish recreations of hit Broadway productions, they did often use Broadway-style overtures that would be labeled as such on soundtrack recordings.

** The Overture from ''Theatre/HMSPinafore'' uses "Then give three cheers for the sailor's bride" (opening section), the refrain from "Refrain, audacious tar" (ballad), "Never mind the why and wherefore" (A/B), and the refrain from "A British tar" (coda).
** The Overture from ''Theatre/ThePiratesOfPenzance'' uses "With catlike tread" (march), "Ah, leave me not to pine" (ballad), "Here's a first-rate opportunity" (A), the refrain from "Climbing over rocky mountain" and "When you had left our pirate fold" (B), with "With catlike tread" returning for the the coda.
** The Overture from ''Theatre/{{Patience}}'' omits the usual march, and proceeds after a slow introduction with "Turn, oh turn, in this direction" (ballad) "So go to him and say to him" (A), "Oh, list while we a love confess" (B) and a coda with no new tune.

** The Overture from ''Theatre/TheMikado'' uses "Miya sama" (march), "The Sun, whose rays" (ballad), "There is beauty in the bellow of the blast" (A), "Braid the raven hair" (B) and "Ye torrents roar! ye tempests howl!" (coda).

* The overture to the Mel Brooks musical ''Theatre/TheProducers'' begins with a proud fanfare of "Springtime for Hitler," with a brisk transition (using the main motif from "I Wanna Be a Producer") into "Prisoners of Love." In the live show, after "Prisoners of Love," the action starts. On the cast album, however, the overture continues with a medley of "That Face" (smooth foxtrot), "Along Came Bialy" (lecherous tango), a transition using the melody of "Keep it Gay", and finally into two choruses of "Springtime for Hitler," one straight-ahead, and the final one grandiose and martial!

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* ''The Cat and the Fiddle'', which had an OpeningBallet instead of an overture, began the Entr'acte with music from the first act's dueling pianists scene. This is followed by a slow transition to a lively foxtrot arrangement (led off by the three pianos) of "She Didn't Say Yes," whose tune is intercut with various instrumental themes and "The Breeze Kissed Your Hair."

** Entr'acte "B" (the overture on the original cast recording) opens with the girls singing "We Love You, Conrad," leading into a medley of "Baby, Talk To Me," "Rosie" and "Put On A Happy Face."

* ''Theatre/RoadShow'' was ultimately presented without an overture; however, the earlier version titled ''Bounce'' was recorded with an overture medley of "Boca Raton," "The Game," "The Best Thing That Ever Happened" and "Gold!"

* The overture to ''Film/ShockTreatment'' is a medley of "Denton, USA" and "Anyhow, Anyhow."

On cast recordings of old musicals, overtures tend to come across as Broadway theatre orchestras' finest moments. In actual performances, however, overtures often served as accompaniment for the chatter of audience members and latecomers settling into their seats.

** The Entr'acte is a medley of "West Wind," "Foolish Heart," "Way Out West In Jersey" and "Speak Low."

* ''Theatre/{{Camelot}}''
** The overture begins with C major fanfares based on the title song and a transition modulating into A major, only to immediately go back to C major for "If Ever I Would Leave You," which is followed by the processional music from the end of the first act. The original cast recording switches around the final two chords to make the overture end on less of an anticlimax.
** The entr'acte has a splashy introduction including the title fanfare and snippets of "How to Handle a Woman," "Guenevere" and "The Lusty Month of May," before getting into the medley proper with "The Lusty Month of May," and continuing with "How to Handle a Woman" and the first part of "The Jousts," which abruptly segues into a coda using the climax of "If Ever I Would Leave You."

Overtures for musicals in the mid-20th century tended to have more exciting introductions, based on such attention-getting compositional devices as timpani rolls, upward-rushing scales, fanfares, memorable motifs on brass instruments, and unusual sound effects. The sound and fury of the introduction would usually lead in to a rhythmic uptempo song (which might be the title song), which would be followed by a transition into a slower, warmer song (which might be the LoveTheme). Transitional passages between songs helped to ease modulations or tempo shifts, and sometimes included breaks for cadenzas. The overture would ideally finish with a grandiosely broad or exuberately fast coda, though by the 1950s it was becoming more common for overtures to segue to nondescript opening music as the curtain went up.

Entr'actes for musicals were often written in the same style; cast recordings of shows often substituted them for the actual overtures. They can also be considered examples.