The Best Lesser-Known Broadway Songs from the Best (and Worst) Lesser-Known Broadway Shows

I'm a huge fan of Broadway shows, and if you ever drop in on me listening to music, there's a pretty good chance it'll be show tunes. Because of that, I sometimes get tired of listening to the same classic songs from well-known shows over and over. But there are some terrific songs from shows that most people have never heard of, possibly because they were terrible shows that happened to have a good score (or at least a good song or two), possibly because they're dated and have fallen out of favor, or possibly because they just didn't have that "something" that a show needs to be a hit. But whatever the reason a show didn't make it, sometimes a song or two needs to be salvaged and loved. Here are a few Broadway numbers that you probably don't know, but that you should.

"Little Tin Box" from Fiorello (by Bock and Harnick)

The story of New York City mayor Fiorello LaGuardia won both the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Musical in 1960. In this number, a group of politicians imagine being grilled by a judge on the source of their income, one claiming he simply gave up smoking and saved his cigarette money to buy a yacht, another saying he turned in bottles for the nickel deposit to pay for his Rolls Royce, all saving up their pennies "in a little tin box." Other memorable numbers from the show: "Politics and Poker" and "I Love a Cop."

"What You Don't Know about Women" from City of Angels

One of my favorite musicals, City of Angels is the story of a writer whose characters come to life for him - characters based on people in his real life, as well as his own alter-ego, a hard-nosed, wise-cracking gumshoe. The film noir style is emphasized by having the real-life characters and settings in color and the book/film characters and sets in black and white. In "What You Don't Know About Women," the writer's long-suffering wife and his alter-ego's equally long-suffering secretary sing a duet lamenting their men's obliviousness. Other songs from this show worth listening to include "Double Talk," "Everybody's Gotta Be Somewhere," "You're Nothing Without Me," "The Tennis Song," and "Funny."

"The Gentleman is a Dope" from Allegro (Rodgers and Hammerstein)

This surprisingly terrible R&H show did run on Broadway for nine months, but was never a critical success . The overblown book tells the complete (and I mean COMPLETE) life story of a man named Joseph Taylor, from the day of his birth, through high school, college, getting married, starting a medical practice, and the eventual failure of his marriage and his return to his home town. It was just about as boring as it sounds, aided by ongoing commentary from a Greek chorus. Despite the horrible book, there were a few good songs, including this commentary on Joe by his nurse, Emily, but also "You Are Never Away" and "So Far."

"The Story Goes On" from Baby (Maltby and Shire)

This lovely musical is the story of how three couples in very different stages of life react to discovering that they're about to have a baby. It contains a number of sweet, moving, and funny songs that are often included in cabaret acts, since many of them tell a complete story and hold up well outside the context of the show. Other notable songs from the show include "I Want It All," "What Could Be Better?" and "Fatherhood Blues."

"Repent" from On the Twentieth Century (Coleman, Comden and Green)

This funny little musical takes place entirely on a train (the titular "Twentieth Century"), where a down-on-his-luck producer is chasing his former protege (and current ex-wife) in the hopes of riding her coattails back to success. Much slapstick hilarity ensues, including this song sung by an heiress/religious fanatic/escaped mental patient played in the original Broadway production by comedic legend Imogene Coca. The entire score is worth a listen, but don't miss "Veronique," "I've Got It All," "Our Private World," "Five Zeroes," "Life is Like a Train," and "She's a Nut" (which is well worth watching as well as listening to).

"Stars and the Moon" from Songs for a New World (Brown)

This musical is really a song cycle rather than a book musical, with the songs all focusing on moments of decision, and a small cast playing multiple roles but each still having a distinct character arc. Both the complexity of the music and the completeness of each song make them excellent choices for cabaret performances, which is where Brown's music has found much of its following, rather than through productions of the shows themselves. Other great listens from this production include "I'd Give It All for You," "King of the World" (click on the link from Brown's own impressive performance of that one), and "I'm Not Afraid."

"I Feel So Much Spring" from A New Brain (Finn)

William Finn's musicals tend to be somewhat autobiographical, and this one is no exception, having been written after he got out of the hospital where he was treated for a complicated and life-threatening malformation of blood vessels in his brain. Great songs from the show include powerful solos, trio and quartet work, and solos with complicated backup harmonies, some of the best being "Sailing," "And They're Off," and "Time and Music."

"Who Will Love Me as I Am?" from Sideshow (Krieger and Russell)

A Broadway musical about a pair of Siamese twins in a freak show in the 1930s sounds like a bizarre idea, right? And to a lot of folks, it was, but it made the careers of the two actresses playing the twins, Alice Ripley and Emily Skinner. Although neither the original production nor the revival ran for all that long, it's a quirky little show that does get produced locally on occasion (and is a wonderful performance opportunity for pairs of sisters with similar looks and voices). The best songs from the show include "The Devil You Know," "We Share Everything," and "You Should Be Loved."

"Bluer Than You" from A...My Name is Alice (Evans and Holtzmann)

This all-female revue is a collection of wonderful solos and ensemble numbers for and about women from all walks of life. Sometimes funny, sometimes poignant, sometimes both, there are songs that every woman will be able to identify with. Other great numbers from this show include "All Girl Band," "Trash," "The Portrait," and "I Sure Like the Boys."

Other songs worth listening to:
"Putting It Together" from Sunday in the Park with George
"Dressed in Your Pyjamas in the Grand Salon" from Titanic: The Musical
"Oh the Thinks You Can Think" from Seussical
"Lost in the Wilderness" from Children of Eden
"Losing My Mind" from Follies
"Astonishing" from Little Women
"Not a Day Goes By" from Merrily We Roll Along
"Lily's Eyes" from The Secret Garden
"Love Who You Love" from A Man of No Importance
"I'm Still Hurting" from The Last Five Years
"Time Heals Everything" from Mack and Mabel
"The Ballad of Booth" from Assassins
"It's All Happening" from Bring It On
"Someone Like You" from Jekyll and Hyde
"I Will Be Loved Tonight" from I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change
"A Quiet Thing" from Flora the Red Menace
"The Apple Doesn't Fall Very Far from the Tree" from The Rink
"Watch What Happens" from Newsies
"When You're an Addams" from The Addams Family
"Home" from Phantom (no, not that one, the one by Maury Yeston)

Happy listening!