See I would call “Without Love” Hairspray’s 11 O’Clock Number. It’s catchy, at near the end of the show, doesn’t add much to the plot, and everyone loves it
...huh. I was always under the impression that the eleven-o-clock number had to be about change. Like, before the song, everything is at its lowest point, and the audience can't see how there's any way out of this with the amount of time left in the show, and then, in the space of one big musical number, as well as the little dialogue surrounding it, everything gets resolved just in time. I thought that the title "eleven-o-clock", was more about it coming just before a symbolic "midnight" of everything ending badly for the characters.
Nina Avins I always call that the "eleventh hour" number. Slightly different wording than "eleven o' clock" and more literary in origin. I think "eleventh hour numbers" are generally the reprisal of the protagonist's theme. Or occasionally the main antagonist's number if they didn't have one earlier in the musical. The reprisal of "Big and Loud" from Cats Don't Dance is both types.
I like this concept of a video series that explores musical theatre tropes! Plus, you have an entire TV Tropes wiki of ideas to pull from! Great video as always, Diva!
Long list of great 11 o'clock numbers I thought of that nobody else has mentioned in the comments yet (that I can tell): Brotherhood of Man (How to Suceed in Business Without Really Trying) I Loved You Once in Silence (Camelot) The Music That Makes Me Dance (Funny Girl) From This Day On (Brigadoon) Brush Up Your Shakespeare (Kiss Me, Kate) Without You (My Fair Lady) Anatevka (Fiddler on the Roof) Two Lost Souls (Damn Yankees) If He Walked Into My Life (Mame) The Best of Times (La Cage Aux Folles) Still (Titanic) How Could I Ever Know? (The Secret Garden) Send in the Clowns (A Little Night Music) Losing My Mind (Follies) Twelve Days to Christmas (She Loves Me) I Don't Need Anything But You (Annie) So Long, Dearie (Hello, Dolly!) The Very Next Man (Fiorello!) Edelweiss (The Sound of Music) Nothing More Than This (Candide) At the Red Rose Cotillion (Where's Charley?) All the Children in a Row (The Rink) 7 1/2 Cents (The Pajama Game) The Next Time It Happens (Pipe Dream/State Fair) The Fools Who Dream (La La Land--a movie, but they know their tropes!) Come Home (Allegro) She's Gonna Come Home With Me/Nobody's Ever Gonna Love You (The Most Happy Fella) Nice Work If You Can Get It (Crazy for You) A Tough Act to Follow (Curtains) Memory (CATS) Funny (City of Angels) Endgame (Chess) Is Anybody There? (1776) Gimme, Gimme (Thoroughly Modern Millie) I'm Goin' Back (Bells Are Ringing) There's a Boat That's Leavin' Soon For New York (Porgy and Bess) The Finale (Pippin--yes, it's called "the finale," but functionally, it's actually the 11 o'clock number because it's the moment of truth for Pippin). Everybody Loves Leona (Do I Hear A Waltz?--sadly cut from most productions) They Were You (The Fantasticks) Plus everything everybody's already mentionef below--a whole lot of great ones!
I should have included a disclaimer with this list: While many of these songs are familiar standards, others are VERY obscure, so one is forgiven for not knowing them!
I've had many a debate with fellow actors on this. My definition of the 11 o'clock number is the song in Act 2 that comes closest to making the point of what the show is about. Being Alive from Company completes Bobby's arc but to me Company is about the emptiness of being a New York City elite and how hard it is to find yourself which is the whole point of The Ladies Who Lunch which I would argue is the true 11 o'clock number. Same in A Chorus Line. The big number is One but the song that makes the point of the show is What I Did for Love. That's my take on it. My personal favorite 11 o'clock number is Send in Clowns from A Little Night Music.
So if we apply that to "Jesus Christ Superstar", which song would it be? I'd assume the last song by Judas, in which he sings about Jesus' sacrifice, since that's closest to the original subversive point of the musical.
Fermin Tenava to me, it’s Gethsemane. Jesus finally accepts his fate and chooses to become the messiah whereas previously, we see him very distressed. And anxious. After Gethsemane, he says “Judas, do what you must”
Being Alive is most definitely the 11 o’clock. The show is more about being single and debating marriage than living in NY, though, NY acts as the background character and is relevant to the plot.
Mechanically, a lot of times the eleven o'clock number also ends up being used to cover one last big set/costume change, letting the secondary characters do stuff while the leads can be off-stage or at the very least not the center of attention. Sit Down You're Rockin the Boat and Brush Up Your Shakespeare are two key examples of this.
I'd say For Good because it closes the arc between Glinda and Elphaba, but No Good Deed could easily be argued as this trope too. Tough call, honestly.
Kaija Schmauss For Good is all about tying up loose ends, plot wise. No Good Deed is where Elphaba finally succumbed to being the the wicked witch of the west, which is what the audience expects and wants from the beginning. To me, NGD is the 11 o’clock
I say No Good Deed because ultimately, the show is Elphaba's and it's a definitive moment for her character and is the standard "main character reaches a climactical revelation" sort.
11 o’clock numbers are songs that make you root for the character, plot, STRONG emotional connection. For Good does close their arcs but it is not a song that has nearly as the stark emotion os No Good Deed. No Good Deed packs a punch and it’s the moment when she turns WICKED. It completely makes you understand why she is the evil one. She tried so hard to be good but after everyone’s bullshit when she tried to help she became evil. It needs to incite an emotional reaction. For Good is nice because they make up but it’s not the same as understanding the pain and frustration of Elphaba in No Good Deed
To me, the 11 o’clock has to be a turning point for a character, like, everything has led up to this. Listen from Dreamgirls and No Good Deed are prime examples. Without such a song, a conflict in the narrative 3rd act (like in film story structure, not a show) can feel like a contrivance.
I had the honor of performing Anything Goes' 11 o'clock number, Buddie Beware. Simply no plot relevance, just a fun musical romp complete with dancing sailors!
I'd actually say it's "Meant to be yours" JD rather than Veronica is the character who has changed the most during the musical, and this is the conclusion to his growing instability: it's no longer about killing those people who are worthy of it, no longer about protecting Veronica, he just hates the world so he's killing anyone he can.
I love learning new things from your channel. I've never actually known about that trope. I love how vast your knowledge of stage musicals is. Would you ever make a video showing where to begin when wanting to know more about theater and essential musicals you should see to get there?
Lately I've been debating with myself about whether "Michael in the Bathroom" from "Be More Chill" counts as an eleven o'clock number. It's certainly a gut-punch in the manner of "Rose's Turn" or "Losing My Mind", but it happens towards the end of the first half of the second act, and there are several large numbers after it.
A. De S. Hmm, good question. It could be the "Play Song", as each character has a small reprise of their previous song, and it's the second last musical number before the finale.
The Pitiful Children always felt like it for me. Though it’s even closer to the end of the show than Michael in the Bathroom. I find The Pitiful Children far more catchy mostly due to it being far more toe tapping beat wise. It’s the first time the SQUIPs true intentions truly show, to control everything and whatnot. As by the end of Upgrade most still assumed the optic nerve blocking was just to get Jeremy closer to his actual goal. It’s also a huge song otherwise, featuring a dance break and a large amount of ensemble singing. Michael in the Bathroom is more of a show stopping number. Where we visit the pushed aside sidekick to get a different perspective of what our protagonist is doing and how it’s effecting others (think of something like Kindergarten Boyfriend from Heathers). It’s also a huge number due to its popularity in the fan base. Though The Smartphone Hour is another great possibility, which is in-between the other two suggestions. It’s another really beat and lyrical ear-worm but that may just be because it’s quite the repetitive song and most similar to radio pop songs if I had to compare it to something. Though with what you said, I do agree a lot with you in saying that Michael in the Bathroom is also an 11 o’clock number as like you said it’s a punch in the gut. But maybe all three of these songs *are* the 11 o’clock number, as they do in fact happen quite near each other, between Michael in the Bathroom and The Smartphone Hour is a somewhat quick scene with a mini somewhat song in it (which is when Jeremy sings asking Christine out at the party) then after Smartphone Hour is a few lines of dialogue and straight into The Pitiful Children. So maybe there’s no singular 11 o’clock number maybe there’s a few. (Three to be exact)
Excellent Video. The 11:00 number being so hard to figure out is something I notoced heavily when I started making Playlists. I stand by that "I Know Where I've Been" is Hairspray's 11:00 number. It's the most impactful with the plot, the most meaningful and powerful (I'm sorry, It's Hairspray and Cooties just don't have the same pull) and it kinda is about the main character because a big part of her arc is realizng her reach is so much more then just dancing on TV. Some of my favorite 11:00 numbers are No Good Deed- Wicked (Totally debatable since March of the Witch Hunters and For Good still happen, and I totally see why anyone might catogorize For Good as the 11:00 number, but since the actual Finale is a reprise of For Good (and No One Mourns), I kinda consider For Good to be part of the Finale) Rose's Turn- Gypsy Bill- Show Boat What I Did For Love- A Chorus Line I'm Here- The Color Purple Made of Stone- Hunchback And there's so many more. This is definitely one of my favorite types of musical theatre songs
Agreed. It's Hairspray and Cooties are fun songs, but they have such little impact on the plot that the movie version cut one of them without it making any difference at all. I Know Where I've Been, on the other hand, is one of the most emotionally powerful songs in the entire show and it's impact is pretty immediate. The story doesn't work as well without it.
Stephen Schwartz at one point said he considers No Good Deed and March to kind of be two halves of one whole. (And they have the same melody)They’re really about the same thing. It’s about how Elphaba’s actions had negative impacts that she failed to see/ignored. It’s no good deed goes unpunished.
Here's are some of my favorite 11 O'Clock Numbers(movie and stage): He Lives in You from The Lion King What You Own from Rent Last Midnight, No More, and No One is Alone from Into the Woods What I Did For Love from A Chorus Line I Believe from The Book of Mormon Memory from Cats Cabaret from Cabaret When You Believe from The Prince of Egypt For Good from Wicked Beauty and the Beast from Beauty and the Beast Savages from Pocahontas Someday from Der Glockner von Notre Dame. Somewhere from West Side Story Another National Anthem from Assassins One Night Only from Dreamgirls
I will NEVER be able to listen to "He Lives In You" and not degenerate into a sobbing mess by the time it gets to Simba's part. It's just impossible for me not to overidentify.
in my opinion, "i believe" is the 11 o'clock in book of mormon. while it really isn't as much of a literal wrapping up of the themes of the show, it is the climax of elder price's arc, where he reaffirms his beliefs just to get them shoved up his ass in the end, changing him for the rest of the show. and also "i believe" is just a kickass tune and is a showcase of the full vocal talent of whoever is playing elder price.
Very good, Diva! One 11 o'clock song I love actually satirizes 11 o'clock songs: "Betrayed" from The Producers. Like "Rose's Turn*, it summarizes the plot, culling from previous songs. There's also "Shall We Dance?" from The King and I. Would "Reviewing the Situation" from Oliver! be one?
Wicked's "No Good Deed/March of the Witch Hunters" two-parter is one of the best examples of an 11:00 number that I've ever heard. There's a reason theres one $#!+-billion covers of No Good Deed in particular on RUclips. Phantom has...several. "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" is probably the most powerful, but it's also chronologically the first. The "Wandering Child" triptych between the Phantom, Christine, and Raoul has a great emotional resonance to it, but it might be too short to count as a whole number. And of course, "Point Of No Return" wraps up the tension between Christine and the Phantom in what I feel to be a satisfyng way that leaves only the denouement. If pressed, I'd say "Wishing" was the best of the three for an 11:00 number, especially sung by someone like Sierra Boggess who can really sell it. (she's far and away my favorite Christine, if it weren't obvious) Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat has probably the worst 11:00 number..."The Benjamin Calypso." I genuinely like this musical's fun, goofy, weird tone...until this song, which feels just skin-crawlingly loathsome to me for some reason. Unless one considers "Grovel, Grovel" to be the 11:00 number, which I kind of dig as an alternative option. The Lion King's "He Lives In You" will never ever NOT make me hyped and a sobbing mess at the same time. Especially when I hear the original version sung by Tsidii le Loka and the late Jason Raize. RENT, which I actually do like despite knowing its MANY flaws, has "Your Eyes" which is...well, deathly dull...but "What You Own" is far more interesting and upbeat, so I prefer to think of it as the 11:00 number for that one.
I like your definition at the end - "makes you want to get up and dance, or punches you in the gut." I would hate to decide without some real research, but one of my favorite 11 o'clock numbers is Hold Me In Your Heart from Kinky Boots.
I'm not sure if these would count, but I think If I Can Dream from All Shook Up, Without Love and the aforementioned I Know Where I've Been from Hairspray, and the simply legendary King Herod's Song from Jesus Christ Superstar are some of my favorites.
Oh I thought it was called an 11 o clock number because it happened near the end of the show - or analogous "day." Its near midnight, the close of the journey
I’ve checked the comments and I’m pretty sure no one has mentioned one of my favourite 11 o’clock numbers, Always Starting Over from If/Then, which is a shame because to me it’s pretty much one of the quintessential examples of one
Zach T I wish I’d seen it live. Downside to living in the UK. But I’ve got the album & I did get to hear Idina sing it when she was on tour here a couple years ago
well i can I think of one the defies these conventions Sweeney Todd. Everything in act 2 just builds up the final sequence which is more a string of events then a song and then it ends with a balled reprise.
Was there a point in musical theater history where the mold was broken, and the "11:00 song" stopped being a thing? When Leonard Bernstein wrote "On the Town", that spot was clearly "Some Other Time". But a decade later, in "West Side Story", it was "I Have a Love". Whenever the mold was broken, it was probably Sondheim who broke it, although "You Are Not Alone" in "Into the Woods" is a pretty perfect eleven.
Sondheim's good about breaking tropes when they won't further develop the story or characters, and then using them perfectly when they will. In the case of eleven o'clock numbers he eschews them in shows like Assassins but in shows like Company and Into The Woods he writes ones you'll never forget.
Sondheim's written more 11 o'clock numbers than you might think. In addition to the excellent examples already listed (and IMHO, Rose's Turn is the greatest 11 o'clock number ever written), I would add "Being Alive" from Company, "Losing My Mind" from Follies, "Send In the Clowns" from A Little Night Music, "Another National Anthem" from Assassins, and even "Everybody Loves Leona" from Do I Hear a Waltz? (cut before the show opened on Broadway, but sometimes reinstated in revivals). There are probably a few others as well I'm just not familiar with.
Question since I love this musical too much: Is the eleven-o-clock number in Little Shop of Horrors "the Meek Shall Inherit" or "Somewhere That's Green Reprise"? Neither makes me want to dance, but one is powerful and comes right in the middle of act 2 and the other seriously punches you in the gut but is really quiet and the second to last song in the second to last scene. Thoughts? (Sorry to the people who have only seen the theatrical cut of the movie adaptation. You'll probably have no idea what I'm talking about.)
PhantomFan1a He actually won the Olivier in 1997 for this production! You can also hear him in the National Theatre's The Light Princess (he plays the main character's father, King Darius) 👍
In the 1991 version, it's clearly the title song, but in the live-action movie, Evermore is just so much better done. No disrespect to Emma Thompson, who is a fantastic actress, but she's no Angela Lansbury. And Evermore leaves me a sobbing mess, which is something I associate with emotionally-charged 11:00 numbers in general ("Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again", "He Lives In You", "No Good Deed").
I didn’t know that the number has so much leeway. Where did you get the Ragtime footage? I know one was from the Tonys. (I swear. When I have enough money, I will request a Patter Song episode)
There's a case for both. "No Good Deed" is the culmination of Elphaba's personal journey, where "For Good" is more like a finale, which puts a bow on the relationship between Elphaba and Glinda.
I have a question, just to be sure I got it. In your video, you show clips from Chicago's last number Nowadays. But it's the last number. Is the "eleven O'clock number" CAN be the finale? Because taking Chicago as an exemple, I would have take Razzle Dazzle but I'm no expert. :P Also, it may be clear in your video, it may be my poor english failing me...
Musical Hell Oh great! Got it! Thanks! Awesome video BTW. As someone who enjoy musicals but don't know the technical terms and thropes, I just love your video essays and reviews! ;)
Here are my favorite 11 O'Clock numbers (in no particular order): Rose's Turn-Gypsy You've Got to Be Carefully Taught-South Pacific Razzle Dazzle-Chicago Brand New Day-The Wiz Suppertime-You're a Good Man Charlie Brown Sit Down You're Rocking the Boat-Guys and Dolls Sachenfreude-Avenue Q An American in Paris ballet-An American in Paris (movie version) I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise-An American in Paris (Broadway version) Buddy's Blues-Follies
Btw it's "Schadenfreude" xD What you've written would mean "things joy" if translated literally :) Thanks for making me laugh and best regards, a German
I did Avenue Q in college, and IMO, "The Money Song" is closer to an 11:00 number...at least that's how our music director felt when he made us do many, MANY more rehearsals of it, and had us perform it at various venues to garner support for the performance. Then again, I was in a version that had a cast of 20 or 30 people, as opposed to the seven or eight that usually play that number, so that might have changed things a bit. And I remember we screwed up "Schadenfreude" much harder than "Money Song" by virtue of lack of rehearsal and constant changes to the choreograpy (there were actual Vanna White-style letters involved).
The Guy Who Didn't like Musicals has a show stopping number called Show Stopping Number.
11 O'clock cant come soon enough!
11 O'clock cant come soon enough!
11 O'clock cant come soon enough!
I can’t wait to get home to my booooooooooys
See I would call “Without Love” Hairspray’s 11 O’Clock Number. It’s catchy, at near the end of the show, doesn’t add much to the plot, and everyone loves it
...huh. I was always under the impression that the eleven-o-clock number had to be about change. Like, before the song, everything is at its lowest point, and the audience can't see how there's any way out of this with the amount of time left in the show, and then, in the space of one big musical number, as well as the little dialogue surrounding it, everything gets resolved just in time. I thought that the title "eleven-o-clock", was more about it coming just before a symbolic "midnight" of everything ending badly for the characters.
Nina Avins I always call that the "eleventh hour" number. Slightly different wording than "eleven o' clock" and more literary in origin. I think "eleventh hour numbers" are generally the reprisal of the protagonist's theme. Or occasionally the main antagonist's number if they didn't have one earlier in the musical. The reprisal of "Big and Loud" from Cats Don't Dance is both types.
I like this concept of a video series that explores musical theatre tropes! Plus, you have an entire TV Tropes wiki of ideas to pull from! Great video as always, Diva!
Huh, I guess The Last Midnight is ironically named.
I'd definitely heard the term before but had no idea it was a "thing." Learn something new every day! -S
Came here from Crazy Ex Girlfriend, I'd never heard of this term b4 it's inclusion in this show!
In case you can’t tell time, it’s still 11 o’cloooock!
Long list of great 11 o'clock numbers I thought of that nobody else has mentioned in the comments yet (that I can tell):
Brotherhood of Man (How to Suceed in Business Without Really Trying)
I Loved You Once in Silence (Camelot)
The Music That Makes Me Dance (Funny Girl)
From This Day On (Brigadoon)
Brush Up Your Shakespeare (Kiss Me, Kate)
Without You (My Fair Lady)
Anatevka (Fiddler on the Roof)
Two Lost Souls (Damn Yankees)
If He Walked Into My Life (Mame)
The Best of Times (La Cage Aux Folles)
Still (Titanic)
How Could I Ever Know? (The Secret Garden)
Send in the Clowns (A Little Night Music)
Losing My Mind (Follies)
Twelve Days to Christmas (She Loves Me)
I Don't Need Anything But You (Annie)
So Long, Dearie (Hello, Dolly!)
The Very Next Man (Fiorello!)
Edelweiss (The Sound of Music)
Nothing More Than This (Candide)
At the Red Rose Cotillion (Where's Charley?)
All the Children in a Row (The Rink)
7 1/2 Cents (The Pajama Game)
The Next Time It Happens (Pipe Dream/State Fair)
The Fools Who Dream (La La Land--a movie, but they know their tropes!)
Come Home (Allegro)
She's Gonna Come Home With Me/Nobody's Ever Gonna Love You (The Most Happy Fella)
Nice Work If You Can Get It (Crazy for You)
A Tough Act to Follow (Curtains)
Memory (CATS)
Funny (City of Angels)
Endgame (Chess)
Is Anybody There? (1776)
Gimme, Gimme (Thoroughly Modern Millie)
I'm Goin' Back (Bells Are Ringing)
There's a Boat That's Leavin' Soon For New York (Porgy and Bess)
The Finale (Pippin--yes, it's called "the finale," but functionally, it's actually the 11 o'clock number because it's the moment of truth for Pippin).
Everybody Loves Leona (Do I Hear A Waltz?--sadly cut from most productions)
They Were You (The Fantasticks)
Plus everything everybody's already mentionef below--a whole lot of great ones!
I should have included a disclaimer with this list: While many of these songs are familiar standards, others are VERY obscure, so one is forgiven for not knowing them!
I've had many a debate with fellow actors on this. My definition of the 11 o'clock number is the song in Act 2 that comes closest to making the point of what the show is about. Being Alive from Company completes Bobby's arc but to me Company is about the emptiness of being a New York City elite and how hard it is to find yourself which is the whole point of The Ladies Who Lunch which I would argue is the true 11 o'clock number. Same in A Chorus Line. The big number is One but the song that makes the point of the show is What I Did for Love. That's my take on it. My personal favorite 11 o'clock number is Send in Clowns from A Little Night Music.
So if we apply that to "Jesus Christ Superstar", which song would it be? I'd assume the last song by Judas, in which he sings about Jesus' sacrifice, since that's closest to the original subversive point of the musical.
Fermin Tenava to me, it’s Gethsemane. Jesus finally accepts his fate and chooses to become the messiah whereas previously, we see him very distressed. And anxious. After Gethsemane, he says “Judas, do what you must”
Being Alive is most definitely the 11 o’clock. The show is more about being single and debating marriage than living in NY, though, NY acts as the background character and is relevant to the plot.
Mechanically, a lot of times the eleven o'clock number also ends up being used to cover one last big set/costume change, letting the secondary characters do stuff while the leads can be off-stage or at the very least not the center of attention. Sit Down You're Rockin the Boat and Brush Up Your Shakespeare are two key examples of this.
Thank you for using the Clive Rowe/National Theatre production of Sit Down You're Rockin' The Boat 😍
So Phantom's "Point Of No Return" and Wicked's "For Good" are 11 o ' clock numbers? COOL. Or would Wicked's be "No Good Deed"?
I'd say For Good because it closes the arc between Glinda and Elphaba, but No Good Deed could easily be argued as this trope too. Tough call, honestly.
Kaija Schmauss For Good is all about tying up loose ends, plot wise. No Good Deed is where Elphaba finally succumbed to being the the wicked witch of the west, which is what the audience expects and wants from the beginning. To me, NGD is the 11 o’clock
I say No Good Deed because ultimately, the show is Elphaba's and it's a definitive moment for her character and is the standard "main character reaches a climactical revelation" sort.
11 o’clock numbers are songs that make you root for the character, plot, STRONG emotional connection. For Good does close their arcs but it is not a song that has nearly as the stark emotion os No Good Deed. No Good Deed packs a punch and it’s the moment when she turns WICKED. It completely makes you understand why she is the evil one. She tried so hard to be good but after everyone’s bullshit when she tried to help she became evil. It needs to incite an emotional reaction. For Good is nice because they make up but it’s not the same as understanding the pain and frustration of Elphaba in No Good Deed
They're both part of an extended Eleven O'Clock Number imo
To me, the 11 o’clock has to be a turning point for a character, like, everything has led up to this. Listen from Dreamgirls and No Good Deed are prime examples. Without such a song, a conflict in the narrative 3rd act (like in film story structure, not a show) can feel like a contrivance.
I had the honor of performing Anything Goes' 11 o'clock number, Buddie Beware. Simply no plot relevance, just a fun musical romp complete with dancing sailors!
"Dead Girl Walking (Reprise)" from Heathers is another good one :)
I'd actually say it's "Meant to be yours" JD rather than Veronica is the character who has changed the most during the musical, and this is the conclusion to his growing instability: it's no longer about killing those people who are worthy of it, no longer about protecting Veronica, he just hates the world so he's killing anyone he can.
Ooh! I didn't initially think of that. I guess "Meant To Be Yours" is the song where you know shit's gonna go down :D
I love learning new things from your channel. I've never actually known about that trope. I love how vast your knowledge of stage musicals is. Would you ever make a video showing where to begin when wanting to know more about theater and essential musicals you should see to get there?
That's not a bad idea!
Listening to all these climaxes back to back was emotionally exhausting! (it's a necessity, or course-great video!)
Lately I've been debating with myself about whether "Michael in the Bathroom" from "Be More Chill" counts as an eleven o'clock number. It's certainly a gut-punch in the manner of "Rose's Turn" or "Losing My Mind", but it happens towards the end of the first half of the second act, and there are several large numbers after it.
A. De S. Hmm, good question. It could be the "Play Song", as each character has a small reprise of their previous song, and it's the second last musical number before the finale.
I always thought it was "Pants."
The Pitiful Children always felt like it for me. Though it’s even closer to the end of the show than Michael in the Bathroom. I find The Pitiful Children far more catchy mostly due to it being far more toe tapping beat wise. It’s the first time the SQUIPs true intentions truly show, to control everything and whatnot. As by the end of Upgrade most still assumed the optic nerve blocking was just to get Jeremy closer to his actual goal. It’s also a huge song otherwise, featuring a dance break and a large amount of ensemble singing. Michael in the Bathroom is more of a show stopping number. Where we visit the pushed aside sidekick to get a different perspective of what our protagonist is doing and how it’s effecting others (think of something like Kindergarten Boyfriend from Heathers). It’s also a huge number due to its popularity in the fan base.
Though The Smartphone Hour is another great possibility, which is in-between the other two suggestions. It’s another really beat and lyrical ear-worm but that may just be because it’s quite the repetitive song and most similar to radio pop songs if I had to compare it to something.
Though with what you said, I do agree a lot with you in saying that Michael in the Bathroom is also an 11 o’clock number as like you said it’s a punch in the gut.
But maybe all three of these songs *are* the 11 o’clock number, as they do in fact happen quite near each other, between Michael in the Bathroom and The Smartphone Hour is a somewhat quick scene with a mini somewhat song in it (which is when Jeremy sings asking Christine out at the party) then after Smartphone Hour is a few lines of dialogue and straight into The Pitiful Children.
So maybe there’s no singular 11 o’clock number maybe there’s a few. (Three to be exact)
Also The Pants Song is quite the possibly for the whole character arc bit, though other than the chorus it’s not too catchy.
It's either Pitiful Children or The Pants Song
Excellent Video. The 11:00 number being so hard to figure out is something I notoced heavily when I started making Playlists. I stand by that "I Know Where I've Been" is Hairspray's 11:00 number. It's the most impactful with the plot, the most meaningful and powerful (I'm sorry, It's Hairspray and Cooties just don't have the same pull) and it kinda is about the main character because a big part of her arc is realizng her reach is so much more then just dancing on TV.
Some of my favorite 11:00 numbers are
No Good Deed- Wicked (Totally debatable since March of the Witch Hunters and For Good still happen, and I totally see why anyone might catogorize For Good as the 11:00 number, but since the actual Finale is a reprise of For Good (and No One Mourns), I kinda consider For Good to be part of the Finale)
Rose's Turn- Gypsy
Bill- Show Boat
What I Did For Love- A Chorus Line
I'm Here- The Color Purple
Made of Stone- Hunchback
And there's so many more. This is definitely one of my favorite types of musical theatre songs
Agreed. It's Hairspray and Cooties are fun songs, but they have such little impact on the plot that the movie version cut one of them without it making any difference at all. I Know Where I've Been, on the other hand, is one of the most emotionally powerful songs in the entire show and it's impact is pretty immediate. The story doesn't work as well without it.
Stephen Schwartz at one point said he considers No Good Deed and March to kind of be two halves of one whole. (And they have the same melody)They’re really about the same thing. It’s about how Elphaba’s actions had negative impacts that she failed to see/ignored. It’s no good deed goes unpunished.
Here's are some of my favorite 11 O'Clock Numbers(movie and stage):
He Lives in You from The Lion King
What You Own from Rent
Last Midnight, No More, and No One is Alone from Into the Woods
What I Did For Love from A Chorus Line
I Believe from The Book of Mormon
Memory from Cats
Cabaret from Cabaret
When You Believe from The Prince of Egypt
For Good from Wicked
Beauty and the Beast from Beauty and the Beast
Savages from Pocahontas
Someday from Der Glockner von Notre Dame.
Somewhere from West Side Story
Another National Anthem from Assassins
One Night Only from Dreamgirls
To me, Listen is the 11 o’clock in Dreamgirls (I know it wasn’t in the original, but it’s an improvement)
I will NEVER be able to listen to "He Lives In You" and not degenerate into a sobbing mess by the time it gets to Simba's part. It's just impossible for me not to overidentify.
in my opinion, "i believe" is the 11 o'clock in book of mormon. while it really isn't as much of a literal wrapping up of the themes of the show, it is the climax of elder price's arc, where he reaffirms his beliefs just to get them shoved up his ass in the end, changing him for the rest of the show. and also "i believe" is just a kickass tune and is a showcase of the full vocal talent of whoever is playing elder price.
Oooh I forgot about I Believe! You're right
Very good, Diva!
One 11 o'clock song I love actually satirizes 11 o'clock songs: "Betrayed" from The Producers. Like "Rose's Turn*, it summarizes the plot, culling from previous songs.
There's also "Shall We Dance?" from The King and I. Would "Reviewing the Situation" from Oliver! be one?
There's also "Things Get Broken" from Mass, which also summarizes with snippets of previous songs.
Wicked's "No Good Deed/March of the Witch Hunters" two-parter is one of the best examples of an 11:00 number that I've ever heard. There's a reason theres one $#!+-billion covers of No Good Deed in particular on RUclips.
Phantom has...several. "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" is probably the most powerful, but it's also chronologically the first. The "Wandering Child" triptych between the Phantom, Christine, and Raoul has a great emotional resonance to it, but it might be too short to count as a whole number. And of course, "Point Of No Return" wraps up the tension between Christine and the Phantom in what I feel to be a satisfyng way that leaves only the denouement. If pressed, I'd say "Wishing" was the best of the three for an 11:00 number, especially sung by someone like Sierra Boggess who can really sell it. (she's far and away my favorite Christine, if it weren't obvious)
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat has probably the worst 11:00 number..."The Benjamin Calypso." I genuinely like this musical's fun, goofy, weird tone...until this song, which feels just skin-crawlingly loathsome to me for some reason. Unless one considers "Grovel, Grovel" to be the 11:00 number, which I kind of dig as an alternative option.
The Lion King's "He Lives In You" will never ever NOT make me hyped and a sobbing mess at the same time. Especially when I hear the original version sung by Tsidii le Loka and the late Jason Raize.
RENT, which I actually do like despite knowing its MANY flaws, has "Your Eyes" which is...well, deathly dull...but "What You Own" is far more interesting and upbeat, so I prefer to think of it as the 11:00 number for that one.
Rose's Turn is the perfect 11 o'clock number
Can I just say that Back to Before is the greatest thing ever?
I like your definition at the end - "makes you want to get up and dance, or punches you in the gut." I would hate to decide without some real research, but one of my favorite 11 o'clock numbers is Hold Me In Your Heart from Kinky Boots.
I'm not sure if these would count, but I think If I Can Dream from All Shook Up, Without Love and the aforementioned I Know Where I've Been from Hairspray, and the simply legendary King Herod's Song from Jesus Christ Superstar are some of my favorites.
Oh
I thought it was called an 11 o clock number because it happened near the end of the show - or analogous "day." Its near midnight, the close of the journey
I didn't know this was a trope!
Ragtime is full of 11 o'clock numbers honestly
I’ve checked the comments and I’m pretty sure no one has mentioned one of my favourite 11 o’clock numbers, Always Starting Over from If/Then, which is a shame because to me it’s pretty much one of the quintessential examples of one
Holly Zandstra gurl no one saw If/Then
(But I actually did see it in Hollywood with Idina and most of the original cast)
Zach T I wish I’d seen it live. Downside to living in the UK. But I’ve got the album & I did get to hear Idina sing it when she was on tour here a couple years ago
Freak Flag from Shrek is a great one!
well i can I think of one the defies these conventions Sweeney Todd. Everything in act 2 just builds up the final sequence which is more a string of events then a song and then it ends with a balled reprise.
Was there a point in musical theater history where the mold was broken, and the "11:00 song" stopped being a thing? When Leonard Bernstein wrote "On the Town", that spot was clearly "Some Other Time". But a decade later, in "West Side Story", it was "I Have a Love". Whenever the mold was broken, it was probably Sondheim who broke it, although "You Are Not Alone" in "Into the Woods" is a pretty perfect eleven.
monkeymouse I would say in West Side Story, it's "A Boy Like That" with "I Have a Love".
Sondheim's good about breaking tropes when they won't further develop the story or characters, and then using them perfectly when they will. In the case of eleven o'clock numbers he eschews them in shows like Assassins but in shows like Company and Into The Woods he writes ones you'll never forget.
Sondheim's written more 11 o'clock numbers than you might think. In addition to the excellent examples already listed (and IMHO, Rose's Turn is the greatest 11 o'clock number ever written), I would add "Being Alive" from Company, "Losing My Mind" from Follies, "Send In the Clowns" from A Little Night Music, "Another National Anthem" from Assassins, and even "Everybody Loves Leona" from Do I Hear a Waltz? (cut before the show opened on Broadway, but sometimes reinstated in revivals). There are probably a few others as well I'm just not familiar with.
Ok, if there are any UK people here.. The guy singing "Sit down you're rocking the boat", thats Duke from Tracy Beaker, right?!
Jessica Ashcroft I was looking through the comments for this 😂😂
I just commented this :) I thought the same thing :) Who knew he could sing right? :) And he has a pretty decent set of pipes too :)
He was my favourite character in that show! I was so sad when he left.
But if he went on to do this, then I don't mind cuz omg he brilliant!
Jessica Ashcroft Yep, that's the wonderful Clive Rowe. You can also hear him as the king on the cast recording of The Light Princess!
That's where I knew him from! I thought he looked familiar!
Miss Saigon's "American Dream" would be another perfect example!
that mccree piece made my day
So Long Dearie from Hello, Dolly! and Gimme Gimme from Thoroughly Modern Millie.
No good deed!
Does The Floor Show count as an 11 Hour Number?
Question since I love this musical too much: Is the eleven-o-clock number in Little Shop of Horrors "the Meek Shall Inherit" or "Somewhere That's Green Reprise"? Neither makes me want to dance, but one is powerful and comes right in the middle of act 2 and the other seriously punches you in the gut but is really quiet and the second to last song in the second to last scene. Thoughts?
(Sorry to the people who have only seen the theatrical cut of the movie adaptation. You'll probably have no idea what I'm talking about.)
Okay, but in The Guy who Didn't Like Musicals, would it be Show-Stopping Number or Let It Out??????????????????
The guy from Rock the Boat who is singing looks like Duke from Tracy Beaker.......if it is mindblown........who knew? Duke can sing :)
PhantomFan1a He actually won the Olivier in 1997 for this production! You can also hear him in the National Theatre's The Light Princess (he plays the main character's father, King Darius) 👍
Does Crazy Rolling from Moulin Rouge: The Musical count as an eleven o'clock number?
I guess evermore qualifies
In the 1991 version, it's clearly the title song, but in the live-action movie, Evermore is just so much better done. No disrespect to Emma Thompson, who is a fantastic actress, but she's no Angela Lansbury. And Evermore leaves me a sobbing mess, which is something I associate with emotionally-charged 11:00 numbers in general ("Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again", "He Lives In You", "No Good Deed").
I didn’t know that the number has so much leeway.
Where did you get the Ragtime footage? I know one was from the Tonys.
(I swear. When I have enough money, I will request a Patter Song episode)
It's rather odd The Wizard of Oz and Aladdin in their most famous movie forms lack this trope entirely.
Fun fact: My theater class and I did "Sit Down You're Rocking the Boat" for a performance!
Cool, so did my old choir! 🤗
No Good Deed?
LeadingBlind nope, the 1100 for Wicked is definitely For Good.
There's a case for both.
"No Good Deed" is the culmination of Elphaba's personal journey, where "For Good" is more like a finale, which puts a bow on the relationship between Elphaba and Glinda.
curt..fair point!
I have a question, just to be sure I got it. In your video, you show clips from Chicago's last number Nowadays. But it's the last number. Is the "eleven O'clock number" CAN be the finale? Because taking Chicago as an exemple, I would have take Razzle Dazzle but I'm no expert. :P Also, it may be clear in your video, it may be my poor english failing me...
"Rose's Turn" is the last song in its show, so yes--although you can make a strong case for "Razzle Dazzle" being an eleven o'clock number as well.
"Roses Turn" is the eleven O'clock number for Gypsy, and that is the very last song that plays, so yeah, the finale can be the eleven O'clock number.
Musical Hell Oh great! Got it! Thanks! Awesome video BTW. As someone who enjoy musicals but don't know the technical terms and thropes, I just love your video essays and reviews! ;)
Here are my favorite 11 O'Clock numbers (in no particular order):
Rose's Turn-Gypsy
You've Got to Be Carefully Taught-South Pacific
Razzle Dazzle-Chicago
Brand New Day-The Wiz
Suppertime-You're a Good Man Charlie Brown
Sit Down You're Rocking the Boat-Guys and Dolls
Sachenfreude-Avenue Q
An American in Paris ballet-An American in Paris (movie version)
I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise-An American in Paris (Broadway version)
Buddy's Blues-Follies
Btw it's "Schadenfreude" xD
What you've written would mean "things joy" if translated literally :)
Thanks for making me laugh and best regards, a German
Gurlllll Home is CLEARLY the 11 oclock in The Wiz.
I did Avenue Q in college, and IMO, "The Money Song" is closer to an 11:00 number...at least that's how our music director felt when he made us do many, MANY more rehearsals of it, and had us perform it at various venues to garner support for the performance.
Then again, I was in a version that had a cast of 20 or 30 people, as opposed to the seven or eight that usually play that number, so that might have changed things a bit. And I remember we screwed up "Schadenfreude" much harder than "Money Song" by virtue of lack of rehearsal and constant changes to the choreograpy (there were actual Vanna White-style letters involved).
Home from The Wiz
You missed eleven o'clock by crazy exgirlfriend