Musical Opening Numbers

I've been sick this past week, and one of the best things to cheer me up when I'm feeling under the weather is to listen to musical soundtracks. A good opening number can make or break a Broadway show. The first song works as a storytelling device, a way to introduce every single character you'll encounter, a mood-setter, a dramatic moment to suck you in or a fun bop to get your energy into the magical show you're about to experience. The selections below are by no means an exhaustive list. I'm sure as soon as I press send I'll think of several other songs that should have been added to the rankings below. But for now, enjoy some of my favorite musical opening numbers:

• The Twenty-Fifth Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee from The Twenty-Fifth Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee: Not many musicals can pull off opening lines asking a character to spell the word "syzygy," but somehow Putnam pulls it off. The opening does a marvelous job of seamlessly introducing all of the contestants, using fun wordplay and creating an anthem for the overachieving students who like to memorize the manual.
  Favorite line: "Winner's destination: Washington, D.C. / Plasma TV in a fancy hotel / Where they treat you well / All because you love to spell"
  Where you can watch/listen now: L-i-s-t-e-n away!

• Good Morning Baltimore from Hairspray: Instead of functioning as a way to introduce characters, Good Morning Baltimore is a stellar example of an "I want" song, detailing Tracy's dreams of becoming a dancer, as she waltzes down the streets of Maryland. From the opening drum taps that move into a sax solo, you can tell that you're about to hear something special. This song is all Tracy.
  Favorite line: "My ma tells me no but my feet tell me go / It's like a drummer inside my heart"
  Where you can watch/listen now: Take your pick between Marissa Jaret Winokur or Nikki Blonsky. Or just listen to both.

• Belle from Beauty and the Beast: The first musical I ever saw on Broadway was Beauty and the Beast, so the memory of Belle coming out belting her "I want" song is particularly memorable. The Broadway production will always hold a special place in my heart, as will memories of performing this song in its entirety with my brother in our living room.
  Favorite line: "That's nice. Marie! The baguettes! Hurry up!" Iconic.
  Where you can watch/listen now: Listen to Susan Egan from the Original Broadway Cast. 

• No One Mourns the Wicked from Wicked: While certainly not the strongest opening number in Broadway history, something about No One Mourns the Wicked stands out in my mind. Maybe its the chilling start, where the cast sings "Good news, she's dead!" Or maybe its the delight that everyone experiences when Kristin Chenoweth floats onto the stage for the first time. The whole song jumps around a lot with the music changing tempo and tone frequently but it sets up the show well and provides a dramatic start to an equally dramatic show. It's also an interesting song to revisit once you have the full context of Glinda and Elphaba's relationship.
  Favorite line: Every time this line is used in the song: "And Goodness knows / The Wicked's lives are lonely"
  Where you can watch/listen now: Listen to the original in all its glory. 

• Fancy Dress from The Drowsy Chaperone: The Drowsy Chaperone is a strange show and the opening number does a great job of setting the stage for the quirk you're about to experience, while introducing all of the characters. Each personality gets a moment to state their role for the show with their own special music, with "wedding bells will ring/wedding bells will chime" re-occurring throughout the number.
  Favorite line: "Champagne makes me drowsy!"
  Where you can watch/listen now: ​Hear the 2006 Broadway cast perform. 

• Prologue from Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812: This musical is weird! And unfortunately things really go downhill after this incredible opening song. The meta Prologue acknowledges that Russian novels are confusing so the company tells audience members to look at their programs and pay attention, as they run through each character and his/her key identifier. It's a brilliant way to begin a show as complicated as this. The rest of the musical isn't quite as clear or clever, but the opening number is one for the books.
  Favorite line: "And this is all in your program / You are at the opera / Gonna have to study up a little bit / If you wanna keep with the plot / 'Cause it’s a complicated Russian novel / Everyone’s got nine different names / So look it up in your program / We’d appreciate it, thanks a lot"
  Where you can watch/listen now: If you've never heard this one, definitely give it a listen!

• Company from Company: While there is technically a short introduction before this song, this is the true opening number of Company. And in typical Sondheim fashion, it's an elaborate, delicately balanced, nuanced, perfect way to set up Bobby's relationships with those good and crazy people, his friends. 
  Favorite line: "Just be the three of us / Only the three of us / We loooooove you"
  Where you can watch/listen now: This is the entire 2011 version, starring Neil Patrick Harris, but if you just want the opening number, watch from 7:36 to 12:37. 

• Into the Woods (Prologue) from Into the Woods: Sondheim outdoes himself in this nearly 12-minute introduction. When my brother and I went to see the movie version, we were running late and broke several speeding laws in order to get to the theater before the narrator said "Once upon a time," because this song is our favorite part of the show. The Prologue outlines each of the fairy tale character's wishes and then the rest of the show complicates these pleas.
  Favorite line: Peak Sondheim: "We've no time to sit and dither / While her wither's wither with her," plus all of the lines about the witch and her love of vegetables.
  Where you can watch/listen now: You can view the 1991 Broadway cast performing the opening number. 

• Omigod You Guys from Legally Blonde: Talk about a way to get the audience excited. Legally Blonde's opening number takes audience members from the sorority house to the site of Elle at the mall searching for an engagement outfit, all while setting the stage for Warner's non-proposal and Elle's ability to call BS on a saleswoman trying to trick her.
  Favorite line: "They're just like that couple from Titanic / Only no one dies" And with honorable mention: "Courtney take your break"
  Where you can watch/listen now: Watch the original Broadway cast perform. 

• Alexander Hamilton from Hamilton: In what is arguably one of the best opening numbers in Broadway history, Lin Manuel Miranda's Alexander Hamilton is a lyrical masterpiece, outlining Hamilton's difficult childhood and his journey to America, while previewing things we're about to witness in the show, his ambition, his flaws, his forgotten legacy and his relationship with other characters, giving each one a chance to sing about the title character.
  Favorite line: "The ship is in the harbor now / See if you can spot him / Another immigrant comin' up from the bottom"
  Where you can watch/listen now: Throw it back to 1009 and watch a young Lin Manuel Miranda perform an early version of the number for President Obama.