West Covina, California: The Music of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

[SnideAsides]

I just figured - especially with Rebecca putting the coat over Greg's shoulders at the end - that it was a generic take on the stereotypical faith healer song. Which would also be wonderfully ironic given the song's content.

 

Another clear one: "What'll it Be?" from the Thanksgiving episode was Piano Man.

[Rinaldo]

Pretty much all the instrumental underscoring in the show is lifted from one or another of their songs. But I couldn't pin down the string music that played under that closing montage (how everybody was spending their evening) in the opening episode of Season 2. I feel stupid, but can someone tell me what song it was?

[Rinaldo]

Ha! I figured out the answer to my own question (with the help of a comment to one of the online recaps). That pretty string music was the new theme song, "I'm Just a Girl in Love," a little slower and without a rhythm section. The identity is all the clearer when it continues (after the exploding-choreographer tag) into the end credits -- which are easier to see and hear if one watches on the CW site, because the new song plays at its original up-tempo under those credits. Nice.

[Trini]

I don't like the new theme song as much as last season's, but it's growing on me.

[allonsyalice]

1) The Math of Love Triangles 

2) Research Me Obsessively

3) Love Kernels

4) The new theme song

5) Friendtopia

My top five, no particular order, going off the ones I listen on youtube the most. I liked this season, overall! I'm nervous about it ending. 

[Rinaldo]

1. The Math of Love Triangles
2. We Tapped That Ass
3. Tell Me I'm Okay, Patrick
4. We'll Never Have Problems Again
5. Ping Pong Girl

As it's been a while since I mentioned it, perhaps I may be permitted to say again that I created a Sporcle quiz on the titles of all the songs in the series. We're up to 77 now (plus bonuses)! It's been fun updating it every week; so now I get a break for a while. But readers of this form may enjoy giving it a try.

Edited February 4, 2017 by Rinaldo

[shang yiet]

My top five (in no particular order)  - Santa Ana Winds, Let's Have Intercourse, We Tapped That Ass (all three have funny lyrics and good dancing) plus Shit Storm and Math of Love Triangle.

[jjjmoss]

I love how much y'all love the best song of the season, The Math of Love Triangles. Beautifully visualized as a perfect homage/sendup, very clever and funny and real writing. Vocally strong and fitting for the genre. Loved the "we're all gay" 'twist' that made me think of Call Me Maybe.

Runners-up are You're My Best Friend (and I Know I'm Not Yours) & You Go First; it's great to have such an emphasis on the importance of friendship, and they're very realistic and a bit sad in their portrayals of how things can work. You Go First also has a great combo of serious+funny imagery in its tribute to a bygone music era.

[Trini]

So, what songs do you think have the best chance at getting Emmy nominations? (Last year "Settle for Me" got a nomination.)

I thinking "Tell Me I'm Okay", "Math of Love Triangles", or "Friendtopia". Maybe... "We Tapped That Ass".

The new theme song can nominated for 'Original Main Title Theme Music'. And they'll probably get another nomination for choreography.

Edited April 9, 2017 by Trini

[Irlandesa]

4 hours ago, Trini said:

I thinking "Tell Me I'm Okay", "Math of Love Triangles", or "Friendtopia". Maybe... "We Tapped That Ass".

Math of Love Triangles is a good choice.  I think I prefer Shitshow to "We Tapped That Ass" (although I love both) but I think the crowning achievement in song this season was "Remember that We Suffered."

[TheOtherOne]

Posted in the media thread, but the show only received one nomination, for "We Tapped That Ass." ("Math of Love Triangles" would have been my choice, but as I recall from the "Smash" days, a songwriting team can only submit one song for a nomination, so Tapped must be the one Bloom/Schlesinger/Dolgen went with.)

Edited July 13, 2017 by TheOtherOne

[Trini]

Really? They can only submit one song?? Is that particular to this category, because there are other categories that sometimes have multiple nominations from the same show.

Anyway, I'm happy they got a nomination, although I was hoping it would be for "Tell Me I'm Okay."

Edited July 13, 2017 by Trini

[TheOtherOne]

Yep. The rules are here.

Quote

Nominations in the music categories are determined by screening committees from the music peer group.

Submissions for all music categories can be made by the individual composers/songwriters or composer/songwriter teams seeking an Emmy nomination only. No producer, public relations or awards representatives are eligible to submit on behalf of the composer. Only someone who is eligible to be entered on the application as an entrant may make the entry.

Multiple entries: An individual or the identical team may enter up to two entries per category if the entries are for different programs.

I think the thing is that a person (or team) can only get one nomination in a category, but a show can get multiple nominations. If CEG had other song writers, they could have submitted one of their songs. (In the second season of "Smash" the show got two song nominations--one by the Shaiman/Wittman team, one by someone else.) But since Bloom/Schlesinger/Dolgen are credited for all the songs (I believe) they could only submit one. (Other writers have found ways around it. Matthew Weiner used to get multiple nominations for "Mad Men" in a year; for a script he wrote by himself, one he wrote with another writer, and one he wrote with a different writer. Sorkin did the same the first year of The West Wing--nominated both for a solo effort and one officially co-written with another writer...and then the co-written one won and he went on to bitch about how he was the real writer of the episode.)

Edited July 13, 2017 by TheOtherOne

[Rinaldo]

8 hours ago, TheOtherOne said:

Posted in the media thread, but the show only received one nomination, for "We Tapped That Ass." ("Math of Love Triangles" would have been my choice, but as I recall from the "Smash" days, a songwriting team can only submit one song for a nomination, so Tapped must be the one Bloom/Schlesinger/Dolgen went with.)

And I'm a tad surprised that that was their choice, because Rachel has said on more than one occasion that (though she loves all the songs etc. etc.) "The Math of Love Triangles" was her favorite number this season, it accomplished everything she hoped it would. But maybe they thought that "We Tapped That Ass" is an easier sell as simply a song; it follows a standard AABA structure and has two compact refrains, rather than drifting away on tangents and non sequiturs. 

[kieyra]

19 minutes ago, Rinaldo said:

And I'm a tad surprised that that was their choice, because Rachel has said on more than one occasion that (though she loves all the songs etc. etc.) "The Math of Love Triangles" was her favorite number this season, it accomplished everything she hoped it would. But maybe they thought that "We Tapped That Ass" is an easier sell as simply a song; it follows a standard AABA structure and has two compact refrains, rather than drifting away on tangents and non sequiturs. 

Totally arbitrary data point,  but "Tapped That Ass" is the one number I made my BF listen to (he's generally unmoved by musical comedy, and yes I'm with him anyway). I can't immediately remember the specifics of the Love Triangles song, but I could probably sing most of the lyrics to Tapped That Ass. It's probably lower-hanging fruit. Hard to beat "and on that ottoman, she took a lotta men ..." 

(Reading about the California wildfires today, the Santa Ana Winds song was also stuck in my head for a few hours.)

Tangentially, but the musical comedy stuff on this season of Kimmy Schmidt didn't work nearly as well for me as it might if CxG didn't exist.

Edited July 14, 2017 by kieyra

[Rinaldo]

True, though competition was different last year (it lost to a Lady Gaga song).

[Trini]

Can we talk a little about how they've seemingly changed the approach to the musical numbers? The musical numbers used to exist in a sort of "fantasy space" mostly separated from the "real" events of the show. And I know they've done it a few times in previous seasons, but now in season 3 there seems to have been a shift in how the characters react -- as in, they actually react to the musical numbers as if they're musical numbers happening in 'real life'.

It's not every song, but I really noticed it lately with Mrs. Hernandez's reaction to "My Sperm is Healthy", WhiJo and Nathaniel asking Josh to join in with "Hot Fit Guys...", and Rebecca's reprise of "New Guy" actually mentioning that it's a reprise. They're playing it for comedy, and it is funny when it happens, but I kinda liked the songs were (mostly) separate from everything else going on.

[TheOtherOne]

Maybe this belongs in the Music thread more than the Media one.

[Glory]

On 1/29/2018 at 12:39 AM, Trini said:

Can we talk a little about how they've seemingly changed the approach to the musical numbers? The musical numbers used to exist in a sort of "fantasy space" mostly separated from the "real" events of the show. And I know they've done it a few times in previous seasons, but now in season 3 there seems to have been a shift in how the characters react -- as in, they actually react to the musical numbers as if they're musical numbers happening in 'real life'.

It's not every song, but I really noticed it lately with Mrs. Hernandez's reaction to "My Sperm is Healthy", WhiJo and Nathaniel asking Josh to join in with "Hot Fit Guys...", and Rebecca's reprise of "New Guy" actually mentioning that it's a reprise. They're playing it for comedy, and it is funny when it happens, but I kinda liked the songs were (mostly) separate from everything else going on.

I think they've done this all along. I'm thinking of Paula singing Face your Fears and Rebecca's "what's happening?" comments. 

Also, WhiJo during the Flooded with Justice number.  

[sweetcookieface]

Now that season 3 is over, Vulture updated its ranking of CEG's musical numbers. I'm surprised by a lot of the choices (especially the high placement of some of the S3 songs), but of course, these lists are always subjective. It did get me wondering about other people's rankings. Off the top of my head, my top 10 would look something like this (not in any particular order... although my favorite is probably between the first two):

1. Math of Love Triangles
2. A Diagnosis
3. JAP Battle
4. After Everything I've Done for You (Paula's version)
5. Feeling Kinda Naughty
6. Tapped That Ass
7. We'll Never Have Problems Again
8. Ping Pong Girl
9. End of the Movie
10. Let's Generalize About Men

Curious what others' peoples favorites are. Vox has a list as well with a totally different ranking.

On 2/12/2018 at 12:29 PM, TheOtherOne said:

Maybe this belongs in the Music thread more than the Media one.

I SO wanted to go to this, but tickets sold out in a day! Bummer.

[Irlandesa]

I'm more aligned with vox's rankings. 

[Rinaldo]

I agree with @Glory -- there hasn't been any change in the presentation of the musical numbers. Right from the start, some (particularly the spoofs of particular videos) have been fantasy, others have been happening between characters in "reality" (right back to the pilot, with "West Covina" and especially its reprise).

My own favorite ranking of the songs (she just ranked 25 from all the seasons) is Allison Shoemaker's listing, by a mile. She really knows what she's talking about, even if I'd quibble on one or two. The worst, as usual, is Glen Weldon's for NPR (I refuse to link to it).

[allonsyalice]

I think my top ten from all three are

1 The Math of Love Triangles

2 Love Kernels

3 Sexy Getting Ready Song

4 Girl in Love

5 Settle for Me

6 Getting Bi 

7 Strip Away My Conscious 

8 Jap Battle

9 I Give Good Parent

10 Heinous Bitch

But I like seeing othering people's rankings of the songs! For me its the ones that I like to sing along to, I have on my pregame playlist or the ones that really resonated with me. (Like I still can't believe they just had a middle age man so happily declare his bisexuality in song. It's still amazing to me.)

None of the numbers from season 3 really stood out to me but I'd put I Go To The Zoo in my top 15. 

[Trini]

My rankings of the theme songs are... in chronological order. I liked the season 1 theme the best, then each new one wasn't as good as the previous.

----

But about the most recent episode: they didn't allow "Period Sex" but then we had a couple of songs about Rebecca's yeast infection symptoms? Are they softening up?  ;-P

[sweetcookieface]

Just wanted to throw a little love to Love’s Not a Game - one of the standouts across all four seasons, particularly when you factor in the overall production (choreography, scale, costuming, etc). I was feeling disappointed about the quality of the songs this season, so this was a much needed panacea.

So far, my ranking of the best season 4 songs would look something like this:

1. Love Is Not a Game

2. Don’t Be a Lawyer

3. What You Missed While You Were Popular

4. The Darkness

5. Trapped in a Car

Edited April 3, 2019 by sweetcookieface

[scrb]

I enjoy most of the musical interludes in the show overall but some of the numbers are a little too on the nose or too tongue in cheek to take seriously as a way t9 depict the emotional states of the characters.

They cast here obviously are very talented singers and dancers but I don’t think I ever got the euphoric charge that I recall from the Buffy musical episode, so long ago.

That cast didn’t have anywhere near the chops of this CEGF cast but I guess Wheadon, despite being an amateur songwriter, just wrote better songs which fit perfectly with what his characters were going through at the time.

Some of it was transcendent while most of the CEGF numbers are fun and very competently written and performed.

[sweetcookieface]

I thought it would be fun to hear what people's thoughts were re: each character's best song. Off the top of my head, my list would look something like this:

Rebecca: This is the hardest given the sheer number of songs she's performed, but I think it would be between "Math of Love Triangles" and "A Diagnosis" (although "Love Kernels," "Feeling Kinda Naughty, "JAP Battle," and a number of others rank pretty high up for me).

Paula: I'd probably have to go with "After Everything I've Done for You," although I also love "First Penis I Saw" for the sheer exuberance of that performance. 

Josh: "Tapped That Ass," but if I had to pick a solo number it would easily be "Ping Pong Girl."

Greg: Greg's performances are my favorite (along with Rebecca's) - unlike the other characters, I can't think of any number of his that I didn't enjoy. My favorite would be either "Tapped That Ass" or "I Could if I Wanted To" (although "Shit Storm" has grown on me a lot and "Settle for Me" is a classic). 

Nathaniel: "Let's Have Intercourse"

Valencia: Honestly, I don't care for any of her solo numbers. If I had to pick one, I guess it would be "I"m So Good at Yoga," but her more memorable numbers are "Friendtopia" and "Let's Generalize About Men"

Heather: Same as Valencia, although I kind of enjoy "Stuck in the Bathroom" and the "Settle for Me" reprise (slight as it is).

Daryl: Not a big fan of his songs, but "You're My Best Friend (And I Know I'm Not Yours)" is sweet and understated (not words I'd use for most Daryl songs).

[Domestic Assassin]

My favorites off the top of my head:

Rebecca: You Stupid Bitch

Paula: Face Your Fears

Greg: What'll It Be? or I Could If I Wanted To

Josh: Head in the Clouds

Nathaniel: Let's Have Intercourse

Daryl: You're My Best Friend

Valencia: Women Gotta Stick Together

[Nancybeth]

My faves by character:

Rebecca: You Stupid Bitch or I'm Just a Girl in Love

Paula: Paula's Turn

Darryl: Gettin' Bi

Josh: Ping Pong Girl or I've Got My Head in the Clouds

Valencia: Women Gotta Stick Together

Heather: The Moment is Me

Nathaniel: I Go to the Zoo

Greg: Tie between Settle for Me and I Could If I Wanted To...oh and It was a Shit Show too. Dang, Greg had some good ones!

And honorable mention goes to Josh Groban for The End of the Movie!

[sweetcookieface]

Vulture updated its ranking of all Crazy Ex-Girlfriend songs. I don’t necessarily agree with it, but I guess it’s a testament to the quality of this show that every list I’ve seen has a totally different song ranking. Every song seems to have its fans.

Personally, I think Feeling Kind of Naughty (one of my favorites) is ranked unconscionably low (125 out of 129!). A few others are also severely underrated – e.g., Friendtopia (84), The Darkness (74), I Have Friends (72), West Covina (71), and Love Kernels (40). Math of Love Triangles and A Diagnosis did pretty well (24 and 23, respectively), although I personally think they’re Top 5 material.

Conversely, I think several Season 4 songs were ranked too high, including I’ve Always Never Believed in You (47), Time to Seize the Day (31), I Want to Be a Child Star (29), Forget It (21), and Gratuitous Karaoke Moment (16). Maybe they’ll grow on me.

[Rinaldo]

I have some disagreements with the Vulture listing, but it's one of the better jobs of that sort -- most of the songs I consider obviously superior are well up in the rankings. Glen Weldon's for NPR, on the other hand, is unforgivable -- he leaves "Settle for Me" off his actual list completely.

As for my own choices:

Rebecca: "The Math of Love Triangles" (and its late reprise!) first, but also "You Stupid Bitch."

Paula: "After Everything I've Done for You (That You Didn't Ask For)."

Josh: "Ping Pong Girl," "I've Got My Head in the Clouds," and my first love, "A Boyband Made Up of Four Joshes."

Greg: "Settle for Me" is the best piece of songwriting they've done, just as a song; lyric aside, it could belong to the classic American songbook. Also "What'll It Be?"

Nathaniel: "Let's Have Intercourse," but "I Go to the Zoo" has been bumped way up the list for me by the series finale.

Valencia and Heather: They've been great on the show, but for me, both have had their best solo moments in bigger ensemble numbers. If pressed to choose, then respectively "Women Gotta Stick Together" and "The Moment Is Me."

Darryl: "Gettin' Bi." Though I must add that "How To Clean Up" will never not crack me up.

Best Duet: "We Tapped That Ass."

Best Trio (plus ensemble): "No One Else Is Singing My Song."

Best Supporting-Character Song: "Don't Be a Lawyer," with a smile for "George's Turn."

Best Guest-Soloist Song: Three-way tie! Eric Michael Roy for "Santa Ana Winds," Josh Groban for "The End of the Movie," and Chester Gregory for "Real-Life Fighting Is Awkward."

Best Breaking of the Fourth Wall: Now and forever, "Who's the New Guy?"

Best Big-Group Number: I, like Scott Michael Foster, like these the best of all, and there have been several great ones. I'll choose "Where's Rebecca Bunch?", "The Group Mind Has Decided You're in Love," and "Love's Not a Game" (which is also White Josh's only real solo, but a wonderful one for him).

[sweetcookieface]

On 4/12/2019 at 5:43 PM, Rinaldo said:

I have some disagreements with the Vulture listing, but it's one of the better jobs of that sort -- most of the songs I consider obviously superior are well up in the rankings. Glen Weldon's for NPR, on the other hand, is unforgivable -- he leaves "Settle for Me" off his actual list completely.

Yeah, despite my quibbles, I agree. Vulture's Top 25 is really solid. And the only choice that left me completely befuddled was ranking Feeling Kind of Naughty as the fifth worst song. But most of the other rankings and Top 10 lists I've seen for this show have seemed completely random.

Quote

Best Supporting-Character Song: "Don't Be a Lawyer," with a smile for "George's Turn."

This show has done really well by its third-tier supporting characters. Honestly, I like the numbers by Jim ("Don't Be a Lawyer"), Tim ("Buzzing from the Bathroom"), George ("George's Turn" and "What You Missed While You Were Popular"), and White Josh ("Love's Not a Game," if you count that as his) way more than the solo outings from Heather, Valencia, and Daryl.

[SomeTameGazelle]

On 4/12/2019 at 5:43 PM, Rinaldo said:

I have some disagreements with the Vulture listing, but it's one of the better jobs of that sort -- most of the songs I consider obviously superior are well up in the rankings. Glen Weldon's for NPR, on the other hand, is unforgivable -- he leaves "Settle for Me" off his actual list completely.

I find the Vulture listing so long as to be overwhelming, so I haven't made it very far up it. The bottom of the list has some things I had completely forgotten about ("Duh", "Greg's Drinking Song"), things I remember disliking ("Farewell, Fair Mustache" would have been at the bottom of my personal list) as well as some things I think about all the time ("I Feel Like This Isn't About Me"). And if I stop to listen to the songs I get very bogged down in wishing for a full-on Consumer Reports-style review with points along different scales. This is chiefly because there seem to be quite a number of songs that Vulture rated low on the grounds that they revealed how shallow Josh's thoughts tended to be when that was a significant part of the point. In my list I think I would give more weight to how the song fit into the plot and illuminated the character who is singing.

Edited April 14, 2019 by SomeTameGazelle

[bijoux]

Has anyone figured out the point of the season 4 credits song? Because I've just finished the first seasons and I completely forgot about how that song paied off in a huge way in the season finale. It was brilliant. Has someone figured out something amazing about the season four song that's escaped me? 

[SomeTameGazelle]

9 hours ago, bijoux said:

Has anyone figured out the point of the season 4 credits song? Because I've just finished the first seasons and I completely forgot about how that song paied off in a huge way in the season finale. It was brilliant. Has someone figured out something amazing about the season four song that's escaped me? 

Not as far as I know. I was intrigued when they announced that they were planning to have a different theme for every episode in season 4, and very let down when it turned out that they only changed the Other Rebecca gag at the end.

I am just going to paste the lyrics here though in case anyone has any thoughts.
 

Quote

Meet Rebecca!
She's the coolest girl in the world
Wait, wrong Rebecca
It's this one over here

She's spunky, she's sweet, a generous friend
Oh, but there she looks kinda mean
Okay, she's snarky, sarcastic, and a ... what?
You know, we're not really seeing a common theme

Meet Rebecca!
She's too hard to summarize
So let's go back to Other Rebecca

[insert random stupid irrelevant comment from Other Rebecca here]

[Domestic Assassin]

I think it was something along the lines of Rebecca meeting Rebecca, i.e. Rebecca figuring out who she is.

[scrb]

15 hours ago, bijoux said:

Has anyone figured out the point of the season 4 credits song? Because I've just finished the first seasons and I completely forgot about how that song paied off in a huge way in the season finale. It was brilliant. Has someone figured out something amazing about the season four song that's escaped me? 

Seems like Rachel looses a little feminist credit by showing the hot girl as vapid.

[Rinaldo]

It never occurred to me that the season 4 theme song was obscure; maybe I'm weird, but it made sense to me right away. This is what I take away, and I think I saw something from Rachel online that supported some of it, but I can't find the quote now so maybe I imagined that. Anyway:

1. Like the season 1 theme, and unlike the middle two, this is a parody of a particular familiar kind of sitcom theme song: in this case, the "meet our heroine -- she's cute and happy and fun, and we're going to have a great time with her!" kind of ditty. "Who can turn the world on with her smile?"
2. Part of the parody is to point out that people like that don't really exist: real people (Rebecca in particular) are complicated, contradictory, not to be summed up in a simplistic way. (But we as viewers tend to prefer to watch the simplified version, so let's get back to "other Rebecca.") 
3. The words are specifically pertinent to season 4, because this is the season that's all about Rebecca figuring out what she wants and who she is -- getting to know herself, or "meet herself," so to speak.

That's how it seems to me, anyway.

[SomeTameGazelle]

On 4/15/2019 at 10:06 PM, Rinaldo said:

It never occurred to me that the season 4 theme song was obscure; maybe I'm weird, but it made sense to me right away. This is what I take away, and I think I saw something from Rachel online that supported some of it, but I can't find the quote now so maybe I imagined that. Anyway:

1. Like the season 1 theme, and unlike the middle two, this is a parody of a particular familiar kind of sitcom theme song: in this case, the "meet our heroine -- she's cute and happy and fun, and we're going to have a great time with her!" kind of ditty. "Who can turn the world on with her smile?"
2. Part of the parody is to point out that people like that don't really exist: real people (Rebecca in particular) are complicated, contradictory, not to be summed up in a simplistic way. (But we as viewers tend to prefer to watch the simplified version, so let's get back to "other Rebecca.") 
3. The words are specifically pertinent to season 4, because this is the season that's all about Rebecca figuring out what she wants and who she is -- getting to know herself, or "meet herself," so to speak.

That's how it seems to me, anyway.

"Phyllis -- it sure isn't you."

I don't disagree with your take, but (and I think I am on a broken record about this) the whole season I felt that Other Rebecca's non sequiturs undermined rather than underscored the theme. And because the themes in the first 3 seasons had been so on point and paid off really well, I was sort of hoping that maybe somehow I was wrong about that and there would be some kind of unexpected payoff to the season 4 theme, or the non sequiturs, especially as Rebecca got healthier. But as far as I can tell, Other Rebecca was also somewhere between creepy and bonkers every week and so there was no rational reason why the chorus that couldn't handle Rebecca Bunch thought it would prefer Other Rebecca. Was it that they knew Rebecca Bunch too well and only imagined that Other Rebecca was less complicated because they didn't know her at all? If that was the point, I would have liked to see the chorus come to terms with Rebecca Bunch eventually, because while Rebecca was getting better, it was hard to see "her" chorus continually and repeatedly reject her for someone who was apparently appealing . . . until she opened her mouth.

[Rinaldo]

The chorus goes away the moment they're done singing, so they never become aware of the stuff that comes after? I think I actually did react somewhat like that: there's the song, then it's over, and then we the audience (and on two occasions the crew) learn that Fabulous Girl (as she's billed) has her own issues. It made sense to me without thinking about it much. If I had an issue with any of the four theme songs, it was actually #3 (I don't accept song titles with slashes 🙂 ), but I see that it works for others.

[Rinaldo]

I haven't seen any postings about the two concerts at Radio City Music Hall this week. I attended the second of them, Wednesday the 15th at 9 p.m., and enjoyed myself greatly. It might be of interest to some to see what they performed at these final appearances (no programs were handed out) so here's the running order. Assume that songs were performed by the obvious person unless I say otherwise, and that some were abbreviated. And I'm not going to get into all the patter between songs, or the visual bits that were introduced.

Participants: Rachel, Donna Lynne, Vincent, Vella, Gabrielle, Scott, Pete, Erick Lopez, Michael McMillian, Burl Mosely, Danny Jolles, with 5-piece band including Andrew & Jack, and contributions from Aline and Kat (the latter as backup dancer in a couple of numbers). Plus a special guest appearance...

• No One Else Is Singing My Song (bringing the whole cast on one by one during the "but that's impossible..." section, thereafter leading to)
• West Covina (no final pretzel)
• I’m a Good Person (including a minute of bad standup by “Dr. Roth” – her husband Dan Goor)
• Maybe This Dream
• A Fuckton of Cats (backed by everyone else in cat ears doing the cat lines)
• I’ve Got My Head in the Clouds (complete)
• The Math of Love Triangles (with David Hull doing all the chorus stuff, except for “Lady, we’re all gay” for which the band chimed in as well; and David ostentatiously provided her final high note)
• JAP Battle (Rachel & Aline, with Donna & Pete at the sides as originally)
• Let’s Generalize About Men
• Fit Hot Guys Have Problems Too (when Scott and David ripped off their shirts, they were wearing undershirts with muscles drawn on; but when Vinny joined them, he was genuinely shirtless and then ripped off his pants; they made a "bit" out of his having misunderstood during rehearsal)
• Women Gotta Stick Together (Gabrielle, with Lin-Manuel Miranda as backup -- which worked out to be him being appalled at the mean things she was singing, and apologizing to each woman in the audience who got insulted, one after another)
• Gettin’ Bi (everyone backing Pete up with pretend instruments, as on the TV concert)
• The Sex Medley: Sexy Getting Ready Song (Erick, shirtless, did a bit of the rap) -- Period Sex (short fragment) -- Sex with a Stranger -- Oh My God I Think I Like You (with Danny, who then told her “freeze!” so he could perform ->) -- George’s Turn (interrupted by Scott's entrance saying “unfreeze” which elicited Danny's “Son of a…” disappointment) -- Let’s Have Intercourse -- Strip Away My Conscience (with others as backup Fosse dancers) -- We Should Definitely Not Have Sex Right Now -- The Buzzing from the Bathroom (complete!) -- My Sperm Is Healthy (with Pete's 2 "reluctant" teenage sons as sperm)
• The Miracle of Birth (as an “interlude” in which Andrew & Jack recalled this being one of the handful of cases in which Rachel was too busy to take part in writing the song, so it was up to them to use their expertise on giving birth; Donna wandered in skeptically near the end, and finally sang the last section with them)
• The Moment Is Me (Rachel announced that this would be a fulfillment of a dream: “Vella Lovell and… the Rockettes!” but the Rockettes turned out to be cast members in gold short-skirted costume)
• A Diagnosis
• I Go to the Zoo (with others in animal masks, and Erick as the aquarium guard)
• Friendtopia
• Face Your Fears (Donna being eventually joined by everyone else in choir robes; big finish as if this was the end of the concert, then everyone onstage waved and left so we could applaud the empty stage for 2 or 3 full minutes till the band returned... and finally Burl bounded out for…)
• Don’t Be a Lawyer (with Gabrielle and Kat doing the choreography behind him, eventually joined by Vinny and David)
• You Stupid Bitch (and yes, we all sang along at the appropriate moment -- that was a thrill!)
• Heavy Boobs (Rachel eventually joined by everyone with big bras over their costumes)

And then it was really over.

Edited May 18, 2019 by Rinaldo

[angora]

Thanks for sharing that, Rinaldo - sounds like an amazing time!

[sweetcookieface]

I was there too! Great recap by Rinaldo. I love that they packed in so many songs (way more than the televised concert special) and gave supporting characters like George, Jim and Tim moments to shine. Also, the performance of Heavy Boobs, a song I've never really cared for, was pretty epic.  

[SusieQ]

I was there, too with my college age kid. And it was fabulous! The place went nuts when Lin came out.

They really did get lots of songs in. Thanks Rinaldo for listing them. I'm really going to miss this show.

[Rinaldo]

I bet LMM is the reason for the odd 9 p.m. starting time for the second concert only. He probably had a commitment beforehand -- he's a busy man.

I think we all need a Rockettes photo:

(This was shared by Vinny on his Twitter. The first four to join Vella wore the full costume, the rest just added a piece to their regular clothes.)

Edited May 18, 2019 by Rinaldo

[Good Queen Jane]

Wow, what a great concert! I wish it had been filmed and put on DVD. I'd buy a copy!

[Rinaldo]

I should mention that I've now been told (by a friend who was there the first night) that there were some slight differences between the two concerts, aside from starting an hour later on Wednesday.

Skylar Astin was there on Tuesday, and did his Springsteen number as his solo. "A Diagnosis" was added on Wed. to fill that slot. Also Dan Goor (Dr. Roth) wasn't there Tues. -- I guess Rachel was telling the truth when she told us he'd flown in from LA that very day. And two couples got engaged onstage Tuesday, none Wednesday.

Also my friend said that there were a lot of audience members in costume, whereas I saw hardly any -- really only the two girls just ahead of me in line (flown in from Colorado!) who were wearing "Love's Not a Game" fedoras, suspenders, and ties. In his words, the first-nighters included

Quote

Several cacti, four girls in “Let’s Generalize About Men” outfits,  several “Math of Love Triangles” dresses, Emory shirt Greg, heavy boobs Rebecca (those last two were the second couple to get engaged at the show; one of the girls in the first couple was dressed in a math-of-love-triangles-outfit), and even a few “We’ll Never Have Problems Again” duos!

So that's probably more documentation on this matter than can be found anywhere else online!! 🙂 

Edited May 24, 2019 by Rinaldo