The 25 Best Broadway Songs About The Theater

Sometimes the only way to articulate the actor's experience is through song. Here are some of the best examples, from classic to contemporary.

1. "Give My Regards to Broadway"

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From: Yankee Doodle Dandy (originally Little Johnny Jones)

Performed by: Judy Garland

Notable lyrics: "Whisper of how I'm yearning

To mingle with the old time throng

Give my regards to old Broadway

And say that I'll be there e'er long"

2. "I'm Still Here"

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From: Follies

Performed by: Elaine Stritch

Notable lyrics: "First you're another

Sloe-eyed vamp,

Then someone's mother,

Then you're camp"

3. "Lullaby of Broadway"

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From: 42nd Street (originally Gold Diggers of 1935)

Performed by: Jerry Orbach and Company

Notable lyrics: "Come on along and listen to

The lullaby of Broadway

The hidee hi and boopa doo,

The lullaby of Broadway

The band begins to go to town,

And ev'ryone goes crazy

You rock-a-bye your baby 'round

And sleep all day"

4. "As If We Never Said Goodbye"

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From: Sunset Boulevard

Performed by: Patti LuPone

Notable lyrics: "I'm coming out of make-up

The lights already burning,

Not long until the cameras will start turning"

5. "Let Me Be Your Star"

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From: The TV show Smash

Performed by: Megan Hilty

Notable lyrics: "The drama, the laughter, the tears just like pearls

Well, they're all in this girl's repertoire

It's all for the taking,

And it's magic we'll be making

Let me be your star"

6. "I Hope I Get It"

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From: A Chorus Line

Performed by: The Original Broadway Cast

Notable lyrics: "Now I'll never make it!

I'll never make it!

He doesn't like the way I look

He doesn't like the way I dance

He doesn't like the way I..."

7. "Show People"

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From: Curtains

Performed by: Debra Monk, David Hyde Pierce, and Company

Notable lyrics: "You’re a special kind of people known as show people

You live in a world of your own

The audience paid plenty to sit there and clap

Hearing you sing, watching you tap"

8. "I Wanna Be a Producer"

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From: The Producers

Performed by: Matthew Broderick

Notable lyrics: "I wanna be a producer

Sport a top hat and a cane

I wanna be a producer

And drive those chorus girls insane!"

9. "Climbing Uphill"

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From: The Last Five Years

Performed by: Colleen Ballinger

Notable lyrics: "When I walk in the room

There's a table of men

Always men, usually gay

Who've been sitting like I have

And listening all day

To two hundred girls

Belting as high as they can!"

10. "Don't Rain on My Parade"

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From: Funny Girl

Performed by: Barbra Streisand

Notable lyrics: "I gotta fly once, I gotta try once

Only can die once, right, sir?

Ooh, life is juicy, juicy and you'll see

I'm gonna have my bite, sir"

11. "That's Entertainment"

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From: The Band Wagon

Performed by: Judy Garland

Notable lyrics: "The lights on the lady in tights

Or the bride with the guy by her side

Or the ball where she gives it her all

That's entertainment!"

12. "Why"

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From: Tick, Tick... Boom!

Performed by: Raul Esparza

Notable lyrics: When we emerged, wiped out by that play

Nine o'clock, stars and moon lit the way

I thought,

Hey, what a way to spend a day"

13. "Applause"

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From: Applause

Performed by: Bonnie Franklin and Company

Notable lyrics: "And somehow you're in charge again

And life's a ball

Trumpets all sing, life seems to swing

And you're the king of it all 'cause

You've had a taste of

The sound that says love

Applause, applause, applause"

14. "Cabaret"

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From: Cabaret

Performed by: Liza Minnelli

Notable lyrics: "What good is sitting alone In your room?

Come hear the music play

Life is a cabaret, old chum

Come to the cabaret"

15. "The Glamorous Life"

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From: A Little Night Music

Performed by: Audra McDonald

Notable lyrics: "Ordinary daughters may think life is better

With ordinary mothers near them when they choose

But ordinary daughters seldom get a letter enclosing reviews"

16. "Broadway Baby"

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From: Follies

Performed by: Elaine Stritch

Notable lyrics: "I'm just a

Broadway baby

Walking off my tired feet

Pounding 42nd Street

To be in a show"

17. "Broadway, Here I Come"

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From: The TV show Smash

Performed by: Jeremy Jordan

Notable lyrics: "The pressure it increases

The closer that I get

I could almost go to pieces

But I'm not quite there yet"

18. "42nd Street"

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From: 42nd Street

Performed by: 2001 Broadway Revival Cast

Notable lyrics: "Hear the beat of dancing feet,

It's the song I love the melody of,

42nd Street"

19. "There's No Business Like Show Business"

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From: Annie Get Your Gun

Performed by: Ethel Merman

Notable lyrics: "There's no business like show business

If you tell me it's so

Traveling through the country is so thrilling

Standing out in front on opening nights

Smiling as you watch the benches filling

And see your billing up there in lights "

20. "It's a Business"

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From: Curtains

Performed by: Debra Monk and Company

Notable lyrics: "You ask me for my motives

Well you needn't be so smart

It's a business

It isn't making history

It isn't making art

It's a business"

21. "Dance: Ten; Looks: Three"

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From: A Chorus Line

Performed by: Jessica Lee Goldyn

Notable lyrics: "Dance: ten; looks: three

And I'm still on unemployment,

Dancing for my own enjoyment

That ain't it, kid, that ain't it, kid"

22. "Rose's Turn"

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From: Gypsy

Performed by: Bernadette Peters

Notable lyrics: "Well, someone tell me, when is it my turn?

Don't I get a dream for myself?

Starting now it's gonna be my turn.

Gangway, world, get off of my runway!"

23. "Another Op'nin', Another Show"

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From: Kiss Me, Kate

Performed by: 1999 Broadway Revival Cast

Notable lyrics: "Four weeks, you rehearse and rehearse,

Three weeks and it couldn't be worse,

One week, will it ever be right?

Then out o' the hat, it's that big first night!"

24. "Welcome to the Theater"

From: Applause

Performed by: Lauren Bacall

Notable lyrics: "Welcome to the theatre, to the magic, to the fun

Where painted trees and flowers grow, and laughter rings fortissimo

And treachery's neatly done

Now you've entered the asylum, this profession unique

Actors are children playing hide-and-ego-seek"

25. "What I Did for Love"

From: A Chorus Line

Performed by: 2006 Broadway Revival Cast

Notable lyrics: "Look my eyes are dry

The gift was ours to borrow

It's as if we always knew,

And I won't forget what I did for love,

What I did for love"