Excerpts of Songs from the Musical

 

https://youtu.be/AJ9nHSyKpBQ

 This is a film of excerpts from the musical, it tells the story as well.

Brief Description of songs, several of which have spoken passages/script within them and are marked with an * The songs tell you so much more............

1.      Plague Overture - Instrumental  Setting the Scene, London 1665, the City has just endured the Plague, but it is virtually gone now.

2.      Plague Doctor’s Dance – Instrumental.  The Plague Doctor capers around the stage in a disjointed, ungainly manner, celebrating the end of his tortuous work caring for and protecting Plague victims. Some orphan children are lurking in the shadows, they are both frightened and fascinated, so they creep up on him, playing Whats the time Mr Wolf. He hears them, spins round and lifts his arms, his coat looking like wings, he growls, they scream and run away.

3       Plague Doctor*  -  All because of you   Sung by Plague Doctor and Crowd Chorus  The Plague Doctor is turned on by the angry mob who hold him responsible for losing their families and loved ones to the Plague. He is confused and hurt, as he was their Doctor, and he had the unenviable job of caring for people who had the Plague. They chase him away.

 4      William will you come a dancing,   Sung by Lizzie, William and Chorus of Londoners  Lizzie is dismayed that William will not dance with her, he finds all kinds of excuses, but inside, he is grieving for his first love, Emily, and cannot bring himself to feel frivolous.

5        Raise a glass to Emily  -  Lizzie and Londoners  Lizzie recognises William's loss, and she sings about the ghost of Emily, William's first wife who died of the Plague, who seems to come between them.

6        Haul away Joe  - Sailors from Press Gang and chorus-Londoners The sailors sing a shanty as they march in  looking for likely young men they can grab for the Press Gang.

7        Oh No Not Now - William and chorus  The Press Gang see William and grab him, Lizzie and William sing while he struggles with the Press Gang, but they take him away despite Lizzie's wails and pleading.

8        The Skipping Song – Children They  are playing in the street, Skipping, and as the skip they sing a funny tongue in cheek song telling more and more bizarre stories of how their families died in the Plague

9        Possibly – Sung by Lizzie A sad, poignant song as her husband has been taken by the Press Gang

10       Fire – The Watchmen A DRAMATIC, POWERFUL song describing the fire as it rages and spreads across London, they call out for people to escape, they run through the streets in their attempts to save everyone

11       Fire Instrumental* with voice over by Samuel Pepys, John Evelyn, Lizzie and William. This dialogue over dramatic music describes the effect of the fire and describes how the fire took peoples houses, the noise, the smoke, the fear

12      Off to see the King – Samuel Pepys and Chorus of Londoners Samuel Pepys, as a diarist felt he had to see the fire for himself, and walked around London to see what was happening, and filled with self importance, he took it upon himself to make his way to the Palace of Whitehall to inform the King. Through his journey, he pushes people out of the way, informing them of his importance, even taking a barge a family was actually getting in to..

13      Court Dance  Whilst courtiers dance, Pepys, Wren, King and Queen converse

14      The Aurora-  Sung by Wren, Hooke, King and Queen. The Royal party and guests cannot initially understand what the glow in the sky is, and discuss whether it is the enemy Dutch, an Aurora, what is it? They sing a very stately song

15      My fingers are burned once again - The Plague Doctor is demoralized by the way the people of London treated him, thery hated him, and chased him away, rather than appreciating how much he tried to save the sick people. He wants to go back to his home in Wales, where his heart lies.

16      We have to save the Tower – The troopers and Captain sing  As the troopers gallop hell for leather to save the Tower of London from blowing up, as it is the armoury, and is full of Gunpowder, rifles and explosives. They are to  blow up Churches and Buildings in the line of the fire, to act as a fire break to save the tower.

17      The Bucket Chain* – Instrumental with dialogue over The Londoners form a chain of buckets to and from the river to try and put the fire out, their desperate efforts to quench the fire by hand just aren't good enough, but they still pass buckets hand to hand in the vain hope they can save some of their homes.

18      Fire 2 – The watchmen and Londoners The fire is still raging They know that it is futile, rescue is all that is left.

19     Magical Castles and Streams* - Sung by the smart gentleman There is a house ablaze, and from the screams from within, it is apparent that Lucy, one of the orphans, is trapped inside. Our hero, the gentleman bravely rushes in to save her, putting a wet sack over his mouth and ordering nearby men to help lift up burning timbers so he can get inside to rescue her.

20     Where is my London Town – Sung by Darcy, Adam, Ellen and Lucy, and Londoners The 4 orphans stand on Parliament Hill, with hundreds of other survivors, looking down on the smouldering remains of what was once London, their home, and they mourn what was lost, the people, the places.

21.     What my heart needs - Lizzie.  She sings this beautiful power ballad, standing alone, mourning her William, who she has desperately missed sinc he was taken by the Press Gang. While she sings, the people on Parliament Hill are dejectedly looking for their families and loved ones in the crowd.

22    The Bargees of Old London Town – The Bargees –chorus-Londoners The Bargees made ridiculous amounts of money ferrying fleeing Londoners across the river, so get drunk on their ill gotten gains before the Londoners who they so greedily overcharged angrily chase them away.

23     The King's Song* - Sung by the King and Chorus of Londoners. The King pronounces to his loyal subjects that London must be rebuilt out of bricka and stone so it will not ever burn again

24    What a Cathedral* Christopher Wren, Robert Hooke, The King and Queen and the whole cast sing the chorus Wren and Hooke show The King and Queen the plans for the new London, and St Paul's Cathedral, there is also witty dialogue over the music, as it becomes apparent that King, who we know is a bit of a fop, doesn't wholly understand what he is looking at. The whole cast are on stage, and sing the big chorus together at the end of this song, a proclamation of the London to come.

25     The Finale - A Medley Sung by the whole cast Lead Characters re-iterate sections of their own songs in one BIG uptempo, rousing medley, bringing to a conclusion to every person's story into one final interlocking story, with the whole cast coming together and the big twist is revealed.