Theater News

Love Songs… Nothing But Love Songs

With spring fast approaching, Bea Arthur and other fun folks share their favorite love songs with Jim Caruso.

New York City
No one loves a party more than me. In my opinion, a swell soirée is an event where the guest list is a wacked-out patchwork of personalities and quirks. This particular “when-worlds-collide” Q&A features a deliciously insane cast that I’m very proud of–a combination of faces that would cause more than a few dropped forks at Sardis or Joe Allen. With Valentine’s Day here and spring coming up, I got to thinking about songs of love and just what makes a good one. So the question at hand is: What’s your favorite love song of all time?

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Bea Arthur(Photo: Joan Marcus)
Bea Arthur
(Photo: Joan Marcus)

Bea Arthur
(On Broadway in Just Between Friends at the Booth Theater)

“A song I really adore is ‘It Amazes Me’ by Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh. ‘I’m the one who’s worldly-wise, and nothing much phases me; But to see me in your eyes, it just amazes me!’ Wouldn’t you call that the best love song ever?”

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Howard McGillin
(Starring in the title role of The Phantom of the Opera. Also releasing a new solo CD, Where Time Stands Still; To order, visit www.howardmcgillin.com)

“‘All the Things You Are,’ by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein, was the song my father sang to my mother, and it became their song. They’re both gone now, so it has a really special place in my heart. When I recorded it for the CD, I really got choked up. For a song that is now almost 60 years old, it has the most gorgeous melody I’ve ever heard. It absolutely carries me away.”

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Cy Coleman
(New CD It Started With A Dream on the Sony Classical label)

“I don’t usually have favorite anythings, but I do love an old, old song called ‘The Touch of Your Hand,’ by Otto Harbach: ‘When you shall see flowers that lie on the plain, lying there, dying for one drop of rain, then you may borrow one glimpse of my sorrow-then youll understand how I long for the touch of your hand.’ Isn’t that wonderful?”

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Peter Cincotti
Peter Cincotti

Peter Cincotti
(Appearing in the Oak Room of The Algonquin Hotel, February 12-March 2)

“My favorite love song is ‘These Foolish Things’ by Holt, Strachey, and Link. It never says I love you specifically, so the lyric has to be so clever. Another great love song is ‘I Dont Know Why I Love You Like I Do.’ I’m always amazed at a song that is so effective yet so simple. That’s my kind of song!”

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Scott Coulter
(Self-titled CD just released on the LML label)

“I love ‘Open Arms’ by Journey. I’m kidding! Please don’t print that. ‘My Foolish Heart’ is my all-time favorite love song. Most love songs are about looking for the perfect love, finding the perfect love, or losing the perfect love. This song isn’t clichéd by any means; its about that uneasy feeling right before you take the big step, when you’re excited and scared because the relationship could go either way. Plus, the melody is so haunting and the lyrics are to the point.”

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Weird Al Yankovic

“If you’d like me to choose a song from my own oeuvre, Id have to say ‘One More Minute.’ It’s pretty good: ‘I’d rather clean all the bathrooms in Grand Central Station with my tongue than spend one more minute with you.’ A nice sentiment. I also like ‘You’re Breaking My Heart’ by Harry Nilsson. It was famous for being one of the few songs they were forbidden to play on the radio when I was in college. The chorus goes: ‘You’re breaking my heart, you’re tearing it apart, so f— you.’ I also like ‘Song For the Dumped’ by Ben Folds Five. That chorus goes: I wish I hadn’t bought you dinner right before you dumped me on your front porch. Give me my money back, you bitch.”

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Click here to visit Jim Caruso’s website.