WALTZES FROM BROADWAY MUSICALS

I’m a big fan of popular waltzes. You may recall that back in February 2025, the musical blog entry featured my piano versions of ten waltzes from Broadway shows by Richard Rodgers. 

            Rodgers, writing with Oscar Hammerstein II and Lorenz Hart, was the most prolific composer of waltzes for the Broadway theatre. But he wasn’t the only waltz king on Broadway; and in today’s entry I’ve included my versions of 15 other waltzes by such prominent composers as Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern and Fritz Loewe. The shows represented range in time from the ‘20s to the ‘80s, but most are from the ‘40s and ‘50s. 

            Here, in the order presented, are these 15 waltzes (together with info about the show that each is from, the show’s date, and the composer): 

1.     THE GIRL THAT I MARRY

1946 – “Annie Get Your Gun” – Irving Berlin 

2.     TRY TO REMEMBER

1960 – “Fantasticks” – Harvey Schmidt 

3.     WUNDERBAR

1949 – “Kiss Me Kate” – Cole Porter 

4.     BAUBLES, BANGLES AND BEADS

1953 – “Kismet” – Alexander Borodin, Robert Wright and George Forrest 

5.     MY MAN’S GONE NOW

1935 – “Porgy and Bess” – George Gershwin 

6.     I STILL SEE ELISA

1957 – “Paint Your Wagon” – Fritz Loewe 

7.     YOU ARE LOVE

1928 – “Showboat” – Jerome Kern 

8.     MATCHMAKER, MATCHMAKER

1964 – “Fiddler on the Roof” – Jerry Bock 

9.     GOODNIGHT MY SOMEONE

1957 – “The Music Man” – Meredith Willson 

10.  BRUSH UP YOUR SHAKESPEARE

1949 – “Kiss Me Kate” – Cole Porter 

11.  LOOK TO THE RAINBOW

1947 – “Finian’s Rainbow” – Burton Lane

12.  BY STRAUSS

1939 – “The Show Is On” – George Gershwin 

13.  SHOW ME

1956 – “My Fair Lady” – Fritz Loewe 

14.  MEMORY

1982 – “Cats” – Andrew Lloyd Webber 

15.  COME TO ME, BEND TO ME

1947 – “Brigadoon” – Fritz Loewe

             I think you will enjoy this half-hour medley, which you can access by clicking on the play button below.