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What’s Your Favorite 1970s song? Stars of the Broadway Musical Disaster! Reveal Their Picks
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Earthquake. The Towering Inferno. The Poseidon Adventure. Airport. Who remembers those classic disaster movies from the 1970s?
Imagine a musical that plays hilarious tribute to all the disaster films from that polyester and glitter era? That means tidal waves, fires, sharks, killer bees, earthquakes, piranhas and giant rats. Combine that with a golden-voiced cast of Broadway veterans singing cherished 1970s songs. Welcome to the new musical Disaster!
Set on a floating casino/disco in New York’s Hudson River, we meet a barrage of wacky and wonderful characters. There’s the ernest feminist news reporter, a broke disco diva, an unscrupulous casino owner and more as their lives intertwine on this catastrophe barge.
And the music? The show is chock full of more than 40 songs that defined that the era, from disco hits to ballads to pop to rock. “I wanted the songs from the 1970s to advance the plot,” says Seth Rudetsky who stars in and co-wrote Disaster! with the show’s director Jack Plotnick. Expect to hear “Knock on Wood,” “Sky High,” “Hot Stuff,” “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours,” “Torn Between Two Lovers,” “I Will Survive,” “Alone Again Naturally,” “When Will I Be Loved,” “Hooked on a Feeling” and on and on and on.
Parade asked the superstar cast of Disaster! to share their favorite 1970s songs. Here’s what they said.
Roger Bart: That’s an impossible question to answer. There are so many amazing songs. The one that comes to my mind as an absolute fave is Stevie Wonder‘s “I Wish.” I love it so much because the song is about reminiscing on childhood and screwing up. I love it because it makes me want to dance as soon as it begins. And I love it because Stevie Wonder manages to compose and sing with such unbridled joy and it is so incredibly infectious.
Kerry Butler: My favorite is anything by Donna Summer, maybe “Last Dance.” I would put on shows in my backyard and sing ALL of her songs with my friends. The tickets cost a quarter.
Kevin Chamberlin: It’s a tie between “Heartbeat, It’s a Love Beat” and “I’d Really Love To See You Tonight.” Those were my first two 45 RPM records that I ever bought with my own money. The melodies are insanely catchy and infectious. I first heard them on my AM radio that sat on my bedside table. They were so catchy that I jumped on my bike and rode down to the mall to purchase them. I then lip-synched both records in front of a mirror in my room for days.
Adam Pascal: Such a hard question to answer. The 1970’s are arguably the best decade for rock music. But I might have to say “Stairway to Heaven.” It captures everything I love about rock music: epic song structure, beautiful melody, blistering vocals and virtuoso guitar playing. [I adore the lyric] “there’s a lady who’s sure, all that glitters is gold. And she’s buying a stairway to heaven.”
Faith Prince: “Then Came You” by The Spinners with Dionne Warwick. Singing it always made me feel so happy. There are these funny lyrics like “When I first met ya” and “I can’t live without ya,” that I just always thought were so fun. My friend Tommy Cook and I had a gig every Friday night at a steakhouse and, I still think of the song to this day, because it was one of our duets and made me feel so happy.
Rachel York: There are so many songs from the ’70s that were truly incredible! It’s hard to pick just one. I did, however, campaign to have “I Will Survive” in the show so that’s definitely in my top 10. The lyrics to “I Will Survive” express so perfectly what one dreams of saying to that insensitive jerk who left you devastated after a break up. We’ve all been there. You could say one’s dignity is seemingly and instantly restored by singing that song.
But I also love “Imagine” by John Lennon and “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen. Thinking back, as a kid growing up in the ’70s, my favorites were “I Think I Love You,” “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” “Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves,” “Tie a Yellow Ribbon,” “Dancing Queen,” …the list goes on.
Jennifer Simard: My favorite song from the 1970s? This is like asking a mother which of her children is her favorite but mine is 100% Aerosmith‘s “Dream On”—sorry other kids.
The frosting reason is I’m from New England, as is Aerosmith, but the delicious gooey cake reason is everything else! I’m talking to the readers here: Please download the lyrics. Read them as you watch this video. Steven Tyler wrote this song at 24 and it’s poetry. The song is art. It is rage, pain, joy and hope all at once.
Baylee Littrell: Michael Jackson ‘s “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough” is a real catchy song. I love Michael Jackson’s music. It’s all about the beat and I love the guitar solo. The first time I heard it was when I was playing Michael Jackson’s game Just Dance on my Wii game system. Once I heard it I was hooked!
Lacretta Nicole: One of my favorite songs from the ’70s is “Electric Slide.” I love it because my mom and I would dance to it. I love a good line dance. I loved it more when I saw my mom do the Electric Slide at a family cook out. She had the look of pure joy on her face. On top of that, generations of family were having a good time dancing to that classic song.
Learn more about Disaster! here.
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