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Les Miserables is one of the most classic and well-respected musicals. Set in France during the 19th century, it tells the story of Jean Valjean, who is imprisoned for almost two decades for stealing a loaf of bread. After securing his freedom thanks to the kindness of a stranger, he works to pass on this kindness and improve the lives of himself and others. However, he is constantly pursued by Javert, a policeman, and he and the other characters are forced to deal with a revolution.
The song chosen is sung by one of the supporting characters, Eponine. She is a friend of one of the leads, Marius, and secretly has a crush on him. However, Marius falls in love with another girl named Cosette. Despite her feelings, Eponine helps Marius communicate with Cosette, putting their happiness over her own. This song, "On My Own," displays Eponine's distress.
Hamilton hit the scene in 2015 and made a big splash. Telling the story of one of our Founding Fathers, Alexander Hamilton, it uses modern rap and hip hop music in its soundtrack. One of the musical's main themes of the imporatance of legacy, focusing on the contributions, sacrifices, and mistakes made by the Founding Fathers and how that impacts how we view them today.
The song selected, "Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story" is the last song in the show. It reemphasizes the importance of legacy and asks how the audience will remember the characters, each of whom represents real people. The main woman singing in the middle and end of the song is Eliza, Hamilton's wife, and the song details how she lives after Hamilton's untimely death.
Little Shop of Horrors was created by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, the creative geniuses behind some of Disney's greatest films, including The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. The musical focuses on Seymour, a guy stuck in his poverty on Skid Row. One day, he finds an interesting plant, but after taking it to the flower shop he works at, he realizes the plant requires blood to be fed. The audience follows Seymour as he struggles between doing the right thing and giving in to the easy riches and fame the plant will give him.
Though Little Shop is a horror story, its most famous song is a love ballad between its two main characters, Seymour and Audrey. Of course, 3 songs later, their "happily ever after" is brought to ruins, but in this moment the two profess their love for each other.