Low male voice repertoire in contemporary musical theatre: a studio and performance guide of selected songs 1996-2020 by

Example 4.1. Semi-Occluded CT-dominant Vocalise for Access Above Secondo Passaggio. 
Songs in a Similar Style. “Heal Their Hearts/Freedom” from Riverdance, “Nowhere Left to Run” 
from Amazing Grace with suggested transposition down a half-step (D minor) or whole step (C# minor). 
11
Bozeman, Practical Voice Acoustics, 27. 

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25 
Table 4.3. “Yesterday, Tomorrow and Today” 
Musical 
Music Lyrics 
LMV 
Range 
Tessitura 
Women on the Verge of a 
Nervous Breakdown (2011) 
David Yazbek 
David Yazbek 
G
2
– F
4
Intro - M 
Verses - MH 
Chorus - H 
Verse Tag - M 
Musical Theatre Style 
Song Type/Feel 
Tempo 
Legit 
Suave Up-tempo 
Allegro, 126bpm 
Vocalism 
Breathy 
Speech-like 
Character 
Belt 
Legit 
Operatic 
Sources: Data adapted from Brian Stokes Mitchell, “Yesterday, Tomorrow and Today,” track 13 on Women On The 
Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown (Original Broadway Cast Recording), Ghostlight Records, 2011, Amazon Music 
streaming audio, https://music.amazon.com/albums/B076YHFLZ8?trackAsin=B076YL22X9&ref=dm_sh_f755-
59e8-dmcp-2b0f-f0b63&musicTerritory=US&marketplaceId=ATVPDKIKX0DER; David Yazbek, “Yesterday, 
Tomorrow and Today,” (Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard, 2011): 1-6. 
Plot 
Based on the Spanish dark comedy film of the same name, this story is set in the 1980s, and is 
about “women and the men who pursue the…finding them, losing them, needing them and rejecting 
them”. This story follows Pepa, her friends, and her lovers in tales right out of a soap opera plot. Her 
lover, the philandering Ivan, has an ex-wife who is suing him. Ivan is romantically involved with his ex-
wife’s lawyer as well as has a grown-up son and potential daughter-in-law who have their own problems.
Pepa’s friend Candela is dating a terrorist, while Lucia (the ex-wife) slowly turns to plotting Ivan’s 
demise. A pregnancy is also thrown in the mix for good measure.
12
Character 
Ivan is “handsome and smooth” with a phenomenal voice, and an appetite for all women.
13
Brian Stokes Mitchell, the actor from the 2010 Broadway production, describes Ivan as “like the lawyer 
in Chicago” and “the cheating guy”. Ivan wears his heart, love, and dishonesty on his sleeve for all to 
12
“Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown,” Music Theatre International, MTI Enterprises Inc., 
accessed August 24, 2020, https://www.mtishows.com/women-on-the-verge-of-a-nervous-breakdown. 
13
Ibid. 

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26 
see. Ivan is a hard character for audiences to root for, and Mitchell states that the trick to making him 
sympathetic to the audience is “in the comedy”.
14
Context 
This piece occurs as the second number of the second act, as Ivan woos his ex-wife’s lawyer 
(Paulina). He states his philosophy on love and describes his escapades in past, present, and future 
through metaphors of flowers, sounds, food. After a brief dialogue in which Paulina attempts to resist his 
charms (cut from the published sheet music), Ivan directs his powers of persuasion one last time in a 
sultry low verse, winning her over. Paulina’s reaction to Ivan serves to negatively color her next 
interaction with Pepa, who arrives shortly thereafter seeking legal aid for her distressed friend Camila.