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

Musical Content 
The piece opens with a quasi-recit section; triads far removed from diatonic function reflect the 
restlessness and excitement of Barry. A pulsing off-beat C
4
in the piano left-hand imitates the toiling of a 
clock while overlying harmonies find an augmented arrival to a half cadence in m. 12. After a leap into 
samba feel (mm. 13-16), the piece begins a modified song form (AA’BA’’) with a dance break inserted 
before the final sung verse. The dance break is based on the repetition of the harmonic sequence under 
each verse (A section), though the sequence is truncated on the repeat of the material. Repeated melodic 
rhythmic patterns are extrapolated below. 
13
Theatrical Rights Worldwide, “The Prom Perusal Pack.” 
14
“‘The Prom’ B’way.” 
15
“Barry is Going to Prom,” in The Prom: Vocal Selections from Broadway’s New Musical Comedy 
(Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard, 2019): 98. 
16
Dave Quinn, “This Joyous Music Video from Broadway’s The Prom Will Put a Smile on Your Face,” 
People, February 8, 2019, accessed August 13, 2020, https://people.com/theater/the-prom-brooks-ashmanskas-
exclusive. 

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Example 9.1. Rhythmic melodic patterns from “Barry is Going to Prom”. 
The first motif’s coinciding melodic material generally utilizes at least one third or fourth interval 
leap within each measure; when one takes into account the placement of the melody in relation to this 
motif’s appearance there is a high frequency of the range being within the bass or baritone zona di 
passaggio, flirting with a few notes being below or above this range.
17
The second motif’s consecutive 
triplets are in stark contrast to the syncopated samba rhythm in the accompaniment which stays in simple 
meter. It may prove a challenge to switch in and out of compound meter as other portions of the melody 
involve the eighth note subdivision. The final rhythm occurs frequently in the second bar of a phrase, 
adding an emphasis in moving towards the next downbeat. Additional analysis can be found in Table 9.4. 
Table 9.4 Compositional Sections of “Barry is Going to Prom”