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From: BwayBaby727
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  • I always, ALWAYS get chills when listening to this....its so sad, but so beautiful...

  • This is horrible quality but their voices still shine through, that's when you know you're good.

  • aaaah celia is AMAZING

  • I literally cannot stop repeating this. Not that I'm trying very hard to stop myself. BEAUTIFUL piece.

  • Was shocked when me and my friends came to the conclusion that Olive's mom isn't really in India, and left the family after getting pregnant with another man's baby, explaining her "9-month spiritual quest." Pretty much, Olive is NEVER seeing her mama again.

  • @PinDrop09 :OOOOO

  • @PinDrop09 So glad I found this. I'm actually gonna incorporate this into my performance if I can, I'm playing Olive.

  • i just LOVE this. gets me every single time!!!

  • oh my GOSHHHHHHHHHH THAT SOUNDS EXACTLY LIKE THE RECORDING.

  • @thatswhatsheread This is the original. These are the people on the soundtrack.

  • @TheRKSamuel O.o but the description says off-Broadway?

  • @thatswhatsheread The soundtrack is from off-broadway. A lot of show's soundtracks are from off-broadway. There isnt a broadway soundtrack for Spelling Bee because the broadway as not as popular as the off-broadway which was the original,

  • this sounds EXACTLY like the soundtrack. soooooooooo good live.

  • This song makes me cry every time it is done by someone who is good. Probably the best showtune every written. And it says a lot about the show which is mostly zany that it has one of the most touching moments in stage history. I love spelling bee

  • I cried ;__; this song is heartbreaking and I love it so darn much TT-TT

  • I usually have to stop this before she reads the definition of "chimerical," because it breaks my heart too much.

  • 4:58 - Eargasm.

  • I love this show. :) I'm playing Panch right now...SO MUCH FUN.

  • My favorite part is the "mama mama mama"s... especially the high one.!!!

  • doing this at our thespian district festival (:

  • @thefloorisdown There's an accented aigu.

  • She dreams that she had a black daddy :)

  • This song makes me cry every time.

  • i just got cast as olive in our little theater production of spelling bee! i am terrified of/ in love with this song!!!

  • The off-broadway cast transferred to broadway, it is the OBC, just before it got on Broadway. Not that difficult.

  • OBC????

  • @blankeyboy279 original broadway cast

    

  • I love how people laugh at the beginning assuming it's going to be something funny. That turned over pretty quickly.

  • OMG, I have heard this song live a million times, but I still cry my eyes out each time. BTW, When my theatre did it, our Olive was 5 ft and our Barfee was 6' 5"

  • absolute chills. olive is my DREAM role, but i could never do this justice.

  • @itsbridgetmolloy16 yes yew could ;D you could do it zo much justice ;D!!!!!!

  • justgot the chills so bad. over and over again

  • justgot the chills so bad

  • Oh my God. This is beautiful. I'm playing Olive this summer, and I don't even know if I can do this song justice.

  • How is this song even real? Chimerical indeed.

  • This song makes me cry every time! -3

  • i ccan feel the ghoosebumps on ymarms only the truly talented can preform this song so really really great job you guys

  • this song literally gives me goosebumps...

  • I cried when I heard this song yesterday when my classmate performed this musical

  • Do you love ME Lisa Howard?!?!?!!? >.<

  • MY CREYS

  • I am doing this show this summer and I am so honored to be playing Rona, but also Olive's mother. I am SO excited to do this duet....This video is amazing! Gives me chills every time :)

  • You should've seen the production of this from the civic theatre from my city. The drama/musical theatre teacher from my school is in it. I'm so happy to have him as my instructor. The production made it to nationals in New York for this upcoming June. It is so good.

  • definition of perfection.

  • These ARE the original Broadway cast members, from the soundtrack. They are the same people from the Tony performance. I know what they look like, I've researched the actors. :-)

  • okay...but...this says off-broadway and the cd was broadway. Me=confused :)

    Oh and @TRASHYgah ..........Definitely

  • @MrBadAttitude14 originally produced Off Broadway then made the move to Broadway with mostly the same cast. If you didn't find that out already.

  • MAMA MAMA MAMA = CHILLS CHILLS CHILLS

  • @TRASHYgah :) It's so powerful!

    This was the like the workshop, before it got transferred, so the cast is the same :) It's the original cast in the early previews.

  • please please do correct me if im wrong (in nice words please (: ) but as i see from other comments this is supposedly the people from the soundtrack. I dont believe that for 1: the date this was uloaded was in 2008 and the soundtrack was recorded in 2005, so i doubt that two-three years later they could sing it exactly the same cause i have the same soundtrack on my iPod. unfortunately i think these people are lip syncing the singing parts wonderfully. But the dad is putting his heart intoit(3)

  • @MrBadAttitude14 maybe this was recorded in 2005 or before and it didnt get posted on youtube until 2008!

  • @MrBadAttitude14 If you look at the video's info, it says this particular video was recorded December 15, 2005.

  • @MrBadAttitude14 I don't know if you have learned this by now but this IS the same cast as the recording. I know them and it is indeed them. There must have been an error in the dates that were attached to the clip but this is from the downtown production with the same cast that went to Broadway at the Circle in the Square and made the OBC recording....I promise! :) They are not lip syncing, I am certain of that. It is a boot leg that is technically an illegal recording. Glad its still here

  • god this song always makes me cry, so beautiful

  • This is one of my favorite songs, its amazing and beautiful, I cry when I hear it!! I could listen to it over and over again.

  • I cried

  • they sound JUST like the people on the soundtrack!

  • @pinkglam1311 That's because they are the people from the soundtrack...

  • @puckhiggins i knew it. lol now i look like an idiot

  • @pinkglam1311 because they ARE the people on the soundtrack...

  • Epic face at 4:06 !! she looks like a fish, but sings like an angel

  • Epic face at 4:06 !! She looks like a fish there lol

  • No one laughed during this song when we did it... I guess it's all in the presentation.

  • The blend between Olive and the mom at 5:35 is RIDICULOUS. The harmony sends chills up my extremities every time!

  • reason i love the OBC of this show!

  • don't mind me, i'm just gonna listen to this song about 39 million more times.

  • INCREDIBLE. This is one of the few musical theater songs that I have listened to OVER AND OVER and it STILL is guaranteed to give me chills and watery eyes every single time. The magic of powerful acting and song together is something that can't be replicated anywhere else and I hope we never lose it :)

  • I LOVE this song! I'm playing Olive right now, and we open tomorrow, and I'm so excited to sing this song!!

  • This is my favorite version of this song:) I get chills everytime I listen to it!

    Hopefully, I get the part of Olive so I can sing the song too:)

    it makes me cry too lol

  • This is my favorite version of this song:) I get chills everytime I listen to it!

    Hopefully, I get the part of Olive so I can sing the song too:)

  • I don't mean to be hypercritical, but how is the dad black? That makes no sense.

  • @lemonjuice0450 who cares, its called color blind casting. if he has the talent then who gives a hot damn.

  • @lemonjuice0450 The real reason is because this is a small ensemble show where almost everyone doubles as other smaller roles. I wouldn't consider this color-blind casting as I think any of the roles could be almost any race. The director probably thought this actor was better suited for this song. And who's to say that Olive doesn't have a "black" father? I don't see a problem with it at all.

  • @lemonjuice0450 Creative and artistic license. It's a play.

  • @lemonjuice0450 They aren't her "real" parents. She asks for a definition of her word and it's "fanciful, wildly unrealistic." These are her imaginary parents who love and dote on her whereas her real parents ignore her. The characters that act as her imaginary parents are the two most comforting adults involved in the bee. She turns them into her imaginary parents.

  • @geekyfam Holy crap. I always just assumed that it was those two people because they were playing multiple parts. But especially with the "she asked for a definition" and it was of something unreal... crazy. This song is incredible.

  • @lemonjuice0450 It's the same actor who plays Mitch. It's always the same actor. And, he's so good... Does it really matter? I think not.

  • This song makes my cry sooo much! I love it!

  • And btw, all those who say their crying after hearing this...good for u! Seriously.

  • Aw. It's so much more sad when u see it.

  • the first time i heard this song, i wept. oh im gay by the way! x

  • @andrew3347 you don't have to be gay to be moved by this song!

  • GOOSEBUMPS.

  • this always makes me sad, but i cant stop listening to it cuz its so good!!!!!! its a vicious circle :(

  • I don't like Olive in this....

    can anybody help me figure out why?

  • @AshleeJay090 i think she looks a little old. most people who play any of the kids, especially in high schools, kinda have something kiddish or cute about their features. and if not, they do something childish with their character's voice or mannerisms. i dont think this olive pulls of childishness very well

  • @TaylortheTuckerGirl ... except for this video is from the Off-Broadway cast, not a high school. I mean I kind of agree with you, just making that clarification is all. But in the actress' defense, at least from what I've read, the show purposefully depends on the script and not over-exaggerated mannerisms or appearances to denote a character's age, at least that's what the director has said in a note in the licensee-version of the script.

  • @iceynoah i wasnt saying that this was high school, i was just saying that high schoolers can pull off kiddish sometimes.

    and on broadway, the actor who plays chip is always making kiddish facial expressions. with olive, there is more of an inner innocence that is required. the way she looks when shes sad kind of has to have that look that children get when they're upset about something that they dont fully understand.

    i did a workshop with the writer of the show, playing logainne :)

  • @TaylortheTuckerGirl That's awesome! Like I said, I can kind of agree with you on Olive. I've always thought in the original cast lineup she lacked the level childishness the others had. Olive is kind of an anomaly in the show anyway... she's an exceptionally serious character and this song is also exceptionally serious in the context of the whole show.

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  • @TaylortheTuckerGirl i always thought olive was suposed to be less childish than the other spellers. she had grown up mostly alone, and had a difficult childhood. idk, just my perception. sound reasonable 2 you?

  • @ezioaltiar22 yeah. its hard to explain...its like, it seems she's used to it in a way, then we see that shes still just a child who needs her parents. and the childishness of her role is that she has hope that her parents will be more involved in her life, when truly and unfortunately, they aren't.

  • @ezioaltiar22 That's exactly how I perceive the character! She matured faster than she should have without parents being there and wouldn't be like the rest of the spellers. She wants her parents she's "never" had.

  • Few songs can send shivers down my spine - this one is an immediate.

    The harmonies are beautiful, the lyrics incredible, this show is so wonderful.

  • Augh, I keep crying over this song... ;_; This is perfectly done, I love it.

  • This song is so beautiful. I love it.

  • Does anyone know what Olive's high note is?

  • this song makes me cry every time.

  • I play Barfee in a production of this right now. For some reason, when listening to the soundtrack, I thought Barf sang this song. I was so disappointed when I found out I didn't. Santa Clause all over again.

  • @MichiganFriedFilms i am playing barfee in my schools production right now and i was talking to the person whos playing the dad in my play and i was like "wow i would almost trade you roles just for this one song." its so amazing.

  • LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • The thing I love most about this song is how it comes from practically nowhere in the show. In the beginning of the song, the audience is like, "wait should we laugh?" and as it goes on everyone's just blown away.

  • im going to audition fo her at my HS! :) go sharks!!

  • I'm currently assistant directing/stage managing a production of this. I'm having a blast and everyone always waits for this song to come up because it's their favorite. Don't get me wrong, it's a great song but I like Pandemonium just a touch better.

  • Lisa Howard i love you

  • This was my first experience having 5 minutes and 56 seconds of nothing but chills the entire time.

  • I may cry.

  • This song is so beautiful. =)

    My camp did this play. I wanted to sing this song, but I played Marcy.

    My friend played Olive and she brought tears to my eyes when she sang this.  :D

  • chills. chills chills chills.

  • The mom / Rona Lisa has KILLER cheekbones.

    I really don't know what I can say about this video. It's flawless. There is literally not one thing wrong with it. Well, except for the fact that I couldn't see it live.

  • To me, I think Lisa Howard is the wind that takes this song home.

  • @eatsomewalnuts i met her today!

  • there are few things better in theater than Bill Finn harmonies...it's always a treat to revisit this clip having seen this live.

  • @kmf07302 Or a Bill Finn ballad. Infinite Joy, The Music Still Plays On, etc.

  • I love this song and the cast! they all sing so perfectly and those harmonies were amazing. I feel so lucky I was able to see the show on Broadway.

  • This number would be more perfect without the Taj Mahal backdrop, I feel

  • This song is my favorite of all the songs from this musical. The harmony at the end is incredible. The song is so powerful and the characters are well developed. No one can represent them like this cast has.

  • Oh my god. This is my favorite song from the whole show and this cast performed it flawlessly!:D it gives me chills!:)

  • i love the realization of the two girls that the guy joined in. it happened at the same time, and it was PERFECT!!!

  • By far my most favorite song of the show...So good.

  • amazing

  • OMGIZZLE!!!

  • WOW how the heck did they get a video of this? Here's our version, if anyone's interested :)

    youtube.com/watch?v=K7Aqu3UPio­E

  • I love Derrick!!! I was very fortunate to meet him after a performence of Little Mermaid where he played Jetsum the hench eel. He has a really good voice and is such a nice guy! This is one of my favorite songs that he sings

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  • 4:59 always gives me chills

  • The harmonies in this song just KILL ME

  • @ThatOtherGuy1100 I just get chills!

  • This is a beautiful, but for the real gut punch, see Ivy Hays in "I Love You" posted by manoavalleytheatre!

  • Ok to those who think they're lip synching- uh, no. If you'd listened to the recorded version you'd know that. This was taken straight out of the live performance. I know live performing: this is legit. :)

  • 4:56 gives me CHILLS! That harmony is SO AMAZING.

  • i love this song, but what does it mean?

  • @Vampyr789 Olive's mom is away for 9 months in India, and her dad is supposedly coming later. She took the bus to get to the bee. At this point, Olive gets word that her dad won't make it, and she's devastated; this is the one thing she cared about enough to want her parents to be a part of it, and they let her down again. This song is the dream sequence in which her parents are abundantly affectionate towards her, and towards each other.

  • I've listened to the recording on the cd over a hundred times. This is not the recording. This is live, you can obviously tell.

  • this is one of my dream roles (olive that is) god i wish i could sing. i want this role so bad. =/

  • @Reganniccole oh my god it is so freakin hard to hit the notes where she's like if i GO to washington, will I be on my own? because if i GO.. GAH!

  • @toughcookie5454 i know right. well im suppose to start voice lessons this summer so hopefully i can improve a little.

  • I'm only slightly disappointed that you guys are using a recording, but majorly depressed because either the sound is off or you guys really didn't know the song all that well. Then again a lot of people didn't even realize this wasn't you guys singing, so... good job? Not being sarcastic either.

  • @TwilightsSecrets your a moron...this is a videotape of the the off broadway version, which btw, is most of the cast of the original Broadway. Also its off because the quality of the video. =]

  • @itsmichaelyo Maybe you should read my comment a second time because, I did say that was a possibility, but you can tell they're lip-syncing because it sounds EXACTLY like the recording.

  • @TwilightsSecrets THEY ARE NOT LIP SYNCING! your an absolute moron. The sound is lagging(look up the definition cuz you must obviously not know). And it sounds like the cd, because those ARE the people on the cd. nice job.

  • @itsmichaelyo You're incorrigible, so this conversation isn't even worth continuing, and in the future come up with a little varity in your insults.

  • @TwilightsSecrets Ok. It's the original off-broadway cast, the same as the original Broadway cast. they are quite obviously not lip-synching because it is filmed in the theatre. Also, as you can hear at 5:03, Olive's voice strains a little bit (perfectly understandable) which is evidence that it's a live performance as in a cast recording they would have re-recorded that. These are the people that are on the CD recording, so their voices are going to be the same. The sound is simply lagging.

  • @TwilightsSecrets ??

    This is the original cast.

  • @TwilightsSecrets Best reason to prove this is not the CD is simple -- the CD has a different orchestration. There is a French Horn and string quartet on the CD (rather than just Cello) that is not used in the stage production.

  • @TwilightsSecrets Troll, troll, go away, come again another day.

  • *tear*

  • this is my fav song from this show

  • OMG I like just recently learned that Derrick Baskin played Mitch Mahoney and this father role, I just saw him in Memphis and read the playbill, I love this song and him!!!!!!!!!!

  • I've listened to this song more times than I can count, and you know, EVERY SINGLE TIME I still want to just bawl from 4:55 on....so heart wrenching, and the harmonies are just breathtakingly gorgeous. Not to mention the superb vocals. WOW.

  • LOVE. there's a lag on the vid though.

  • Love this song! <3

    I'm Olive Ostrovsky in my play.

    yeee :D

  • me too :)

  • Of course it's not lipsynched. The video's just not the greatest quality.

  • OMG 4:31 -till the end

    EPIC BEAUTY

    i SAW THIS AT FOOTHILL LAST WEEKEND

    lOVE THIS sHOW!!!!!!

    mY FAVORITE sONG IN THIS SHOW =)

  • That last chord that they all sing.... Eargasum.

  • u betta sang, celia, ( JH- DSA' 96)

  • I get chills every time I see this.

  • I get to sing this song as Olive's Mom in our college production of Spelling Bee. Can't wait! =)

  • oh my god. these singers are so incredible!!!

  • Oh my god, this song is so depressing ;-;

  • im gonna play Olive in our school's musical this year and i love this song but im really nervous.. any tips?

  • im playin barfee in mine, i'm alittle nervous too, but from bein in plays for like years i kno that it just goes away right wen u get on stage

  • The audio's just slow you idiots!

  • The sync(h) IS off, and the word is "lipsync" not lipsing. :-)

  • actually, its mime...

  • I'm not sure what you mean. Someone earlier accused the actors of "lipsinging", while others noted that they were, of course actually singing, it was just the the synch was off in the video. I was agreeing with them, but also noting that the correct word is "lipsync". They are weren't miming.

  • I'm going to stick with "lipsinc", but in the end, hopefully the people who originally thought they were just moving their mouths do now realize the synch is just off. It's tiny bit like watching badly dubbed foreign films. :-)

  • no one has lipsynced in any production ive ever been in. you just dont do that in theater. you just dont.

  • Well it just happened.