My Top 5 Showtunes: Nadim Naaman
Nadim is currently starring as Raoul in The Phantom of the Opera. His solo show takes place at 2.30pm, Sunday 25th October at Above The Arts Theatre, Leicester Square. Tickets are available here.
His previous theatre credits include Titanic (Princess of Wales, Toronto), Sweeney Todd (Harrington’s Pie & Mash Shop), One Man, Two Guvnors (NT at The Theatre Royal, Haymarket) and The Sound of Music (The Palladium).
We caught up with Nadim and asked him: "If you were stranded on a desert island, which five showtunes could you not live without?"
1. "Movin' Too Fast" from The Last Five Years
I first discovered this song whilst training at the Royal Academy of Music, and then The Last Five Years was my first job as a graduate. We played one Sunday night at The Apollo on Shaftesbury Avenue, before running for a month at The Pleasance up in Edinburgh. I don't think there's a number I enjoy performing more than this. It spoke to me a lot at the time, as a young twenty-something who was embarking on his dream career, and when I sing it now it takes me back nearly a decade in an instant. Plus, it's groovy, witty, catchy as anything, and goes on a real journey of its own.
2. The Opening Sequence of Titanic
You can't beat a big opening number, and this is as good as it gets. I have been lucky enough to sing this a few times, and the scale of it is like nothing else. Maury Yeston's writing is anthemic, and when you have had a fifteen minute build-up, meeting so many characters, each with their own style and sound, the culmination into the huge final section is even more rewarding.
3. "Tonight Quintet" from West Side Story
As both a musical score and a piece of drama, I don't think you can beat West Side Story. Granted, the Romeo & Juliet adaptation is borrowed from the greatest playwright of all time, but that's just a very clever idea. This Act One finale is rousing, romantic and epic. "One Day More" from Les Miserables has a very similar effect on me, but what gives this number the edge for me is that each character's personality and background comes through so clearly in their melodies and verses. It's so cleverly written.
4. "Goodbye/Boom Boom" from William Finn's Elegies
I am a huge fan of writing that manages to successfully place you in the heart of a real event, particularly one that is so dramatic in scale. This piece of music is moving enough in isolation, but when you learn that it is based on phone call between a husband and wife on September 11th 2001, he in the World Trade Centre and she at home watching the news… It's so powerful and heart-breaking, yet also a magnificent tribute to those who died.
5. "My Friends" from Sweeney Todd
In my opinion, this is another one of the greatest musicals ever written, and this song is my stand-out from it. To me, it sounds like a stunning, intense love song, except it's about razor blades. The two vocal lines and gorgeous harmonies sound so lush together, though they are completely separate within the two characters' heads.
