Even Lady Macbeth Listens to Showtunes!

This may shock you, but the only music I listen to (or even know, for that matter), is showtunes. Therefore, all of these songs I’ve picked out are straight from Broadway. The best part is that Lady Macbeth can’t object to my “awful music taste” like the rest of you, because she’s dead. Enjoy :)

#1: I Will Prevail, Wonderland

This song comes from the musical Wonderland, which is a spin-off of Alice in Wonderland centered around The Mad Hatter. However, in this version, The Mad Hatter is a woman, and is completely set on destroying Alice, and taking control over Wonderland (a sort of reversed Wicked). In this song, The Mad Hatter is promising her rise to power- much like Lady Macbeth when she first presents her husband with the idea of killing King Duncan. This song has the perfect mix of evil and determination, which I’m sure would really get Lady Macbeth’s blood pumping (Haha get it?). The ambition demonstrated through the lyrics of I Will Prevail is an incredibly accurate description of Lady Macbeth. One line in particular sounds as though Lady Macbeth is speaking right to Duncan through the song: “You die, I thrive, and so it goes. I am the ending of your tragic fairytale”. If that doesn’t promise a brutal murder and rise to power I really don’t know what does. Just like The Mad Hatter is certain that her killing of Alice will bring her power over all of Wonderland, Lady Macbeth is sure that her killing Duncan will be the thing to bring her and her husband to power.

#2: Cell Block Tango, Chicago

First of all, this song is the epitome of a girl power song. Basically, it’s a bunch of female criminals singing about their murders, complete with a super sexy dance routine (click here to see a bunch of men try to pull it off). Therefore, I think this song is absolutely essential to Lady Macbeth’s playlist. She would fit right in with the convicts, who talk about stabbing their husbands (“he ran into my knife ten times”), killing their sisters (“it wasn’t until later, when I was washing the blood off my hands I even knew they were dead”), and poisoning traitors (“you know some guys just can’t hold their arsenic”). Also, stabbing and blood on the hands seem to be her areas of expertise. This song is in Lady Macbeth’s playlist because it showcases her thirst for blood, and because every strong independent woman needs a good girl power song (however bloody it may be).

#3: Adelaide’s Lament, Guys and Dolls.
As far as this playlist is concerned, Adelaide’s Lament is the one that seemingly does not belong. In the song, Adelaide is singing to her fiance Nathan, to whom she has been engaged for 17 years (you read that right). She’s been getting more and more frustrated with Nathan’s constant refusal to marry her, and eventually contracts a cold due to her waiting. While this may seem nothing like Lady Macbeth’s situation, I feel as though it is an appropriate song when you break it down to the basics. Essentially, Adelaide is frustrated with her husband for something that he has been doing for a long time that prevents her from getting something that she wants. However, while Adelaide wants her husband to stop stalling and a ring on her finger, Lady Macbeth wants her husband to be a little tougher (read: not so full of the milk of human kindness) and world conquest. Therefore, this song appropriately highlights Lady Macbeth’s ambition and frustrationship (relationship + frustration) with her husband.

#4: Killer Instinct, Bring it On

As far as titles go, I think this song speaks for itself. In Bring it On, Eva, a high school sophomore, has managed to take over Truman High Schools cheer team, by eliminating three other girls who stood in her way. She had the original captain transferred to a new school through blackmail, hacked the school system to change the second in lines grades to F’s, and and hired a ‘sick guy’ to give the third option mono. Based on these actions, I think it is pretty safe to say that Eva will stop at nothing to get what she wants. This is seen clearly in Lady Macbeth as well, who comes up with the idea to kill Duncan, and originally seems determined to do anything to make her husband king (although we know she will ultimately fail to carry out these actions). I also think this song is a good example of appearance versus reality, due to the fact that Lady Macbeth fails to carry out her actions while Eva is successful. Eva would likely be someone Lady Macbeth aspire to be more like: ruthless and successful. Overall, this song is a perfect match for Lady Macbeth’s cunning evil genius, and showcases her ambition.

#5: You Don’t Know, Next to Normal

This song definitely fits Lady Macbeth’s attitude near the end of the play, when she’s gone crazy because of the blood she can’t wash off of her hands. Next to Normal tells the story of a woman struggling with bipolar disorder, and the toll it takes on her family. What makes this song even more appropriate is the fact that the main character in the musical lost her son at just a few weeks old- so it supports Mrs. Genesky’s conspiracy theory. In You Don’t Know, Diana (the main character) is explaining to her husband that he has absolutely no idea what she is going through during her depressive and manic episodes. While Lady Macbeth doesn’t have bipolar disorder, the guilt of Duncan’s death seems to affect her much more than her husband near the end of the story. She no longer sleeps soundly, but instead wanders about at night, trying desperately to wash the blood off her hands. Despite her troubles, however, we are never shown any similar behavior from Macbeth. In fact, the roles have switched. Instead of Lady Macbeth being calm and wordy, Macbeth has taken over this role. I think that this song is able to encompass both Lady’s Macbeth’s panic at the situation she is in, and her feeling as though no one can truly understand what is happening to her at the moment.