Favorite Songs From Musicals #13: Everything Stays The Same

Yay, A Tale of Two Cities, my second favorite stage musical!! I think that a big reason this musical didn't do well on Broadway though, was because it didn't offer anything new for the audience. Bloody revolution and social justice themes? Les Miserables did that. Tragic impossible love story? The Phantom of the Opera did that. That's not the musical's fault, it just means that it didn't have enough fresh or original enough to make people want to flock to the theater. I mean, I dislike Urinetown, but even I understand that it's original enough to be successful.
All that having been said, this song is like nothing I've ever heard in a musical before. And it's awesome.
There is a lot going on in this song, and it's a little hard to visualize it all in your mind if you don't know what exactly is happening in the story. Basically, what's going on is that the Bastille was just stormed, and the Revolution has begun. At first the people are idealistic about the outcome, but as time goes on they wonder 'what happened to tomorrow', and why everything is still the same as before the Revolution. It's very powerful, and I love the eerie waltz tempo that constantly surfaces. It's a very strong opening for Act 2.

What happened to tomorrow?

Tell us just who to blame

Villains may come and they may go

But everything stays the same!