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On Broadway

 I recently panned Maury Yeston's "Titanic," because the writing seemed cartoonish and dull. ("Everything is gorgeous in the Grand Salon....Stunningly appointed for the cream....Thousands of bucks gets a trip deluxe without par!!!!")


But I think Yeston used more discipline when he wrote "Unusual Way," from "Nine." Here, a guy (Guido) is hearing from his mistress, Claudia:

You don't know what you do to me; 
You don't have a clue.
You can't tell what it's like to be me
Looking at you.
It scares me so that I can hardly speak...

The use of parallel structure conveys a sense of exasperation: "You don't. You don't. You can't."

Ambivalence is suggested through apparently contradictory thoughts:

In a very unusual way
I think I'm in love with you.
In a very unusual way
I want to cry...

And, again, here:

In a very unusual way
I owe what I am to you.
Though at times it appears I won't stay,
I never go...

Nothing is resolved. This is a terrific version by Laura Benanti:

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