Reports indicate that a showstopping 11 o’clock number from a new Broadway musical gets loud, quiet, and then loud again. “At the start of the song the protagonist’s emotions are completely raw, so of course she’s got to sing loudly," explained composer Olivia Anderson of her groundbreaking decision to toy with volume. “Then, of course, she becomes vulnerable, and there’s no better way to express this feeling than going all the way down to a stage whisper. We stay here for a while while the protagonist figures some stuff out, and then, after a violin plink, she says something she just whispered. Then she says the same thing again, but here’s the twist: this time she belts it.” At press time, the song ended with two trumpet notes.

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