The Singing: Very few of the songs in Gigi are actually sung as had been the practice in earlier musicals. Lerner and Loewe had used a new style of delivery in My Fair Lady for Rex Harrison who was not a singer. It consists of speaking to the cadence of the music similar to the German Sprechstimme. Sometimes pitch is approximated, but not always. This is used in most of the songs of Gaston and Mamita and in the Contract Scene. It is not the same as the recitative in opera which is sung to the rhythm of speech but is not melodic. Gigi and Honoré do sing.

Little Girls: In today's more jaundiced age, these words are often criticized and sometimes censored. However, there is no prurient intent. Honoré is simply admiring the young girls in their innocence although he is looking forward to what they will become.

It's a Bore: This introduces Gaston, the already world-weary young man, tired of the falsity and superficiality of all around him. His world is not the real world. Gigi and Mamita represent the real world, and make him realize that he is missing something important.

Not Thinking: Liane represents all that is artificial in Gaston's world and envisions the future planned for Gigi. He instinctively realizes something is wrong but is not quite sure what.

Champagne: Champagne was actually invented,not by Dom Perignon but much earlier. For more on its history see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Champagne(wine).

I Remember: This is another example of the contrast of singing styles. Honoré sings his words on pitch. Mamita speaks hers.

Gigi: This song is a masterpiece and the one that Lerner always thought was the best he had ever written. Step by step, it reveals Gaston's developing realization, not only of the changes in Gigi as she grew from a teenager to a young woman, but of the changes in his own feelings toward her.

Glad I'm Not Young: Gigi was Maurice Chevalier's last major performance and, in effect, this is his swan song.

The Earth: This song replaces I Don't Understand the Parisians from the film. Gigi has been brought up among all these unreal influences and realizes that the world she is being trained for is not the one she wants to inhabit.

Paris: This song was added for the great Broadway singing star, Alfred Drake, who took the role of Honoré. It doesn't add much to the story but sets the scene for the party in the Eiffel Tour for which Gaston was the host, but did not attend.

Never Go Home: Gigi had been brought up in a very small world, that of two Paris apartments and school. Trouville is her first exposure to a world of wonders illustrated by the ocean. No wonder she doesn't want to return to her usual claustrophobic atmosphere.

Contract: This scene is completely new to the Broadway musical. It is not even hinted at in the earlier versions, but it gives a delightful glimpse of the reality behind the glittering world of the courtesan. It also contrasts the two women, Alicia with her extravagant demands and the demurring of the more rational Mamita Although much of the dialog is spoken, the entire scene is accompanied by the orchestra.

Wide World: This is also a new scene and provides a setting for Gigi to say her famous line: "I'd rather be mis'rable with you than without you".

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