Save A Piece Of Pizza For Me

by Teresa Jennings

The easiest way to perform this piece is just sing it, making very sure it's enunciated well so that the humor is understood. The melody is very simple and singable and lends itself well to a bit of exuberance. And of course, since the subject is pizza, the style just had to be a tarantella. However, if you want to make this more of a featured piece, you might consider dressing it up a bit by making it a mini skit.

Here's one idea: Have a person standing front and center, singing alone or along with the rest of the choir behind her. She can be singing to another actor or actors, or divide her attention. For example, she says "Save a piece of pizza for me," to the others each time, then continues the rest facing the audience. The times she faces the audience are when the others are hearing what she is asking for. This is a great opportunity for some serious hamming it up. The others can continue to try to bring pizza to her, but are interrupted each time. They then scramble and regroup trying to present what she wants. Each time, they begin, they have to stop and go back. It could be quite funny if you have the right actors/comedians. The trick will be to still make sure the lyrics are understood by the audience, or they won't know what's happening. Body language can go a long way in this effort, too. She should be completely oblivious to the hoops she's making the others go through.

An easier way to add spice to this song is to use props or costumes. For example, some kids could have empty pizza boxes. Some could be wearing tall chef hats, maybe even big, fake mustaches. Let them bounce to the jaunty 6/8 meter as they go, singing with gusto!

Whatever you do, be sure the punch line is delivered well – loud and clear, casual attitude, not too early (after song ends), and not too late (before audience starts clapping). It's an art to get the timing right. After all, as the saying goes, comedy is hard!

Text is taken from Music K-8 magazine.