Jerry Herman wrote both music and lyrics, listed among the Broadway additions to the show.

Who is the featured singer on the cast CD?

CastAlbums track credits list Priscilla Lopez as the featured vocalist for the track.

Where is it placed in Act 1?

IBDB’s song list places it after Nelson and before It All Comes Out of the Piano in the Hollywood half.

Does the number appear outside the show?

Yes. It shows up in cabaret programs and concert evenings devoted to Jerry Herman, and it reads as a complete scene with music.

The Best in the World Lyrics — A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine

The Best in the World Lyrics

Here's the way that my story goes, at the old Cincinnati Loews
I was working from 5 to midnight as an usherette
"You're too good to be holding doors," Papa said, "With a face like yours,
There's a fortune out there that you just gotta go and get."
I put away my flashlight and my gloves,
To go and be the star the whole world loves.

Papa said, "You're the best, you're the best in the world,
All you need is the chance to be best in the world.
You're the bright little star that stands out from the rest,
If you make it or not, don't forget what you've got,"
Papa said, "You're the best."

Said goodbye to the beat-up Loews, hitched my way to the studios
Knowing this little lady would be conquering the west
Through the lean and the hungry days, living mostly on Papa's praise,
Till I heard someone whisper, "Why not give the girl a test?"
My knees were shaking and my hands were cold,
But I remembered, as the cameras rolled

Best, I'm the best in the world,
All you need is the chance to be best in the world.
You're the bright little star that stands out from the rest,
If you make it or not, don't forget what you've got,"
Papa said, "You're the best"

I was molded and redesigned, and expensively wined and dined,
I was living a life I'd just imagined in my heart.
I was given the grand approach, started work with an acting coach
And in no time at all they handed me a leading part
I knew that Papa's dream was awfully near,

So guess who flew out for the big premiere

Through the hush and the dark, Papa sat by my side,
When I flashed on the screen, how the two of us cried.
You're the bright little star, never never to fall,
And now no one can stop your ascent to the top,
You're the best of them all.

Life can have its ironic ways, for the picture ran seven days,
And disconsolate, back to Cincinnati Papa went.
Even though a few dreams were dashed, more than one little hope was crashed
But you shrug and you say, "A girl has got to pay her rent."
"Usher wanted" read the Sunday ad.
They asked me what experience I had

"Sir," I said, "I'm the best, I'm the best in the world....
I'm the best in the world.
I'm the bright little star, never never to fall,
If I make it or not, don't forget what I've got,
It's been drummed in my head, Papa said, Papa said, Papa said,
I'm the best.
Last Update: February, 03rd 2026

Song Overview

The Best in the World lyrics by Elizabeth Rose Morriss — A modern performance clip keeps the number alive outside the theatre, one storyteller at a time.

"The Best in the World" sits inside A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine like a close-up in the middle of a montage. Act 1 is built on bustle and references, then this song stops the traffic: one person tells you who she is, what she wants, and how she plans to get through the day with her dignity intact. The writing comes from Jerry Herman, brought in for Broadway additions to the score, and the cast recording is tied to Priscilla Lopez, whose delivery turned the number into a calling card.

Review and Highlights

Quick summary

Where it appears: Act 1, in the Hollywood half, after "Nelson" and before "It All Comes Out of the Piano" on Broadway song lists.
Songwriter: Jerry Herman (music and lyrics).
Cast-recording spotlight: commonly credited to Priscilla Lopez for the featured vocal track.
What kind of number: a character ballad with a comic rim - sincere on the line, knowing in the framing.
Why it matters: it gives the revue a heartbeat, not just a shuffle of titles and tap breaks.

Scene from The Best in the World by Elizabeth Rose Morriss — "The Best in the World" in a contemporary performance clip, staged like a personal confession.

Herman was famous for building numbers that can smile and bite in the same breath, and this one is a prime example. The surface is plain: a person talks herself into believing she deserves more. The theatre trick is the double focus - we watch her dream, and we also watch her working at the dream, polishing it until it becomes a shield. That is where the audience leans in.

A less careful song would make the speaker a cartoon. This one gives her a workable spine. She wants romance, status, a better story than the one she woke up with - and she wants it without apologizing. The laugh, when it comes, is not mockery. It is recognition. I have seen audiences react the way they react to a well-played scene: a quick hush, then an appreciative release.

Key takeaways: a performer showcase; a mid-act reset that turns the revue into drama for five minutes; a Jerry Herman add-on that feels written to win a room, not merely fill a slot.

A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine (May 1, 1980) - stage musical - diegetic. Act 1, sung within the movie-palace-usher framing, as the evening pauses its parade of Hollywood tropes for a single point of view. On the original cast CD sequence, it appears as track 6.

Creation History

As stated in the Internet Broadway Database credits, Jerry Herman contributed several songs to the Broadway score, including this one, while Dick Vosburgh and Frank Lazarus remained the show’s primary book-lyric and music team. That division of labor explains the number’s shape: it has Herman’s gift for direct address, but it also serves Vosburgh’s Act 1 concept - the stage as a movie-lobby fantasy machine.

Song Meaning and Annotations

Elizabeth Rose Morriss performing The Best in the World — A solo frame fits the song - it plays like a close-up, even on a bare stage.

Plot

The Hollywood half presents a set of period-flavored turns in the lobby of a grand movie palace. "The Best in the World" is the moment when the show stops presenting a style and starts presenting a person. The character speaks from inside the dream factory, but she is also trapped there: the movies sell a promise, and she is deciding whether to buy it again.

Song Meaning

The meaning is not complicated, which is why it works. The speaker is trying to convince herself that the love she wants is possible and that she is worthy of it. The tension comes from what the song does not hide: this confidence is an effort. You hear a mind rehearsing optimism because optimism is the tool available.

There is also a Hollywood layer. In the world of the show, romance is something you learn from the screen. The song tests that lesson. It asks whether a life can be rewritten with the same ease as a studio rewrite - and whether wanting that rewrite is brave, foolish, or both.

Annotations

Here’s the way that my story goes

A clean opening line, almost spoken. It sounds like a diary entry, which is a smart move in a revue: it pulls focus from spectacle to confession, fast.

You’re the best in the world

The title phrase lands like a promise and a sales pitch. The character is persuading an unseen partner, but she is also persuading herself. That split aim is the number’s engine.

I’m gonna

When the lyric leans into determination, the performer has a choice: play it as daydream, or play it as a plan. The second choice usually hits harder, because it tells us she has done this pep talk before.

Shot of The Best in the World by Elizabeth Rose Morriss — A small gesture can sell the whole scene - this song rewards stillness.

Style and arc

Musically it behaves like a classic Broadway ballad with a late lift: the kind that starts conversational and ends in a fuller vow. Dramatically it is a monologue with melody, and that is why the number keeps getting pulled for cabaret nights and audition books. You can stage it with nothing but a chair and a viewpoint.

Language and images

The language circles around worth and destiny, the kind of screen-era promise that turns a hard day into a story with better lighting. The interesting part is the friction between dream and circumstance. If a performer plays that friction honestly, the comedy takes care of itself.

For the complete text, use licensed editions and authorized recordings. This page stays with commentary and brief excerpts only.

Technical Information (Quick Facts)

Artist: Priscilla Lopez (Original Broadway Cast track credit)
Featured: solo vocal turn within the Act 1 Hollywood framing
Composer: Jerry Herman
Producer: Hugh Fordin (cast recording)
Release Date: April 10, 1992 (DRG CD release date listed for the cast recording)
Genre: musical theatre; ballad
Instruments: theatre pit orchestra (cast album studio recording)
Label: DRG
Mood: yearning, determined, lightly comic
Length: about 5 minutes (catalog listings vary)
Track #: 6 on the Original Broadway Cast CD sequence
Language: English
Album (if any): A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
Music style: classic Broadway ballad writing inside a period-pastiche show
Poetic meter: mixed accentual meter shaped to speech

Frequently Asked Questions

Who wrote the song?: Jerry Herman wrote both music and lyrics, listed among the Broadway additions to the show.
Who is the featured singer on the cast CD?: CastAlbums track credits list Priscilla Lopez as the featured vocalist for the track.
Where is it placed in Act 1?: IBDB’s song list places it after "Nelson" and before "It All Comes Out of the Piano" in the Hollywood half.
What is the song doing inside a revue-style act?: It gives the audience a single point of view and slows the evening long enough for character to register, not just references.
Is it comic or serious?: Both, but it should be played straight. The humor comes from the size of the dream, not from pushing for laughs.
Is it connected to the Chekhov-Marx Brothers half?: Indirectly. Act 1 sells you Hollywood fantasy, while Act 2 turns narrative into farce; the song belongs to the fantasy machine side of the evening.
Why is it often mentioned alongside Priscilla Lopez’s awards?: Commentary around the production often links her Tony-winning season with the visibility of her Act 1 material, and this number is regularly singled out in cast-album notes and criticism.
Does the number appear outside the show?: Yes. It shows up in cabaret programs and concert evenings devoted to Jerry Herman, which makes sense: it plays as a complete scene with music.
Is there a standard way to start the song in performance?: Many editions begin with a simple narrative setup line - the performer should treat it as spoken truth that grows into song.

Awards and Chart Positions

This is not a pop-chart item in any standard sense; its public record is theatrical. According to Concord Theatricals, the Broadway production proved an awards magnet, winning 1980 Tony Awards for Featured Actress and for Choreography, along with 1980 Drama Desk wins for Featured Actress and Choreography. The cast album keeps the number documented, but the show’s trophies tell you what kind of night it was in the house.

Award	Year	Category	Result
Tony Awards	1980	Featured Actress in a Musical	Won
Tony Awards	1980	Choreography	Won
Drama Desk Awards	1980	Featured Actress	Won
Drama Desk Awards	1980	Choreography	Won

Additional Info

There is a useful disagreement in the record that tells you something about theatre metadata. Streaming platforms sometimes file the album under an album-artist credit rather than track-by-track cast attribution, while theatre discographies keep the performer credits intact. If you are chasing a specific voice for study or casting, the discography view is the one that helps.

In a cast-album review, D. F. Michael Portantiere points out that Priscilla Lopez shines on this track, even when he finds the first half of the recording less exciting than Act 2. That is a telling compliment: the number can cut through a crowded concept because it is a full scene, not a fragment.

A small theater-history footnote also sticks: Playbill’s backstage column reminisces about Lopez’s Act 1 life as a Grauman’s-usherette figure and name-checks this song as knowing fan material. In other words, it is remembered not only as score, but as persona.

Key Contributors

Entity	Relation	Statement
Jerry Herman	composer-lyricist	Jerry Herman wrote the music and lyrics for the song.
Priscilla Lopez	featured performer	Priscilla Lopez is credited as the featured vocalist for the cast-recording track.
Dick Vosburgh	book-lyricist	Dick Vosburgh wrote the book and lyrics for the show’s main score framework.
Frank Lazarus	composer	Frank Lazarus composed the show’s primary music and performed in the Broadway cast.
Hugh Fordin	producer	Hugh Fordin produced the studio cast recording listed in discographies.
Wally Harper	music director	Wally Harper served as musical director and handled arrangements for the Broadway production.
Tommy Tune	director-choreographer	Tommy Tune directed and co-choreographed the Broadway production.
DRG	label	DRG released the cast recording in major formats including the 1992 CD issue.
Concord Theatricals	licensing organization	Concord Theatricals licenses the show and publishes production and awards data.

Sources

Sources: Internet Broadway Database production record; CastAlbums recording entry and release data; Concord Theatricals show page; Discogs cast recording track listing; Playbill backstage column (Priscilla Lopez mention); Cast Album Reviews (D. F. Michael Portantiere); UTK Song Index (first line reference); YouTube performance clip listing.

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