Pretty Moon Over Macao Lyrics
Pretty Moon Over Macao
The Surf and Turf room proudly presents Miss Lorena Jones.What song are we doing?
Pretty moon over Macao.
Oh, but I don't know the lyrics to that song.
Make them up.
What?
Pretty moon over Macao.
How bright you shine.
Pretty moon that's over Macao.
You look just fine.
Lovely moon, smile on me now.
And I'll smile back.
Something, something, cat goes meow.
The duck goes quack, quack, at least I'm rhyming.
There's a midnight wind, I'm blowing through the jasmine and the tall bamboo.
The lovely blossoms flutter in the breeze.
The cat has fleas.
h, moon over Macao.
Your yellow haze drips to earth like camomile tea.
You're great in so many ways.
Oh, moon over, I'm sorry, I don't know the lyrics to this.
La Brigadoon.
Lovely moon, come dressed like a cow.
The cow goes moo, moo, moo, moo.
Are you mellow moon or yellow moon?
Be swallow moon, eat yellow moon, and the moon hangs in the sky above Macao.
It stays there.
Moon, oh moon, you're such a pretty moon.
Song Overview
Review and Highlights
Quick summary
- A nightclub set-piece for Lureena, written as her "now watch me" moment after the early scramble.
- Track 6 on the 2008 cast album, sung by Rachel deBenedet.
- Often staged as an in-world performance number at Rick's club - glamour deployed as a tactic.
- In some productions it is paired with Corinna's number as a competitive two-hander, with a cut that interlaces both songs.
- Melody-forward writing that plays the parody straight - the song has to sound sincere for the joke to sharpen.
Adrift in Macao (2007) - stage musical - diegetic. Lureena performs this as her nightclub turn at Rick's place. On the cast album it sits between "Mister McGuffin" and "Mambo Malaysian," which is not an accident: the show wants the room to feel like a contest, not a recital. This number matters because it converts a genre cliche into a character move. Lureena does not merely sing. She claims space, changes the temperature, and lets the plot keep chasing her.
I like how the song refuses to mug for laughs. It does not wink at the audience every two bars. The comedy lives in the situation - a Hollywood-ish dream of Macao - while the music gives Lureena a real, playable torch-swing lane. In a parody, that steadiness is the secret sauce. When the song is done with conviction, the audience laughs at the frame and still roots for the singer inside it.
Creation History
The score by Peter Melnick and the book and lyrics by Christopher Durang were shaped across several development steps before the 2007 off-Broadway run at 59E59 Theaters. In an interview about revisions, Melnick described reworking the rivalry material so Lureena's nightclub song and Corinna's number could function as a direct musical face-off. As stated in Playbill, the cast recording was released May 13, 2008 and produced by Melnick and Joel Moss, preserving the song in its tight, stage-timed form rather than stretching it into studio mood.
Song Meaning and Annotations
Plot
By the time Lureena sings this, the show has taught us its rules: everyone is waiting for something, everyone is posing a little, and the club is where information travels. Lureena steps into the spotlight not as a break from the story, but as a way to steer it. She presents a romantic picture of the city, but she is also making herself indispensable in the room where the deals happen.
Song Meaning
The song sells a dreamy Macao surface while smuggling in a harder truth: this is a place where you survive by performing. Lureena's voice becomes her leverage, not in a corporate sense but in the oldest theatrical one - whoever controls attention controls the scene. The mood reads as lush and a little dangerous, like a postcard you do not trust, which fits a noir spoof that keeps reminding us how movies lie.
Annotations
"Lureena's nightclub song, 'Pretty Moon Over Macao,' and Corinna's 'Mambo Malaysian' turn into a highly competitive duet."
This is a useful staging clue. The number can stand alone, but it gets sharper when it is treated as part of a rivalry sequence - two women fighting for status in the same room, using style as a weapon.
"Songs include ... Pretty Moon Over Macao."
Durang's own show page lists the number among the score's calling cards, which suggests it is not filler. It is a signature assignment: give the leading lady a number that sounds like a real nightclub turn, then watch parody do its work around her.
"Pretty Moon Over Macao ... Lureena."
Production song lists repeatedly tag this to Lureena, and that assignment matters. The lyric stance is not abstract romance. It is a character speaking in public, shaping what the room thinks she is.
Rhythm, style, and the arc
The writing sits in a classic musical-theatre pocket: clear lyric delivery, a tune that remembers itself, and enough rhythmic lift to keep the scene moving. The emotional arc is not confession. It is control. Lureena starts by painting the city as beautiful and ends by making the audience accept her as the singer who belongs there.
Technical Information (Quick Facts)
- Artist: Rachel deBenedet
- Featured: None listed
- Composer: Peter Melnick
- Producer: Peter Melnick; Joel Moss
- Release Date: May 13, 2008
- Genre: Musical theatre
- Instruments: Piano-conductor; reeds; drums; synthesizer; bass (typical licensed orchestration)
- Label: LML Music (release)
- Mood: Lush, watchful, performative
- Length: 2:06
- Track #: 6
- Language: English
- Album (if any): Adrift in Macao - The New Musical
- Music style: Broadway pastiche with noir-parody framing
- Poetic meter: Mostly conversational, shaped for sung story clarity
Frequently Asked Questions
- Who sings this number in the story?
- Lureena sings it as her nightclub act.
- Who performs it on the cast album?
- Rachel deBenedet is credited for the track.
- Where does it sit on the cast recording?
- It is track 6, placed after "Mister McGuffin" and before "Mambo Malaysian."
- Is it diegetic or a standard musical-theatre aside?
- It is generally staged as diegetic: Lureena performs in the club, with the room watching.
- Why does it matter in a noir parody?
- It lets the show play the glamour straight, so the parody can come from context and timing instead of cheap undercutting.
- Is it connected to Corinna's number?
- Yes. Production materials and interviews describe a rivalry sequence where the two songs can be treated as competing turns, and some programs list a combined cut.
- What is the main performance challenge?
- Text and intent. The vocal line is playable, but the actor has to sing like the room depends on it.
- Is there documented pop-chart history?
- No standard pop chart peaks are commonly listed for cast-album tracks from this show.
- Is there an official audio upload?
- Yes, the track appears as an official audio upload on major platforms and on YouTube Music metadata pages.
Awards and Chart Positions
No mainstream pop-chart record is typically associated with this cast-album track. The show itself, however, collected a clear set of off-Broadway nominations in 2007, including Drama Desk recognition for the score and performance nominations tied to the original cast. According to Concord Theatricals, the piece was a Drama Desk nominee for Best Music, and the nominations list for that season includes Orville Mendoza in a featured acting category.
| Item | Year | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drama Desk Awards - Outstanding Music (show level) | 2007 | Nominee | Nomination credited to Peter Melnick. |
| Drama Desk Awards - Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical (show level) | 2007 | Nominee | Nomination credited to Orville Mendoza. |
| Lucille Lortel Awards - Outstanding Costume Design (show level) | 2007 | Nominee | Nomination credited to Willa Kim. |
| Lucille Lortel Awards - Outstanding Featured Actress (show level) | 2007 | Nominee | Nomination credited to Michele Ragusa. |
How to Sing Pretty Moon Over Macao
Audition breakdowns for the role often describe Lureena as an alto belt and soprano mix with a high C, and one casting notice lists an E3 to C6 span. That points to a part written for style and story first: the singer has room to color the line, but the job is to command the club.
- Tempo first - Keep the pulse stable. Even when the line feels like it wants to float, the scene needs forward motion so the number stays theatrical, not precious.
- Diction - This is a public performance inside the story. Land consonants cleanly and do not hide behind legato haze.
- Breath plan - Mark breath points like an actor marks turns in a monologue. Quiet, prepared breaths read as confidence in a club.
- Range management - Treat the bottom as spoken-sung authority and the top as shine, not strain. Save any belt pressure for the moment you want to win the room.
- Style - Think classic nightclub poise. The character is selling an image while watching for threats, so let the smile live on top of the vigilance.
- Buttons and holds - Make the ending a choice: either a clean finish that dares applause, or a held look that tells the room you know more than you sang.
- Common problems - Over-sentimentalizing the lyric and slowing down. The show is a parody that needs snap, even in its romantic paint.
Additional Info
A detail I enjoy is how the show treats rivalry as architecture. "Pretty Moon Over Macao" is not only a song, it is a position statement. Corinna's answer number sits close by, and some programs list a combined "Pretty Moon" and "Mambo Malaysian" sequence, which turns the nightclub into a boxing ring with better costumes. That structural choice makes the parody feel stage-smart, not merely referential.
And because the number is diegetic, it gives directors an honest staging problem to solve: what is the act, and what is the subtext? When Lureena sings well, she is not showing the audience how good the performer is. She is showing the room what it must accept about her. According to Variety magazine, the show likes its movie cliches, but it relies on performers who commit to the stakes.
Key Contributors
| Entity | Type | Relationship statement |
|---|---|---|
| Christopher Durang | Person | Durang wrote the book and lyrics for the musical. |
| Peter Melnick | Person | Melnick composed the music and co-produced the cast recording. |
| Rachel deBenedet | Person | deBenedet performed Lureena off-Broadway and is credited on the album track. |
| Joel Moss | Person | Moss co-produced the cast recording. |
| Sheryl Kaller | Person | Kaller directed the off-Broadway production. |
| Christopher Gattelli | Person | Gattelli is credited with choreography for the off-Broadway production. |
| 59E59 Theaters | Venue | The off-Broadway premiere opened there on January 23, 2007. |
| Primary Stages | Organization | Primary Stages presented the off-Broadway production context. |
| LML Music | Organization | LML Music released the cast recording. |
| Concord Theatricals | Organization | Concord Theatricals lists licensing details and a music sample track list. |
Sources
Sources: Apple Music album listing, Playbill cast recording announcement, Concord Theatricals show listing, Christopher Durang official show page, BroadwayWorld interview with Peter Melnick, TheaterMania Drama Desk nominations list, BroadwayWorld Lucille Lortel nominations report, Footlighters audition notice, Coolum Theatre programme PDF, YouTube Music official audio page, Variety review excerpt quoted in Peter Melnick essay