Showtune Sunday: All about “Being Alive”

Being Alive from the musical Company popped into my head this weekend and I started singing it on a walk through my neighborhood. God, I love this song with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.

In the original show (the most recent revival had a gender switch), the song appears at the end of act two and is sung by Robert, a 35-year-old bachelor at the center of the show, who “… realizes being a lone wolf isn’t all it’s cracked up to be … he declares that he wants to take the chance, be afraid, get his heart broken—or whatever happens when you decide to love and be loved.”

The song has been performed and performed well by so many performers of both genders. Here are a handful of my favorite versions.

Enjoy!