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| Music by | Leonard Bernstein |
| Lyrics by | Stephen Sondheim |
| Date | 1957 |
| Source | West Side Story (musical) |
| Publisher | Chappell & Co. Inc.; The Leonard Bernstein Music Pub. Co. LLC |
"I Feel Pretty," the opening number of the second act of Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim's musical West Side Story, is an unironic song about how being loved can make a person feel more beautiful. The song has been used in several comic sketches performed by the Muppets.
Performances
The Ed Sullivan Show
- performed as an instrumental on the April 30, 1967 appearance, in which a woman named Amanda tries to change her looks using a self-help book in order to gain the affection of Conrad Love.
Sesame Street
- performed by a Large Lavender Live Hand Anything Muppet woman on the television special Julie on Sesame Street. The song is preceded by several bars of "Tonight," another song from West Side Story. As she prepares for a date, the pretty woman removes parts of her face and replaces them with ugly features, turning herself into a monster for her date with Frazzle.
- The song was spoofed in a 1996 episode by Grundgetta, "I Feel Yucky".
- The song was also spoofed in "Elmo the Musical" as "I Feel Ducky".
The Muppet Show
- performed by a Whatnot woman on episode 109. This sketch is a remake of the one seen on Julie on Sesame Street, but featuring different characters (Beautiful Day Monster replaces Frazzle here). The song, which also begins with several bars of "Tonight" as well as an instrumental version of "Maria," was performed by Fran Brill as the pretty woman, whose voice grows hoarser with every line and corresponding change to her appearance, until Jim Henson eventually takes over as the voice of her ugly, monster self. This version of the sketch was illustrated in The Muppet Show Book, but with Mean Mama replacing Beautiful Day Monster.
References
- The song can be heard in the background while Miss Piggy is on the phone in the Walt Disney World attraction Here Come the Muppets.
- In The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland, Huxley says, "I was almost in a bus and truck show of West Side Story. They said I wasn't right for Maria. What do they know? I feel pretty."
Releases
- Video
- Gonzo Presents Muppet Weird Stuff (1985) (The Muppet Show version)