The Once and Forever Songs

Maybe it’s coming from the speakers of a grocery store, or the radio of a car stuck at a red light. Wherever it is, a melody drifts in and, without warning, you’re fifteen again. Or twenty-two. You don’t even remember the name of the singer, but there’s a little jolt of recognition, a memory that arrives faster than you can stop it.

That is the curious, beautiful life of a one-hit wonder. Songs that arrive like comets, burn bright for a brief moment, and somehow never really disappear.

FST’s newest cabaret, One Hit Wonders, turns those musical shooting stars into an eveninglong celebration. The show gathers decades of unforgettable tracks, from chart-topping ballads to novelty hits, and reminds audiences why these tunes refuse to fade.

“These songs live in our collective memory,” says director Catherine Randazzo. “Even if an artist only topped the charts once, their music often becomes deeply personal to us.”

That connection is at the heart of the show.

“A lot of these songs remind me of listening to music at my grandparents’ house growing up,” says Jessie Carina Lanza, making her FST debut. “The music feels almost like a family scrapbook.”

The show moves like a jukebox with a mind of its own. One moment audiences are swept up in the storytelling of “American Pie,” the next they’re tapping along to “Walking on Sunshine.” A heartfelt ballad gives way to a novelty classic, and suddenly you remember a song you forgot you knew.

It’s that variety that excites newcomer Lorenzo Pugliese.

“There is a wide range of music in this show,” he says. “One of my favorite things is adapting my voice to fit different styles.”

“My mom and dad blasted these songs as I was growing up,” share Michael James Byrne, who was last seen at FST in The 70’s: More Than a Decade and The Wanderers. “And ‘American Pie’, my father sings it a lot. That one hits home.”

Some of these hits were born out of heartbreak, others out of pure silliness. Some artists chased success years afterward. Others vanished entirely.

And yet the songs remained.

“Growing up, my taste in music was very eclectic,” says Katelyn Bowman, who previously appeared at FST in Off the Charts and Little Shop of Horrors. “This music brings back sweet memories and affirms why I love to sing in the first place.”

One Hit Wonders celebrates the strange alchemy that turns a three-minute recording into a lifelong companion.

As Lanza puts it, “Music is such a strong memory trigger. I hope people leave thinking of special moments in their lives when these songs were important to them.”

And that, more than anything, is the promise of the evening.

Not a history lesson. Not just a playlist. But a joyful reminder that sometimes success in music is measured in a single song that finds its way into millions of lives; and decides to stay there forever.