Look for the Light (song)

Development

The third season of Only Murders in the Building required songs, so series co-creator John Robert Hoffman brought in Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. They agreed to write them only if they could team up with Broadway songwriters, which Hoffman allowed. Pasek and Paul chose Sara Bareilles, the composer and lyricist behind Waitress, to co-write “Look for the Light.” The three songwriters all wanted to work together. They crafted the song specifically for Meryl Streep, studying her past singing to map her vocal range, then showed it to her over a Zoom call. A counter-melody was later added for Ashley Park. Streep found the melody intimidating and had just two days to rehearse before performing it for twenty people with a new orchestration.

In Only Murders in the Building

"Look for the Light" debuts in the third-season episode "Grab Your Hankies". In the episode, Oliver Putnam, played by Martin Short, has written a Broadway musical called "Death Rattle Dazzle", an Agatha Christie-inspired murder-mystery. After the murder of Ben Glenroy, the musical has mostly failed. Putnam works through the night to convince producers Donna and Cliff DeMeo, played by Linda Emond and Wesley Taylor, that the musical is worth funding.

They give him three days to produce a showstopper. With support from Loretta Durkin, played by Meryl Streep, Putnam works on a lullaby at his piano. When the DeMeos return, Putnam asks Durkin to sing the lullaby. Though unrehearsed, she performs "Look for the Light" with Kimber Min, played by Ashley Park, providing a counter-melody.

The performance convinces the DeMeos to fund the musical. The song is performed again in the tenth episode, "Opening Night", filmed at the United Palace theatre in Washington Heights.

Reception

After its debut, "Look for the Light" was released on streaming platforms. Bobby Patrick of BroadwayWorld described Streep's singing as having a "hushed, almost whispered" quality that gives the song a "dreamy, plaintive" feel. Jo Elliott of The Indiependent praised Streep's chemistry with Martin Short and the "beautifully written lyrics" of the song. Kevin Fallon of The Daily Beast noted that Streep's character was more of a "spark plug" than expected, making her performance "mesmerizing". Ashley Park's accompaniment was praised by Bobby Patrick, who said the two "share and blend so beautifully." Ethan Dayton of That Shelf called the duet "gorgeous" and predicted it would enter listeners' music libraries. The episode "Grab Your Hankies" received a 100% approval rating from 5 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, with the critic consensus stating "Loretta proving her voice is invaluable."