I've been meaning to do this for quite a while, but I thought now was a good time (I'm hiding out from cleaning more). Musicals. Musical Theater. I love it. Almost all aspects of it. Classics like "A Chorus Line", "42nd Street", "Man of La Mancha", "Les Miz", "Phantom of the Opera", "Jesus Christ Superstar", "Singing in the Rain", "Kiss Me Kate", "Beauty and the Beast", "Aspects of Love", "Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat", "Anything Goes", "Fame", "Newsies", and others that don't come right to top of my head. What are your favorite Musicals? Who played them? Example: man of la mancha: Richard Kieley? Peter O'Toole? Colm Wilkenson? who do you think sang the impossible dream the best? And what about "newer" musicals? "Rent"? "Contact"?49 responses total.
Rocky Horror Picture Show.
I used to hang out with a group of folks who went through a period where they listened to little else but musicals.. After a few repetitions I couldn't stand most of them but I've still got a soft spot for a few (although "Kismet" is the only one that comes to mind at the moment..)
Little Shop of Horrors, if I had to say. I'm partial to the Fantasticks as well. And I'm sure Vampire Lesbians of Sodom would be on the list, if I had actually seen it...
Vampire Lesbians of Sodom? I'm not going to ask...really... I love Rocky Horror and Little Shop. :) I'm actually wondering what kind of a job Sebastian Bach did on Broadway as Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde..
Musicals? Hmm. I like the classics (Camelot, Music Man, etc.) but the ones I've been listening to recently are: The Full Monty and Scarlet Pimpernel.
Vampire Lesbians of Sodom would be familiar to anyone who spent any time hanging around New York's Washington Square park in the 1980s.
That'd probably be the rason I don't know it
U of M musical theatre department does a show each term, two a season. We go to those occasionally, and every December Leslie's mom gets us tickets for whatever is playing at the Walnut Street Theatre, America's Oldest Theatre, in Philadelphia. The most memorable musical of the last few years -- we saw it produced both at UM and at Walnut Street -- was "Grand Hotel," which I mostly loved because it had a very operatic feel about it.
Before I developed musical tastes of my own, most of the music I listened to was my parents' collection of recordings of Broadway musicals, mostly from the 50s. I still like that stuff, and when I visited NYC recently for the first time with enough money to see a show, what did I attend? The revival of "The Music Man"! That's still one of my favorite musicals - Willson had compositional skills beyond the norm in the field. Another one of my favorites is "1776", which is distinctly popular among science-fiction fans for some reason.
OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I love that one. My mom teaches English and uses that for her classes. They were able to see it on the stage, but I haven't been so fortunate. 1776 is a good one <applauds dbratman>
I've seen "1776" performed three times. Keep an eye out for community theatre groups, ashke: they do it fairly often. <wanders off, whistling "Here a Lee, there a Lee ...">
<wanders off in her own corner mumbling about a turkey and salt peter>
For God's sake, John, sit down.
I think my favorite still remains Cats. I've also seen Phantom (Toronto, very nice, romantic), Les Miserables (Fisher), Evita (Masonic), West Side Story (Fisher), Annie (Fisher), La Cage Aux Folles (Fisher). Maybe others, the mind goes... ;-) In HS & College I played in the pit for Gypsi and Sondheim's "Company", which is one many people don't know.
When I was in high school I was stagehand on a production of "The Music Man", and that's the one that's stuck with me ever since. Normally I don't like musical music, though.
(um, what other kind of music is there?) ;-)
I saw Phantom last year with Paul Stanley, in Toronto....
haw!
Yeah, it really was a joke. The man has a bit of a lisp...
There was some talk in party last night about the Spring '01 musical at the Univ. of Michigan. It will be SIDE SHOW, by Krieger & Russell, scheduled for mid-April. For those who might be interested, a plot summary can be found here: http://members.aol.com/sideshowDL/sideshow.html , and another page here: http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/5403/side.htm . It looks to be an interesting show, by the same composer as "Dreamgirls." As far as my personal fav, it would have to be HAIR, without a doubt. I also really like several Rodgers & Hammerstein musicals, in particular OKLAHOMA! FLOWER DRUM SONG.
Well, I was in the store yesterday picking up the Fame Soundtrack, since it's been in my head for the past week, at least. Well, I thought, I should get hair, having many discussions with Mickey about it, and THOSE songs in my head, but I then ran into another favorite that I haven't heard for a while. "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" and if not for "Paris Original" in my head, I might have gotten the other soundtrack. But I got this one, with Roger Morse as the lead, the 1961 Broadway cast recording. <le sigh>
"Flower Drum Song" does not make my list of favorite musicals. Mostly for the song "A Hundred Million Miracles." The tune is annoying, the sentiment is obtuse.
I've just been informaed of a major new musical, "The Count of Monte Cristo," based on the work of the same name by Alexandre Dumas. See http://www.montecristothemusical.com/ for details. (Nifty FLASH opening sequence.) The production is scheduled to open in Winter 2001-02, and is Broadway bound in Spring 2002.
I didn't realize that Leslie's gig tonight was going to be almost all songs from musicals, or I would have mentioned it here. Leslie sang two Gershwin songs, one from a 1930s revue, and also the title tune from "Of Thee I Sing." Other shows represented included "State Fair," "Sweeney Todd," "Sound of Music," and a few much more obscure ones, like "The Secret Garden" and "Connecticut Yankee." I never knew that there was a "Connecticut Yankee" musical by Richard Rodgers. In the song "To Keep My Love Alive," the soprano keeps her love alive by always falling in love and marrying someone new. However, this requires that she regularly bump off the preceding husband. Quite a funny song.
ABC is presenting a new version of "South Pacific" on Monday night, featuring Glenn Close and Harry Connick Jr. According to the article in the Ann Arbor News, the producers have taken additional material from the James Michner book "Tales of the South Pacific" and worked it into the show.
huh...that could be really good...
*whatever*
Well, someone will have to review the "South Pacific" show and let us know if it's worth buying, if it ever comes out on home video.
what about Paul Simon's Capeman? I love the compact disc but the show never gone to Europe..
Is South Pacific tonight? I think I might have to catch that....
South Pacific was broadcast on Monday evening. I almost missed it, and I'm kicking myself for not recording it. I'll have to hold off on the review until later when I have a bit more time, but suffice it to say I thought the production was entertaining. "Bloody Mary" was hilarious!
I MISSED IT!!! I'm a little bummed now....
(( We tried but failed to record it. Argh. )) Luca -- Paul Simon's musical "The Capeman" probably isn't going to Europe any time soon. The CD got OK reviews, but the critics were very hard on the show and it did not run long in New York. I haven't heard the CD.
South Pacific wasn't too bad, though I didn't care for the voices too much. At times they seemed like they were trying to make their voices more jazzy and swing. The chorus numbers were good. :) They rearranged several of the songs, and completly took out 'Happy Talk'. I'm a fan of original versions of the musical and get so used to it that other people singing sounds weird or bad. My mom reports that the Columbus Dispatch wasn't too fond of the gentleman who played Emile (can't spell french names), but the Dispatch doesn't like anyone. We did tape it, if anyone is interested in borrowing or otherwise, I think I can steal it from my roommate.
A posting on the abc.com discussion boards says that you can order a VHS cassette of "South Pacific" now, for $20 + $5 shipping, from Buena Vista Home Entertainment, 1-800-250-2838. In August a DVD release is planned which will be nationally distributed and which will have extra features.
I was pleasantly surprised to tune in the radio and hear some selections from HAIR, the tribal love rock musical. It seems that today is the anniversary of the opening, all the way back in 1968. (hmm.... Mickey was born just 20 short days later....)
fuckin noise.
I got the Paul Simon CD Capeman. Listened to it once. His latest, You're the One, got more listens. This one I seen promoted as Paul's first CD in eight years. Maybe Paul and Columbia records are trying to forget Capeman.
I think Pete Townshend is nearing the statute of limitations, after which he will be allowed to live down "The Iron Man". Simon may have to wait his turn, should 'the Capeman' become the next sixties-rocker-tries-musical- theater cutout-bin staple...
I think it already has. For that matter, "You're the One" is also pretty forgettable. A few good tunes, but nowhere near as good as he's done before. I'll give him one more album before I decide he's past his prime and stop paying attention.
I've been enjoying following the press coverage of the new Broadway musical "The Producers," based on the old Mel Brooks film, with Nathan Lane taking the Zero Mostel role, and Matthew Broderick in Gene Wilder's old role. The New York Times review can only be described as worshipful, and apparently tickets are impossible to get except on Ebay, where they were going for between $150-$250. (Also found on Ebay -- presumably gone now -- was a listing from "Bialystock and Bloom" offering to sell additional shares in the show.) This week's news is that "The Producers" has netted a record number of Tony Award nominations. I wonder what it means, that so many recent musicals are based on movie classics? Used to be that the flow went in the other direction; Broadway musicals were turned into movies.
And I hope they turn the musical version of "The Producers" into a movie - why not, it wouldn't be just another remake - because that's likely to be the only way I'll get to see it. I wonder if the musical uses the original film's original "Springtime for Hitler" song.
No wonder the movie, "The Producers" became unavailable last
year for Top of the Park, it must have been withdrawn from release
because of the upcoming play. I got my copy of it around here
someplace.
I also enjoy the musical movie "Little Shop of Horrors".
I believe that the stage presentation of "Springtime for Hitler" is essentially unchanged from the movie version.
What concerns me is that they are taking old films, or even old Musicals and putting them on broadway, but they're changing them so much it's not a revival (where they change the costuming/staging/scenery) they're creating new music and new characters and calling it the same name: Eg: Kiss me Kate's revival did this, but the new productions of Fame and the upcoming one for Flashdance.
And Pete Townshend's "Tommy" added a love interest character...
According to an article in the New Yorker, the stage adaptation of "The Producers" actually improved it in some ways, specifically by providing some depth of character and motivation for Bloom.
the fantastiks, godspell, jesus christ superstar, joseph, the king and i... fiddler on the roof. yeah i love that stuff. cats sucks though.
NPR note #2: The program "Fresh Air" on Wednesday featured an entire hour with Mel Brooks talking about both the film and Broadway versions of "The Producers," including lots of snippets from the newly released Original Cast Album.
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