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Favorite Musical...
- Thread starter Dave Leighton
- Start date
Alright, now you've given me some to specifically watch for at the local community theaters (and maybe message the MD in advance about hiring me)!
Urinetown WAS fun to play. I forgot about that one. Seriously whack premise, but it totally IS funny.
For some reason, I don't get these emails until we're almost 20 pages in and I'm not spending the time to see if anyone else has given the same answer (though, I'm sure someone has).
I was raised by grandparents and I'm the VERY tail end of the Baby Boomer generation to begin with so, I grew up with every thing from Brahms and Schubert (one of my grandfathers was a concert-level pianist, though not a professional) to big bands and Broadway musicals.
My grandparents (grudgingly) allowed me to listen to Elvis who was HUGE influence for me.
All the explanation out of the way, my absolute favorite (Hey! At least I didn't list all the ones I like and went for the explanation, instead!) is "Guys & Dolls ". I was even playing my own version of "Sit Down You're Rockin' The Boat " years before Don Henley released his version and "Luck Be A Lady Tonight" was one of my staples at karaoke.
I was raised by grandparents and I'm the VERY tail end of the Baby Boomer generation to begin with so, I grew up with every thing from Brahms and Schubert (one of my grandfathers was a concert-level pianist, though not a professional) to big bands and Broadway musicals.
My grandparents (grudgingly) allowed me to listen to Elvis who was HUGE influence for me.
All the explanation out of the way, my absolute favorite (Hey! At least I didn't list all the ones I like and went for the explanation, instead!) is "Guys & Dolls ". I was even playing my own version of "Sit Down You're Rockin' The Boat " years before Don Henley released his version and "Luck Be A Lady Tonight" was one of my staples at karaoke.
Every movie after the army, with the exception of Blue Hawaii, just got worse and worse; even he couldn’t stand it anymore.
The Cowsills weren’t in “Hair”, or on the soundtrack, they just covered the title song.
Spinal Tap and The Rutles were musicals?Probably sound of music or the nightmare before Christmas. Or possibly the Rocky horror picture show. This is spinal tap, the ruttles. So many to pick from
For cartoons, it has to be Nightmare Before Christmas . . it had (much to my surprise) music that I actually didn't mind. For real life stuff . . . All That Jazz ! ! On an aside, I did play viola in the orchestra pit for a week long run of Oklahoma, so sappy that the music is, it has a soft spot in my heart.
Hairspray. I subbed on that one day with only a day nor twit I prep. I was terrified. Killed it in the first act. The adrenaline wore off and and the second act ate my lunch the threw it up on mY shoes just for spite. I spent the next morning, afternoon and well not to the night learning every note in that rascal. Now if I see it on TV I get my copy of the score and okay along!!
Phantom is in a class by itself. A Chorus Line is aging very well, and has given us more cultural touchstones than we realize (like the use of "One" in the HIMYM final season by the titular mother character; all hail the power of the major 7th chord behind a catchy melody). Lots of love for Guys and Dolls, thanks to a terrific pit band experience, long ago. Took my gal to see a small production of it in the round, for Valentines Day 2020; the last real date before lockdown; great time.
This is the remark that will make me a marked man, here on TB: The Broadway-style performance of "Pinball Wizard" to close Act 1 of The Who's Tommy blows the original out of the water. I hope that it doesn't take Pete Townsend's death to see a revival touring production. It worked very well as a Broadway-style show, having the same kind of visual imagination that makes The Lion King a spectacular performance to catch.
The common ingredient to all of the above? You've got to have a great collection of songs. I've got a veritable top 5 listed here, and they all will have you whistling/humming/singing to yourself, after leaving the theater. Stevie Wonder perhaps said it best, when making a point about records: "You can tell right away it's got the A when the people start to move." With Broadway material, it's about the staying power of the songs in your head.
EDIT: WSS and JCS deserve all the love that they get. I have yet to see WSS live. JCS is a good experience, largely because it strives to be a rock concert. It does show the classic ALW formula of giving the best songs to antagonists: "This Jesus Must Die" is funny and memorable, with a nice contrapuntal bass line to boot. Another staple of the ALW recipe is the reprise of the major song motifs in the finale, like a symphony. It is present in both JCS and Phantom, and a component of why those shows are loved.
Thanks for this thread, OP. I'm now subscribed for more of the fun.
This is the remark that will make me a marked man, here on TB: The Broadway-style performance of "Pinball Wizard" to close Act 1 of The Who's Tommy blows the original out of the water. I hope that it doesn't take Pete Townsend's death to see a revival touring production. It worked very well as a Broadway-style show, having the same kind of visual imagination that makes The Lion King a spectacular performance to catch.
The common ingredient to all of the above? You've got to have a great collection of songs. I've got a veritable top 5 listed here, and they all will have you whistling/humming/singing to yourself, after leaving the theater. Stevie Wonder perhaps said it best, when making a point about records: "You can tell right away it's got the A when the people start to move." With Broadway material, it's about the staying power of the songs in your head.
EDIT: WSS and JCS deserve all the love that they get. I have yet to see WSS live. JCS is a good experience, largely because it strives to be a rock concert. It does show the classic ALW formula of giving the best songs to antagonists: "This Jesus Must Die" is funny and memorable, with a nice contrapuntal bass line to boot. Another staple of the ALW recipe is the reprise of the major song motifs in the finale, like a symphony. It is present in both JCS and Phantom, and a component of why those shows are loved.
Thanks for this thread, OP. I'm now subscribed for more of the fun.
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This made me think of "Cat Ballou," which is not a musical, but it stars Lee Marvin and has Nat King Cole and Stubby Kaye as singing narrators (sort of).
