FOT Forum
FOT Community => General Discussion => Topic started by: John Junk 2.0 on April 09, 2008, 06:16:52 PM
-
Can I get a Top 5 musicals, please? If that's too stringent, how about a Top 10?
I'm kinda with Paul F. Tompkins: the only musical I really like is The Music Man, and seeing as it was the only musical Meredith Wilson ever wrote, it's kinda hard to come up with something to match it. I'm embarking on a huge project and I need to research the musical medium. I need suggestions and guidance from someone who isn't a my-love-is-blind-and-deaf fan of the genre.
Here's my top 5.
1. The Music Man
2. The Sound of Music ( At least watchable for the duration)
3.Oaklahoma! (only 'cause of the Surrey song and the Freudian Nightmare Sequence and ludicrous Frontier Justice conclusion),
4. Into The Woods (for complicated time signatures and post-modern themes --though I'll admit embarrassing to watch after age 13),
5. Hedwig and the Angry Inch (actually good ...I think).
I wish I liked South Pacific more, but I only like that song "Happy Talk" 'cause it's funny, catchy, and racist, and I think the repressed "There Is Nothing Like A Dame" is fun more in concept than in reality.
Please Help.
-
I don't know much about musicals, but I really like tapdance movies. I don't have any recommendations you haven't already heard of. Singing in the Rain and Swing Time are both great.
I agree with Tom that old comedy doesn't age, but I think that the 1930s-50s were a great time for movies.
-
I like Hedwig and the Angry Inch and most of Sondheim's stuff, like Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George, and Assassins.
And yes, I'm going to post this Grand Hotel clip again.
[youtube]GPl5ePNppNY[/youtube]
-
Sondheim's Company? Anyone? I love it.
-
Sondheim's Company? Anyone? I love it.
YES
-
Okay, hello. This is a huge question. I am going to have a panic attack if I keep thinking about it being definitive, so I will just flow with it like jazz.
First of all, The Music Man is horrible. I'M NOT SAYING I DON'T ENJOY IT. But it's not good. There's a song and accompanying garish dance number in the second act called "Shipoopi." Again: just saying. Do I thrill when that gayest of all gay men that ever darkened a doorway (not a euphemism), Robert Preston, admonishes River City about the trouble it's got? Of course I do. But is it a good show? Define "good."
Here are ten fantastic shows, four of which I'll allot to Stephen Sondheim, the Picasso of Musical Theater in that the lay-listener not think his melodies are pretty, but all who are even semi-learned in the matter must concede that he's responsible for singlehandedly modernizing the artform.
Essentials of the Sondheim Canon (my favorites)
Assassins
Sunday In The Park with George
Sweeney Todd
Company
I am not the world's biggest R&H fan, but I appreciate them. I'll cast my vote with Oklahoma! as my fave of their oeuvre, but I'm not putting it in the top ten. MOVING ON!
I will add
Guys & Dolls
as well as
Gypsy
here, because they are timeless Americana, and Gypsy is arguably the best musical of all time; also a Sondheim effort, but collaborative.
What do I have, four left? Hedwig is great. If you like Hedwig, and you're in NYC, get yourself tickets to see Passing Strange. The book packs a wallop, and I swear you will love Stew's songs. I will, however, hedge my bets on Jesus Christ Superstar as my pick for rep rock opera on the top ten.
Final three, huh. Well, assuming these are shows and not films (that's a whole other list), I have to include A Chorus Line, my only dance-heavy pick. And I'll do two modern shows just to show that theater's not dead, despite Duncan Sheik's Yerba Mate-fueled efforts. I'll include The Drowsy Chaperone, which is crisp, smart and actually funny, not just "theater-funny," and David Yazbek's adaptation of The Full Monty, which imported the heart of that film from working-class Britain to working-class Buffalo, lyrically articulated the confusion between Carly Simon & Carole King, and had full frontal male nudity at the end of the show, which is more than you can say for Jersey Boys.
THANK YOU FOR ASKING ME THIS QUESTION!
-
Julie,
Thanks for your guidance!
I'm in L.A. and so am unable to catch some of these shows but they'll probably end up in Vegas if they're any good, right?
There's a song and accompanying garish dance number in the second act called "Shipoopi." Again: just saying.
Yeah, I know! When I was a lad of but 12 years old, the school did a production of the Music Man and I desperately wanted to be Harold Hill. They had a box you can fill in when you're writing out your application for who you're going to try out for that says "Who would you NOT want to play?" (I hear this is exactly what they do in Hollywood.) So I wrote "I'll be Anyone but that Buddy Hackett character." ...and guess who ended up with the task of delivering "Shipoopi"? I was not up to this challenge and, in fact, ended up having an onstage meltdown during rehearsals that resulted in the entire chorus singing every line of the song with me because of my adamant refusal to die up there just so people who are too dumb to get the subtle critique of Iowa moors can have something to laugh at at hour 1.5.
Phew, anyway, I seriously haven't seen 90% of what's on your list! I have seen JC Superstar and I forgot, and of course that would bump off either Oaklahoma! or the Sound of Music. Man, I got some homework to do.
THANK YOU FOR ANSWERING MY QUESTION!
-
For music and dancin' I like Gene Kelly: "An American in Paris" and "Singin' in the Rain."
I don't much like musicals, tho.
-
I saw Christopher Walken sing (and dance, of course) in the musical adaptation of James Joyce's The Dead. I think it beat out Paul Simon's Cavemen for a longer run but not by much.
-
I'll include The Drowsy Chaperone, which is crisp, smart and actually funny, not just "theater-funny,"
Can you explain what you mean? I'd be interested to hear a genuinely funny person's take on "theater-funny." I haven't seen many musicals, but thats because the few I have seen have been horrendously unfunny.
-
Julie K, will you stand by "The Drowsy Chaperone" with Bob Saget?
-
Assassins
YES X100. Also ditto on "Guys and Dolls" & its soul cousin, "The Full Monty."
Also "Floyd Collins," the Adam Guettel musical that I totally thought would make Adam Guettel the best new musical theater guy except then he did "Light in the Piazza," which I think was a big ol ball of eh.
-
Singin' in the Rain and An American in Paris are perfect movie musicals. They don't work as well on stage. Gene Kelly, to me, is the human personification of American optimism. Again: whole other list of best movie musicals. Cabaret is on there, Tommy, All That Jazz, West Side Story. Chicago and Hairspray are successful on both counts, in my opinion.
Funny versus Theater Funny is, sadly, all over the place, example-wise, on stage. Traditional musical comedy books give actors way too much power: they have to "sell" a mediocre joke with over-the-top energy or a funny "character voice" when the writer just should have worked harder. There are parallels to certain sitcoms here for sure. Drowsy was written by Toronto Second City and "Slings & Arrows" alum Bob Martin, a genuinely brilliant comic writer and actor. It's so good, satirically as well as just for pure entertainment value. I was lucky enough to have missed Saget's stint in its run.
NOT an Adam Guettel fan. Sitting through "Light in the Piazza" made me feel like I was dying of a yeast infection. The "spoiler" of that show is that it's all artsy-fartsy operatic, high brow falutin' and frou-frou, and then we find out that the daughter, who seems a little slow, is like that because when she was a little girl, her mom had a pony at her birthday party, and the horse kicked her in the head while the mother was on the phone. So she's retarded now, and the mom feels bad, because she was chatting to her pal Marge while a horse kicked her daughter in the face. That's the show. WHAT? I know.
-
Andy from Knoxville just finished his run in the role of Adam Pontipee in his high school's production of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. (Of course, the joke around here is that we do Seven Brides for Seventeen Brothers.)
Someday soon I will post a Youtube link of one of his feature pieces.
Any love for 7 Brides, Ms Klausner?
-
Emma Brockes wrote about 7BF7B in her great essay anthology, What Would Barbra Do?
Brockes wonders whether anybody on the set of the film in 1954 ever considered that the retelling of the legend of the rape of the Sabine women via a song called "Sobbin' Women" was in slightly bad taste.
She writes,
"In a sort of anthem to no-means-yes, [Howard Keel] sang of how, although the women acted 'angry' and 'annoyed,' when it came down to it they were secretly 'overjoyed.'"
-
So what do you think of Kiss Me Kate? The movie sucks, but I was always partial to the original Broadway cast recording (with Howard Keel, in fact). I used to know all the lyrics by heart and could probably still sing along pretty respectably if I tried.
-
Emma Brockes wrote about 7BF7B in her great essay anthology, What Would Barbra Do?
Brockes wonders whether anybody on the set of the film in 1954 ever considered that the retelling of the legend of the rape of the Sabine women via a song called "Sobbin' Women" was in slightly bad taste.
She writes,
"In a sort of anthem to no-means-yes, [Howard Keel] sang of how, although the women acted 'angry' and 'annoyed,' when it came down to it they were secretly 'overjoyed.'"
Then that's the song I will try to post.
-
Looooove Kiss Me, Kate. I regret not having a Cole Porter selection on my "Top Ten," but the idea of a Top Ten was already giving me a panic attack, remember? I would swap it out with Jesus Christ Superstar if I was drunk enough. I like Anything Goes, too, but KMK is more of a complete show: Anything Goes is sort of a revue.
And the movie is certainly uneven. But ANN MILLER? Come on. That woman is basically a tiger who, at any moment, threatens to burst from the screen and dance your face to death. Her maniacal tapping in the "Too Darn Hot" number, combined with all the glove-and-fan stuff she does to make use of the film's 3-D technology is worth the investment in the DVD alone. Fosse as one of the dancers in the "Tom, Dick, or Harry" number is the other, even though he is troll-like and physically revolting.
-
My problem is I just cannot stand Ann Miller, despite her lightning-quick feet. But seeing Fosse dancing was certainly a plus.
Mainly, though, I just love the lyrics. So funny and so smartly naughty. I've been singing "I Hate Men" to disconcert irritating members of the opposite sex since I was a girl. And "I've Come to Wive It Wealthily"? "Always True to You"? Of course, "Too Darn Hot"? Gold.
What about Fred Astaire musicals? He was such a lovely dancer (I always preferred him to Gene Kelly, who was too robust and American for my tastes), and his voice is pleasant. Plus lots of Cole Porter and George Gershwin. Many sexy lady co-stars as well. To heck with Ginger--what about Cyd Charisse? And I loved Oscar Levant as a sidekick. So much fun.
Oh, and what about The Pajama Game? Damn Yankees? Hell, I even has a soft spot for Busby Berkeley extravaganzas.
In conclusion, musicals are fun.
-
NOT an Adam Guettel fan. Sitting through "Light in the Piazza" made me feel like I was dying of a yeast infection. The "spoiler" of that show is that it's all artsy-fartsy operatic, high brow falutin' and frou-frou, and then we find out that the daughter, who seems a little slow, is like that because when she was a little girl, her mom had a pony at her birthday party, and the horse kicked her in the head while the mother was on the phone. So she's retarded now, and the mom feels bad, because she was chatting to her pal Marge while a horse kicked her daughter in the face. That's the show. WHAT? I know.
You're completely right, it's a horrible premise and I couldn't understand the positive reaction (& long run) that the show got, except that maybe everyone felt guilty about not loving Victoria Clark's past roles enough and they needed to make up for it? But I really do love "Floyd Collins"--the premise there being a dude is stuck in a cave-in and he hallucinates, which maybe isn't a lot better, but I think the score is really fun. Piazza was not fun.
One of my favorite movie musicals is this total piece-together tragedy called "There's No Business Like Show Business"--Marilyn Monroe falling for Donald O'Connor? And lots and lots of Merman.
-
Love Pajama Game, Love Damn Yankees. I think of those shows as one in the same, even though they are not. If there is a third beat to them, it's Sweet Charity. Early 60's stuff...when Verdon and Fosse were beginning to take over the world.
For Monroe musicals I have to hedge all my bets on Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Carol Channing played Lorelei Lee in the B'way production, and if you can paint a scenario more surreally horrifying than her vamping "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend," I welcome it.
-
I accept the challenge.
[youtube]G00fxRNDrUI[/youtube]
-
Carol Channing does a pretty fine job on the original cast recording of Gentlemen. And I bet she was quite a looker back then as well.
-
Good explanation of "theater-funny," Julie, though I'd add that Todd basically answered his own question. When, exactly did straight-up theater and live comedy become completely non-overlapping? And how did comedy seem to get all of the performers who KNOW HOW TO BE FUCKING FUNNY?
I'm sorry, I've just had way too many experiences with actors killing perfectly good jokes because someone told them that YELLING WHILE MAKING FACES IS FUNNY!!!
Other quick thoughts: I love Julie's take on Light in the Piazza. It reminds me of a director's comment that the lead in that play was "the best looking retarded girl ever."
Jon: have you checked out Company lately? Ew buoy, it's like a Playboy joke page from 1961 set to music. I love Sondheim like crazy but I left the Broadway revival of that one at halftime.
Finally, I'd add Kander & Ebb to everyone's list - I think Cabaret and Chicago still hold up pretty well.
-
Good explanation of "theater-funny," Julie, though I'd add that Todd basically answered his own question. When, exactly did straight-up theater and live comedy become completely non-overlapping? And how did comedy seem to get all of the performers who KNOW HOW TO BE FUCKING FUNNY?
I'm sorry, I've just had way too many experiences with actors killing perfectly jokes because someone told them that YELLING WHILE MAKING FACES IS FUNNY!!!
Yea, I just feel bad saying "I hate musicals" when there may be great stuff out there that I just haven't been exposed to.
-
Carol Channing played Lorelei Lee in the B'way production, and if you can paint a scenario more surreally horrifying than her vamping "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend," I welcome it.
How about Carol Channing dancing around in bra and tights in the movie Skidoo?
-
Good explanation of "theater-funny," Julie, though I'd add that Todd basically answered his own question. When, exactly did straight-up theater and live comedy become completely non-overlapping? And how did comedy seem to get all of the performers who KNOW HOW TO BE FUCKING FUNNY?
I'm sorry, I've just had way too many experiences with actors killing perfectly jokes because someone told them that YELLING WHILE MAKING FACES IS FUNNY!!!
Yea, I just feel bad saying "I hate musicals" when there may be great stuff out there that I just haven't been exposed to.
Well, don't feel bad. It kills me a little inside when someone says they hate theater, not because I think everyone should like theater, but because I know exactly why they hate it - because their only experiences have probably been some crappy Broadway thing, or their friend's painfully bad and excruciatingly boring show. In other words, it's theater's fault.
Musicals, on the other hand, even people I know who make a living in live theater hate musicals. I think it's a taste thing. That said, it's kind of like saying "I hate Jazz" - maybe you do, but there's always a chance that there's something you might like. Speaking of which, Passing Strange is pretty good, though I'm not exactly objective about it.