What is your favorite musical

  • Thread starter Thread starter convertingtocatholic
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
  1. Les Mis
  2. The Phantom of the Opera
    3 Fiddler on the Roof
  3. The King and I
 
My Fair Lady. But I was outraged when the movie version was made with Audrey Hepburn instead of Julie Andrews.
 
My family grew up with musicals.

-West Side Story
-Singin’ in the Rain
-Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
-Oklahoma
-The Music Man
-Calamity Jane
 

Hamilton!​

Oh my goodness, we saw it in Denver in March, and I was completely blown away!

I am anything but a pushover when it comes to music and the arts. Couldn’t care less if something is popular or wins awards (I hated “Cats” and “Rent” for example.) But Hamilton is truly something special.

The lyrics are amazing and have so many little gems:
  • “I am not throwing away my shot!”
    (I wish some of my students had this attitude.)
  • “I’m looking for a mind at work.”
  • "Look around, look around, how lucky we are to be alive right now!"
  • “History has it’s eyes on you.”
  • “You have no control who lives, who dies, who tells your story.”
  • “When you’re gone, I’ll go mad
    so don’t throw away this thing we’ve had,
    'Cause when push comes to shove, I will
    Kill your friends and family
    To remind you of my love.” (oh, that King George is such a romantic! 😍)
 
Last edited:
carousel with the song “You will never walk alone”
I enjoy too “I am an English man” from HMAS Pinaforte?
 
Referring only to stage musicals, here are my other loves:

“West Side Story”

“Les Miserables”

“The Lion King”

“Man of La Mancha” 😍
 
Last edited:
The Lion King (taking my 5yo to see it next week, so excited for him and me)
The Lion King is an extraordinary musical. I remember being moved to tears during the opening song “Circle of Life” as all the actors came in with the “animals.” I hope you and your son have a wonderful time!
 
The opening scene of West Side Story is one of my favorites. The essence of cool. I have to say, however, that the Jets and Sharks just don’t appear too frightening anymore 🙂

 
And how could I forget the only one I’ve seen on Broadway?
Cats
Saw it 3 times the summer after it won the Tonys. My bride had gone to high school with one of the dance leads. 😸

It’s still the only 3 times I’ve ever visited NYC.
Another Honorable Mention, since it is not a musical per se, but it could have been, and lives in the same folder in my meagre music collections: Stan Freberg Presents The United States of America (vols 1 and 2)
 
I adore all of the classic musicals that have been mentioned. My husband also got me into Into the Woods, Sunday in the Park with George, and Sweeney Todd. (I don’t love the film version of Todd, though.)
 
Yankee Doodle Dandy .
Fell in love with this when it was first on VHS about a thousand years ago. How could I forget??!!

“My father thanks you,
My mother thanks you,
My sister thanks you,
And I thank you.”

"And for my friends in Washington
Who complain about the taxes,
Who cares as long as we can knock the ‘ax’
Out of the Axis…
Don’t print that - it’s strictly off the record.

I can’t forget how Lafayette helped give us our first chance
To win our fight for Liberty - and now they’ve taken France -
We’ll take it back from Hitler, and put ants in his Ja-pants…
And that’s - for - the record!"

When I was in Korea I had a couple of friends over for July 4th and I made them watch ‘Yankee Doodle’. I made two new fans! LOL.
 
Last edited:
LOVE it! 😃

When my husband was a boy, he sang “Yankee Doodle Dandy” at Disneyland and “Off the Record” at another competition. I love those songs!

Also, every year he reminds our family that Cagney only did the dance down the staircase in that film once because the production couldn’t get insurance to cover it and he asked to do it just once. It’s so awesome!
 
Why wouldn’t it? 🙂 If that’s your bag, then it’s your bag. Faves are faves.
 
It’s amazing to watch that and think that Cagney was known for gangster films. 🤣🤣

For those who have never seen it, here it is. It starts at 2:31.


Watch it to the end. At the close, Cagney, playing George M. Cohan (whom you may not recognize by name but most will recognize even one of his songs, much like Irving Berlin!), encounters a troop parade. The side eye he’s getting is funny because Cohan wrote “Over There” - so it’s even funnier when the soldier asks him if he can remember the song… 😉

Speaking of Irving Berlin, anyone here ever seen the old musical “This is the Army” starring Ronald Reagan? Irving Berlin himself actually appears in that, as does Joe “The Brown Bomber” Lewis. (Joe Lewis is buried in Arlington.) Another gem from the same era.
 
Last edited:
-Les Misérables
-Phantom of the Opera
-Fiddler on the Roof
-Wicked
To name a few
 
I LOVE musicals. Pretty much all of them. But it isn’t hard for me to state my favorite. It’s Carousel. I think it’s the masterpiece from a partnership that produced nothing but masterpieces. The King and I, South Pacific, and the Sound of Music are also on my top ten. I think Fiddler on the Roof is the most beautifully filmed musical ever made. Other masterpieces I love are Phantom of the Opera (though I don’t think anyone can play the role of the Phantom like Michael Crawford did), Showboat, A West Side Story, Ragtime (Not frequently performed but absolutely breathtaking music and story!), The Secret Garden, and Les Miserables. That’s my top 10. But if I could throw one more in there, I’d add The Lion King, because it’s an incredible experience.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top