Your Favorite Musical?

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The stage versions only. The movie versions are usually butchered and horrid:
Guys and Dolls
Camelot
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Celebration (from 1969 and now dated, but a hoot anyway)
Babes In Arms (Rodgers and Hart at their best–but run from the movie)
The Fantasticks (saw it 3 times in NYC over 15 year period and it was still fun)
 
pre-80’s era
West Side Story
Guys and Dolls
Singin’ In The Rain
Godpsell
1776
Jesus Christ Superstar

post-80’s
Phantom of the Opera
Les Miz
Ragtime
Wicked
Spring Awakening (powerful and daring, but really thought-provoking)
Legally Blonde - silly, but lots of fun
 
Gypsy, because I’m a stage mother myself, and my girl made it! (I had her singing in front of the church (Protestant) when she was three years old and I still have the tape!).

Bat Boy!!! :extrahappy: :extrahappy: It’s awesome. All about intolerance. For those who don’t know, it’s based on the Weekly World News “Bat Boy” stories. Here’s a link to a website: batboy.co.uk/

*Sweeney Todd * is very jolting. I can’t really say I enjoy it, but I certainly think hard whenever I see it. There are a lot of layers in this musical, although Sondheim insists that it’s “just a horror story.” I haven’t seen the movie and don’t plan to. I think it’s wrecked when the throat slashings become graphic rather than just a lighting effect.

I also love Finian’s Rainbow, but at this point, I don’t think we will ever see it again. People wouldn’t be able to get past the color issue and the musical would be protested until it shut down. What I would love to see is a staging of this musical the way it would have been in the 1940s–white people and black people forced to enter and exit by separate doors (the black people in the back, of course) and separated in the audience, separate bathrooms and drinking fountains in the lobby, and the concessions stand would refuse to serve black people. I think that this staging concept would help people to understand that underneath all the dancing leprechauns and fairies and pots of gold and irish lassies and laddies and jigs and jugs, there is a very moving and powerful message that racism is EVIL!
 
kwitz said:
Love “West Side Story” - probably cuz I was in a college production a few? years ago. Every time I see it, I just know this time, Tony isn’t going to die:( .

New favorite - Wicked. Do NOT read the book but the musical was wonderful.

There are so many others I love - Music Man, Oklahoma, 7 Brides or 7 Brothers, Sound of Music, Meet Me in St. Louis …

I’m not especially fond of Les Mis or My Fair Lady but there’s very few I wouldn’t sit through.

I’m spoiled living in St. Louis with The Muny - our outdoor theater. I pay for some shows and others I sit in the free seats in the back. Yes, I’m going to “High School Musical” there this summer and I’m looking forward to it:D .

Kris
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Funny that you mention that, we are going to the Muny this year to go see HSM as well. Our daughter (5) loves it and son (3) gets into it as well. Should be exciting.
 
Never was on broadway, but it qualifies,

The Blue Brothers
 
Mirror_Mirror said:
Funny that you mention that, we are going to the Muny this year to go see HSM as well. Our daughter (5) loves it and son (3) gets into it as well. Should be exciting.
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I’m going with my daughter too!! - except she’s 19!! Our son is going with his LifeTeen youth group. We told him he should bring a girl to the free seats, pack a picnic lunch - he’d be the coolest date ever!!

Kris
 
kwitz said:
I’m going with my daughter too!! - except she’s 19!! Our son is going with his LifeTeen youth group. We told him he should bring a girl to the free seats, pack a picnic lunch - he’d be the coolest date ever!!

Kris
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My wife and I are taking out 9 y/o son, 5 y/o daughter and 3 y/o son to it. Since the charge tickets for everyone, the 8 month old will stay at her brother’s house.

We still need to order tickets.
 
kwitz said:
New favorite - Wicked. Do NOT read the book but the musical was wonderful.
Kris
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Funny, for an adult who can handle the themes and lessons, I would have said the opposite. I read the book many years before there was a musical. I found it an intelligent and engaging read. The musical was a huge disappointment to me and they completely changed the ending from the book to make it more “commercial.” It seemed more like the “Galinda” show than anything else to me.

My favorite musical is still Oklahoma!
 
Hairspray (most recent movie)
Meet Me in St. Louis
Singing in the Rain
Music Man
Oklahoma
Brigadoon
My Fair Lady
The King and I
Carousel
How to Succedd
Bye Bye Birdie
Harvey Girls
In the Good Old Summertime
Shall We Dance
The Sound of Music
Phantom
Les Miz
City of Angels

Don’t know if it counts, but, I love That Thing You Do.
 
I used to love the musical CANDIDE until I matured and understood the antigod message Voltaire was putting across.
Leonard Bernstein’s music to Candide is still fantastic.

Favorite? Les Miserables. hands down.
2nd: Evita
3rd: Man of La Mancha
4th: Jesus Christ Superstar (though I cringe at some
of the lyrics)
5th: though not anymore. I used to love the musical HAIR.
not anymore. some of the songs are superb, though.
6th: SUNSET BOULEVARD (Andrew Lloyd Webber). Awesome.
7th: It’s a tie. The wonderful OKLAHOMA! and the
wonderful “SHOW BOAT”
 
I forgot to put on my list Crazy for You, the Gershwin musical.

Anyone else like this one?
 
Mind you I am not a person that goes to many musicals at all. However, last night my daughter (5) and I went to see High School Musical at the Muny and have to say that I think that this was an amazing show. Part because I was able to be there with my daughter, but watching the show I was amazed. I thought that it was a great show that was put together very, very good. I would (honestly) pay money to go back and see it again, that is how good it was. I know that my daughter loved it as well.

The actors were amazing. They had great voices as well as great chemistry on stage. The backgrounds that were used were amazing as well. Having seen the movie, the plot of the stage perfomance was very close to what you see in the movie. Mind you, there are some differences, but for the most part it holds true to the movie. Again, I thought that this was a great performance especially when they had to act out 3 “events” going on at the same time and if they focused on one event, the other two were “freeze framed” during that time. I am sure that it is not always easy to make 15 people freeze like that for several minutes at a time.

Overall an amazing night.
 
jc-servant said:
Funny, for an adult who can handle the themes and lessons, I would have said the opposite. I read the book many years before there was a musical. I found it an intelligent and engaging read. The musical was a huge disappointment to me and they completely changed the ending from the book to make it more “commercial.” It seemed more like the “Galinda” show than anything else to me.
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Remember, I love “fluffy” musicals so Wicked was right up my alley!! I’m not opposed to the adult themes in the book but I really felt “dirty” after reading it. I didn’t like any of the characters and I only finished it to make sure everyone died.
 
Mirror_Mirror said:
Mind you I am not a person that goes to many musicals at all. However, last night my daughter (5) and I went to see High School Musical at the Muny and have to say that I think that this was an amazing show. Part because I was able to be there with my daughter, but watching the show I was amazed. I thought that it was a great show that was put together very, very good. I would (honestly) pay money to go back and see it again, that is how good it was. I know that my daughter loved it as well.

The actors were amazing. They had great voices as well as great chemistry on stage. The backgrounds that were used were amazing as well. Having seen the movie, the plot of the stage perfomance was very close to what you see in the movie. Mind you, there are some differences, but for the most part it holds true to the movie. Again, I thought that this was a great performance especially when they had to act out 3 “events” going on at the same time and if they focused on one event, the other two were “freeze framed” during that time. I am sure that it is not always easy to make 15 people freeze like that for several minutes at a time.

Overall an amazing night.
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Yeah!! The Post’s review of it was complimentary also. We’re going Sunday night and I’m really looking forward to it.

Kris
 
kwitz said:
Yeah!! The Post’s review of it was complimentary also. We’re going Sunday night and I’m really looking forward to it.

Kris
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Where are your seats at? We were in the “B” isle in section 3 and had a great view of the stage.

I saw the review in the Post and it was good. Seeing this is like when you see a movie that you cannot get out of your head and you want to watch over and over. This is similar.

As a father, I really enjoyed it show. Being involved in a production like that would be a lot of fun. I know that you will enjoy the show. Who all from your family is going?
 
We’re usually in Section B, but the second second set of seats, stage right- not bad seats but I wish they were closer. A friend gets season tickets and I get first crack at the shows I want to see; we buy extra seats for the “good” shows (like this one!!) if needed.

My friend and I are both taking our 19 year old daughters - yes we have raised dorky daughters who are both excited to see this. (Both of them went to The Producers last week and loved it - it wasn’t on my list of must see). My 16 year old son is going with our parish youth group that same night to sit in the free seats. DD should be going with them since she’s part of the summer core group who helps out but she wants to sit in our better seats!! I’m sure she’ll hang out with them early but watch the show with us.

You’re a great dad to take your daughter to this. I’d have no chance to get my hubby there. He’ll break down and see Fiddler with me later this season but “HSM”, no way!!

Kris
 
kwitz said:
We’re usually in Section B, but the second second set of seats, stage right- not bad seats but I wish they were closer. A friend gets season tickets and I get first crack at the shows I want to see; we buy extra seats for the “good” shows (like this one!!) if needed.

My friend and I are both taking our 19 year old daughters - yes we have raised dorky daughters who are both excited to see this. (Both of them went to The Producers last week and loved it - it wasn’t on my list of must see). My 16 year old son is going with our parish youth group that same night to sit in the free seats. DD should be going with them since she’s part of the summer core group who helps out but she wants to sit in our better seats!! I’m sure she’ll hang out with them early but watch the show with us.

You’re a great dad to take your daughter to this. I’d have no chance to get my hubby there. He’ll break down and see Fiddler with me later this season but “HSM”, no way!!

Kris
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I know you will have a great time.

Thanks for the compliment, but I think that I may have enjoyed it as much as she did 😊
 
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