MW: Lazy Sunday – Best Musicals
Posted by: chatblu on: June 27, 2010
- In: Morning Widdershins | movies | Open Thread | You Tube
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Another tooth-gnashing week has passed. Today, let’s talk about our favorite musical productions. I really don’t care whether you discuss plays, movies or whatever – as long as it’s a musical. They can be from any time period whatsoever. Whatever floats your boat, Here are my tev faves in alphabetical order:’
(1) Camelot, 1967. King loves and married a woman, who falls for his ever faithful knight. Sigh.
(2) Fiddler on the Roof 1971. The trials of Tevye and his family with rich, beautiful song and dance.
(3) Grease 1978. The classic high school love story, with all of its highs, lows, and even lowers.
(4) Hair 1979. Fast forward into the sights and sounds of the sixties.
(5) How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying 1967. Follow the rise of J. Pierpont Finch from window washer to executive. There are some great songs here.
(6) The King and I 1956. Love and culture clashes. Sigh.
(7) Quadrophenia 1979. Explorations of a young man’s anxiety as he comes of age. Some great Mods vs. Rockers stuff, too.
(8) Sound of Music 1965. Would any list be complete without it?
(9) West Side Story 1961. A modern adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. Won every award that you can think of coming and going,
(10) Wizard of Oz, 1939. Still fabulous advice – “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain”.
This is an open thread.
45 Responses to "MW: Lazy Sunday – Best Musicals"
June 27, 2010 at 9:36 AM
wow Obama is desperate he sent me a letter thru snail mail shit… they wasted postage to get me to give guess they are wondering why all their email schilling isnot working!
June 27, 2010 at 9:38 AM
I can do a variation on this and do a list of favorite 10 operas or something….
June 27, 2010 at 9:53 AM
@6: That’s fine. Operas are music-filled productions.
@3: I love the Lettermen’s version, too.
June 27, 2010 at 9:57 AM
Love musicals, when they are good, and DYB love operas as well.
In addition to Chat’s list,
Beata – anything with Fred and Ginger, but I was partial to Swing Time and Top Hat
Singing in the Rain – Good Morning, title song and most of the songs
The Music Man – Trouble in River City and Marion the Librarian and – all the songs.
On the Town – hilarious take on three sailors in New York on a weekend furlough – New York, New York, it’s a wonderful town!
Meet me in St Louis – trolley song, Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas.
Mary Poppins – Feed the Birds, Let’s go Fly a Kite etc.
Summer Stock – Judy singing Get Happy was just smashing.
June 27, 2010 at 10:48 AM
HT@8 – I was Marian the Librarian in our high school production of The Music Man!
June 27, 2010 at 10:51 AM
1) Sound of Music-Julie Andrews she is a musical goddess!
2) Mary Poppins-More Julie is never enough she recieved her first Oscar for this portrail…Judy we miss your voice as much as you do!
3) My Fair Lady-Audrey we and the UN Miss you your work to prevent childhood blindness around the world earns you al place in heaven for sure! Ms Hepburn lost the Oscar nod in this musical to Julie Andrews in poppins…rare footage of her singing the part of eliza doolittle is availible and her vioce was very sweet to bad they dubbed it.
4) Evita-Patti Lapone Owns this Roll forever (sorry Madonna you were great too but its Ms Lapones roll) and even saw her in it when I was young of course Eva Perone was a woman of her time but she did win the vote for women in Argentina and was an early feminist she dared to take on the patriarch in Machismo Latin America….she gets blame for alot of her husbands Facist Sins. Sound familiar?-Pardido feminino!
5) Cindarella I loved it…from in my “own little corner in my own little chair” to “ten minutes ago I met you” simple wonderful.
6) Wizard Of OZ the stage version (Judy was awesome in it too BTW) it was my first Musical I was likein 2nd grade and mom took me…and I loved it…she cant tell me she didnt know!
7)Yes the Music Man because I am from Iowa and lived in “River City” Robert Preston…wonderful and funny a true character actor with a voice!
these last three are personal sorry but I must….
8)”A little Night Music”…Because the charactor henrik who plays the Cello he was Douglas’ dream roll he played the cello for real on stage and the audience gasped because the actor cast is rarely a concert cellist that can sing…he was 35 playing a 19yr old and he pulled it off…for me as his audience it is a moment I will remember.
9) “Camelot” I was the prop master in this play and during rehersal Douglas would be on stage singing “If ever I should leave you…” looking right past the poor girl playing guinevere at me to this day my neck hair stands up whenever I hear this song…I have not been able to attend any showing of this play since douglas’ passing.
10)”Jesus Christ Superstar” because I got to work on this one too My good friend Ramona Hicks Directed Douglas and his friend Vicki Baracco in the pit Me the grunt…carrying his instruments because he was recovering from one of his OI (opportunistic infections). Ramona cast an African American in the Jesus roll (remember this is the south) and a white man as Judas….It was amazing and controversial political and electric…oh and Herod was played by a Drag Queen named Ms Hines…who came out on a hoveround motor chair all done up in gold and silver lame’ it was fabulous and funny….also the dominionist-fundagelicals hate this musical so I love it!
June 27, 2010 at 10:54 AM
More from the movie http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLMbQyk64gQ
June 27, 2010 at 11:50 AM
thanks blulyon….Oh and for everyone out there today is the 41st Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in NYC…It is a Gay High Holy Day….so today in Gay History totally off topic:
ON this day in 1969 At the Stonewall Inn at 57 Christopher Street in Greenwich Village New York (a mafia run unpermitted for liquor establishment) Police attempted a raid (they had not gotten their pay off) on a bar frequented by Drag Queens and Lesbians.
This type of raid had happened in the past and was common the police went in assaulted the some of the patron areseted a few because they did not have on 3 pieces of gender appropiate clothing as new york city ordinance and state law required at the time.
Usually the suspects were arested charged and their names turned over to the papers so the lives of the people involved could be ruined- loss of job and loss of family were real back as they are today.
But on that fateful night June 27th a few days after Gay Icon Judy Garland died something happened as the “Queens” were taken to the street some one fought back something was thrown a brick or a size 12 high heel. we are not sure. It was thrown at a police officer soon it was joined pieces of pavement and trash. As over 1000 people gathered around the “paddy wagon” and the officers outside the Stonewall Inn the shouting started soon chunks of pavement flew as well as bricks!
The police intelligently fled into the bar and baacaded them selves in a cruizer was over turned and set on fire. They reluctantly called for back up which was greeted at the precint with a laugh “sissies dont fight back against the police” but the dispatcher heard a scream in the background that said “set the place on fire burn out the “pigs”!
By the time reinforcements arrived the crowd had swelled to thousands (it was the anti-war era and the establishment was already under attack)it could not be contained and as the police forced peope of crhristopher street the protesert gust disappeard down side streets and re-emerged behind them.
The Riot went on for several days finally burning itself out but nothing was ever the same “Gay Power” was born….
41 years later we still fight the women and the gays the last two groups to have justice in this so called land of the free and home of the brave.
So celebrate diversity everyone today is my independence day! and to Madamab hope you are having a good one in the wonderful lesser Antilles!
June 27, 2010 at 12:12 PM
Okay, not a musical – but there’s music and drama. This is a hair-raising performance of “Isolde’s Narrative and Curse” from Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde performed by Waltraud Meier at James Levine’s 25th Anniversary Gala. It’s a concert performance, but Meier gives one of the great operatic performances ever committed to video here. Levine is conducting the Met Opera Orchestra.
June 27, 2010 at 12:26 PM
Hope you don’t mind my jumping in for a visit, but I can’t resist adding a few:
Victor/Victoria – Julie Andrews and Robert Preston. As a Detroiter who knew Alex Karras as a rough, tough Lion, his character’s coming-out scene was both funny and touching. Of course, that was before the Lions became the complete joke of today.
Man of La Mancha – a musical that admits how impractical and even insane holding to ideals can seem, yet pulls them to the fore in the most jaded cynics.
Annie – an overexposure to Tomorrow led me to believe I’d hate this musical, but I got hooked by the Disney version, even if it trimmed the most overt social context. Especially loved Kathy Bates’ Miss Hannigan. And the subtle touch of Warbucks/Grace Farrell being an interracial couple.
Wicked – only had the chance to see this once, but loved it. Can’t wait for the movie to finally come out. Hope it doesn’t disappoint.
Phantom of the Opera – an impossible love triangle, hopeless love, great music. Yes, I admit I love ALW, even if that’s considered a sign of pedestrian tastes by some critics.
Also agree with most of the choices above. Thanks for letting me play.
June 27, 2010 at 12:58 PM
Sister and Mike, of course you’re welcome. Come by any time, and stay awhile with us.
June 27, 2010 at 1:58 PM
Blue, bet you brought down the house as Marion. The reason I went to see the Music Man was my BIL had the original broadway cast album, with Barbara Cook as Marion, and I loved her voice. Years later, as an adult, I went to see her on stage in a small, but exclusive venue, and she was fabulous. She’s still going strong, and I believe she’s in her mid eighties.
All of the suggestions – seen them all and loved them, including the opera.
Fuzzy, what wonderful memories you have – thank you for sharing.
June 27, 2010 at 2:43 PM
Chat, thanks! I usually lurk everyday and always learn someting new. Trust me, this site has been on my faves for a long time.
June 27, 2010 at 5:11 PM
Chat@30: It’s not one of the greatest musicals, but I played in the orchestra for a local production in college and I kinda get a kick out of it. Always try to see if it’s on the tube around the 4th.
June 27, 2010 at 7:49 PM
OK I must confess…one of my all time favorites is Jeannette MacDonald in San Francisco.
Aside from the earthquake, the film has it all
June 27, 2010 at 7:54 PM
Ooops, somehow the post went up before I was finished. There’s the iconic photo of Gable in
black tie, head tilted to the side with that rakish smile, MacDonald’s beautiful excerpts from Faust, my favorite performance of the final trio ever, and the dramatic bombshell (for it’s time) of Gable punching Tracy, the priest, while Tracy’s wearing his Roman collar. And then of course, director Woody Van Dyke’s earthquake, the first and most realistic disaster movie.
June 27, 2010 at 8:38 PM
BBS, I confess that I too loved Jeanette MacDonald – watched every movie she made. Truth, I was a lonely, geeky kid who spent a lot of time in the basement watching a 7″ B&W TV most nights – tuned of course to any old movie.
I loved San Francisco, but one of my many favorites was Naughty Marietta.
June 27, 2010 at 8:48 PM
Beata, thanks for Get Happy. It makes me smile every time I see it.
BTW, don’t know if you recall, but one of the incarnations of your gravatar I mentioned resembled Deanna Durbin (it was your grandmother, if I recall correctly). She was another favorite, back in the basement days – very young, and very beautiful. Her first movie was when she was 14, and she walked away from Hollywood age 27. That was in 1949, and amazingly, she still has fans, although she hasn’t been in a movie or in the public eye in over 60 years.
This is from her first movie – 14 years old.
June 27, 2010 at 9:30 PM
last post – I appear to be hogging sorry, but there are so many!
I forgot Brigadoon – about a Scottish village under a spell that appears every 100 years out of the mists. The inhabitants think they have just slept overnight.
June 27, 2010 at 9:47 PM
What fun! I must say that the ones I have seen on stage please me much more than the movies – maybe it is the glamour of the theater. I saw ‘The Boyfriend’ in the ’50s in San Francisco when I was a kid and have loved stage musicals ever since. Then I have seen the following on the London stage – The King and I (superb), Mamma Mia (twice), and The Phantom (the stage effects were wonderful, as well as the music).
Recently I saw Oklahoma from a local theater group, and was very surprised at how dark it was. I had remembered it as light and fluffy…. and it certainly wasn’t on stage.
June 27, 2010 at 9:52 PM
Sorry, this really is my last
Porgy and Bess – with the incomparable (and exquisitely beautiful, yet tragic) Dorothy Dandridge as Bess (songs dubbed by Adele Addison), Sydney Poitier as Porgy (songs dubbed by Robert McFerrin, bobby’s don’t worry be happy dad), the incomparable Sammy Davis Jr (no dubbing necessary), the incomparable Pearl Baily, and so many others (Maya Angelou in an dancing role, if you can believe it). I loved that musical. Can’t get it off youtube at all, despite the fact that the movie was made in 55. Guess the copyright gurus are busy at work. I do have the LP – yes I still have vinyl – lots of vinyl, and I still have a (gasp) record player, and a reel to reel with all Peggy Lee’s repertoire, a VCR and a double cassette player! 8 track broke down a couple of years ago, so had to discard. REtro, or what. I also have the modern versions, but you’ll have to cut the others out of my cold dead hands.
June 27, 2010 at 9:56 PM
Georgia, I also enjoy the stage versions, and Phantom was breathtaking. Saw it with Colm Wilkinson and Michael Ball – swoon. Les Mis was another, however, if you get the opportunity to go, take a box of tissues – even the men were sniffling throughout – the music is sublime. Okay, that really is my last – thread hogging over! Goodnight all – busy day in the garden tomorrow!
June 28, 2010 at 12:09 AM
Ah Beata – Freddy was much preferable to that cold stodgy Higgins, yet Freddy went on to become the best Sherlock Holmes ever – cold and stodgy that he became. Interesting how the British always seem to pick the best actors for the roles, rather than the handsomest or prettiest, or most popular.
Thanks Chat for your permission for me to continue to hog the thread. I could go on all night, but it really is time for me to go to bed, and I really do have a date with the garden – at least if the severe lightening storms let up.
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June 27, 2010 at 7:57 AM
Musicals OMG this is a gay mans dream thread I am compiling my list now! will be back should be fabulous!