Musicals!

The Spanish Inquisition

The Spanish Inquisition

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I'm obviously not the only one here who loves musicals. (even though I used to hate them. And then I saw Phantom of the Opera.)

Musicals I absolutely love:

Les Miserables. It's my favourite ever. It's just so epic and beautiful. I have three cast recordings, two in English and once in French. I've seen the concert video a billion times and sing along at the top of my lungs. I LOVE this musical.

Sweeney Todd. Not the movie. The movie killed the score, honestly. No, I'm talking about the good old 82 production with Angela Landsbury and George Hearn. Or the concert version with Patti Lapone. Either is good. It's very dark, and not for anyone under the age of thirteen, but the music and plotting is quite brilliant.

Company. I've recently got into this one, after finding the revival recording at my library. I'd got it out some time last year, but didn't really like it much. I'm glad I gave it another chance, because now I absolutely love it. I've seen the DVD version three times now. Being Alive (the finale) never fails to bring me to tears. It just...makes me think about who I want to be and the direction my life is headed. Good stuff.

Assassins. Not a very popular or famous one, but it's one of my favourites. It is about some of the men and woman who have tried (some more successfully than others) to kill presidents of the united states. It's a rather mature musical (again, not for the little ones), but it is quite a brilliant concept. (but what do you excpect from Sondheim?)

The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It's so bloody weird that I can't help but love it. (and Tim Curry looks good in lipstick. Just saying) I've got the soundtrack from the movie and blare it and dance along to the Time Warp.

Musicals I like a lot:

Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Oliver, and Fiddler on the Roof.

So what musicals do you guys like?
 
I love musicals too!
Here are a few of my personal favorites:

1. Les Mis -- inspirational and meaty plot, wonderful music+lyrics, character development, creative staging, universal themes
times seen on stage (not counting videos): 7 or 8

2. Quilters -- wow the rich harmonies!! , wide ranging and universal themes, great blend of folk/gospel/country/contemporary musical styles, moving (both humor and pathos), brilliant staging, and creative plot with each scene captured in a different quilt square
times seen on stage: 7

3. My Fair Lady -- great adaptation of G.B. Shaw's Pygmalion though the endings are somewhat different, beautiful music, witty lyrics, and the transformation of Eliza is stunning
times seen on stage: 1

4. Big River -- love the blend of folk/gospel/country/contemporary musical styles, excellent adaptation from Twain, fun special river/rain effects, humor as well as drama
times seen on stage: 4

5. West Side Story -- wow the music and energy! , brilliant redo of Romeo and Juliet, powerful plot powerfully told
times seen on stage: 1

And of course I Love whatever musical or play that my kids happen to be in -- So far this list includes: Les Mis, Bye Bye Birdie, Guys and Dolls, King and I, Princess Ida (Gilbert and Sullivan), the Best Christmas Pageant Ever, and various miscellaneous school productions ;)


The Spanish Inquisition said:
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Les Miserables. It's my favourite ever. It's just so epic and beautiful. I have three cast recordings, two in English and once in French. I've seen the concert video a billion times and sing along at the top of my lungs. I LOVE this musical.
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I have the French CD version too, along with the 1987 Broadway CD, plus the Dream Concert video with the multilingual rendition of 24(?) international Jean Valjeans singing a montage of "Do You Hear the People Sing?" And of course I have a video of my son's production of Les Mis when he was part of Gavroche's gang.
 
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Benisse said:
I have the French CD version too, along with the 1987 Broadway CD, plus the Dream Concert video with the multilingual rendition of 24(?) international Jean Valjeans singing a montage of "Do You Hear the People Sing?" And of course I have a video of my son's production of Les Mis when he was part of Gavroche's gang.
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Which French version? I have the French revival version, and it's amazing. I also have the original london recording, and the complete symphonic recording.
 
Wow,I'm really obsessed with the theater,but on musicals I'm not going to have such a long list as you two (even though I should).

1. Cats (Koty). I've seen it 4 times, and I never get bored. I love all the characters (even Macavity), know most of the songs by heart in both English and Polish, and hung a poster of the Polish cast next to my bed.

2. The Phantom of the Opera (Upiór W Operze). Erik is awesome. Book is awesome. I love the masquerade scene, and the music is beautiful! :)

3. Fiddler On The Roof (Skrzypek Na Dachu).I saw the performance on an outside theater when I was 7. When the play was over, me and the other kids took over the stage-town built there! Luckily it didn't rain, so the play went smoothly,and I really liked it.

I'M GOING TO SEE LES MISERABLES THIS MONTH IN WARSAW!!!!!I CAN'T WAIT,THE COMPANY IS FROM LONDON!!!!I've been obsessing over going ever since the notices showed up in the Old Town. :D:D:D
 
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I like a lot of movies that have musical numbers in them, but I doubt they qualify.

However, my favorite musical would have to be the TEXAS! Musical Drama performed 3 months every year in Palo Duro Canyon, Texas. (A picture of the canyon can be found in my album). This is a short video of the opening music/act:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xgQnGZkaUQ

Movie wise, I really don't know if I have a favorite musical. Mary Poppins would probably be closest to #1. And I detest Oklahoma! :rolleyes: Ick.
 
SingingDryad~ said:
I'M GOING TO SEE LES MISERABLES THIS MONTH IN WARSAW!!!!!I CAN'T WAIT,THE COMPANY IS FROM LONDON!!!!I've been obsessing over going ever since the notices showed up in the Old Town. :D:D:D
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Dryad, How exciting! My whole family got to see Les Mis in London in 2003 and it was an amazing production --

By the way I like Cats too and got to see it twice onstage, once on a big stage, and the second time in an intimate dinner theater setting. My table was right in front of the stage, so often when the front-centerstage characters would lunge out, there would be someone actually reaching out over me... and I could smell him/her. I liked the production very much nonetheless, although I'm glad we were served dinner before the show began.

Aravis, I'm so glad you mentioned Texas. One of the items on my ultimate To Do list is to go see that production one day, especially since I grew up in Texas.

SpInQ,
I have the original concept album that was pitched to Cameron Mackintosh before Les Mis became transformed into an international sensation. One interesting difference is that the song that underwent lyric metamorphosis becoming Eponine's "On My Own" originally was the title song, "L'Air de la Misére" sung by Fantine.
 
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It's definitely worth the money, but a little disappointing too because in the recent years they've changed it up a little and added in cursing and drinking. It's not bad cursing, all those h and d words...of course, I saw it back in the 90s when they had veteran actors and they hadn't diverted much from the original script, so anybody who sees it now will like it regardless.

And if you do go, be sure to get a program (available in the gift shop) and after the show go by the cast line to get autographs. All of the dancers, chorus singers, and actors line up outside the ampitheater to greet the fans as they leave, and I love getting autographs. :D But I wish they had it available on dvd. :(
 
Benisse said:
SpInQ,
I have the original concept album that was pitched to Cameron Mackintosh before Les Mis became transformed into an international sensation. One interesting difference is that the song that underwent lyric metamorphosis becoming Eponine's "On My Own" originally was the title song, "L'Air de la Misére" sung by Fantine.
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ooh, lucky. I've heard that one, and it's really good. Though I'm not really a huge fan of the cast. (But I'm finicky about my Les Mis.) It's still interesting to see where it went, though.
 
Aravis Kenobi said:
It's definitely worth the money, but a little disappointing too because in the recent years they've changed it up a little and added in cursing and drinking. It's not bad cursing, all those h and d words...of course, I saw it back in the 90s when they had veteran actors and they hadn't diverted much from the original script, so anybody who sees it now will like it regardless.

And if you do go, be sure to get a program (available in the gift shop) and after the show go by the cast line to get autographs. All of the dancers, chorus singers, and actors line up outside the ampitheater to greet the fans as they leave, and I love getting autographs. :D But I wish they had it available on dvd. :(
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Thanks for the tips, AravisK. By the way I did see an outdoor musical pageant years ago along the River Walk in San Antonio that also had to do with Texas heritage (but because I was so young I don't remember anything about it except the costumes).
 
My favorite musicals:

Sweeney Todd.

Oliver!

Fiddler On The Roof.

The Sound Of Music.

Every cartoon Disney movie, they're all musicals! :D
 
I would soo love to see Sweeney Todd! I've read the book, which was . . . interesting.

I love Les Mis, which I've only heard on CD. My sister and I sing along all the time, and we can listen to it 10 times a day.

I also love Cats, which I actually got to see once. It was amazing!

I like Fiddler on the Rood, though I've only seen the movie. Still, we sing along to the CD all the time.

I should really try Phatom of the Opera sometime too. The book was interesting enough.
 
Lossëndil said:
I would soo love to see Sweeney Todd! I've read the book, which was . . . interesting.

I love Les Mis, which I've only heard on CD. My sister and I sing along all the time, and we can listen to it 10 times a day.

I also love Cats, which I actually got to see once. It was amazing!

I like Fiddler on the Rood, though I've only seen the movie. Still, we sing along to the CD all the time.

I should really try Phatom of the Opera sometime too. The book was interesting enough.
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Yeah, the Phantom of the Opera movie's a bit silly, but I like it. It's kind of nostalgic for me now.
 
Besides Cats and maybe Evita, I don't like other musicals. I've seen quite a few but I guess it's just not my thing.
 
I am an absolute musical geek. I love them. I think my all time favorite would be "Phantom of the Opera". "The Lion King on Broadway" is probably a close second. It was absolutely beautiful and the costumes and puppets were amazing. Others I like...

-Beauty and the Beast (I just saw the stage version of this over the summer. It was excellent. The new songs not from the movie ended up being some of my favorites)

-Sweeney Todd (though it is a bit gory for me, at some parts)

-West Side Story (so good, but so sad!)

-American Idiot (I haven't seen this one, but I've listened to quite a bit of the music, and it is really good. A lot better than I expected a musical based off of Green Day's music would be)

-Cats (it was a little weird overall. But the costumes were great, and the music was as well, so I liked it)

There are probably more, but those are some of them :rolleyes:
 
The Spanish Inquisition said:
I'm obviously not the only one here who loves musicals. (even though I used to hate them. And then I saw Phantom of the Opera.)

Musicals I absolutely love:

Les Miserables.
Sweeney Todd.
Company. Assassins.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Musicals I like a lot:

Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Oliver, and Fiddler on the Roof.

So what musicals do you guys like?
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I'm afraid I'm terribly sentimental about Mary Poppins having memorized every line from that movie at one point in my childhood. In more recent years, I agree with BarbarianKing on Evita. It's a true modern classic.

BTW Spanish Inquisition, where exactly do rocking horse people eat marshmallow pies?
 
hmmm.......well my favorite musical right now HairSpray
I also love

Annie

Camelot

anything Disney

I also love the song from Les Mis called Castle of a Cloud
 
I got to see Little Women and thought it was an excellent adaptation of the classic book. The music was a lot of fun too, especially the swashbuckling songs when Jo's stories are brought to life in melodramatic splendor.
 
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