Welcome! Your favorite musicals

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Welcome! Your favorite musicals

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1timspalding
jun 15, 2011, 12:54 pm

I'm coming out: I love musicals! (Besides, Broadway isn't just for gays any more.)

Here's a stab at my favorites, excluding Gilbert and Sullivan, which would otherwise take up about half:

1 Anything Goes
2. Les Miserables
3. Godspell
3. West Side Story
4. Once Upon a Mattress
5. Oliver
6. Kiss me Kate
7. Chorus Line
8. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
9. The Pajama Game
10. The King and I

I hate:

1. Phantom of the Opera
2. Cats

2JustinTheLibrarian
jun 15, 2011, 1:06 pm

Xanadu better count. Or I will hate you.

West Side Story, Singing In The Rain, Don't Knock The Rock, Rock Around The Clock.

3mckait
jun 15, 2011, 1:08 pm

My son played the lead once in
1.Anything Goes..
he also played the lead in
2.Some Like it Hot ( alternately called Sugar)
I also like
3. Camelot.. a fave
4. Superstar

And after watching the Tony;s I really want to see Book of Mormon.

4DaynaRT
jun 15, 2011, 1:08 pm

Gigi
Funny Girl
Chorus Line
Evita
Les Mis
Grease
Brigadoon

5JustinTheLibrarian
jun 15, 2011, 1:10 pm

@ #4: Totally forgot about Grease. I am so into 70's/80's musicals.

6_Zoe_
jun 15, 2011, 1:15 pm

1. Les Misérables
2. Wicked
3. Reefer Madness

7ablachly
jun 15, 2011, 1:20 pm

Not in order, but I love: Les Miserables, Chorus Line, Spring Awakening, Evita (but only with Patti LuPone), Godspell. I admit to liking pop musicals like Wicked. And I love Stephen Sondheim-- Gypsy. Little Night Music. Into the Woods.

I just bought the Book of Mormon album, but haven't listened to it yet...

8timspalding
jun 15, 2011, 1:23 pm

I haven't seen Spring Awakening. I adore the soundtrack. Ditto Chess, Book of Mormon. I loved Producer's soundtrack, but only saw the movie—which wasn't great.

9thebeadden
jun 15, 2011, 1:24 pm

I have only been to one:

Jersey Boys. It was fantastic. Something I never thought I would enjoy and now want to make an effort to see more.

10timspalding
jun 15, 2011, 1:30 pm

"If you’ve seen a show then you already know how magical theatre can be,
It’s a two hour live action barely affordable unlip-synced version of Glee."

I'm guessing a lot of you are Glee fans here too.

11DaynaRT
jun 15, 2011, 1:47 pm

Not at all.

12timspalding
jun 15, 2011, 1:49 pm

Me neither, but more because I don't have a TV.

13ablachly
jun 15, 2011, 1:50 pm

Oh yeah, Chess, I agree. Tim, do you love Chess and Spring Awakening because they were in my iTunes when we switched computers at one point? (in other words, do I get credit?)

14timspalding
jun 15, 2011, 1:51 pm

Yes. Completely.

15thebeadden
jun 15, 2011, 1:57 pm

I don't watch Glee. I was horrified when my father asked to me go to Jersey Boys and thought what a waste of a few hundred dollars for a day out. It was worth every penny. But watching something like that on television would be torture. (For me) To each his own.

16Jenni_Canuck
jun 15, 2011, 2:04 pm

1. Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (totally amazing -- if it had played longer in Toronto I would have seen it way more than the 3 times I managed to get tickets.)
2. Wicked
3. Mamma Mia

Hated Jersey Boys and left at intermission mostly because I was surrounded by screamers and singers who didn't know the words to the songs -- not that they let a little detail like that stop them from scream-singing along.

17lilithcat
jun 15, 2011, 2:07 pm

The Dead, West Side Story, Candide, Top Hat (oh, okay, anything with Fred & Ginger!)

18devenish
jun 15, 2011, 2:21 pm

Phantom of the Opera
Blood Brothers
Miss Saigon
Les Miserables
Evita
Sunset Boulevard
Chicago

19royalhistorian
jun 15, 2011, 2:56 pm

Phantom of the Opera, Aida, Sweeney Todd and The Three Musketeers

20klarusu
jun 15, 2011, 3:14 pm

Les Mis
Gigi
The King and I
Miss Saigon
West Side Story
Grease
The Sound of Music

21ablachly
jun 15, 2011, 3:16 pm

Miss Saigon was my first CD. A TWO cd set even. It was a present, along with a boombox with a *gasp* CD player.

22felius
jun 15, 2011, 4:01 pm

I was in school productions of Grease & Godspell, and local productions of Les Miserables, Pirates of Penzance & 42nd Street. On DVD I have West Side Story, Camelot, Rocky Horror, Jesus Christ Superstar (the 90s revival), Priscilla - Queen of the Desert, Moulin Rouge and probably other stuff I'm forgetting. I love G&S. I'd love to see some big stage productions but would have to travel to do so :(

23WholeHouseLibrary
Bewerkt: jun 16, 2011, 12:17 am

Favorite musical that is a Play: Spamalot
Favorite musical that is a movie: Cannibal, The Musical

24timspalding
jun 15, 2011, 5:51 pm

I haven't been in very many musicals, and not since grade school--Peter Pan (a bit part) and a custom-written one (lead). My sister was in a lot of them, and they were a big deal in my family generally. My mom took me to practically every production that came within driving distance of Boston, or at the Harvard Gilbert and Sullivan. So I've seen a lot more high school and local-theater versions than Boston or Broadway.

25legallypuzzled
jun 15, 2011, 5:54 pm

No love for You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown?

(Yeah, it hasn't aged that well.)

26jcbrunner
Bewerkt: jun 15, 2011, 6:04 pm

Les Miserables, Rocky Horror Show, West Side Story, Chess, Avenue Q ... and CATS. It is a children's musical with great indestructible songs (cue Susan Boyle).

I also like to highlight two foreign language musicals:

Starmania - a French 1970s rock opera sung by stars (France Gall!) with a lot of instant classics such as La complainte de la serveuse automate, medley by Céline Dion 1988

Elisabeth - about the Austrian Habsburg Empress I only belong to me (German with English subs)

27foggidawn
Bewerkt: jun 15, 2011, 8:27 pm

Nobody has mentioned The Scarlet Pimpernel yet?!? It's been my favorite for some years now, though there are so many other that I love almost as much. Les Mis, for instance, and Into the Woods.

Hmm, what else do I love? Fiddler on the Roof (I understudied Yenta and Fruma-Sarah for a college production, and still managed to like it after the run of the show), Camelot, My Fair Lady, Sweeney Todd (though I'll admit I only "discovered" it with the release of the recent movie) -- and I have some sentimental fondness for Godspell, another college production that I was involved with behind the scenes.

I saw Cats on Broadway as a teenager, and I loved it for the experience (certainly not for the plot, as it has none). I saw Chicago in the West End -- how's that for irony? I was with a tour group; if it had been up to me, I would have chosen something else for my London theatre experience. So, neither of those are favorites, but in both cases the experience of seeing the show was more important than the actual show.

Edited because oh, West Side Story! And Once Upon a Mattress! And Oliver! . . . I guarantee you, I will be thinking of favorites to add for the rest of the evening. And there are certain songs that I like from other musicals, even if I wouldn't call the musical itself a favorite.

28mckait
jun 15, 2011, 8:46 pm

Tim! Who knew? :) No wonder you love theater.

29timspalding
jun 15, 2011, 8:57 pm

>28 mckait:

Abby and I are both big musicals people. She likes Sondheim more than I do, but she doesn't know G&S well.

30_Zoe_
jun 15, 2011, 8:59 pm

So, when is the LT Broadway night?

31timspalding
jun 15, 2011, 9:00 pm

Ha. Too expensive, I think.

32_Zoe_
jun 15, 2011, 9:06 pm

I didn't mean LT had to provide the tickets ;)

33timspalding
jun 15, 2011, 9:07 pm

Too expensive for me!

34LucindaLibri
jun 16, 2011, 12:04 am

Had to smile that this group arrived soon after the delightful "Not just for gays" bit at the Tony's on Sunday . . . inspired!

Grew up on Rodgers & Hammerstein and Lerner & Lowe musicals (and played the violin in a few of them in school productions). Favs would include: Oklahoma, Sound of Music, My Fair Lady, Brigadoon, etc. Also love The Music Man & West Side Story . . . Haven't kept up on the newer ones (and don't live anywhere near Broadway) so mostly make do with movie versions of the oldies or PBS showings. I totally understand why Sondheim is great, but can't get past the "but I can't sing those songs" problem :)

I listen to the Jesus Christ Superstar soundtrack (the London version) every year during Lent. Oh, and I won a prize for my Magenta costume at Rocky Horror Picture Show . . . a VERY long time ago! :)

Tried to watch Glee a few times but the stereotypes were just too over the top for me (though the Madonna and Rocky Horror episodes were fun).

So what format (live, movie, soundtrack) do the rest of you use to feed your musical fix?

35lilithcat
jun 16, 2011, 10:08 am

Okay, y'all, enjoy!

36millhold
jun 16, 2011, 3:47 pm

Saw on Broadway:
Chicago
The King and I
Phantom of the Opera (I hated it)
A few others I can't remember right now.

Saw at Community Theaters:
Into the Woods
Gypsy (with Tyne Daly)
Les Mis (I hated it)
Sweeney Todd
A few others I can't remember right now.

Saw in recorded visual formats:
Anything Goes
Once Upon a Mattress
Kiss Me Kate
A Chorus Line
The Pajama Game
Evita
Gigi
Singing in the Rain
Sound of Music
Oklahoma
SOUTH PACIFIC!!!

It took me a while to appreciate musicals; when I was younger, I couldn't stand them at all.

37timspalding
jun 16, 2011, 4:31 pm

I don't think Les Miserables works on a small stage.

38millhold
jun 16, 2011, 5:28 pm

Shouldn't have called that one "community theater." That, Gypsy, and Into the Woods, were all the road company versions on BIG stages in the area.

My friends think I'm a moron for not liking Les Mis and Phantom. I think it had something to do with the fact that I couldn't understand the words to most of the songs in the live theater. I love the recordings of Les Mis (but not Phantom).

39JustinTheLibrarian
jun 16, 2011, 6:44 pm

CHESS! YES! ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK

40AntiLeah
jun 16, 2011, 7:11 pm

Les Mis was my fave for so long, and I got to play Mme. Thenardier in high school. I've seen it quite a few times, but it has been years. It is about to come through town in a month or two. I think I'll have to get tickets.

No love for Rent? It is a little dated now, but I was at the exact right age and in the right time period to just fall in love with it. Doing a semester in NYC during college, 20 years old, 1997, most of the original cast still in the show, lottery for $20 tickets in the first two rows if you showed up a couple hours early (thankfully, it was after the time when it was first come first served for those $20 seats and people would camp out over night outside the Niederlander on a not quite so cleaned up yet Broadway.) That was a fun time. I still like to listen to the soundtrack. The movie was not so good, though.

Phantom bugs me.

I really want to see Book of Mormon! I might have to do an NYC vacation. Haven't been since the aforementioned 1997 semester.

41AGClibrary
jun 16, 2011, 9:13 pm

Favorite Musicals I kniw it is a long npost..but I have really been thinking about it It is not in any order..free thought
The King and I…I loved the book
Sound of Music…I thought at the time I looked like Julie Andrews.
Oklahoma… I was taught to play this song on the violin in junior high schools school, I was not a violin player, tone deaf, poor Mrs. West, my teacher..
Gigi I remember being a teenager and watching this at the movies in a little teather in Orange, Ca.
Singing in the Rain. I dance in the puddles after it rains.
SOUTH PACIFIC!!! I just watched the new versionon TV..I was ok
West Side Story...I used some of the music in my wedding …..Years ago
Les Miserables, the dance scene at the “Wall” is so cool. I wish I could dance. That’s right, can’t play the violin, can’t sing and can’t dance. I always wanted to take ballet lessons, but no money….
Camelot
Evita, I even like Madonna, I know I am not suppose to like her singing in that.
Mamma Mia … See this in Vegas.
7 Brides and 7 Brothers... The movie is fun to watch, the dancing is something else.
Phantom of the Opera…see it in Vegas!!!!
My Fair Lady
Brigadoon…. Not one of my favorites, but music on the stage or in a movie is great fun.
The Music Man… as a librarian, Well of course, it is my favorite
“O”, I know it isn’t really a musical, more a magic show.
Fiddler on the Roof… I only play the first part, before the bad stuff happens…I love happy things…but the entire thing is wonderful. I make my grandchildren watch it, so they understand what happened during the time their great-grandparents were living.
Jesus Chris Superstar…it is great seeing Jesus as a “Cool Dude”
Annie…my grandbabies love it
Hair…my husband just added his favorite ones.
He just asked what musicals did we not like….good question. HE HAD NO SUGGESTIONS
I never liked, GREASE. I think it fostered the idea that girls who were doing not nice things, where great. Sorry, I am an old fashion grandmother.
His favorite was…about windmills ? The Man of La Mancha
Zobra the Greek… perfect with a glass of red vino

42Kasongo
jun 17, 2011, 9:23 pm

Love
The Secret Garden
Into the Woods
Crazy for You
Wizard of Oz (my oldest was the Wicked Witch in our high school and she melted extremely well.)
And what ever one I think of right after I post this.

43timspalding
jun 17, 2011, 9:36 pm

I'd never heard of Love. Where did you see it?

44richardderus
jun 18, 2011, 11:20 am

Chess (One night in Bangkok and the world's your oyster...no idea what it means but it's a great tune)

Gigi (The night they invented champaaagnnne... who knew Hermione Gingold was hot?)

The Producers (well, duh)

Funny Face (La Hepburn in the Louvre...swoon)

but primus inter pares, my personal Monadnock of musical mellifluity, is:
SIIINGIN' IN THE RAAAIIINNN just siiiinginnn' in the raaaiiinnn...what a lgoooorious feeelin' I'm haaapy agaiiinnn
Beats there a heart so dead to joy as not to respond *positively* to this schmaltz-fest?

PS please go read my review of Dancing on the Ceiling for more musical moments of joy. Stanley Donen was the bomb in the prime of MGM musical-ness.

But srsly...Broadway IS still just for gays. Hands off, straight boy.

45suitable1
jun 20, 2011, 12:32 pm

Carousel

46fdholt
jun 20, 2011, 9:02 pm

I can't come up with just a few but anything Rogers and Hammerstein (including Cinderella), Showboat, Annie (both cartoon and gun). Love G&S (anyone listen to Cox and Box by a younger Sullivan?). I grew up with Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy and their operettas on the late night movies. Also John Philip Sousa's El Capitan is as outrageous as any G&S.

47KimarieBee
jun 21, 2011, 12:59 am

I'll watch almost any musical if the opportunity arises.....in fact I'm a complete sucker for all the re-runs of the old faithfuls like The King and I (my earliest memory is of being taken to the cinema at age 2 and watching it from the steps in the centre aisle). Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Kiss Me Kate. My favourite though will always be West Side Story. The only one I deliberately avoid is Annie because for some reason that particular song really annoys me. I notice no one has mentioned The Boy From Oz or Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Too Aussie-centric?

48timspalding
jun 21, 2011, 7:10 pm

Interestingly nobody's mentioned Kurt Weil. I forgot him, but while I find the Threepenny Opera very interesting, I wouldn't add it as a favorite.

49LShelby
jun 23, 2011, 8:34 am

You mean there's a group on LT where I can say I fell in love with Romberg's music at a very early age, (my mother had an LP with the soundtrack from one of the Movie versions of Desert Song, and I liked it so much, I borrowed everything I could find by him from the library --musical scores mostly, and then later I made copies of my Grandfather's "Favorite Operetta's" LP Collection) and not everyone will go "who?"

So put The Desert Song, The Student Prince, New Moon and Rose Marie on my list. Okay?
I also really liked the music from The Vagabond King, Roberta, and the Merry Widow. (I've never found a version of the Vagabond King to watch, though, all I've heard is "musical selections from...". Is that cheating?)

I don't think anyone has mentioned Slipper and the Rose.

I like Gilbert and Sullivan, most particularly Pirates, Ruddigore and the Gondoliers.

And lots and lots of stuff already mentioned. Rodgers and Hammerstein, Pajama Game, Seven Brides, Kiss Me Kate...

... Am I allowed to admit to liking a lot of Disney musicals?
(I remember buying Mary Poppins for my kids, and thinking -- you know, this really is really good.)

And the most listened to soundtrack around our household is probably Man a la Mancha. Starring Placido Domingo with some guy named Patinkin as Sancho. :)

I feed my fix using whatever I can find on DVD at the local library. It isn't my favorite way, but it's what I can afford. ::sigh::

50lblair02
jun 26, 2011, 10:56 pm

I honestly love musicals so much it's hard to think of an I really don't like. There's just some I like less than others. Some favorites:
1776: I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned this one yet, but it's wonderful. The DVD of the 1976? or so film features most of the original Broadway cast and it's great. I also saw a Broadway revival in the 90's that featured Brent Spiner as John Adams.
Carousel: I have a soft spot because it was the only lead I ever played in community theater, but i also think the overture/prologue is one of the best in musical theater history
The Mikado
Sweeney Todd: I saw the original Broadway cast (minus Victor Garber) and Angela Lansbury's performance was amazing. Len Cariou was excellent as Sweeney Todd as well.
The Music Man: I just saw an excellent professional production of this that reminded me of how good it really is
Guys and Dolls: I was in the chorus in college, and I've seen lots of amateur productions. It never gets old.
Fiddler on the Roof: I've played in the pit orchestra for this twice, I've seen countless amateur and several professional productions and I think this show may be foolproof. I'm not sure it's possible to make it come out badly
Some recent favorites--Avenue Q (hilarious and tuneful) and Spring's Awakening. I saw this as a straight play back in the 80's and I couldn't believe it when I heard they were turning it into a musical. But the music was beautiful, the choreography was really inventive and I'll see it again if it ever comes around.

51Kasongo
jun 27, 2011, 8:51 pm

I agree with you about Carousel. It is one of the few musicals that doesn't just play a medley of the songs at the opening.

52theaelizabet
Bewerkt: aug 16, 2011, 10:37 pm

Musicals? Now you're talking!

Favorites in no particular order: South Pacific, West Side Story, Gypsey (from listening to the CD I'd say that Angela Lansbury is my preferred Rose) Carousel, Jesus Christ Superstar, Grease (the original one, not the more recent version that added the songs from the movie) Sweeney Todd, A Chorus Line, Hair Spray, Show Boat, the King and I, Follies, Funny Girl, The Music Man, Evita, Threepenny Opera and the first 20 minutes of The Rocky Horror Show.

My favorite movie musical is The Bandwagon (Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Nanette Fabray and Oscar Levant, directed by Vincent Minelli in 1953)

Oh, and I'm not a fan of jukebox musicals, but I saw the Broadway version of Five Guys Named Moe (which is the music of Louis Jordan) and though it was quite fun.

53theaelizabet
aug 28, 2011, 3:24 pm

On the NYT Arts blog NYT theatre critic Ben Brantley writes of falling in love with Sondheim and invites others to tell of their "first" with Sondheim: http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/22/theater-talkback-i-lost-it-to-steph...

54ncgraham
jan 3, 2012, 3:03 pm

A few off the top of my head:

- Les Misérables
- West Side Story
- The Sound of Music
- The Music Man
- The King and I
- My Fair Lady
- Oliver!
- Sweeney Todd
- The Light in the Piazza (my newest love :) )
- Sunday in the Park with George
- The Man of la Mancha
- Kismet
- Camelot
- Brigadoon
- The Secret Garden
- Passion
- Ragtime

55timspalding
jan 3, 2012, 9:33 pm

Never seen "The Light in the Piazza." Where did you see it?

56theaelizabet
Bewerkt: jan 3, 2012, 9:39 pm

Hey Nathan. So glad to see you here. Now see, your list jogs my memory. To my favorites I should add The King and I, My Fair Lady, Camelot, Brigadoon and definitely Passion. Did you see the original Broadway production? I saw the concert version with Patti Lupone, Michael Ceveris, and Audra McDonald. It's been awhile since a musical has so surprised and moved me. I think much of the Donna Murphy/Broadway version is on Youtube, but I've yet to track it down.

Did you see Light in the Piazza on Broadway? I missed it, and though I have the CD, I've yet to listen to it. An old friend of mine from college was in it.

57ncgraham
jan 3, 2012, 9:43 pm

I've not seen The Light in the Piazza live yet. The original production (with a few cast changes) was broadcast live from Lincoln Center on PBS and is up on YouTube. I got the CD for Christmas, and it's magical. There's definitely some Sondheim influence there, but with a much less cynical view of the world.

Teresa, that's the version of Passion I watched too, although I want to track down the video of the OBC as well. The concert presentation was wonderful, and Audra McDonald is one of my favorite singers, but I didn't think Patti LuPone brought Fosca's good qualities to the fore. Donna Murphy's performance on the CD is golden.

58theaelizabet
jan 3, 2012, 10:01 pm

Oh no, you're right. Donna Murphy over Patti Lupone in that role any day. Even with just the little bit that I've seen of Murphy in the role. LuPone was miscast. But her performance still didn't undercut the power of that musical for me.

Didn't now about Light in the Piazza on YouTube. Hurray!

59ncgraham
jan 4, 2012, 3:39 pm

Speaking of musical theater on YouTube, thought some of you might enjoy the recent Kennedy Center Honors musical tribute to Barbara Cook, featuring some great Broadway talent.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0aV-gXIMCg

60theaelizabet
jan 4, 2012, 3:48 pm

Thanks for this! I'll watch it later this evening. I had no idea she had been honored by the Kennedy Center. I saw her in concert back in the 80s. Wonderful, of course. Friends of mine were in the audience for one of her Master's classes. I think it might have been this one: http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/15/arts/not-just-singing-but-soul-baring-too-hard... They said she was amazing.

61richardderus
apr 5, 2012, 9:19 pm

I've reviewed a cool photo book called M-G-M: Hollywood's Greatest Backlot, which is about the Mothership of Musicals, in my thread...post #210.

62adriennef
apr 14, 2013, 7:34 pm

Why no mentionings of the Phantom?! :(

63suitable1
apr 15, 2013, 2:00 pm

It was mentioned in #41.

64rgdoz
mei 5, 2013, 10:25 pm

I have just joined this group, and was delighted to see a couple of entries referring to the amazing Barbara Cook. She has done several concert tours of Australia, and I was lucky enough to see her perform on each trip. I saw a television interview with her, in which she mentioned that she was writing her autobiography - hope she publishes it soon. . . It is not altogether coincidental that one of my favorite musicals is the magnificent Candide - even iof the book is impossible, the music is sublime, and Ms Cook's vocal performance is amazing. . .

65MDGentleReader
mrt 14, 2014, 1:16 pm

I grew up listening to musical soundtracks. One I haven't seen mentioned here is Robert & Elizabeth. My recording features the incomparable Keith Michell. It is in mono and it is still amazing. It is an adaptation of the play The Barretts of Wimpole Street. I also have a lot of Mary Martin recordings.

A musical I've seen that was so bad it was funny was Liberty Smith. I should mention that the two of us that saw it are both history buffs. We were laughing like crazy at the intermission. And that was before Marie Antoinette started doing the can-can.

I have a soft spot for HMS Pinafore and Trial by Jury as I was a sober man and true (and attentive to my duty) and a member of the jury.

The Make 'em Laugh scene in the movie Singin' in the Rain still makes me laugh - and I have it memorized.

Saw Aida on Broadway and at the Kennedy Center. I have to admit that the Broadway version was just a little bit better.

66suitable1
mrt 14, 2014, 1:29 pm

Make 'em Laugh is among the top ten ever