in which we discuss musicals. at some length.
I've seen at least two posts on my flist recently discussing favourite musicals/favourite songs from musicals, and, well, nattering on about musicals is one of the things I enjoy the most!
I have been working on this post all day, in breaks. IT WAS A LOT OF FUN.
We will begin with my top ten, in descending order!
1. Les Miserables -- I grew up listening to this musical, and then watching the VCR of the 10th anniversary concert (even when I was waaaaaay too young to understand what Lovely Ladies is about) to the extent that it's basically part of my soul. Favourite song: IMPOSSIBLE CHOICE between Stars and One Day More.
(Seen staged? YES. Once on the West End, once by the Canberra Philharmonic.)
2. The Secret Garden -- Hearing this for the first time was like the SKIES OPENING UP. Musically it's just -- it's sublime. As for my favourite song...argh argh argh argh okay I guess I Heard Someone Crying, but I would like it to be known that the very idea of splitting this one up into songs instead of considering it as one glorious whole makes me weep.
(Seen staged? NOOOOOO ;_; Chief tragedy of my life.)
3. Bare: A Pop Opera -- Ever since crazylittleme got me onto this it's been the musical I listen to on bus rides to and from Canberra. It's about Catholic schoolboys in love and also about Shakespeare and growing up and identity crises, and it's heartbreaking and lovely. My favourite song has always been Are You There? but I am also in love with Auditions and Pilgrim's Hands and Queen Mab and basically all of the bits which are Romeo & Juliet put to music. I suspect Cross would be my favourite if I could listen to it without wanting to burst into tears. OH THIS MUSICAL. IT IS SO. COMPLETELY. AMAZING.
(Seen staged? Nope.)
4. RENT -- Discovered in high school thanks to tammaiya; I kind of collided with this and Angels in America at the same time, and I feel like they're (weirdly) the slice of American culture I know best. My first instinct on song choice is What You Own, but on reflection: the titular song is the best. Mmmm, everyone singing at once.
(Seen staged? Yes, a nice amateur production in Canberra.)
5. Jesus Christ Superstar -- There is a whole saga here about how my mother owned a cassette of a particular recording and refused to listen to any other, so I grew up listening to it on my tiny Fisher Price tape player. Some time in my late teens we actually managed to acquire a CD of that recording through GREAT EFFORT by some people at a specialist musical store, and by then I'd seen the official film. My loyalties are currently split between the CD and this filmed production. It's such a phenomenal treatment of story and idealism and symbols; I will forgive ALW a lot because this musical exists. My favourite song is Gethsemane (I Only Want To Say), hands down.
(Seen staged? Sort of -- my high school did a production once, but cut some of it.)
6. Into The Woods -- *waves hands* This is the other listen-to-during-long-bus-trips musical, because it's one of the few musicals where I actually have to drop everything (mentally) and enjoy the lyrics. It's hard to sing along satisfyingly because it's so intricate, but I love the melody that comes to the fore during the Finale (Children Will Listen).
(Seen staged? Again, sort of -- my high school only did the first half.)
7. Wicked -- Hilariously, I listened to this so much that I knew it completely by heart before I had a) read the book, or b) seen it staged. So I had NO IDEA WHAT THE PLOT WAS REALLY. But that didn't stop me from enjoying the glorious catchiness of Stephen Schwartz's music. And it's visually just incredible (though this tends to count for less with me, because I so seldom SEE any big musicals). I love most of the songs, but nothing will ever beat What Is This Feeling?
(Seen staged? Ya-huh :D Once in London, once in Melbourne.)
8. Legally Blonde -- Judge me all you like, this musical is fantastic. I listen to it over and over when I'm studying. It's cleverly written and very catchy and it even IMPROVES on the plot of the film. Omigod You Guys was the first song from it I ever heard and it remains my favourite.
(Seen staged? No, but I would LOVE to.)
9. Notre-Dame de Paris -- I can sing huge swathes of this, which is impressive considering that my knowledge of French is still very shaky. It contains many wonderful songs of which Les Cloches is the clear winner (gnnnfhdjfhdfj okay I have a physiological thing where I get honest-to-god goosebumps during particular soaring melody lines and sustained chords, and this song can elicit it more consistently than any other. it's so fuckinjgjkfhsjf. no words. not in any language.)
(Seen staged? Uh, I have watched the DVD.)
10. Cats -- Again with the growing up/part of soul thing. I don't want to think about how many times I have watched the video (and later the DVD) of this musical. You can tell I love this one at least 90% because of the dancing (I like the music, sure, but it is so pointless) because my favourite song from it is the instrumental Jellicle Ball.
(Seen staged? Yes! It was a fantastic experience; my muscles were tense with secondhand dancer's glee by the end of it.)
Other musicals I love enough to mention:
Pippin -- <33333 I am on a huge Pippin kick at the moment. I love the second rendition of Corner of the Sky, but I am also mad fond of the Finale itself.
Hairspray -- The movie of this completely bowled me over. Favourite song is You Can't Stop The Beat (apparently I like finales! but I generally prefer songs with lots of vocal parts over the epic solos, and finales are good for that)
The Fix -- More people should know about this because the original cast recording features JOHN BARROWMAN and PHILIP QUAST, hello, awesome. It's about political corruption and dark personal dynamics and it's veeeeery cool. My favourite song tends to leap around a bit but I'm always fond of America's Son because it's hilarious and you can just picture the petulant faces Barrowman is making.
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee -- I saw this with Ji in San Francisco, had no idea what to expect, and laughed so hard I hurt my stomach. My favourite song is The I Love You Song because it's one of the more serious moments in a rather silly musical, and it plunges you into this plaintive, soaring, heart-aching tapestry of three voices.
Evita -- Would you believe I haven't seen this film yet? But the only recording I have is the film soundtrack. And I love it! My first experience of the musical was Antonio Banderas singing O, What A Circus on my DVD of an ALW tribute concert, and I think I'd still have to name that as my favourite song from it.
Aida -- Errrrr. It's easy to listen to and I am SUCKER for lyrical quartets (my favourite song is My Strongest Suit, but Not Me and A Step Too Far are close runners-up). I have a theory about how you could do the musical theatre equivalent of a mashup with Aida and Wicked because they are THE SAME MUSICAL BASICALLY. Think about it! Anyway: I would really, really, REALLY like to see this one staged.
Cabaret -- The film of this musical is probably one of the very few films I can honestly say changed my life. Not in a big way. But the gestalt of it, the songs and the chemistry and the blatant politics and the people and the dancing and the musty, dangerous unreality of it all -- it's mind-blowing. My favourite song is the titular one.
Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat -- HAHA OH JOSEPH. I don't know what ALW was smoking and I don't care. This is the most cheerful, unapologetic, cracky, joyful musical in the world. Weirdly my favourite song is the Prologue, because if I could sing any female lead in any musical...I would sing the Narrator. I fucking LOVE her part, it's half part-of-the-action and half commentary-on-the-crack and it suits my vocal range.
The Lion King -- Another musical I am dying to see on the stage; I like the music a hell of a lot, but it's not like Into the Woods where most of the effect is in the words. I want the puppets and the dancing and the sets! I really love the songs that were added during the transition from animated film to stage musical; my favourite song is They Live In You. (This is also the musical I would KILL to choreograph as a figure skating show. Bizarrely enough.)
Mamma Mia! -- ALL I HAVE SEEN IS THE FILM. BUT YOU KNOW. IT'S A PRETTY AWESOME FILM. First prize song-wise goes not to one of the upbeat numbers, oddly, but to Slipping Through My Fingers. That scene is done so beautifully in the film <3
Oklahoma -- And to round things off: again with the childhood memories! We have the video of the production with Hugh Jackman as Curly (one day I will track it down on DVD. one day.) and I think I subconsciously judge all stagings of any musical against that one: huge, intense, gorgeous, capable of switching from slapstick humour to breathtakingly dark imagery. Romance and violence and prejudice and dreams and dances. This is a classic for a reason. It's not in the top 10 because I don't listen to the soundtrack much (I associate it so strongly with a need for visuals) but my favourite song is Many A New Day. Great fun to sing.
~
LET'S TALK MUSICALS, GUYS. Pimp things to me! Old and new! (I am sadly undereducated when it comes to old musicals.) I do have quite a few not listed here, but I want to hear you talk about your favourites. So that if I ever come across them I can -- um -- stroke the CDs and make firm mental notes.
I have been working on this post all day, in breaks. IT WAS A LOT OF FUN.
We will begin with my top ten, in descending order!
1. Les Miserables -- I grew up listening to this musical, and then watching the VCR of the 10th anniversary concert (even when I was waaaaaay too young to understand what Lovely Ladies is about) to the extent that it's basically part of my soul. Favourite song: IMPOSSIBLE CHOICE between Stars and One Day More.
(Seen staged? YES. Once on the West End, once by the Canberra Philharmonic.)
2. The Secret Garden -- Hearing this for the first time was like the SKIES OPENING UP. Musically it's just -- it's sublime. As for my favourite song...argh argh argh argh okay I guess I Heard Someone Crying, but I would like it to be known that the very idea of splitting this one up into songs instead of considering it as one glorious whole makes me weep.
(Seen staged? NOOOOOO ;_; Chief tragedy of my life.)
3. Bare: A Pop Opera -- Ever since crazylittleme got me onto this it's been the musical I listen to on bus rides to and from Canberra. It's about Catholic schoolboys in love and also about Shakespeare and growing up and identity crises, and it's heartbreaking and lovely. My favourite song has always been Are You There? but I am also in love with Auditions and Pilgrim's Hands and Queen Mab and basically all of the bits which are Romeo & Juliet put to music. I suspect Cross would be my favourite if I could listen to it without wanting to burst into tears. OH THIS MUSICAL. IT IS SO. COMPLETELY. AMAZING.
(Seen staged? Nope.)
4. RENT -- Discovered in high school thanks to tammaiya; I kind of collided with this and Angels in America at the same time, and I feel like they're (weirdly) the slice of American culture I know best. My first instinct on song choice is What You Own, but on reflection: the titular song is the best. Mmmm, everyone singing at once.
(Seen staged? Yes, a nice amateur production in Canberra.)
5. Jesus Christ Superstar -- There is a whole saga here about how my mother owned a cassette of a particular recording and refused to listen to any other, so I grew up listening to it on my tiny Fisher Price tape player. Some time in my late teens we actually managed to acquire a CD of that recording through GREAT EFFORT by some people at a specialist musical store, and by then I'd seen the official film. My loyalties are currently split between the CD and this filmed production. It's such a phenomenal treatment of story and idealism and symbols; I will forgive ALW a lot because this musical exists. My favourite song is Gethsemane (I Only Want To Say), hands down.
(Seen staged? Sort of -- my high school did a production once, but cut some of it.)
6. Into The Woods -- *waves hands* This is the other listen-to-during-long-bus-trips musical, because it's one of the few musicals where I actually have to drop everything (mentally) and enjoy the lyrics. It's hard to sing along satisfyingly because it's so intricate, but I love the melody that comes to the fore during the Finale (Children Will Listen).
(Seen staged? Again, sort of -- my high school only did the first half.)
7. Wicked -- Hilariously, I listened to this so much that I knew it completely by heart before I had a) read the book, or b) seen it staged. So I had NO IDEA WHAT THE PLOT WAS REALLY. But that didn't stop me from enjoying the glorious catchiness of Stephen Schwartz's music. And it's visually just incredible (though this tends to count for less with me, because I so seldom SEE any big musicals). I love most of the songs, but nothing will ever beat What Is This Feeling?
(Seen staged? Ya-huh :D Once in London, once in Melbourne.)
8. Legally Blonde -- Judge me all you like, this musical is fantastic. I listen to it over and over when I'm studying. It's cleverly written and very catchy and it even IMPROVES on the plot of the film. Omigod You Guys was the first song from it I ever heard and it remains my favourite.
(Seen staged? No, but I would LOVE to.)
9. Notre-Dame de Paris -- I can sing huge swathes of this, which is impressive considering that my knowledge of French is still very shaky. It contains many wonderful songs of which Les Cloches is the clear winner (gnnnfhdjfhdfj okay I have a physiological thing where I get honest-to-god goosebumps during particular soaring melody lines and sustained chords, and this song can elicit it more consistently than any other. it's so fuckinjgjkfhsjf. no words. not in any language.)
(Seen staged? Uh, I have watched the DVD.)
10. Cats -- Again with the growing up/part of soul thing. I don't want to think about how many times I have watched the video (and later the DVD) of this musical. You can tell I love this one at least 90% because of the dancing (I like the music, sure, but it is so pointless) because my favourite song from it is the instrumental Jellicle Ball.
(Seen staged? Yes! It was a fantastic experience; my muscles were tense with secondhand dancer's glee by the end of it.)
Other musicals I love enough to mention:
Pippin -- <33333 I am on a huge Pippin kick at the moment. I love the second rendition of Corner of the Sky, but I am also mad fond of the Finale itself.
Hairspray -- The movie of this completely bowled me over. Favourite song is You Can't Stop The Beat (apparently I like finales! but I generally prefer songs with lots of vocal parts over the epic solos, and finales are good for that)
The Fix -- More people should know about this because the original cast recording features JOHN BARROWMAN and PHILIP QUAST, hello, awesome. It's about political corruption and dark personal dynamics and it's veeeeery cool. My favourite song tends to leap around a bit but I'm always fond of America's Son because it's hilarious and you can just picture the petulant faces Barrowman is making.
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee -- I saw this with Ji in San Francisco, had no idea what to expect, and laughed so hard I hurt my stomach. My favourite song is The I Love You Song because it's one of the more serious moments in a rather silly musical, and it plunges you into this plaintive, soaring, heart-aching tapestry of three voices.
Evita -- Would you believe I haven't seen this film yet? But the only recording I have is the film soundtrack. And I love it! My first experience of the musical was Antonio Banderas singing O, What A Circus on my DVD of an ALW tribute concert, and I think I'd still have to name that as my favourite song from it.
Aida -- Errrrr. It's easy to listen to and I am SUCKER for lyrical quartets (my favourite song is My Strongest Suit, but Not Me and A Step Too Far are close runners-up). I have a theory about how you could do the musical theatre equivalent of a mashup with Aida and Wicked because they are THE SAME MUSICAL BASICALLY. Think about it! Anyway: I would really, really, REALLY like to see this one staged.
Cabaret -- The film of this musical is probably one of the very few films I can honestly say changed my life. Not in a big way. But the gestalt of it, the songs and the chemistry and the blatant politics and the people and the dancing and the musty, dangerous unreality of it all -- it's mind-blowing. My favourite song is the titular one.
Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat -- HAHA OH JOSEPH. I don't know what ALW was smoking and I don't care. This is the most cheerful, unapologetic, cracky, joyful musical in the world. Weirdly my favourite song is the Prologue, because if I could sing any female lead in any musical...I would sing the Narrator. I fucking LOVE her part, it's half part-of-the-action and half commentary-on-the-crack and it suits my vocal range.
The Lion King -- Another musical I am dying to see on the stage; I like the music a hell of a lot, but it's not like Into the Woods where most of the effect is in the words. I want the puppets and the dancing and the sets! I really love the songs that were added during the transition from animated film to stage musical; my favourite song is They Live In You. (This is also the musical I would KILL to choreograph as a figure skating show. Bizarrely enough.)
Mamma Mia! -- ALL I HAVE SEEN IS THE FILM. BUT YOU KNOW. IT'S A PRETTY AWESOME FILM. First prize song-wise goes not to one of the upbeat numbers, oddly, but to Slipping Through My Fingers. That scene is done so beautifully in the film <3
Oklahoma -- And to round things off: again with the childhood memories! We have the video of the production with Hugh Jackman as Curly (one day I will track it down on DVD. one day.) and I think I subconsciously judge all stagings of any musical against that one: huge, intense, gorgeous, capable of switching from slapstick humour to breathtakingly dark imagery. Romance and violence and prejudice and dreams and dances. This is a classic for a reason. It's not in the top 10 because I don't listen to the soundtrack much (I associate it so strongly with a need for visuals) but my favourite song is Many A New Day. Great fun to sing.
~
LET'S TALK MUSICALS, GUYS. Pimp things to me! Old and new! (I am sadly undereducated when it comes to old musicals.) I do have quite a few not listed here, but I want to hear you talk about your favourites. So that if I ever come across them I can -- um -- stroke the CDs and make firm mental notes.