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Post by gogophers on Mar 31, 2015 18:09:21 GMT -5
I join Wolfgang in the "Musicals and the Straight Men Who Love Them" Club. But where is the love for the older stuff, the classics? And is the thread limited to "theater." Yeah, theater is a different experience than movies, but, we are talking about musicals, right? I've seen many theater productions, but they don't rival the sheer delight, which I get to repeat over and over, of watching all that talent on display in movies. I mean, c'mon. Robert Preston in Music Man. The oh so young, Ann-Margaret, in Bye Bye Birdie. Rex Harrison, the definitive Henry Higgins, in My Fair Lady. Marlon Brando--singing, no less, and straining to stay on key, in Guys and Dolls. Liza, before she became tabloid fodder, in Cabaret. Streisand in Funny Girl. Astaire and Rogers in all of their movies, with scores by the Gershwins, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, and Kern and Fields. Judy and Mickey putting on a show. Cagney in Yankee Doodle Dandy. Donald O'Connor being a clown in Singin' in the Rain. Gene Kelly signin' (and dancin') in the rain. So many musicals are just so much fun to watch. The Wizard of Oz. Grease. Carousel. Now, That's Entertainment.
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Post by Wolfgang on Mar 31, 2015 18:11:32 GMT -5
Everything except for Bye Bye Birdie. That was one suck-ass flick.
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Post by gogophers on Mar 31, 2015 18:17:55 GMT -5
We'll have to agree to disagree on that one. Dick Van Dyke was at his most charming, the score is terrific, and BBB is what made A-M a star. And why not? The director, an old-time Hollywood guy, George Sidney, in his 50's, was ga-ga over A-M. He re-wrote the script to emphasize her role and shot the famous closing scene, after the movie was supposedly done, at his own expense. I like several of the songs from the show that were cut from the movie, but that just goes to show what a great score it was, with too much to include in a 2-hour film.
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Post by Wolfgang on Mar 31, 2015 18:32:07 GMT -5
I think I only liked the "Put on a Happy Face" number. The rest was embarrassing, including the ridiculous title sequence of Ann-Margret against a blue background.
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Post by azvb on Mar 31, 2015 19:01:22 GMT -5
gogophert, absolutely movies are included, and you named some great ones. BBB is one of my very favorites. Paul Lynde was hysterical - "We Love You, Ed". I remember my mom was quite disturbed at Conrad Birdie's pelvic thrusts.
Interesting tid bit - Rex Harrison didn't like Julie Andrew when they did My Fair Lady on Broadway. He was a classical trained guy and she was in her early 20's. Rumor is his opinion is one reason they chose Audrey Hepburn, the other being nobody knew Julie Andrews outside of NYC. But, it freed her up to make Mary Poppins, so it worked out well. And she won the Oscar, not Audrey.
I struggle with Oklahoma, and Carousel. Curly scared me, didn't like the dream sequence in Carousel. But "You'll Never Walk Alone" is a classic.
Article in the NYT by a guy who thinks it's time to remake Sound Of Music. Thinks it's about time Liesel and Rolf slept together, and it should be more true to the real story. Bull crap. That film should never be remade. Neither should Gone With The Wind or Citizen Cane. Okay, stepping off my soap box.
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Post by azvb on Mar 31, 2015 19:06:29 GMT -5
I like music, including music performed in theaters. I like plays, and have had a season pass to the most "establishment" theater in Seattle for about 20 years now. I like the occasional non-traditional shows, like when they have circus or comedy or clown acts as one of their shows for the season. But I'm not a fan of "musical theater", whether the operatic style, the Broadway style, the Disney style, or the Hollywood style. Strangely enough, I usually like the individual shows I get convinced to go see. I enjoyed Cats. I enjoyed Les Miz. But it's not really my thing. I have never had any desire to see Cats. Have you seen the plays "The 39 Steps" or "Lend Me A Tenor". Don't miss them if you get a chance. Sooooo funny. First play I ever saw was "Wait Until Dark". I was probably 10-12. Scared the crap out of me.
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Post by gogophers on Mar 31, 2015 19:10:41 GMT -5
I struggle with Oklahoma, and Carousel. Curly scared me, didn't like the dream sequence in Carousel. But "You'll Never Walk Alone" is a classic. Curly scared you? Or do you mean, poor Jud. Jud is scary and creepy and dangerous. I don't know if you've seen the filmed version of the production starring Hugh Jackman as Curly, but, if not, you should check it out. He's great in the role. And I don't know too many women who find Mr. Jackman all that scary. Carousel, with its scenes of domestic violence, is a tough sell for modern audiences, which is why it is often "re-imagined" when it is revived from time to time. It is a dark story.
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Post by azvb on Mar 31, 2015 19:15:22 GMT -5
Oh yeah, Jud, creepy, psychopath Jud. Curly was cute and drove a surrey. With a Fringe. On The Top. No, have not seen Hugh Jackman in Oklahoma - didn't know there was another filmed version.
Also not a big fan of Show Boat, except for Old Man River.
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Post by mikegarrison on Mar 31, 2015 19:20:03 GMT -5
I like music, including music performed in theaters. I like plays, and have had a season pass to the most "establishment" theater in Seattle for about 20 years now. I like the occasional non-traditional shows, like when they have circus or comedy or clown acts as one of their shows for the season. But I'm not a fan of "musical theater", whether the operatic style, the Broadway style, the Disney style, or the Hollywood style. Strangely enough, I usually like the individual shows I get convinced to go see. I enjoyed Cats. I enjoyed Les Miz. But it's not really my thing. I have never had any desire to see Cats. Have you seen the plays "The 39 Steps" or "Lend Me A Tenor". Don't miss them if you get a chance. Sooooo funny. First play I ever saw was "Wait Until Dark". I was probably 10-12. Scared the crap out of me. I saw the 39 Steps at the Seattle Rep. They recently did an adaptation of The Hound Of The Baskervilles that was similar. I don't know what the first play I ever saw was, but when I was a kid I used to love going to see Shakespeare plays. My mom was a school teacher and every year she would take a group of her high school kids down to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in the summer. I had a great time down there, even though I was pretty young.
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Post by geddyleeridesagain on Mar 31, 2015 20:15:30 GMT -5
I like music, including music performed in theaters. I like plays, and have had a season pass to the most "establishment" theater in Seattle for about 20 years now. I like the occasional non-traditional shows, like when they have circus or comedy or clown acts as one of their shows for the season. But I'm not a fan of "musical theater", whether the operatic style, the Broadway style, the Disney style, or the Hollywood style. Strangely enough, I usually like the individual shows I get convinced to go see. I enjoyed Cats. I enjoyed Les Miz. But it's not really my thing. I have never had any desire to see Cats. Have you seen the plays "The 39 Steps" or "Lend Me A Tenor". Don't miss them if you get a chance. Sooooo funny. First play I ever saw was "Wait Until Dark". I was probably 10-12. Scared the crap out of me. Cats was the first live musical I ever attended - moved to London right after college and saw the (I think) original production in the West End. Quite enjoyed it. I find most older musicals dated and cheesy (which is amusing, I guess, since that's part of the criticism I've heard about my fave - West Side Story). I find Oklahoma, Seven Brides, Music Man, South Pacific, My Fair Lady, Bye Bye Birdie etc unwatchable. On the other hand, I remember getting a huge kick out of the movie How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Off the top of my head, other live productions I've seen: Grease (fun), Caberet (good), Les Mis (boring), Phantom (meh), City of Angels (fantastic), Lion King (very entertaining), Avenue Q (foul-mouthed muppets - what's not to love?), and Spamalot (I was really drunk - long story - so can't really comment on its quality).
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Post by Wolfgang on Mar 31, 2015 20:19:29 GMT -5
My problem with the film version of Grease is that none of the actors look like they're in high school. Some looked like they're in their 30s. LOL!
(I've never seen any stage version of Grease.)
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Post by geddyleeridesagain on Mar 31, 2015 20:37:04 GMT -5
My problem with the film version of Grease is that none of the actors look like they're in high school. Some looked like they're in their 30s. LOL! (I've never seen any stage version of Grease.) Grease (the play) and Grease (the movie) are radically different. The biggest hits from the movie were, IIRC, written by Barry Gibb specifically for Olivia Newton-John and Travolta, but were never part of the original Broadway production. Subsequent revivals usually included the movie songs, but I saw a production of the original play four or five years ago and was really surprised at how much the play and movie diverge.
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Post by mikegarrison on Mar 31, 2015 21:21:03 GMT -5
My problem with the film version of Grease is that none of the actors look like they're in high school. Some looked like they're in their 30s. LOL! (I've never seen any stage version of Grease.) Grease (the play) and Grease (the movie) are radically different. The biggest hits from the movie were, IIRC, written by Barry Gibb specifically for Olivia Newton-John and Travolta, but were never part of the original Broadway production. Subsequent revivals usually included the movie songs, but I saw a production of the original play four or five years ago and was really surprised at how much the play and movie diverge. The closest I've come to seeing Grease is seeing Nunsense, which is set on the set of Grease.
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Post by preschooler on Apr 1, 2015 0:59:21 GMT -5
Oh yeah, Jud, creepy, psychopath Jud. Curly was cute and drove a surrey. With a Fringe. On The Top. No, have not seen Hugh Jackman in Oklahoma - didn't know there was another filmed version. Also not a big fan of Show Boat, except for Old Man River.[/quote Showboat to me has some wonderful moments for example They actually dubbed her in the film version But this is Ava' voice. The entrernal conflict when filming musical theater go with acting over voice? Sometimes it is a great fit Hugh Jackman as a young Curly However as he aged his range was not what it ideally should have been for le mis but overall still outstanding casting and performance Russle Crowe not so much.
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Post by preschooler on Apr 1, 2015 1:22:44 GMT -5
Yea that older cheesey charm is something I even seek out at times. Seven brides for Seven Brothers is a prime example great to watch this during a cold winter's night Although a kind of odd song by today's standards it still captures a mood of lone cabin fever and the dancing in this movie is steller IMO
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