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Since as far as I can tell SA has no thread to discuss musicals (theatre/movies), I thought I'd start one. In truth I really just made this thread as an excuse to gush about... Hamilton https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNFf7nMIGnE A couple years ago Lin-Manuel Miranda (previously best known for In the Heights) put on a performance of what would eventually become the show's opening number at the White House. Since then I've been looking forward to the full version, which this year finally debuted. The cast recording album is available to stream on Spotify and it's fantastic. The musical is has a a diverse cast and uses elements of hip hop, R&B, jazz, and pop. The users of Genius put together a pretty helpful annotated guide to all the songs here. I really love the album, if you can't tell. Have any goons had a chance to see the show live? What are your (least) favorite musicals and songs from them? Anyone in the industry want to share some insight? bowser has a new favorite as of 15:22 on Oct 9, 2015 |
# ? Oct 9, 2015 05:12 |
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# ? Apr 25, 2024 21:54 |
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"Singing in the Rain" is really good.
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# ? Oct 9, 2015 05:27 |
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Tough one. I like Broadway probably more than any heterosexual man should. For top-tier shows, I'd have to say probably Les Miserables. Unlike most fans of this show, though, I actually enjoyed the Hugh Jackman/Anne Hathaway/Russell Crowe movie. For others, I'd have to say Assassins (Neil Patrick Harris did a run in the early part of the decade with this show where he plays the Narrator, and he's loving brilliant) and How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying (with Daniel Radcliffe as J. Pierrepont Finch).
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# ? Oct 9, 2015 05:41 |
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Alter Ego posted:Tough one. I like Broadway probably more than any heterosexual man should. Assassins is awesome. I can't stop listening to the Hamilton album at the moment. I was really doubtful of the idea of a rap musical about the American Revolution when I first heard about it, but god drat is that poo poo good. I'm really hoping to see it sometime, but the lottery they have for twenty cheap tickets before every performance usually has from 100 to 400 people there. I work in the industry in so much as I design shows. Mostly small regional theatres so far, though I've worked as a technician at bigger places. I've done sets and costumes for a few musicals, and I enjoy that they're usually a bit bigger and flashier to design. I was never into musicals when I was younger. I thought they were mostly dumb and schmaltzy compared to straight plays when I was an undergrad. Only recently has my taste for them grown beyond liking most of Sondheim to the point where I'm kind of ashamed of how much I know about them. Sondheim is where people not into musicals tend to start, just because the quality of the man's career is insane. My favorites of his are Into the Woods, Company, and Sweeney Todd. The Into the Woods film was pretty drat great, overall. The Sweeney Todd movie...not as much, though it's probably the last good movie Tim Burton has made. Wicked is a favorite, probably because I avoided it until recently and never had time to grow sick of it before actually seeing it. The music is beautiful and it's a fun story. I really hope the rights will be released so that I'll be able to design it myself eventually, but it may be a long rear end time before that happens. The original cast isn't my favorite, though, so here's a poo poo quality bootleg of Donna Vivino giving an amazing performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzIAFLvyTVM Man of La Mancha is an older show that I've only recently gotten around to. There's an amazing movie from the 70's with Peter O'Toole and Sophia Loren. O'Toole doesn't have the baritone the part calls for, but he acts the poo poo out of it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayz50HeFJUU Kiss of the Spider Woman is one of the lesser known shows by Kandor and Ebb, the guys who did Chicago and Cabaret. This one is great, though, and with a bit more pathos than either of those shows. It's about a political prisoner in a fascist South American country, and his cellmate who was jailed for being homosexual. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvCRnHCZj4k All that said, I don't have the patience for a lot of go-to standards. I've never cared much about Les Mis, a lot of shows written before the 50's put me to sleep, and I loving hate Andrew Lloyd Webber.
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# ? Oct 9, 2015 06:07 |
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I'll third Hamilton. It's the only cast album I ever preordered, and I wasn't disappointed at all . I'd love to go and see it, but it's a bit out of my price range. The amount of hype surrounding it is amazing, and I'm glad it lived up to it. Hopefully Lin's plan to film the show comes to fruition. I've also enjoyed what I've heard of In the Heights, especially Breathe which I find distressingly similar to how I've been feeling recently: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSQFjtszBYg Wicked was my first broadway show, and I enjoyed it a lot. I definitely preferred my cast to the original broadway cast. I believe it was Mandy Gonzalez as Elphaba, Katie Rose Clarke as Glinda, and Andy Karl as Fiyero. Matilda is a musical I didn't expect to love as much as I do, but I've seen it three times on broadway. I don't even generally like shows with kids in them like Annie. Here's one of the first videos of it I watched when I first heard about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0tRDhEmdO4 As for my least favorites? I think Phantom of the Opera is just kinda all right. I don't particularly care for any of the characters. Love Never Dies may be my least favorite musical ever.
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# ? Oct 9, 2015 06:35 |
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My favorite musical is Starlight Express: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiq1aVl-E2Y My absolute and unmitigated hatred for it makes me feel alive.
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# ? Oct 9, 2015 06:49 |
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I like most of the standards, but the hill I always die on is the original version of the Carrie musical. It was one of the big synth-pop 80s British imports, first produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company, brought to America at a pretty exorbitant cost. It was big, expensive, and a little silly, particularly in the choreography, but the music was great and it was a tight, energetic show that played to packed audiences that cheered it for all of five nights. Then, panicked by unenthusiastic reviews and word of mouth that it was campy, the backers pulled out and the show closed. Since then, it's taken on an almost mystical aura of being one of the worst musicals ever, which I think is tremendously wrong. A team got together a couple years ago to attempt a more serious, respectable re-write, updating the music (to 90s grunge) and toughening it up with some after-school-special dialogue, and now it actually does suck. Yeah, the choreography was silly, and some of the lyrics are clumsy, but I think, as a whole, it rocked. Here's some clips from the soundboard recording, since it didn't last long enough to get a proper album: In (opening number) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxmAlVoMJKI And Eve Was Weak https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-65bgz4kN8 Do Me A Favor (lmao costumes) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdjQH5ygu7o
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# ? Oct 9, 2015 07:05 |
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Edit: Oh sorry musical theater, I'm dumb.
FutonForensic has a new favorite as of 07:11 on Oct 9, 2015 |
# ? Oct 9, 2015 07:07 |
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My favorite is Fiddler on the Roof. Everything about it is so perfectly balanced. It's funny, tragic, uplifting. The musical score is amazing and the songs are very catchy and memorable. I know this is the movie musical, but this was a very, very good adaptation. one of the best, in my opinion. And Topol IS Tevye so can't complain there. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9J4RsUwMh4
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# ? Oct 9, 2015 09:45 |
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I'm not sure if we are counting Opera but if we are I went to see The Marriage of Figaro on Monday. It was hilarious. I particularly like the song towards the end of Act 2 when the initial plot to humiliate the Count is derailed and it's just him and the Countess going "What? What the gently caress?" for about 5 minutes. Context: (The Countess has been helping the plot by dressing the Pageboy as the girl he's lusting after, the soon-to-be-married Suzanna, and the count arrives at the room as they are preparing him. Suzanna flees to the servant's entrance and the Page is hidden in the dressing room, and the count suspects the page of being in there, so he goes with the countess in tow to find a weapon to break down the door because he is extremely jealous as well as unfaithful. Suzanna has snuck back in to the room and hidden behind the changing screen, and the count leaves, locking both the Servant's and Main entrance so noone can come in or out. Now the Countess's excuse for the person in the closet is that Suzanna is in there trying on her wedding dress and is refusing to come out to protect her modesty. Suzanna takes the Page out of the closet, who then jumps out of the window in a panic, and she goes into the closet herself to corroborate the Countess's story. The Countess has just told the count what is going on, however, and the count 'knows' why the page is in the closet, so to both of their surprise, Suzanna leaves and says hi. The countess is like "How the gently caress did she get in there?" and the count is, like, "Well don't I look like a shithead, she was telling the truth", and both are just bewildered.
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# ? Oct 9, 2015 11:13 |
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Pick posted:My favorite musical is Starlight Express: Jesus that's bad...In a similar vein, the infamous Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RgR0-EWuNY FutonForensic posted:Edit: Oh sorry musical theater, I'm dumb. Feel free to discuss movies in here too. I thought CineD had a thread for musicals but I don't think it's around anymore. One of my favorite performances is Carl Anderson as Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-voeq7Cebo
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# ? Oct 9, 2015 15:31 |
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I'm not in the industry, but I am a community theater weirdo. I'm entering Hell Week right now for one of my new favorite shows, Evil Dead: The Musical, a hilarious mash-up of the entire trilogy of Bruce Campbell movies. The whole thing (not ours) is up on youtube, though with the original version of the ending: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYxzgUIfGME We have spent more time in rehearsals on fight choreography than dance, and there is so much blood that the house has a designated Splatter Zone, but even with all of the over-the-top comedic violence, the music is still the solid star of the piece. I've really grown quite fond of Ash and Linda's duet "Housewares Employee", and "Do The Necronomicon" and "All The Men In My Life Keep Getting Killed By Candarian Demons" are really catchy earworms. It's not a deep show by any means, but it's really hard to beat for pure, fun spectacle. Where I think it succeeds where other spectacle shows fail is that it has a lot of love for its source and for the genre, but does not attempt to take itself too seriously.
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# ? Oct 10, 2015 17:20 |
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Though there are a ton that I love, and a few that I've actually had the pleasure of seeing, the two that are my all time favourites are [b]Matador[\b] and [b]Chess[\b]. Tom Jones wrote and performed in Matador, and it's just great. It's impossible to find a copy of [b]Matador[\b] that I wouldn't have to pay a ton for, so my old cassette tape will have to do for now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhDzXnlDPuk [b]Chess[\b] is fantastic, and in 2008 there was a production done with Josh Groban which was very good. Everyone knows (well should know) One Night in Bangkok, but most of the songs are terrific and I find myself listening to the whole thing at least once a month. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vETkewODC0
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# ? Oct 10, 2015 19:27 |
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Nthing Wicked. That's kind of cheating because I've only just gotten into musicals so it's one of two I've seen (the lion king was pretty good but very much an adaption of a Disney kids movie) but it was a very very good first musical. Caught Lucy Durak as Glinda just before she quit for a kid which was lucky, she was drat good. Jemma Rix as Elphaba was no slouch either. Man now I'm sad because I'll never be able to see it again. Yeah Universal's making a movie and I do plan to buy it because it's the closest I'll get but it's just not the same.
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# ? Oct 11, 2015 06:35 |
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Chess https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2vbU7n-aLs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAcFkZ89dQQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OG3LqkXj9wQ
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# ? Oct 11, 2015 07:01 |
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bowser posted:Since as far as I can tell SA has no thread to discuss musicals (theatre/movies), I thought I'd start one. In truth I really just made this thread as an excuse to gush about... I'd also love a thread for musical theater, but I suspect there wouldn't be much demand for it- at least not until we get an adaptation of Guardians Of The Galaxy. Hamilton's got "Tony" written all over it. A great book and score, but... It's too drat long, and as much as I like the first 2/3rds, I think Miranda is weak as the young Hamilton. The early score really belongs to Daveed Diggs (an amazing MC), Leslie Odom Jr. and Chris Jackson (great singers). By the time he really comes into his own as the older statesman, the songs aren't as strong, or maybe I'm just fatigued at that point. The Schuyler Sisters are perfect. Groff's part is so arch I didn't mind that his three songs shared a melody. I can't wait to see how this is received in the West End.
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# ? Nov 5, 2015 04:53 |
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Dilkington posted:I'd also love a thread for musical theater, but I suspect there wouldn't be much demand for it- at least not until we get an adaptation of Guardians Of The Galaxy. I'm glad you reminded me of this thread, as I got to see Hamilton a couple weeks ago when I won the lottery. It's an amazing show, but you do have some points. Miranda is probably the weakest of the main cast, but he has said it doesn't really need to be him in the part. The opening night on Broadway, when Obama was in the audience, he apparently went to his understudy and told him to go on. Leslie Odom Jr. and Daveed Diggs are definitely the two most fun to watch, and they give amazing performances. It was also kind of amazing how funny Groff managed to be doing so little. I think it seems so long because there's just so much going on. The show has about twice the exposition and events as any other musical usually has, and doing it in one go gets draining toward the end. That said, it's still one of the best things I've had the chance to see. The choreography adds some great layers to the show, and there are a lot of moments of really clever staging.
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# ? Nov 5, 2015 05:09 |
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Practical Demon posted:The opening night on Broadway, when Obama was in the audience, he apparently went to his understudy and told him to go on. His understudy was actually already scheduled to go on that day since he's scheduled to go on at least once a week. He actually made sure to be there this Monday when Obama ran an event for the DNC at the show. I've heard from people who have seen both Javier and Lin that they're both give relatively equal performances overall with Javier being a better singer and Lin being a better rapper, but with it being clear that they consult each other on the characterization.
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# ? Nov 5, 2015 06:34 |
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I saw Deaf West's Spring Awakening last week and just.. No words. So amazing. I want to go back and see it again and again and again. There were a ton of empty seats so you could probably score cheap lottery tickets if you don't wanna pay too much. I went to tkts and got a seat row f center orchestra for $80 which is a really good price but if I go again I'll definitely try for the $35 lottery.
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# ? Nov 5, 2015 06:39 |
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AnonymousNarcotics posted:I saw Deaf West's Spring Awakening last week and just.. No words. So amazing. I want to go back and see it again and again and again. There were a ton of empty seats so you could probably score cheap lottery tickets if you don't wanna pay too much. I went to tkts and got a seat row f center orchestra for $80 which is a really good price but if I go again I'll definitely try for the $35 lottery. This is probably the one current show I'd like to see more than anything. I enjoyed the original production quite a bit, but everything I've seen and heard about this production makes it seem amazing.
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# ? Nov 5, 2015 06:42 |
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Funktastic posted:His understudy was actually already scheduled to go on that day since he's scheduled to go on at least once a week. He actually made sure to be there this Monday when Obama ran an event for the DNC at the show. Ah, fair. I was lucky the night I went that the only changes were in the ensemble. I was afraid Groff had already left for whatever movie he's in. I can't imagine seeing anyone other than Daveed Diggs doing either Lafayette or Jefferson. The front row seat you get in the lottery is great for appreciating the acting, but the sound mix isn't that great so close. The deck is built so high for the turntables in the show that it's almost at eye level, too.
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# ? Nov 5, 2015 06:47 |
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Practical Demon posted:Man of La Mancha is an older show that I've only recently gotten around to. There's an amazing movie from the 70's with Peter O'Toole and Sophia Loren. O'Toole doesn't have the baritone the part calls for, but he acts the poo poo out of it. Man of La Mancha is great, though I'm slightly biased towards it, as I am towards original Les Mis, Canadian Phantom of the Opera, and the Jekyll and Hyde musical, to name a few, by being way too big a fan of Colm Wilkinson. You can sell me on basically anything that man ever sang in, and as much as I may like them I can never help, in some part of my mind, comparing versions of the same show without him unfavourably. When I was young I went to one of the original performances of the Canadian Phantom as basically my first exposure to on-stage musicals, and I think my fanboyism since then was pretty much cemented by his intro. So much power and expression in his performance there.
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# ? Nov 5, 2015 15:45 |
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Doesn't look like it's going to Broadway anytime soon, and I'm sure people will be turned off by the fact that it's Disney, but I saw the stage version of Hunchback of Notre Dame at Paper Mill Playhouse a while back, and I was blown away. Beautiful music, it's much truer to Hugo then the movie was, and Jesus is it ever dark. Another one which I enjoyed which I don't htink gets enough love is Sunset Boulevard, I never got to see it but I've listened to the original cast album with Glenn Close, and it's fantastic.
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# ? Nov 5, 2015 17:58 |
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AnonymousNarcotics posted:I saw Deaf West's Spring Awakening last week and just.. No words. So amazing. I want to go back and see it again and again and again. There were a ton of empty seats so you could probably score cheap lottery tickets if you don't wanna pay too much. I went to tkts and got a seat row f center orchestra for $80 which is a really good price but if I go again I'll definitely try for the $35 lottery. I'm so glad this was good. My wife desperately wants to see it, and we saw the original on a trip to New York years ago, but we just can't swing a trip back right now. Shame, because I'd love to catch Hamilton while we were there.
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# ? Nov 6, 2015 05:58 |
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I'm not really liking Hamilton so far. I just can't stand rap/R&B and the like.
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# ? Nov 8, 2015 04:21 |
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How has nobody said Hedwig and the Angry Inch? (I have only seen the film, not any of the multitude of international productions of it.)
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# ? Nov 8, 2015 07:29 |
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Since I'm not a fan of jazzy or contemporary musicals, there are only two that I've ever bothered watching. And they happen to be absolute classics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LI_Oe-jtgdI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VogHwP0C5VY I'm going to get around to My Fair Lady one of these days, though...
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# ? Nov 8, 2015 10:28 |
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BrigadierSensible posted:How has nobody said Hedwig and the Angry Inch? (I have only seen the film, not any of the multitude of international productions of it.) JCM was incredible in the Broadway revival. He's got to be over fifty, and he still blazed with energy and looked like a (pretty well-built) kid when stripped down.
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# ? Nov 9, 2015 04:11 |
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Singing in the rain was funny as hell. It was weird seeing jokes I had seen a million times already but knowing the movie did the joke first. I saw Les miserables film on an unplanned trip to the movies. Loved it. Forgot about it until like 3 months ago when the songs just found their way back into my head. I spotyfied it found the international cast and immediately understood why fans of the show hated the movie. Speaking of which though a friend has been trying to get me into more musicals. She's sent me a few songs from other stuff but none of it really clicked. There is something in that orchestra of Les Miserables that's powerful, controlling, heart stopping. Are there other shows that have the same atmosphere?
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# ? Nov 9, 2015 04:22 |
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I spent way too much money seeing the West End production of Love Never Dies. What is Love Never Dies? "THE STORY CONTINUES… The year is 1907. It is 10 years after his disappearance from the Paris Opera House and the Phantom has escaped to a new life in New York where he lives amongst the screaming joy rides and freak-shows of Coney Island. In this new electrically-charged world, he has finally found a place for his music to soar. All that is missing is his love – Christine Daaé. Now one of the world’s finest sopranos, Christine is struggling in an ailing marriage to Raoul. So, it is with excitement she accepts an invitation to travel to New York and perform at a renowned opera house. In a final bid to win back her love, the Phantom lures Christine, her husband, and their young son Gustave from Manhattan; to the glittering and glorious world of Coney Island… not knowing what is in store for them…." It was by far the worst show I've ever seen, and I loved every minute of it. There's a revamped version on DVD that was done in Australia, but it doesn't hold a candle to the original pile of poo poo that was done in London. Favorite shows? Fun Home, Next to Normal, Wicked, Les Mis, Sweeney Todd.
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# ? Nov 9, 2015 05:25 |
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Volume posted:Singing in the rain was funny as hell. It was weird seeing jokes I had seen a million times already but knowing the movie did the joke first. You could try Schönberg and Boublil's other shows. Their other big projects are Miss Saigon, Martin Guerre, and The Pirate Queen. Saigon was a success, but the other two closed pretty quick. They've apparently retooled Guerre, though, and are looking to do a new production. You can find a lot of the music from each on Youtube. The funny thing about them is you can see what was popular at the time they were made. Guerre opens with a percussive dance that looks like the cast of Stomp dressed as Medieval peasants, and Pirate Queen only exists because the Riverdance people thought a giant musical was the next logical step. Mouse Dresser posted:I spent way too much money seeing the West End production of Love Never Dies. The fact that exists is so weird. I didn't even know a sequel to a musical was a thing that could happen till I heard about that and Annie 2. I can't wait to see how the Broadway production fails.
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# ? Nov 9, 2015 06:10 |
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Practical Demon posted:
This song is always stuck in my head for a week after I hear it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onQJZ-gzwsc
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# ? Nov 9, 2015 07:39 |
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For some reason, I really enjoy Tanz der Vampire and went to see it live in Germany. This is everyone's favorite song from the show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbvoB67pPdA But frankly, I really like these two also: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGzzCq4IZ50 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGWWlhsCCEQ
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# ? Nov 27, 2015 05:12 |
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I can't stop listening to Hamilton, it's interfering with my sleep. Les Miserables and Sweeney Todd, and Avenue Q and Anything Goes are also wonderful.
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# ? Nov 28, 2015 05:38 |
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Probably my all-time favorite is Next to Normal. As someone who has struggled with mental illness, it's quite powerful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx9z1Fdz1j8
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# ? Nov 28, 2015 06:02 |
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Legally Blonde. It just works so well as a musical https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjkscx9Osmw
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# ? Nov 28, 2015 06:43 |
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MissEchelon posted:Legally Blonde. It just works so well as a musical I performed this last year. I was super skeptical but it actually has a huge variety of music and some genuinely funny moments. I got to play the whip in public too, which was awesome.
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# ? Nov 28, 2015 10:51 |
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Like every good thread, I'm gonna desperately drag #auspol into this with one of Australia's most niche musicals: Casey Bennetto's KEATING! The Musical We Had To Have. KEATING! is a (not at all) accurate retelling of the political career of Paul Keating, Australia's sixth-last Prime Minister and greatest insult comedian. With cameos from Bob Hawke (champion beer chugger and sideburnshaver), Alexander Downer (Mr Fishnets 1994 AND 1995), and John Howard (who stole God's eyebrows). If anyone has even a passing interest in Australian politics, the whole musical is only about 90 minutes and there's an excellent recording available on an official DVD (that the following clips are taken from). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2Ie1GuFAqc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0HzI3lOVdI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgvNQPPf2TY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDvtwXSEJVA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISIn1t12xvA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPsdbh8YYxE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bq-Ax4WHOZ4 Musical Numbers: My Right Hand Man – Hawke Do It In Style – Keating I Remember Kirribilli – Keating It's Time – Keating and Hawke Ruler Of The Land – Keating The Beginning Is The End – Keating, Evans and Whitlam On The Floor – Keating and Hewson I Wanna Do You Slowly – Keating and Hewson Antony Green – Reporters Sweet – Keating The Arse End Of The Earth – Keating and Evans Freaky – Downer Heavens, Mister Evans – Evans and Kernot Redfern – Keating Ma(m)bo – Keating Power – Howard The Mateship – Howard Choose Me – Keating and Howard The Light On The Hill – Keating Historical Revisionism – Scrutineer, Keating and Howard
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# ? Nov 28, 2015 11:23 |
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Cruel and Unusual posted:I can't stop listening to Hamilton, it's interfering with my sleep. Glad I'm not the only one! Les mis is my favorite musical, and I definitely have a soft spot for RENT (I was 13 when it came out and desperately wanted to live that Boho life, like the stupid teenager I was) I could talk about musicals all day. There aren't many I don't like. Like all musical-heads, I love any and all Sondheim, but I'm particularly fond of Sunday in the Park with George. I saw the live filmed PBS version with Mandy Patinkin when I was a kid and instantly was hooked.
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# ? Nov 28, 2015 13:44 |
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# ? Apr 25, 2024 21:54 |
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Anybody else ever seen or been part of a production of The Last Five Years? Mind blowing, so much cool music, such a well thought out and sculpted musical. It almost never sees production apparently though, as it only has 2 actors. I played in it, and was easily the most enjoyable production I've ever been part of.
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# ? Nov 28, 2015 14:07 |