My introduction to musical theatre was in the first grade as I sat in the high school gymnasium watching a performance of a Rodgers and Hammerstein show that I will come to later. Let me just say I was forever changed at that early age. I have to say that I enjoy a musical even more than a regular play because not only do they tell a story through dialog and action but also through music. The best musicals use that music to progress the rest of the action on stage… becoming a character all its own. Some of the greatest musicals also have a third component that I shudder to mention: d-d-d-d-ance (?) or as I prefer to call it stylized movement.
The following is a list of musicals that have found a permanent place within me. I would not necessarily say they were my “favorite.”
- Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (1993 Los Angeles Cast)
(the first show I ever saw on The Great White Way, also the first community production I was cast in)
- Matthew Broderick in “How to Succeed in Business WIthout Really Trying!”
(I saw the ’90s revival with Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker and met them backstage… Bud Frump…. )
- Singin’ in the Rain (Two-Disc Special Edition)
(classic Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O’Connor flick about the transition from silent movie production to sound. Make Em Laugh… Cosmo…hmm scene stealer)
- The Phantom of the Opera (Original 1986 London Cast)
(The first professional show I ever saw my junior year in Chicago. I have seen it twice since… more for the spectacle and music of Lloyd Webber. I HATED the movie and it was not because I was not sitting in the audience of a live stage production. It was a terrible transformation from stage to screen)
- Annie (1977 Original Broadway Cast)
will always be remembered as the 1992 EHS musical. And to think I auditioned for the part of Daddy Warbucks?! Daniel Francis Hannigan aka Rooster Hannigan aka Danny the Dip was my first villainous role… and now my second favorite role)
- Jesus Christ Superstar: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Album
( I have only seen the horrid ’73 movie but I am told it is the best soundtrack… one of the worst things to come out of that year… I like to think there were better things 😀 I really the role of Herrod. Lloyd Webber’s best and most controversial… maybe that is why it is his best… have I mentioned this before?)
- Jekyll & Hyde – The Gothic Musical Thriller (1994 Concept Cast)
(tremendous Wildhorn and Bricusse score. Some of my favorite songs from any show. When done right can be terrifyingly fun and breathtaking. I have mentioned the rotten the best is the Anthony Warlow concept recording).
- Les Miserables Complete Symphonic Recording
(heartbreaking, triumphant, humorous in a few moments, hopeful. M. Thenardier is a fun, evil, scene stealing villain… hmm…again a brilliant, almost operatic score)
- Carousel (1994 Broadway Revival Cast)
(the musical mentioned at the top. Forget the rest… this is the only Rodgers and Hammerstein show to see. Why is it never done? I saw the 90s revival in NY as well. “Soliloquy” is 8 minutes of inner turmoil and indecision).
I just know I am forgetting at least one.
South Pacific: First and only show I was a member of the pit orchestra (I was a not-very-good trumpet player in my youth), so that’s the R&H show in my own memories. Let’s see. Scapino! was my first high school show. I only wish I had gotten the acting bug sooner than before my senior year. The first show I was actually in was Cheaper by the Dozen at my church. My first musical was a Wizard of Oz parody at that same church. Other milestones: oh bother- I’m going to make a post on my blog to complete this long thought- thanks for the idea!