Musical Theatre Mondays

The first time I saw The Nightmare Before Christmas (TNBC) was when I was 5 years old. It gave me awful nightmares and I never watched it again. Until last week. I didn't remember a single thing about it. It was like watching a movie for the first time except it was actually the second time and I was 24 years older (and less prone to nightmares). I'm happy to report that I finally understand most* of the hype. It makes my musical theatre nerd heart soar.  Before we watched it last week, my husband said something about thinking it was much more "musical-ly" than other Disney movies and I instantly felt myself getting protective of my childhood favorites like  Beauty and the Beast and  The Little Mermaid.  But when you look just at the movies, since TNBC doesn't have a stage version, it has more sung songs (versus just orchestration) than any other Disney movie musical (I think?). And not only are all of the songs incredibly catchy - they continue th

The Golden Age was my boys' Rodgers and Hammerstein's heyday and I have some of their other shows saved for future posts (you're crazy if you think I'd forget about The   Sound of Music ), but let's give them a little rest and talk about Lerner and Loewe. Or more specifically one song from one of my favorites. My Fair Lady has a ton of iconic songs and I was tempted to visit one from Henry Higgins or Mr. Dolittle ("Get Me to the Church on Time" was one of my early musical theatre jams), but I went for one that I think everyone sort of knows, one that has been covered practically a million times and one that could maybe be an ode to stalking? But just for this post we're going to pretend that it's incredibly sweet and maybe not questionable. "On The Street Where You Live" is a song that I think everyone can relate to the emotions of. Time passing, people staring, personal pride doesn't matter when the one you love is near or even

There are a lot of the Golden Age musicals that I'm not terribly familiar with so I wanted to try something different for this week's post. Rather than giving you my favorites for a musical that I know very well - let's talk about one that I didn't really know before this week and one with a story that is...troublesome. Carousel . Another R&H classic and one that is actually on it's way to another revival with some of my favorites (Jessie Mueller and Joshua Henry. So dreamy.). I don't know if I've come any closer to having an answer for that after watching the 1956 film with Shirley Jones and Gordon MacRae, but I do have a greater appreciation for the mastery of R&H. A quick synopsis:  Julie Jordan and her friend Carrie Pipperidge go to the carousel in their small Maine town and buy tickets for a ride. Julie sees the local carnival barker - Billy Bigelow - and totes likes his barrel-chested, jaunty hat wearing ways. They flirt, he rides the

One thing I really love about musicals is the settings they are placed in. The French Revolution? Sure! A convent in Switzerland? Even better! A pajama factory on the verge of a wage strike? Why not. The Pajama Game first hit   Broadway in 1954 and is one of my very favorite of the Golden Age musicals. Like Oklahoma,  it's done in a lot of community and schools because it's fun, bright and the music is crazy catchy. I know when my high school did it my Junior year we all had a good chuckle that all they wanted was a seven-and-a-half cent raise and then we couldn't get the song out of our head! It's the quaint, good ol' days type musical that works well for all ages. It was revived in 2006 and I'm just now learning this and acquainting myself with the soundtrack. Harry Connick Jr. is probably the closest modern day comparison I can think of to John Raitt and Kelly O'Hara is basically in every revival ever so of course it's good, but I have to go on

Oklahoma happens to be the first musical that I ever had a role in AND it also happens to be one of the most beloved musicals of the Golden Era of Musical Theatre or...ever, depending upon who you talk to. This classic Rodgers and Hammerstein (R&H) show is kind of the perfect beginning for this blog because have you ever met someone who didn't know at least part of the title song? Of course not. If you had, that person is probably not of this Earth and then you should be asking them like 50 other questions first. I don't think I would be too far off to suggest that this is probably R&H's most famous musical. It's done all the time and every where! A lot of community theatres and schools do it because it's "wholesome," but the people who think that aren't really paying attention. Uh...the little wonder? Smelling salts? Natalie's Five Favorites! Favorite Character:  Aunt Eller Favorite Song:  People Will Say We're In Love (It

I've had feelings about musicals since I was that little girl in this picture. My family listened to Les Miserables incessantly and when Dad (that cool dude with the mini-mullet) would start blasting The Phantom of the Opera as loud as our stereo - and Mom - would allow, I cried. Because the phantom was there and he was gonna get me! I'm still involved with theatre - or rather I never became uninvolved. Because even when I'm not doing it, I'm listening to it, watching it, and frankly - geeking out about it. So that's why we're here. Or why I'm here and why I want you to be here, too. Because I feel like screaming into the void (that I hope will become less void-y and more like a cozy living room with blankies and hot chocolate) about shows I love, songs I'm obsessed with, complaints I have and everything in between. I truly believe that everyone would like musical theatre if they only knew where to look! Let's go!