Thursday, June 01, 2006

Thirteen Musicals I love (out of about 1000)



Thirteen Musicals LibertyBelleLoves


West Side Story has the greatest music, and
a plot that is just as important today as it was when written.
The great Stephen Sondheim wrote the fabulous lyrics.
It is my all time favorite.


She Loves Me has wonderful music and
fantastic lyrics. Many plays and films are based on this little story
of two people who work together and can't stand each other, but who are
secretly pen pals without knowing it. Sound familiar?


Phantom of the Opera: The stage version
is much more dramatic and beautiful than the film.


Annie is a heart-warming and enchanting musical
with great tunes. Kids love Annie because of the cast of children.
I've got to say that no one beats the incredible talent of Carol Burnett.


The Mystery of Edwin Drood is a not-well known
musical, but one of my favorites. It is a play within a play, based on Charles Dicken's very last book. It is a "who-done-it" but unfortunately, Mr. Dickens died before revealing "who done it"!! The composer,Rupert Holmes made 7 endings
and lets the audience vote on who the murderer is. No two performances
are the same. Great music, good plot!


Little Shop of Horrors.
A nerd, a babe, a masochist, a greedy shop owner,
3 soul sisters and a flesh eating plant all set in the slums
of some big city. Music by the fabulous Alan Menken.
A fun musical with a great score.


Singing in the Rain.
Not sure if this one was on Broadway, but with a song like
Make 'em Laugh, and Singing in the Rain, it has to be a favorite!


Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.
The dancing in this one is fantastic. The wonderful
Russ Tamblyn dancing in the barn-raising scene is fantasic!
A bit dated, but fun.


The Music Man.What can I say? "We got trouble, right here in River City"!
Even the Beatles liked the songs from this musical.(Bells on the Hill).
It's a turn of the century time piece and I love it.


Joseph is a mish-mash of every genre of music from
Calypso to rock 'n roll, pop to country. I had the privilege
of conducting this one and enjoyed every performance.
The Old Testament has never been more entertaining!!


Grease! Who doesn't love the Danny, Sandy,
Grease Lightning and rock 'n roll - the Pink Ladies, Greaser guys and
old cars??


I grew up loving the musical,Gigi.
Paris, the streets, the costumes, Maurice Chevalier and
the adorable Leslie Caron. Another turn of the century
musical with the sweetest songs.


Fiddler on the Roof.
I also conducted Fiddler and had a lump in
my throat at the end of every performance. It
is a sad, tragic but heart warming musical about people,
love, hate, racism and hope.





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23 comments:

Wystful1 said...

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh, you know I'm enjoying your T 13 this week!!! What a great idea and great list. Just like you said, same with me -- 13 out of about 1000!!

*Just singing in the rain....singing in the rain...what a glorious feeling, I'm happy again.*

It stopped raining here finally and the flooding is finally getting a lot lower.

Happy Thursday and thanks for dropping by mine.

Melli said...

Oh wow! 13 Excellent choices! Well... actually... I'm not familiar with two of them -- but at least 11 EXCELENT choices. I don't know "She Loves Me" or Edwin Drood - but I sure know the others! Actually Phantom is not one of my favorites -- I would replace it with Man of La Mancha! The rest I ADORE! Absolutely! GREAT 13 LL!!

PowersTwinB said...

"I feel pretty, oh so pretty, it's alarming how charming I feel"......"When youre a Jet, youre a jet all the way, from your first cigarette to your last dying day....ta da da daum"...lol..Can you guess my favorite Musical??? Great list! Thnaks for visiting my TT-shirts today!

MaR said...

Wonderful list! makes me feel like dressing up and going to one! I love "Cats" too. Happy TT!

julie said...

Great list, I haven't seen nearly enough musicals but have seen quite a few of yours.

Trish Ess said...

Loved Little Shop of Horrors!! :)

Thanks for visiting my TT!

Clean Up Foreclosed Homes said...

I have never been to a musical, but if I get the opportunity I would love to see Little Shop of Horrors, Grease, and probably Phantom of the Opera.

Louise said...

Fabulous list. Was thinking of doing something similar next week as I am a BIG fan of the musicals. There's a couple there that I don't know but the rest I love.

Singing in the Rain and Seven Brides both made my top 13 films and would make my musicals list too.

Feeeeeeeed Me Seymour!

Thanks for popping by.

Froggie Mama said...

Great list! I love Annie, Grease, & Little Shop of Horrors!

It's a hard-knock life for us....
Yup, that's gonna be stuck in my head the rest of the day now! ha! :)

Jen said...

Fun list! We love Joseph and Fiddler here, too. My kids were so young when we started listening to Fiddler, that they called Fibbler on the Woof. :-)

Thanks for stopping by!

lisa said...

Great list! I love West Side Story too. Thanks for coming by :)

Tina@ SendChocolateNow said...

Such wonderful musicals! My daughter has been fortunate to be in Fiddler, Music Man and they are currently doing Joseph right now! (she is in 6th grade and attends a school with an arts emphasis) If you get a chance, stop by my blog later this weekend or so...I will blog her experience. I love musicals. I have never seen Edwin Drood, sounds fascinating. My two favorites are Into the Woods (Sondheim rules!) and I love Kiss Me, Kate! (more of a movie, but counts because it is a movie about a play.) And Noises Off! Is hysterical. So many musicals, so little time!

Thanks for visiting my T13, I enjoyed reading yours. Musicals are a lost art these days, no one knows what I am talking about.

Margaret said...

Blogger is acting up, sorry if I post twice. Love your list. My recent favorite is Billy Joel's musical "Movin' Out" and of course, Les Miserables is a goodie. Great list! Happy Friday - Margie

Kimba said...

What a GREAT list! You've inspired me! As a long-time performer, I've had the joy of being in many of these shows!! My family listens to musicals pretty much daily...our current favourite is "Wicked".

Lynn said...

Great list, and you're right about it being only 13 out of about 1000! I keep thinking of more and more! We've seen quite a few on broadway and some locally. The Sound of Music has always been one of my favorites and then recently we saw Movin' Out which brought back a lot of memories and Aida which just really moved me. Thanks for dropping by!

astrocoz said...

I've been in more than half those plays in community productions.

They were a lot of fun!

Thanks for stopping by my TT!

Natsthename said...

well, that was a cool 13!

I love 1/2 of your list, the other half are some I've never seen! I think my tops is West Side Story, though! I'd have to have "South Pacific" in mine, too.

Anonymous said...

Love West Side Story! But Les Mis is my all time favorite! Great TT!

FRIDAY'S CHILD said...

Annie, West Side Story, Fiddler On the Roof....these are lovely musical movies I love to see again.
I'm inviting you to visit my site.
Have a nice weekend.

Teena in Toronto said...

I luv Phantom of the Opera and have seen it twice! I've seen Grease a couple times too. I've seen Joseph a couple times (once with Donny Osmond) and enjoyed it.

I love live theatre!!

Unknown said...

I've seen the movie versions of most of these and the live versions of a few. Loved them! Thanks for the reminder!

feedscott said...

Great idea for a 13 B)

Shash said...

Grease, Fiddler on the Roof, and West Side Story! Are we related? :)

Thanks for stopping by and saying hi!!

Shash