To not get Musical Theatre

[springydaffs]

sorry, but I just don't.

I've just seen Phantom and, frankly, I loathed it.

What am I supposed to be suspending to enjoy it or, even, get it?

I love musicals. DH did not do musicals when we first met, he was much more into opera. I have since converted him

We have now been to quite a few musicals, and I have been to one opera. I did agree that I would not subject him to any Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals.

Our favourites are Les Mis, Miss Saigon, Mamma Mia and Blood Brothers. DH also liked Rent, but that is one of the few musicals I did not like. Have not seen Phantom.

Also love the films Sound of Music and My Fair Lady.

One of our all time favourite musicals is Return to the Forbidden Planet, very loosely based on The Tempest. Unfortunately this musical only comes around every few years, so we are waiting for our next fix

Never ever seen one and never will.

Just accidentally caught a clip of Matilda and almost vomited at the precocious and overacting kids.

Just got home after seeing Shrek this afternoon! I saw them rolling out the red carpet for the Olivier awards. I've seen We Will Rock You, Dirty Dancing, Jersey Boys, Chicago and Rock of Ages and Lion King and liked them all. My favourite at the moment is Rock of Ages, but only because Shane Ward appears in just his pants and the lead guy has an amazing voice. Turns out I quite like 80's rock, who knew! I've seen it 3 times already. I just take it for what it is and throw myself in! I really want to see blood brothers next.

we dont get many musicals rounds these parts we get a tour in edinburgh and glasgow yearly I think it was legally blonde and we will rock you , so i am slighlty of people who can get to london to see a show , I now quite fancy rock of ages shane ward in his pants cant be all bad and justin lee collins is in is my who i fancy but shouldnt crush

Oh, oh, just remembered another fab one- Anything Goes. Great tap dancing. There was also fab tap dancing in Jerry Springer- the Musical

I have looked into going by myself dont know why Ive not done it yet TBH.

YANBU

Musicals are by and large awful.

There is so much amazing theatre to see in the UK, some of it really cheap too thanks to subsidies and all people want to see is someone who came third in X Factor in 2006 play Danny Zuko.

A few of you have been extolling the virtues of Sondheim (yes, I agree, he is a genius and no-one should think that all Musicals are tarred with the brush of Lord LW.) Can I therefore shamelessly plug a production of Into The Woods at Hampton Hill Playhouse in South-West London next month. It's amateur but is of a very high standard.

www.brostheatrecompany.org/bros_future_shows_revolve1.php

I've seen several over the years. Some better than others but the only shockingly bad one IMO was Dirty Dancing. I sat absolutely CRINGEING. Hated every minute.

I think the problem was that it's the same - word for word, line for line, scene for scene - as the movie... except of course it ISN'T, so if you've seen the film hundreds of times more than once, it's a woeful imitation. Oh, and there were some extra bits which are even more cringeworthy. Example (paraphrasing somewhat):

Johnny: But Baby, how are we going to persuade your Father that we want to stay together forever?

Baby: Oh Johnny! We'll just have to fight harder!

Just squirmsome.

Hairspray is one I'd love to go and see again. Loved that. Real feelgood stuff.

winless Eek! Plug away in my opinion what a wonderful show to be putting on. I'll bet the rehearsals have been a blast. I would love to play the Witch or the Bakers Wife but I'm too old

Me neither

I think that the amount you enjoy or feel emotionally invested in good musicals is directly proportional to the amount you enjoy or feel emotionally invested in music. A good musical uses song to amplify the emotional charge of a scene, really connecting the audience (via the beauty of the score, the notes sung by the performer, the costuming and staging) with the moment. If you don't get a lot out of music, you won't get a lot out of musicals.

If you can't see that , then you've got no soul. I wouldn't touch anything by Andrew Lloyd Webber with a barge pole though.

I just had to bite my lip to stop myself from saying something uncharitable when I saw footage of the quartet of children who won the Olivier award.

I will never go and see a musical - I can't bear the thought. I like opera (I am the opposite of highbrow, I just like the music and the songs) but musicals leave me cold. I have watched plenty of TV ones and have loathed them all (Mary Poppins in particular).

It really does depend on the type of musical though. For me the likes of Mary Poppins and Sound of Music are too saccharine. And whilst I don't mind Phantom, I find Andrew Lloyd Webber's musicals too plinky plonky. Grease, Dirty Dancing, Mamma Mia are too lightweight, frothy.

It gets nearer to perfection along the lines of Miss Saigon (bar a couple of over the top love songs), Les Mis, The Producers and, as mentioned, absolute top of the list is Sondheim. Any of them.

Worth venturing to different styles before writing them all off surely?

Hear hear Lebof.
One of the best.

Sondheim all the way for me
I think is a great version of Send in the Clowns (to give just one example).

I remember going to see Oliver a couple of years ago and during the interval my friend asked if I wanted to go to the bar. I declined because if I left my seat it was unlikely I was going to return for the second act (and the tickets cost a fortune so I was going to suffer every last bit of it).

verlaine love the Judi Dench version.

This is my favourite Sondheim (though thee's about 50 close seconds

Love that verlaine although my favourite version is Glynis Johns. I love the sound her voice.

I absolutely love musicals.
By coincidence I have booked for dh and I to go and see Phantom on tour. I throughly enjoyed seeing it in the West End.
I can't say that I have ever seen a bad musical, although I have enjoyed some more than others.

If you don't like them then don't go.
I am not a film person, the vast majority of films leave me cold, even the ones that take squillions of pounds at the box office.

You would also have to pay me to watch most sports and yet I am a fitness freak myself, just don't want to watch others doing it.

I think that the amount you enjoy or feel emotionally invested in good musicals is directly proportional to the amount you enjoy or feel emotionally invested in music. A good musical uses song to amplify the emotional charge of a scene, really connecting the audience (via the beauty of the score, the notes sung by the performer, the costuming and staging) with the moment. If you don't get a lot out of music, you won't get a lot out of musicals

erm I'm a classical musician (not top notch but classically trained), play a lot of instruments, have sung in a variety of choirs most of my adult life, adore Bach, listen almost constantly to a wide variety of music including drum&bass and have actually found a small club where I can dance my heart out to it with 20yo's

So I wouldn't say I'm not emotionally invested in music, no. I'm also a fashion designer so I get costumes and sets and have also done a fair bit of acting, sometimes in musicals, so I get the stage.

I'll try Sondheim.

sounded a bit poncey there. sorry

Not poncey at all springydaffs :)

Tons of Sondheim on you tube as you would expect. In general, the songs are infinitely more wordy than the norm. Darker subjects, intelligent lyrics. Musically, and I know I speak as a major fan, the melodies can be haunting, they can shift in a way you wouldn't expect. Characters tend to be more complex.

I'm sure a lot of the posters here could link more than a few good examples, myself included I could go on forever