My GF loves old musicals. I occasionally watch a bit of with her, but I’m usually just sitting there doing something on my computer (like reading the SDMB).
Why are so many musicals about show business, or the making of other musicals? Is it just a cheap excuse for all the singing and dancing?
What are some musicals you would recommend for a straight dude who’s not really that into musicals? If it’s any kind of help, I enjoyed Hedwig & the Angry Inch, My Fair Lady, and The King and I, while I did not care for Chicago or West Side Story, and I hated Moulin Rouge and A Star is Born.
Because nobody loves talking about anything quite as much as they love talking about themselves. The percentage of musical theater devoted TO showcasing theater or figures of historical theater is kind of astounding. In most of these, though, the setting being theater (or Hollywood) isn’t the whole point, it’s just a familiar and convenient setting for what the show or movie is really about. Gypsy isn’t really about vaudeville…and it’s not REALLY about Gypsy, for that matter. It’s about Rose and examining the mind of someone obsessively driven to do things for which she can’t be the vehicle. Show Boat isn’t really about the Cotton Blossom, it’s about Magnolia and Gaylord.
You might try South Pacific. It’s WWII-set, about soldiers and nurses and islanders. And racism and overcoming it.
And sets. They don’t have to hide the lights & everything if all the singing & dancing happens on stage.
I’d recommend White Christmas. It also explains part of why musicals are about musicians & performers because it gives several instances of musicians bursting into song, just because they can. It makes sense for singers; talk show hosts and bicycle repairmen, not so much.
Try 1776 and A Funny Thing Happened on My Way to the Forum. You can’t get less show biz than musicals about the writing of the Declaration of Independence and the freeing of Roman slaves. They are also two of the funniest musicals ever made.
It is about show biz, so maybe it’s not exactly what you’re looking for, but I would still recommend Singin’ in the Rain. Not only is it (IMO) the best movie musical ever made, but the best thing about it is that it’s not just a thin story that acts as an excuse for musical numbers. The movie itself is actually incredibly funny; I saw it in a theater with a packed house over the summer, and the audience was laughing throughout the whole thing. If you removed the musical numbers from Singin’ in the Rain, you would still have a darn good movie, which you can’t say about most musicals. I think that would appeal to someone who’s a little iffy on the whole genre.
I just want to add to this that if you’re just going to watch it on DVD on your couch some night, please don’t bother. Looked at from a purely objective viewpoint, Rocky Horror is an incredibly bad film with an incredibly good soundtrack. It’s only in the total experience of a midnight showing that RHPS transcends its deliberate schlockiness.
Although I do absolutely recommend the soundtrack for stand-alone listening. Best damn soundtrack from an utterly horrible movie ever.
My husband dislikes musicals also as a rule, but he has watched and enjoyed a few with me. (By “enjoy” I mean he follows through to the end and doesn’t leave the room mumbling) He has enjoyed Rent, Hairspray, White Christmas and Mamma Mia and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
Most old musicals, like Singing in the Rain seem to have a dream sequence or play-within-a-play musical number which is grandiose and has no bearing on the story whatsoever. That annoys him to no end, whereas I never really noticed.
And it branded Tim Curry I think. I once heard a radio interview with him, when I was in Michigan. He was appearing in a road production of some other show. I think it may have been a revival of 42nd Street. One thing he said was that no matter what project he is involved in currently, if he does an interview, sometime, somewhere during the interview, the reporter will want to talk about Rocky Horror. “I can’t leave it behind!” he said.
If you watch Sweeney Todd, see THIS VERSION with Angela Lansbury and George Hearn in the national tour of the original stage presentation and not the 2007 film with Johnny Depp.
That’s a good point. I’m trying to think of a classic musical that doesn’t have something like this but it still good. Maybe Seven Brides for Seven Brothers? That doesn’t have anything to do with show business or any kind of long, arty musical numbers that I can remember, unless you count the spectacular barn-raising sequence. The dancing is more athletic and acrobatic than a lot of the dancing in musicals, which might appeal to the OP. Unfortunately, the storyline is a little creepy in parts, with the men kidnapping the women and all that, but if you can get past that, it’s very charming!*
*That probably doesn’t sound like a ringing endorsement, but oh well.
It is the opposite of butch but Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is a lot of fun – and it stars Jane Russel and Marilyn Monroe. It includes the famous* Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend* number.
Everyone loves The Music Man, a show that’s delightfully proud of its own corniness. The movie version is an especially good adaptation, since it had the same director and star as the Broadway version. Practically nothing was cut.
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying was made into a fine film, with much of the original cast intact. Funny satire of 50s business.
Cabaret, directed by the great Bob Fosse, had all its numbers set on a stage or in a venue where singing would come naturally, an attempt to make a more “realistic” musical. But don’t let that faze you. It’s a great movie, and the drama offstage is designed to contrast with the music onstage. It also has probably the most chilling song ever written (stay to the very end to find out why).
Fosse’s All That Jazz is also amazing, though it is a backstage musical. It’s extremely autobiographical, but far from a puff piece – Fosse’s counterpart is shown warts and all. Take Off With Us is a number any heterosexual man will like.
There’s the underrated Everyone Says I Love You.. It’s not set on stage, and Woody Allen was smart enough to realize that songs from the 30s are perfect for musicals.
Some musicals are great on stage but never had a decent film adaptation. Bye Bye Birdie is really awful (they screwed with the plot), Man of La Mancha was even worse, and A Chorus Line is an OK summary, but not much better than a high school production. Anything Goes had a couple of mediocre versions (though did have Ethel Merman in the first); both came before the play was rewritten to be more of a showcase for Cole Porter’s music. Other great musicals like Avenue Q and The Drowsy Chaperone have not been filmed yet.