Ten on Tuesday: Musicals!

Ten on Tuesday: 10+ Favorite Musicals

Shall We Dance?

I'm not even going to consider animated musicals... that's a whole 'nother topic.

1. The Wizard of Oz. It was always a huge event every year when The Wizard of Oz came on TV! We had a small, portable, BLACK & WHITE TV -- I didn't even know, for years, that Oz was in color! Still, we were riveted to the TV. I think The Wicked Witch of the West/Margaret Hamilton might have been scarier in b&w! Scarecrow/Ray Bolger was my favorite growing up (still is and always will be); I could tolerate Tin Man/Jack Haley, but really couldn't stand Lion/Bert Lahr; I've a much deeper appreciation for them all as a grown up. Perfect casting. Somewhere Over The Rainbow...

2. Show Boat. This is the first "old" musical I ever came across on late-night TV as a teenager -- chopped all to hell on the screen, TERRIBLE quality -- dark and muddy, made even worse by black & white TV! This is the musical that made me fall in love with musicals! Howard Keel! Ava Gardner! Old Man River...

3. Funny Girl. Babs. Omar. Laughter, tears, heartbreak. My Man...

4. Oklahoma! Oh, Jud Fry/Rod Steiger was SUCH A BAD MAN! There's good and bad, light and dark, safety and danger, compare and contrast in every movie, but I think it had never been so clear to me before Oklahoma! Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin'...

5. The King and I. This is the movie that taught me what sexy was: Hello, King of Siam/Yul Brynner with your bare chest, bald head, cute accent, and THOSE EYES! And all those kids! Anna/Deborah Kerr was so beautiful... so amazing. And I loved her dresses. So swishy. Getting To Know You...

6. Mary Poppins. Another perfectly cast movie! I remember how much fun the Sister Suffragette number was as a kid, and how much more I understood it when I watched with my own kids. Shoulder to Shoulder was the first Masterpiece Theater series I ever saw -- I don't think I even saw it from the beginning (and what I wouldn't give to see it again) -- and I was positively riveted by the Pankhurst women and that story! My life-long love for Dick Van Dyke began with this movie. Chim-Chim-Cheree...

7. The Sound of Music. Julie Andrews has had some pretty great leading men, and Captain Von Trapp/Christopher Plummer is certainly one of them. I love everything about this movie. My Favorite Things...

8. Jesus Christ Superstar. I received the Broadway soundtrack for Christmas and listened to it every waking moment. Dad took me to see a production at UW-Oshkosh for my birthday, I think, when I turned 14 or 15? I've seen several other productions, since, including an amazing spectacle of one with Sharon that had Ted Neely and Carl Anderson cast in their movie roles as Jesus and Judas. This is the first movie that I went back to the theater to see again, and again, and again... for a total of SIX times! Could We Start Again, Please?

9. Grease. Pure fun, through and through. Danny is the John Travolta that always springs to my mind... or Tony Manero. Can't imagine a more perfect cast than this, either. You're The One That I Want...

10. Moulin Rouge! God I love this movie. So unexpected and familiar at the same time; fun and sad; madcap and dramatic. Baz Luhrmann is a crazy man -- in all the ways that I love crazy. J'adore Ewan McGregor. Come What May...

...and also Roxanne.

BONUS NUMBERS:

11. Top Hat. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rodgers. That is all. Cheek to Cheek...

12. Singin' In The Rain. Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Donald O'Connor... rain. That is all, again. Good Morning...

13. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Howard Keel again (such an amazing voice)... with brothers. When You're In Love...

14. Million Dollar Mermaid. Esther Williams, Victor Mature, Busby Berkeley. Love this stuff. Let Me Call You Sweetheart...

15. Mamma Mia! Definitely not the greatest musical ever made, for sure, and some of the (Pierce Brosnan) singing is pretty bad, but it's ABBA and SO much fun!! Dancing Queen...

Oh, that was fun!! What about you? Yay or Nay on usical-May? If a Yay, what's on your list? What have I overlooked??

 

Comments

[Kym]

Oh, what a great list, Vicki! I had to limit myself in some way, so chose to include only those musicals I had seen on the stage. The musical movies. . . so many to LOVE it was just too overwhelming for me! (I felt the same way about your Oz characters; still in love with the Scarecrow! Same with Sister Suffragettes from Mary Poppins -- which actually might be my all-time favorite movie musical.) Obviously. . . I could go on forever with this topic. . .

[Donna]

If I counted animated Musicals - oh boy...

I realized there are alot of musicals I have never seen after seeing everybody elses lists! Guess I can add another task to my "Christmas Break" list :-)

[Carole]

I am not at all surprised that we have so many duplicates on our list. I saw JCS with Carl Anderson and Ted Neely too. We drove through a blizzard to get there but there was no way I was going to miss it!

[Catherine]

I love your list!! I have to say that I love Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music, and Singing In The Rain the most. As an aside, my husband put a sign in the window of our shop for Christmas shoppers that says "Gifts for Knitters" - every time I see it, I think, "Votes for women!" Odd? Yes.

[Guinifer]

Well, for One Brief Shining Moment? Camelot.

[Guinifer]

Your list is great, but I thought of another one I have always loved - High Society! (Anything with Bing in it was good for me!)

[margene]

Your first seven took me back to my childhood. We would often act out musicals while my father played the soundtracks. I must confess I'm no longer a fan, however.

[Kathy L.]

I always loved Fiddler on the Roof. "If I Were a Rich ... ladadadadada ..." and "Matchmaker, matchmaker make me a match ... find me a find, catch me a catch ..."
You are welcome for making that song go through your head all day now! Loved all the ones on your list!

[Lee]

Great list! My daughter was a MT geek in high school. We saw Les Mis, The Secret Garden, Children of Eden. Funny thing--if she was in it, it is on my favorites list. :)

[Robin F.]

Fiddler on the roof. South Pacific. Hair! the play is better than the movie.
Music Man. I love musicals. Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly...I'm a sucker for those oldies.