Hey! How's about musicals? Don't you wish they'd come back in style? All the singing and dancing. That's entertainment. I love all the Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Gene Kelly movies. If only reality could be suspended in such a way today!

But my favorite since childhood has to be "The Sound of Music." Such a beautiful movie with such excellent songs!

What about the rest of you?

Messy

I agree. The only place to see a good musical these days is on Broadway (yes, I'm including the touring companies). Oh, how I would love to see something like Brigadoon, or Meet Me in St. Louis, or My Fair Lady on the silver screen again.
BTW... make sure you catch Annie on tv in November. Among other very talented people (ie. Kathy Bates) is Kristen Chenoweth, who recently won a Tony for her "Sally" in the pseudo-revival of "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown." I love a good musical.

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If you asked me what I came here to do, I would tell you that I came to live out loud. - Emile Zola

Cats and Les Miserables have to be the best 2 musicals I have seen. The latter is so depressing that it was effective, and the music is pretty good too. The dancing in cats is great. Phantom of the Opera and Starlight Express were pretty good, but were both missing something.

Terry

Starlight Express is fantastic, I have seen 3 times. Even though I only paid to see it once as I won tickets for the other two times.
I prefer them on rollar-skates rather than roller-blades. It is a fun show, not all the songs are great but enough to get by.
I would love to go and see The Lion King. It has just had its premiere in London. (I know, you guys had it 2 years ago.)

Sypher

In NYC last year, I saw The Civil War (a new Frank Wildhorn show -- F.W also did Jekyll and Hyde and The Scarlet Pimpernel). Although the play was panned by the critics, I loved it. There were things wrong with it, but the music was really good. I was sad when it closed. Speaking of The Scarlet Pimpernel, if you have a chance to see it, it is WONDERFUL. ...I'd love to see The Lion King but I'm not sure I can plan two years in advance!

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If you asked me what I came here to do, I would tell you that I came to live out loud. - Emile Zola

I think the best 2 musicals that I have seen would have to be Les Miserables ( absolutely brilliant) and "Little shop of horrors". I took my kids to the second one and they also fell in love with it so they now own the video and watch it all the time. I also thought "Phantom of the Opera" lacked something. My kids favourite other musical is "Rocky Horror" but we had to ban my 7 yr old from watching it when she started standing on the front fence singing "I'm a sweet transvestite"

Maybe movie musicals are making a comeback.Evita was a fairly good movie and that one was all music.The video of Cats was also pretty decent, although the dancing is better appreciated on the stage.We have had a steady trickle of movie musicals through the years.Some stage musicals translate to the screen better than others.I always found South Pacific,West Side Story, and Brigadoon too artificial on the screen although I adore the music in all of them.Others, like Pal Joey, Gypsy, The King and I, The Sound of Music,Funny Girl, Oliver, and Gigi are absolutely perfect movies in every way.My Fair Lady might have been perfect if Julie Andrews had been in it.I think the audience is stll there for movie musicals---I think we have a lack of good musicals to draw upon.We seem to be lacking composers for this genre.Something like Phantom Of The Opera, which has only one very good song, can't make it as a movie musical--all the flaws would be exposed.On the stage the special effects hide some of that.

Also, can you think of any musical movies which weren't on stage first? I've been thinking of it for a few days and I can't think of any unless you count movies about singers (ie. The Doors movie, Great Balls of Fire, etc). Do we count those as real "musicals"?

I think that Gigi was originally a non-musical stage play and that the musical version was done for the screen. Saturday Night Fever, which opened in New York last night (and which Sypher tells me has been running in London), is a stage musical which is taken from the movie.It was also written for the film.

Another Film that was turned into a stage musical was "Fiddler on the Roof". PLUS it managed to have Topol in both.

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Deciphering the World as I see it !!

Sypher-Fiddler On The Roof was on the stage before it was made into a movie.London may have had Topol, but in New York, Zero Mostel originated the role.
Beauty And The Beast and The Lion King both started out as movies, if you want to count animated films.

OF COURSE! The Lion King! How silly of me!!

How about "Jesus Christ Superstar", which started out as the album first.

donnar- really?

OKLAHOMA! That was the first real musical I have been in(I was Will Parker). I also did Little Lulu Wilbur) and Charlots web(templeton). They were about the greatest experiences of my life so far.

Phantom of the opera and Les Miserable RULE. Though I do not believe that a hantom movie should be made unless it can star the orignal actors. And alas the original female actress/singer sarah brightman does not want to do it, she has moved on since then.

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If we dont change the world... then who will save it???