Favorite Broadway Shows?

[Zeldania]

I noticed there are a lot of people posting asking about favorite authors, boxed sets of tv shows, books, places to write, so I figured, hey, why not a Favorite Broadway Show?

Personally, mine will ALWAYS be The Lion King.

[carusmm]

The musical has destroyed theatre.

[shadowcat80]

Man of la Manchia hands down I will always love the "Impossible Dream"

To dream the impossible dream To fight the unbeatable foe To bear with unbearable sorrow To run where the brave dare not go To right the unrightable wrong To love pure and chaste from afar To try when your arms are too weary To reach the unreachable star This is my quest To follow that star No matter how hopeless No matter how far To fight for the right Without question or pause To be willing to march into Hell For a heavenly cause And I know if I'll only be true  To this glorious quest That my heart will lie peaceful and calm When I'm laid to my rest And the world will be better for this That one man, scorned and covered with scars Still strove with his last ounce of courage To reach the unreachable star

[shadowcat80]

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carusmm wrote:

The musical has destroyed theatre.

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In what way?  and do you realize that musicals have around a very long time?  Oldest ones I can think of is Gilbert and Sulivan's works which are really old.

[carusmm]

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shadowcat80 wrote:

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carusmm wrote:

The musical has destroyed theatre.

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In what way?  and do you realize that musicals have around a very long time?  Oldest ones I can think of is Gilbert and Sulivan's works which are really old.

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Ah, intelligence!  Theatre is now a bore like it never was before, cabaret is the height of decadence.  And I do realise the significance of musical theatre, it is just that I do not particularly wish to be cheered up.

[carusmm]

Theatre began as a lament and looks like ending as one.  Tthe spoken word is more powerful than any choir, the actor better than froth and bubbles, and a poet an angel.

[Zeldania]

That is not true. The majority of succuessful theatre pieces these days are musicals. Though I do thoroughly enjoy a good play from time to time, musicals lift me up into the air on the wings of the stories they tell through song.

[Zeldania]

"The musical has destroyed theatre."

You say that, but it is not true.

[carusmm]

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Zeldania wrote:

"The musical has destroyed theatre."

You say that, but it is not true.

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Art nowadays is what sells, it has probably always been.  The reality that faces the poet today is that there is simply no money for the dramatic arts nowadays.  Is it just?  No.  Is art dead?  Yes.  It is the price that we pay for democracy.

[dulcinea3]

I think that I will have to pick Jesus Christ, Superstar.  I have seen three entirely different productions of it.  The first was a rather minimalist production, with the Broadway cast; I think it was before the 1973 movie came out.  The second starred Ted Neeley and Carl Anderson, from the movie, but the treatment was so different, presenting Jesus as a modern-day superstar similar to a rock legend (the temple scene featured people hawking t-shirts and posters of him).  The third, a few years ago, also starred an aging Neeley, but Anderson had passed away some years back.  This production was the closest to the 1973 movie, in that it had a very traditional setting.  Even the two movies are totally dissimilar.  Shows how open to interpretation the work is.

I think that the history of the musical probably goes back to the Spanish zarzuela in the 17th century.  Italy had opera, France had ballet, and England had drama, so the Spanish monarchs commissioned Calderon de la Barca to create a new performance art form for Spain.  He combined song, dance, and spoken word to create the zarzuela.

[carusmm]

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dulcinea3 wrote:

I think that I will have to pick Jesus Christ, Superstar.  I have seen three entirely different productions of it.  The first was a rather minimalist production, with the Broadway cast; I think it was before the 1973 movie came out.  The second starred Ted Neeley and Carl Anderson, from the movie, but the treatment was so different, presenting Jesus as a modern-day superstar similar to a rock legend (the temple scene featured people hawking t-shirts and posters of him).  The third, a few years ago, also starred an aging Neeley, but Anderson had passed away some years back.  This production was the closest to the 1973 movie, in that it had a very traditional setting.  Even the two movies are totally dissimilar.  Shows how open to interpretation the work is.

I think that the history of the musical probably goes back to the Spanish zarzuela in the 17th century.  Italy had opera, France had ballet, and England had drama, so the Spanish monarchs commissioned Calderon de la Barca to create a new performance art form for Spain.  He combined song, dance, and spoken word to create the zarzuela.

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Even in its day opera was seen as vulgar by some classical music lovers. I like opera, mainly because I don't understand a word of it.  I am simply in love with the human voice, gesture and movement.  I love Japanese Noh theatre.  I love how music adds to the experience of the cinema.  I hate it when music subtracts the enjoyment of cinema to zero.  But I hate most of all people who insist on raising art to a pork sausage.

I like comedy, funny enough.  I just cannot see the joke of musicals.