Movie Musicals

[legaleagle53]

Well, and there is the old (and really somewhat inaccurate) feminist chestnut about how Ginger had it harder because she had to do everything backwards and in high heels.  The high heels part may be true, but it's inaccurate to say that she always had to do everything backwards -- male dancers have to move in just as many directions as the female ones do, and they also have to lead (which is not to say that following is necessarily easier; a weak lead for a female dancer can easily leave her floundering on the dance floor if she's not familiar with the dance steps, whereas a female dancer who can't follow simply wears out her male partner even when he is a strong lead).

[Popples]

I'll throw in some love for the old Busby Berkely musicals. Footlight Parade and Golddiggers of 1933 are two of my favorites. The way those numbers are shot is amazing even to this day I'm impressed with how he did it. Also, Joan Blondell is so charming in them.

 

I love Golddiggers of 1933! I meant to come back and mention it, I can't stand it's not on DVD yet. Pettin' in the Park, The Shadow Waltz, and the stirring Remember My Forgotten Man numbers are phenomenal, although Ginger Rogers speaking pig-latin during We're in the Money weirds me out a bit. I haven't seen Footlight Parade or the other Golddigger films, but I hope to catch them. I have mixed feelings about 42nd Street, I like the music numbers, but it was hard for me to be interested in the story. Also, Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell were really adorable together, but Keeler's tap dancing wasn't great. To steal a phrase from someone on IMDB, "it's like she's trying to stomp on cockroaches."

 

 

I guess I probably shouldn't ask how you feel about Brigadoon. Again, terrible dubbing. No chemistry with his romantic lead. And you know, I don't like the choreography. It's a lot of running and lifts. 

 

I could never bring myself to watch Brigadoon, the scenes from it just look incredibly dull.

 

Just because I don't believe I've seen it mentioned yet, I wanted to throw out my favorite movie musical - The Music Man.  I always watch it around the 4th of July, so I'm starting to get in the mood!

 

Since you mentioned the 4th of July, I'll see your Music Man and raise you Yankee Doodle Dandy.

Edited June 27, 2014 by Popples

[Rinaldo]

I love Golddiggers of 1933! ... I can't stand it's not on DVD yet. 

Oh but it is! Amazon says it's available separately, and I just pulled my Busby Berkeley box set off the shelf to verify that it's in there too. (It is: the contents are Dames, Footlight Parade, 42nd St, Golddiggers of 1933-5-7, GD in Paris, Hollywood Hotel, Varsity Show, plus a bonus DVD with individual numbers from these and others of his films.) Having copped to owning the box, I must shamefacedly add that what Berkeley does is not really my thing. Given my interest in the stage, I prefer depictions of stage shows in movies to stay with what's actually possible onstage, not the wild fantasies he created. I can appreciate it in its over-the-top campy way, but it's not home territory for me. No matter -- others are devoted to it, so it'll survive without me.

 

Oh, The Music Man! In the decades I've been enjoying and studying musicals, my admiration for it keeps growing and growing. It's a genuine classic with something to say about how music enriches our lives. And when a friend asked me to name the movie adaptation that did the most justice to a classic American musical, I considered all the R&H, L&L, and other titles of that era, and unhesitatingly named The Music Man. It's faithful to the stage script in all important ways, retains the most essential stage personnel (Preston and the Buffalo Bills, director Morton Da Costa and choreographer Onna White), and finds ideal new casting elsewhere (Shirley Jones, Hermione Gingold, little Ronny Howard). I can't find a thing wrong with it.

[aradia22]

 

Well, and there is the old (and really somewhat inaccurate) feminist chestnut about how Ginger had it harder because she had to do everything backwards and in high heels.

I love that old chestnut as a cute witticism. But yes, actually watch a lot of those movies and they're often dancing side by side instead of in a hold for traditional pairs dancing.

 

To steal a phrase from someone on IMDB, "it's like she's trying to stomp on cockroaches."

Ha! Made me think of Hairspray. I really need to rewatch that movie.

[Crs97]

The musicals I dislike are the ones made during a time when someone in power thought it would be fun to cast the leading roles with actors who can't sing.  I really need a remake of Man of LaMancha, Camelot (Richard Harris handled the Rex Harrison speak-sing nicely and had a kingly presence IMO, but Vanessa Redgrave was hideous), and Guys and Dolls.

[aradia22]

I was very anti-My Fair Lady for years (the Rex Harrison mention made me think of it) because of the really obvious, terrible dubbing and my adoration of Julie Andrews (I did listen to the cast album, I'm was just against the movie). But since to my knowledge there isn't another big production of My Fair Lady that's been filmed, I think I'm finally going to have to sit down and watch the movie in its entirety (instead of cringing at Wouldn't It Be Loverly and turning it off). I just finished reading Pygmalion a few days ago and I'm ready for a compare/contrast. 

 

As for Camelot, yeah, that movie's a bit of a mess. At times a very pretty mess (and no, I'm not just talking about Franco Nero) but it doesn't hold together. I do like a lot of the songs in Camelot though. I wonder how I'd feel about the musical if I saw a version with people who could actually sing their parts. I watched a clip of "Then You May Take Me to the Fair" with Marin Mazzie where the knights were played by Christopher Sieber, Will Swenson, and Marc Kudisch (swoon!) and so when I watched the movie I felt like that entire sequence was wasted. I'd also listened to the Julie Andrews tracks in particular on the cast album before watching the movie which was a big mistake.

 

Oh, and to be frank, I still think the people in power think it's fun to cast actors who can't sing. Or really "actors who sing" instead of musical theatre professionals who are trained to sing and act equally well.

[Milburn Stone]

Oh, The Music Man! In the decades I've been enjoying and studying musicals, my admiration for it keeps growing and growing. It's a genuine classic with something to say about how music enriches our lives.

 

It's been forever since I've seen the movie, but I saw a stage production at the Stratford Festival in '08, and I couldn't believe how fresh, inventive and ground-breaking it was. I'd always thought of it as kind of corny, because, you know, Iowa. No. When people first hear that it won the Tony over West Side Story, their initial impression is to consider that a travesty of justice. I had to reconsider that opinion.

[Rinaldo]

I was one of those snobs myself in grad school (which at least is the proper time of life for it): oh what a travesty that this Music Man thing beat West Side Story for the Tony. Now I've gotten smarter and am more inclined to think: What a year, when people had two masterpieces of contrasting types to choose between! 

 

The Music Man presents a central American myth (maybe its main contribution to the world's stock of legendary story material, like Faust or the star-crossed lovers): the con man who (unknown even to himself) really isn't. Harold Hill thinks that he knows nothing about music. And what does he do on arrival in River City? He turns a squabbling school board into a harmonious barbershop quartet; he turns a gaggle of gossipy snooty ladies into a modern dance troupe; he turns the town's "bad boy" from the wrong side of the tracks into a drum major; and he teaches a depressed lonely young boy to sing and enjoy his new cornet. The theme is right there as the first line of what one might think was a generic love ballad: "There were bells... but I never heard them." In other words, there's music everywhere, if you'll only listen. I never noticed this last point till just a few years ago. There are hidden depths in this musical, all the while it's nonstop entertainment.

[Popples]

Oh but it is! Amazon says it's available separately, and I just pulled my Busby Berkeley box set off the shelf to verify that it's in there too. (It is: the contents are Dames, Footlight Parade, 42nd St, Golddiggers of 1933-5-7, GD in Paris, Hollywood Hotel, Varsity Show, plus a bonus DVD with individual numbers from these and others of his films.) Having copped to owning the box, I must shamefacedly add that what Berkeley does is not really my thing. Given my interest in the stage, I prefer depictions of stage shows in movies to stay with what's actually possible onstage, not the wild fantasies he created. I can appreciate it in its over-the-top campy way, but it's not home territory for me. No matter -- others are devoted to it, so it'll survive without me.

 

Thanks for that information, I just added it to my Wish List! I went through TCM and there boxset only consists of "Dames / Gold Diggers of 1937 / Footlight Parade / 42nd Street."

 

 

Here's a question. How do you all define musicals? Are you musical purists where only Broadway adaptations or Broadway style musicals count (i.e. the music helps tell the story and the music is almost always composed specifically for the show/movie) or are you open to other definitions of movie musicals? For example, That Thing You Do and The Sapphires (and really most musical biopics) feature performers who periodically sing throughout the film but the music does not have the same storytelling functions of expressing what characters are thinking and feeling. What about musical revues in the style of Easter Parade where a simple plot has been developed to hang a bunch of pre-existing songs upon? Does a movie need a certain number of songs to qualify as a musical?

 

I've wondered about whether or not biopics are considered musicals or not myself, like I wouldn't classify What's Love Got to Do With It? as one, but I probably would with Love Me or Leave Me.

 

If Singin' in the Rain is a musical, than Easter Parade definitely is.

[Milburn Stone]

Here's a question. How do you all define musicals? Are you musical purists where only Broadway adaptations or Broadway style musicals count...

 

 

 

No one to my knowledge defines movie musicals that way. You do raise an interesting question, though, since there are movies no one would consider "musicals" despite that they contain musical numbers. Here's a possible working definition. If the movie wouldn't work without the musical numbers (or be worth a damn), it's a musical. If the movie would work perfectly well with the musical numbers extracted, it isn't.

[Luckylyn]

A movie like Once is a musical to me, but I would understand why someone else wouldn't think of it that way.  The distinction between a musical, and a movie that has musical numbers in it can be tricky.  I think something like Dirty Dancing straddles that line because of how the dancing is integrated into the story.

[Milburn Stone]

A movie like Once is a musical to me, but I would understand why someone else wouldn't think of it that way.  The distinction between a musical, and a movie that has musical numbers in it can be tricky.  I think something like Dirty Dancing straddles that line because of how the dancing is integrated into the story.

 

It is tricky--trickier than I thought when I gave my definition earlier. For instance, Inside Llewyn Davis unquestionably is chockfull of musical performances without which the movie would make no sense. Yet is it a musical? No one would say so!

[aradia22]

 

A movie like Once is a musical to me, but I would understand why someone else wouldn't think of it that way.  The distinction between a musical, and a movie that has musical numbers in it can be tricky.  I think something like Dirty Dancing straddles that line because of how the dancing is integrated into the story.

I love Dirty Dancing. I've seen that movie way too many times. I wouldn't call it a musical because it's more of a dance movie. In a video store (like those still exist) I'd put it with Step Up and Strictly Ballroom and not with the musicals. But it has a killer soundtrack that's really linked to the feel of the movie. 

 

It is tricky--trickier than I thought when I gave my definition earlier. For instance, Inside Llewyn Davis unquestionably is chockfull of musical performances without which the movie would make no sense. Yet is it a musical? No one would say so!

Hmn. I don't know. I might call it a musical. I think of Nashville as a musical television show. Did you enjoy Inside Llewyn Davis? I heard mixed things from people who LOVED it and HATED it so I decided to sit it out until it came up on Netflix.

[Sweet Tee]

How about Head? Would that be considered a musical? It's hard to say whether the film would make sense without the songs because a lot of the film doesn't make sense anyway, lol. But I'd say that Daddy's Song is the best part of the whole thing, easily.

Edited June 27, 2014 by Sweet Tee

[Rinaldo]

Tricky as the line is, I would unhesitatingly put Dirty Dancing far on the far side of it. What character in the movie sings a song?

 

Calling Once a musical is fine by me. But "numbers could be extracted without harm" is full of pitfalls. For instance (Unpopular Opinion Alert!), I would say that 1776 (stage or screen) would be much better without songs, and they could be removed with positive benefit. Everybody's IQ drops when they start to sing: the music is grade-school klunky and inept, the lyrics are repetitive, puerile, and make all kinds of amateur mistakes; I feel insulted that this is presented as a professional-level score. But Peter Stone's libretto surrounding them is well written and structured, and would make an excellent play on its own. Still, I have to concede that 1776 is a musical -- just one that I can't stand.

[Rick Kitchen]

Although I love My Fair Lady, I hate the ending because they did Freddie bad.  Freddie gets the girl in Pygmalion, he should get her in every interpretation.  Henry Higgins is a nasty piece of work who deserves to be alone.

[aradia22]

 

Tricky as the line is, I would unhesitatingly put Dirty Dancing far on the far side of it. What character in the movie sings a song?

It's been a while since I've seen it but Baby and Johnny lip-sync to that song while crawling around on the floor and her sister sings that song in the talent show. But yeah, for me, not a musical.

 

Although I love My Fair Lady, I hate the ending because they did Freddie bad.  Freddie gets the girl in Pygmalion, he should get her in every interpretation.  Henry Higgins is a nasty piece of work who deserves to be alone.

I wonder how I'd feel about seeing the play performed. Just reading it, Freddie is very underdeveloped. He shows up to hail a cab at the beginning. He drools over Eliza in her new, ladylike form. And then by the end Eliza is telling Higgins that Freddie loves her and the rest of their relationship is contained in the text following the play. I do agree that Higgins is a nasty piece of work that Shaw isn't shy about deriding but he doesn't completely punish him. Higgins continues to be a part of Eliza's life and Shaw suggests that there is something undeniably compelling for Eliza about Higgins and while earlier she says it's not romantic towards the very end of the story, Shaw writes that Eliza has a fantasy about taking Higgins to "see him making love like any common man."

[Bastet]

As someone who is not a big fan of movie musicals, I think of them as films in which characters routinely burst into song to further the story along.  A film including a character who is an amateur or professional singer, shown performing on stage - not a musical, just a film that includes a bit more music than most.  For me, it's about characters using song instead of dialogue to tell the audience a story.

 

My favorites are Love Me Tonight, Chicago and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.  That's about it; it's just not my genre, as I always want to ask, "Why are you randomly singing right now?"  I'm more open to it on stage, although my favorites list there isn't much longer.

Edited June 28, 2014 by Bastet

[Bunty]

Can I throw out-- Eddie and the Cruisers even though Michael Paré didn't sing he looked fine and I loved the soundtrack by John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band. 

 

On the Dark Side  Movie version

 

On the Dark Side ~ John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band

 

Tender Years   Movie version

 

John Cafferty - Tender Years

[Julia]

How about Head? Would that be considered a musical? It's hard to say whether the film would make sense without the songs because a lot of the film doesn't make sense anyway, lol. But I'd say that Daddy's Song is the best part of the whole thing, easily.

 

Wow. A rare someone-else-who-saw-Head sighting.

[aradia22]

OK, can we talk about Into the Woods for a second? I hate this cast. I want it to be good so badly but I'm so sure that it won't be. And unlike Les Miz and Mamma Mia and some other recent stage to screen adaptations, I care about this one. 

[Sara2009]

Is there anybody in the " Into the Woods" cast who can actually sing Sondheim well?

[aradia22]

 

Is there anybody in the " Into the Woods" cast who can actually sing Sondheim well?

I still haven't seen Pitch Perfect but I'm going to say no. I've heard a bit of Anna Kendrick singing here and there and while she has a pleasant, above average voice it's nothing remarkable. I don't think you get to judge someone's Broadway cred from when they were on stage when they were younger unless they were truly amazing when they were younger. I mean, freaking Nick Jonas has Broadway cred and look how that Les Miz concert turned out. I like Meryl. She's cute doing her terrible act in Death Becomes Her and I know she studied opera but she said herself on Inside the Actors Studio that she wasn't great and did you see her in Mamma Mia? Oy vey. 

[Julia]

I guess I don't think like a movie producer, but I don't get how Bernadette Peters is available and you'd hire someone who isn't Bernadette Peters.

[Wiendish Fitch]

I guess I don't think like a movie producer, but I don't get how Bernadette Peters is available and you'd hire someone who isn't Bernadette Peters.

 

 

And it isn't even an age issue, either… Peters is only a year older than Streep. I will not watch Into the Woods, I don't care if it does have Anna Kendrick (whom I like).

[Rick Kitchen]

Is there anybody in the " Into the Woods" cast who can actually sing Sondheim well?

 

Lilla Crawford, who plays Red Riding Hood, starred in Annie on Broadway.  Daniel Huttlestone, who plays Jack, has a long background in British musical theater and played Gavroche in the film version of Les Miserables.

 

The actress who plays Rapunzel was on Broadway in a musical.

 

James Corden, who plays the Baker, has a Tony Award for One Man, Two Guvnors, which I have not seen, but it does have music, though it is not classified as a musical.  He also had a UK number one hit with this.

Edited June 28, 2014 by Rick Kitchen

[aradia22]

 

Lilla Crawford, who plays Red Riding Hood, starred in Annie on Broadway.

Oh, right. Forgot about her. I haven't heard much of her singing but I guess there's no reason why she shouldn't be able to play Red Riding Hood. It's not the most demanding part for a trained singer. 

 

Daniel Huttlestone, who plays Jack, has a long background in British musical theater and played Gavroche in the film version of Les Miserables.

I caught a bit of his part in Les Miz. I couldn't understand a damn thing he was saying. And I'm pretty good at deciphering British accents. I thought he was an American doing a bad British accent.

 

James Corden, who plays the Baker, has a Tony Award for One Man, Two Guvnors, which I have not seen, but it does have music, though it is not classified as a musical.  He also had a UK number one hit with this.

I only know him through some British quiz shows but the Baker is a big part to hand to someone who's never officially been in a musical.

[JustaPerson]

I love Guys and Dolls! Marlon Brando wasn't the best singer, but I think he still acted the part well. I love him in If I Were a Bell. Jean Simmons is the only one singing but it feels like a duet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLooMzB_lgc

 

I'm concerned about the Into the Woods cast, too. Anna Kendrick is a good singer, but Cinderella is generally very soprano-like, so will she end up like Amanda Seyfried in Les Mis?

Edited June 29, 2014 by JustaPerson

[Unraveled]

Stephen Sondheim recently stated that a lot of the "adult moments" were cut out of the movie, but apparently that is not true. Supposedly it is very faithful to the original musical. So we'll see.

 

"Into the Woods" was the first Sondheim musical I saw (the original cast on VHS) playing in the background in my choral director's classroom. The only memory I have is seeing the "magnificent" chest of the wolf.

[aradia22]

As far as I know, the recording of the stage version with the original cast is still streaming on Netflix.

[Milburn Stone]

Stephen Sondheim recently stated that a lot of the "adult moments" were cut out of the movie, but apparently that is not true. Supposedly it is very faithful to the original musical. So we'll see.

 

I think the operative words are "So we'll see." Sondheim disavowed his reported remarks about how the movie was censored, but his disavowal had the sound of someone to whom the Disney Company had placed a call to say, "You do realize, don't you, that you have an agreement with us not to disparage the movie we're making?" I am cautiously optimistic that the finished film will be true to the musical, with an emphasis on the "cautiously."

[aradia22]

My biggest concern was always the singing but hearing all those rumors added new concerns I hadn't even been thinking about.

[Wiendish Fitch]

As far as I know, the recording of the stage version with the original cast is still streaming on Netflix.

 

 

Just for one more day, so if you want to see it, now's the time to do it.

[aradia22]

 

Just for one more day, so if you want to see it, now's the time to do it.

Those bastards! It's been up for ages. Something tells me that the movie coming out might have something to do with the fact that it's being pulled.

[Rinaldo]

That's standard for any property when a new filming or remake appears, and it's only temporary. In any case those of us who own the DVDs of the stage taping are still allowed to play them.

 

I've been a little surprised at the big to-do made about this, as if movies never made changes in their source material. Still, "we'll see" is a reasonable state of mind for now.

[Julia]

Watched as much as I could stand of Night and Day yesterday morning on TCM.

 

Wow. Just, wow. I especially loved how Cole and Linda Lee Porter met as the world's oldest collegiate upper-middle-class virgins under the watchful eye of his grandpa.

[aradia22]

Lol. Yeah, that movie's a little silly but I enjoy most of the musical numbers. Just feel free to fast forward next time.

[Brn2bwild]

 

Anyhow, back to Jackman--I think he's too old for Curley now, but he'd be a good Phantom. I wondered if the movie Les Miserables would have been better if Jackman and Crowe could have switched roles (assuming they could handle the vocal demands of the songs). It seems to me that Crowe would have felt more of a connection with free-spirited Valjean than authoritarian Javert; and Jackman's sharp features make him look the way I picture Javert.

 

Someone mentioned Patrick Wilson as a possible Valjean, and now I can't stop seeing an alternate Les Miserables with Patrick Wilson as Valjean and Hugh Jackman as Javert.  Jackman as Javert probably would have been closer to the stage versions, more openly emotional, and certainly more theatrical in his singing!

[DollEyes]

 

I just saw Jersey Girls yesterday and was very disappointed.

 

 Don't you mean Jersey *Boys*?

 

 

I think [Hugh Jackman's] too old for Curley now, but he'd be a good Phantom. I wondered if the movie Les Mis would have been better if Jackman and Crowe had switched roles (assuming they could handle the vocal demands of the songs). It seems to me that Crowe would have felt more of a connection to a free-spirited Valjean than authoritarian Javert and Jackman's sharp features  make him look the way I picture Javert.

 

  IMO, it wouldn't have been better. While I think that Jackman would have made a great Javert, the problem was Crowe. As bad as Crowe's Javert was, his Valjean would have been even worse because of Crowe's singing. Hugh Jackman's singing isn't "perfect," but at least it doesn't make my ears bleed or make me want to throw things at the TV everytime I hear it, unlike Crowe. There are other technically better singers than Jackman, but when it comes to Valjean, mere technique isn't enough.  The actor playing him has to be charismatic and sympathetic enough to make me care about the character and Hugh Jackman does. In fairness, the same could be said about Russell Crowe in Gladiator, but at least there was no singing involved. A musical performer can have all the technical training in the world, but if they don't move me, it doesn't mean shit. Les Miserables was filled with great musical moments that moved me, none of which involved much, if any, of Russell Crowe.

Edited June 30, 2014 by DollEyes

[Sara2009]

I think Hugh Jackman's acting more than made up for any vocal shortcomings. I don 't think anyone could've played that role better.

[aradia22]

Has anyone here seen Bride and Prejudice? I think they used to air it on HBO all the time. It's so wonderfully fun and silly. I have a DVD copy that I bought in an airport. It has possibly the worst Darcy ever but I love the musical numbers.

[Athena]

Has anyone here seen Bride and Prejudice? I think they used to air it on HBO all the time. It's so wonderfully fun and silly. I have a DVD copy that I bought in an airport. It has possibly the worst Darcy ever but I love the musical numbers.

 

It's pretty silly and a typical Bollywood film though. Yeah, they have lackluster Darcy. Aishwarya Rai is as gorgeous as ever, but also not know for her acting. Great dancer though.

[Badger]

FTR, it's Betty Hutton, not Betty Grable, who starred in "Annie Get Your Gun" with Howard Keel.

 

It's very politically incorrect now, but one of my favorite musicals is "Flower Drum Song."  It has one of the most beautiful and haunting songs ever about unrequited love: "Love, Look Away."

 

 

[aradia22]

 

It's very politically incorrect now, but one of my favorite musicals is "Flower Drum Song."  It has one of the most beautiful and haunting songs ever about unrequited love: "Love, Look Away."

Oh, I love that song. It used to be my go-to audition song.

[roamyn]

'Tommy' is most definitely a rock opera, not a musical.

Richard Beymer (WSS) HATED Natalie Wood. They never spoke on set. But he sucked so look bad. Natalie was mis-cast. Rita Moreno is THE BOMB! Love her!

I love 'Music Man' not just for the songs, but also for the story it tells. Very few musicals actually tell a coherent story w/a moral tale.

Ditto for 'Sound of Music'. And Peggy Wood's voice gives me shivers.

'Gigi' is a pedophile's dream. I just can't watch that.

'Funny Girl' is another favorite of mine, and very true to Fanny Brice's life. For once Barbra Streisand doesn't overact and u feel Fanny's pain when her husband starts fucking up.

Vagina Hats! I miss TLo's Musical Mondays.

[aradia22]

 

'Gigi' is a pedophile's dream. I just can't watch that.

I liked the bits of Gigi that I saw but admittedly I've only seen maybe 3 musical numbers and some scenes from the beginning and end of the movie. I am feeling rather anti-Leslie Carron lately after An American In Paris and The Glass Slipper. She's a beautiful dancer but from what I've seen she's a rather pitiful actress.

 

'Funny Girl' is another favorite of mine, and very true to Fanny Brice's life. For once Barbra Streisand doesn't overact and u feel Fanny's pain when her husband starts fucking up.

I don't think it's the most accurate musical based on someone's life ever. It feels very much like a 60's movie instead of something taking place during Fanny Brice's life. However, I'm not a Fanny Brice fan so what do I care? I love almost all the musical numbers and though the movie kind of breaks down in the middle and at the end (at least before My Man starts) as the marriage runs into problems, until that point it's a pretty stellar movie musical. 

[roamyn]

Admittedly the movie doesn't go into all the shit the RL Nick pulled.

I didn't it was the most accurate, just very true yo life. For you xample, it's more realistic than 'The King & I'.

Barbra excels at comedy, not sure why she turned to dramas & directing dramas.

Edited July 1, 2014 by roamyn

[Rinaldo]

Ditto for 'Sound of Music'. And Peggy Wood's voice gives me shivers.

Credit where it's due: Peggy Wood's singing voice in this movie was supplied by Margery McKay (whom Ms. Wood thought sounded very like her own voice, in her younger days as a star of musicals and operettas). 

[GreekGeek]

I wonder how I'd feel about seeing the play performed. Just reading it, Freddie is very underdeveloped. He shows up to hail a cab at the beginning. He drools over Eliza in her new, ladylike form. And then by the end Eliza is telling Higgins that Freddie loves her and the rest of their relationship is contained in the text following the play.

 

Shaw's Freddie is a big zero except in the epilogue, which the audience doesn't ever see. He has next to nothing to say, which in a Shaw play guarantees invisibility. His courtship of Eliza is never shown. At least in the musical, he's given a pretty ballad, "On the Street Where You Live," to make him eloquent. Ironic that Eliza's song to him, "Show Me," exhorts him to shut up! (And show his love with actions, so it's not as mean as you might imagine.) I agree about the ending--Higgins and Eliza should not get married (which is what I assume happens when Eliza returns). It wasn't created for the musical, though; the 1930's non-musical film ends exactly the same way. Shaw was still alive then; does anyone know if he complained?

 

Regarding Jersey Boys--I saw it yesterday, and I don't know what so many have been so unenthusiastic about. Some of the characters aren't developed enough, like Frankie Valli's wife and daughter, so we're not invested in what happens to them. And the "rags to riches to heartbreak" show business story has been told before. But the performances are uniformly excellent, and how can you go wrong with those songs? There was a nice touch borrowed from the stage--"The Four Seasons" isn't just the name of the group but the structure of the show. It's spring and summer in the early scenes, fall when the band breaks up, and winter after the great tragedy of Frankie's life. 

[Athena]

Shaw's Freddie is a big zero except in the epilogue, which the audience doesn't ever see. He has next to nothing to say, which in a Shaw play guarantees invisibility. His courtship of Eliza is never shown. At least in the musical, he's given a pretty ballad, "On the Street Where You Live," to make him eloquent. Ironic that Eliza's song to him, "Show Me," exhorts him to shut up! (And show his love with actions, so it's not as mean as you might imagine.) I agree about the ending--Higgins and Eliza should not get married (which is what I assume happens when Eliza returns). It wasn't created for the musical, though; the 1930's non-musical film ends exactly the same way. Shaw was still alive then; does anyone know if he complained?

 

There's a Telegraph article that discusses Shaw and My Fair Lady. Basically, Shaw didn't think Higgins and Eliza should ever be together. She takes on her own Independence and frees herself by leaving him. He also didn't want any musicals, but the rights were "charmed away" from him by then.

 

I'm a big Hepburn fan, but I have mixed feelings about the film. She got a lot of flack because the studio wanted her and not Andrews, and then they dubbed her voice. It's true Hepburn does not have a great voice, but it is still strange to see her dubbed after Funny Face. Secondly, I didn't like the ending either. I think Freddie is just an addendum to the story in the play as well. It's not really a romance so much either. Rex Harrison was fine, but it kinda annoyed me the movie ends up with him asking her where his slippers are.