Great Songs from Broadway Musicals

[InBangkok]

BW has threads on Instrumental Music and Classical Pops, but none as far as I am aware on Broadway musicals. Gay guys have always been attracted to musicals and many gay men have composed, written, choreographed and produced them – including Cole Porter, Stephen Sondheim, Leonard Bernstein, Jerry Herman, Elton John, Michael Bennett and Harvey Fierstein. Sadly, far too many great Broadway artists, some legends like Michael Bennett who directed “A Chorus Line” and “Dreamgirls”, died of AIDS in the 1980s and early 1990s.

 

The list of great Broadway shows would take up too many pages of this thread. They stretch from Cole Porter’s great 1934 classic “Anything Goes” through the golden era of Broadway which featured five great shows by the partnership of Rodgers and Hammerstein – “Oklahoma”, “South Pacific”, “Carousel”, “The King and I” and “The Sound of Music” and Frank Loesser’s “Guys and Dolls”. This was followed by another wonderful era with “West Side Story”, “My Fair Lady”, “Cabaret” and “Fiddler on the Roof”, to the modern era dominated by the mega musicals of Andrew Lloyd Webber including “Jesus Christ Superstar”, “Evita” “CATS” and “Phantom of the Opera”, the Schoenberg and Boublil “Les Miserables” and “Miss Saigon”, as well as the Abba’s “Mama Mia!” and Elton John’s “The Lion King”.

 

In this century, “The Producers”, “Hairspray”, “Wicked” and “Hamilton” have walked away with many of the theatre Awards.

 

Broadway has also produced its own gay icons like Liza Minelli, daughter of another gay icon Judy Garland, who became a world star in the movie version of the musical “Cabaret”. And sometimes shows have had a gay theme as in the Broadway version with music by Jerry Herman of the classic French movie “La Cage aux Folles” (the 1978 original and not the 1996 American remake titled “Birdcage” with Robin Williams). This features one of the great gay anthems “I am what I am” sung on Broadway by the great George Hearn. I saw the show twice and loved it. At this point near the start of the show he is putting on his make up and costume. The song brought the house down. There is no clip from the actual Broadway show but this is a compilation from the 1984 Tony Awards when it scooped many of the major awards.

 

 

 

Back in time though, there is one show I easily put in my top ten, Rogers and Hammerstein’s “Carousel”. I saw a hugely inventive production at London’s National Theatre around 1993. This is one of the showstoppers that soccer fans will instantly recognise. In this version it is sung by one of the greatest sopranos of the last century, Jessye Norman who died almost exactly a year ago.

 

 

 

 

What are your favourite Broadway songs, I wonder, and why?

Edited September 27, 2020 by InBangkok

[Mssg-exchange]

 

[InBangkok]

@Mssg-exchange's post reminds me that I have seen "My Fair Lady" twice in Singapore. The first was around 30 years ago. It was what is termed in the business a bus and truck version - cheap, mostly cloth scenery and a pit band of only about 6 or 7. What killed that production for me was it was held in the Indoor Stadium, its 12,00 seats reduced to around 1,200 on the floor - but still much too big. I left at the interval,

 

The second was a fine production from London at the lovely Esplanade Theatre maybe a dozen years ago. It lacked a few chorus members, but the principals and the overall production I thought were excellent.

 

There is one musical whose music I think is some of the best ever written for the musical stage. "Chess" premiered in London in 1986 and was far from a success. Everyone assumed it would be if only because it was written by Tim Rice (Lloyd Webber's collaborator on "Superstar" and "Evita") directed by Michael Bennett (who had devised and directed "A Chorus Liine") and with music by the two Abba boys. Unfortunately it was hit with several major problems. The game of chess was one of Rice's great passions, but few saw a musical in that subject. When after some years he finally managed to get some investors to finance the production, Michael Bennett had to withdraw just before rehearsals ss he was suffering from AIDS. Trevor Nunn who had produced CATS and Les Miserables took over but hated working with the hi-tech scenery which could not be changed.  

 

Then the subject matter was getting out of date. The story focuses on two chess Grand Masters, one American and one Russian and the Cold War is always in the background. But that was outdated as the Soviet Union was on the verge of collapse. Press reviews of the London production were mixed but the producers spent a fortune in regular advertising. So although it ran for three years, no-one made any profit. When the show reached Broadway, it had been reworked but died after a run of only 7 weeks losing many millions.

 

Most people will probably only know one number from the show - "One Night in Bangkok" which became a big worldwide hit. But there are a lot of great numbers from ballads to rock. I think this lovely duet with Elaine Paige and Barbara Dickson made the pop charts.

 

 

[wilfgene]

A miracle?  Was in Backstage, the bar. Saw replay of Hello Dolly twice before undergoing quarantine.  Can't possibly beat the lavishness, on stage.  Nonetheless, there was a sense of cosiness with the production in a small theatre in Budapest.  Yet, for stage there is also an unlimitation to limitation with Faust by the Slovakian National Theatre, the first year after the Velvet Divorce in Prague and traditional Chinese operas.

[InBangkok]

"Hello Dolly" is a great older style musical. Incidentally the music was written by Jerry Herman who also wrote "La Cage aux Folles". Starring in the movie was the wonderful Barbra Streisand. Have you heard her two Broadway albums? Great songs fabulously sung. No less than five of the songs come from "West Side Story" which many consider is the greatest musical of all time. Steven Spielberg has just completed the second film made from the show.

 

This was very much a gay developed show. All the main creators were gay. Book Arthur Laurents, lyrics Stephen Sondheim, choreography Jerome Robbins and composer Leonard Bernstein. Bernstein maintained a facade of being straight but even his wife acknowledged in a letter a year after their marriage that he was gay and would probably never change.

 

Since the original movie version is pretty dated, here is a clip of Barbra Streisand singing a cover arrangement of one of its hit songs.

 

 

 

[InBangkok]

After the end of the Rodgers and Hammerstein era, Andrew Lloyd Webber took over the mantle of the most successful Broadway composer. Four shows established his reputation – “Jesus Christ Superstar”, “Evita”, “CATS” and “Phantom of the Opera”, with the last two breaking all Broadway box office records.

 

Since “Phantom “opened first in London in 1986, Lloyd Webber has penned 20 musicals. Surprisingly, every single one has been a financial and often artistic flop. Even the sequel to “Phantom of the Opera” bombed. The great hope of his company was his 1993 musical based on the classic Billy Wilder 1950s Hollywood movie, “Sunset Boulevard”. Mounted at vast expense with massive scenery, it did not work in London running for only two years. For such an expensive show, this was not long enough to generate any profit.

In the USA it was beset with even greater problems, particularly multi-million dollar lawsuits by two of the actresses who were contracted to play the lead role before being fired. Both suits were settled out of court. Then, Americans did not take to the show. Although it also ran for two years, costs spiraled massively out of control. The drama critic of the New York Times estimated total losses in the USA at US$20 million.

 

Yet the show still had two great numbers for the lead character, the ageing reclusive silent movie actress Norma Desmond who found herself with no work when talking movies arrived. One is ‘With One Look’ when Norma is convincing herself that her acting ability alone is good enough to appear again in movies. On Broadway Norma was first played very successfully by the actress Glenn Close. She may not be as fine a singer as some other Broadway divas but she acts and delivers the text marvelously. In this clip she sings it at a special Lloyd Webber celebration at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

 

 

Edited October 1, 2020 by InBangkok

[poet]

On 9/27/2020 at 6:24 PM, InBangkok said:

 

 

 

I’m always trying to imagine Agnetha and Frida singing this.

[poet]

Best take by the amazing Linda Eder.

 

 

[InBangkok]

I had completely forgotten about "Man of La Mancha" with its best known song 'The Impossible Dream'. Linda Eder is great.

 

Just a year after "Man of La Mancha" opened on Broadway, “Cabaret” broke the mould of classic musicals. Its genesis was a book by the gay novelist Christopher Isherwood. In 1929 he joined a gay friend in Berlin. During this period before Hitler came to power, Berlin was the sex capital of Europe, particularly for gay men. Isherwood was a regular in the city’s gay bars and reveled in Berlin’s gay scene. In 1932 he met his first real love, a handsome young German named Heinz Neddermeyer. He tried hard to get Neddermayer a visa to live in Britain but this proved impossible. The relationship had to end when Neddermayer was arrested by the Nazis in 1937.

 

Christopher moved to California. Although he was to find his lifetime partner there, he could not let go of his Berlin experiences. In 1945 he wrote a novel about those Berlin years “Goodbye to Berlin”. In 1951 a friend was given permission to turn it into the play “I Am A Camera”. In 1966 Joe Kander and Fred Ebb fashioned the play into the musical “Cabaret” set in the seedy Kit Kat Café nightclub. Directed by one of Broadway’s great directors Hal Prince the musical was a success and ran for almost three years. 

 

The show’s emphasis on the rise and thuggery of the Nazi Party, the decadence of life in poverty-ridden Berlin, and its sexual elements both gay and straight were very different from the format of earlier musicals which in most cases wanted theatre patrons to leave the theatre in a happy mood. Also very different is the music which, despite tuneful numbers, avoids pretty songs and sentimental ballads. 

 

The show was turned into a film in 1972. It went on to win 8 Oscars, including Best Actress for Liza Minnelli and Best Supporting Actor for Joel Grey who played the sleazy, sinister, gender-bending Master of Ceremonies. Its success cemented Minnelli’s reputation as a gay icon. After a long marriage and children, Grey came out as gay aged 82!

 

 

 

[InBangkok]

Alan Jay Lerner and Fritz Loewe followed up their smash hit "My Fair Lady" with the musical "Camelot". Julie Andrews played the lead role of Guinevere. Co-starring was one of the greatest actors of the day, Richard Burton (who later twice married Elizabeth Taylor) whom many thought could not sing. As the title song shows, his rich baritone is perfectly suited to the role.

 

 

The show ran for 2 years and 2 months on Broadway prior to a 2 year tour of major US cities. Critical reviews were mixed but universally praised the musical score as Fritz Loewe's finest, even including "My Fair Lady". One called it "pure magic."

 

[GKS]

 

[InBangkok]

Sorry GKS. This is a thread dedicated ONLY to Broadway musicals - not opera. O Mio Babbino Caro comes from Puccini's opera Gianni Schicchi; You should repost this on the Instrumental Music thread.

 

I have tried to send you a PM about this but you do not permit other members to send messages to you. Thank you.

Edited October 1, 2020 by InBangkok

[InBangkok]

Of all the composers of musicals to have followed the writing duo of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, their successor is not as some believe Andrew Lloyd Webber. Although his musicals have notched up far more performances than any other composer, Broadway’s most important and prolific composer has been Stephen Sondheim. Adored in the theatrical community, Sondheim and his 16 shows are generally not very well known even though most have enjoyed Broadway success and runs of one or two years.

 

Despite all that success and all the acclamation, perhaps it is because unlike Lloyd Webber. Sondheim has never desired to write songs for his shows that will become one-time hits. Then, few have been made into movies and so outside of major cities featuring Broadway productions, they are far less well known than the major blockbuster shows.

 

One of the four Sondheim musicals I saw is “A Little Night Music”. This is the show that features the most famous of all Sondheim’s songs, ‘Send in the Clowns’. Sondheim himself has written that he did not want ‘Send in the Clowns’ to be sung by a recognised Broadway singer. He was, he said, a “sucker for smokey female sounds”. He preferred a stage actress with such a voice and deliberately wrote the song with “short breathy phrases”. For a couple of years, no one regarded the song as a hit until it was covered by Frank Sinatra. In 1975 it was award the Grammy as the Best Song of the Year and has since been recorded by well over 500 artists. 

 

Clowns in the lyrics does not refer to circus clowns. It means fools. The singer plays an actress who laments that she once rejected a marriage proposal from a man who adored her. Meeting him again decades later she laments that she now loves him, but he is married to a much younger woman. This version is sung by Dame Judi Dench. One of Britain’s finest classical actresses, few know that she has also had a career in musicals. She was the original Sally Bowles in the London premiere of “Cabaret” and was cast as Grizabella in the premiere of “CATS”. Unfortunately she damaged her ankle during rehearsals and had to pull out of the show.

 

 

 

 

[Maturechnman]

 

 

Songs from Funny Girl

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funny_Girl_(musical)

Edited October 2, 2020 by Maturechnman

[GKS]

2 hours ago, InBangkok said:

Sorry GKS. This is a thread dedicated ONLY to Broadway musicals - not opera. O Mio Babbino Caro comes from Puccini's opera Gianni Schicchi; You should repost this on the Instrumental Music thread.

 

I have tried to send you a PM about this but you do not permit other members to send messages to you. Thank you.

I have made a mistake. appreciate your candid note. 

[Steve5380]

 

[Steve5380]

 

[Maturechnman]

 

 

Songs from Anything Goes

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anything_Goes

Edited October 2, 2020 by Maturechnman

[mith]

thanks @InBangkok for starting this thread!

 

i believe musical theatre has slightly more than a century of history now... i loved them. the ART of the theatre!

 

many many to appreciate... it can be an endless topic of sharing and appreciation!

 

where to start for me, give me a moment,..... 

[InBangkok]

2 hours ago, mith said:

where to start for me, give me a moment,..... 

 

Thanks for your comments mith. Look forward to your posts.

Edited October 2, 2020 by InBangkok

[InBangkok]

3 hours ago, Maturechnman said:

 

 

Great to see an example of one of the older classic musicals. This production posted by @Maturechnman of the wonderful Cole Porter's "Anything Goes" started in London with Elaine Paige and then transferred to Broadway where I saw it with the then queen of Broadway Patti Lupone in the lead role. So many great songs in the musical. This clip of the opening number is from an Awards show with reduced scenery. In the actual production the band was on the upper level of the ship.

 

 

 

Edited October 2, 2020 by InBangkok

[InBangkok]

Continuing the exploration of great songs from musicals, the year before Lloyd Webber’s smash hit “Phantom of the Opera” opened, its producer Cameron Mackintosh had decided to present another new musical. Someone had sent him a tape of a musical that had been presented some years earlier in Paris. But the French have never been in love with musicals and the show virtually died. Mackintosh heard something in the score he liked and felt it could be revamped into a show that would be popular in London. Based on the novel by Victor Hugo, “Les Miserables” needed a lot of work done on it. Macintosh met its creators Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schoenberg, talked through his ideas and they agreed with him. 

 

Even after major changes, Macintosh was still concerned at what was a huge financial gamble. So he did a deal with Britain’s classical theatre company The Royal Shakespeare Company which agreed to take part of the risk. When it was premiered in London in 1985, almost all the critics disliked it. Mackintosh’s financial backers wanted him to kill the show after the original 12 week run. But Mackintosh listened much more to the audiences. He knew from what he was hearing that “Les Miserables” had a future. With a burst of new advertising, the show picked up momentum. That momentum was to last for 34 years of continuous performances in London. On Broadway it ran for 16 years. It was then made into a very successful movie and made tons of cash for everyone involved.

 

I’m probably in a minority of one when I say I am not crazy about most of the music. To use a vulgar metaphor, too much of it feels to me like coitus interruptus – the numbers are close to  climax and then they die off before reaching it. I preferred the music to the creators’ next musical “Miss Saigon”. But clearly 120 million plus people worldwide don't agree with me!!

 

Playing the role of Jean Valjean in both London and Broadway was the wonderful Irish singer/actor Colm Wilkinson. He also took part in a special 10th anniversary concert in London. This is his heart-wrenching second act solo ‘Bring Him Home’. The entire concert can be seen on youtube.

 

 

 

[Shinhao]

Different take on I Know Him So Well

[InBangkok]

I’m going to move away from the great story musicals. The second musical I ever saw was Stephen Sondheim’s “Company”. Sondheim himself calls this a ‘concept’ musical. The entire evening is about a man reaching his 35th birthday and still unmarried. He’s had several girlfriends but has never maintained a relationship. Throughout the show his various friends, all married couples, keep on at him about the joys of marriage and try to persuade him to take that step. Yet it becomes obvious that their happiness is rarely what it seems. 

 

Basically, the theme of the show is the challenge of maintaining relationships in a society becoming increasingly depersonalized.

 

Sondheim wanted the amazing actress Elaine Stritch in the show and wrote one number specifically for her. In many ways the character IS Stritch and her acerbic delivery. She was also fond of a drink, often too many at one sitting. In the book of lyrics and anecdotes Sondheim wrote about the first 13 musicals he was involved in, ‘Finishing The Hat’, he tells a true story of Stritch and one of the show's producers entering a bar at 2 in the morning. Stritch was already “well-oiled”. As she passed the bar, she leant over to the bartender and whispered, “Just bring me a bottle of vodka and a floorplan!”

 

'The Ladies Who Lunch' is a show stopper based much more on the lyrics than the music. It sends up the rich society ladies whose main business of each day was being seen at lunch. As she sings it the character becomes more and more drunk. Another funny story Sondheim writes about is this verse 

 

“Another long exhausting day, 

Another thousand dollars. 

A matinee, a Pinter play, 

Perhaps a piece of Mahler’s – 

I’ll drink to that.”

 

Stritch approached Sondheim and asked him what kind of cake was a Mahler! She had no idea he was a classical composer!

 

Here is the wonderful Elaine Stritch recording that number.

 

 

Edited October 2, 2020 by InBangkok

[poet]

More Linda Eder, from Civil War

 

 

[Maturechnman]

 

 

Songs from The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd

Edited October 2, 2020 by Maturechnman

[sgmaven]

https://youtu.be/PdAhdN6C__g

 

Another lovely song from Chess

Edited October 2, 2020 by sgmaven

[InBangkok]

Guys - when you make a post, can you please also state which musical the song comes from. Thanks

 

@Maturechnman - is that great Nona Simone song from "The Roar of the Greasepaint"?

 

Edited October 2, 2020 by InBangkok

[InBangkok]

1 hour ago, sgmaven said:

https://youtu.be/PdAhdN6C__g

 

Another lovely song from Chess

 

 

Agreed - it's great solo for Elaine Paige.

[Maturechnman]

29 minutes ago, InBangkok said:

Guys - when you make a post, can you please also state which musical the song comes from. Thanks

 

@Maturechnman - is that great Nona Simone song from "The Roar of the Greasepaint"?

 

Indeed. Please refer to the wiki link provided below the video for more details.

[sgmaven]

Anyone caught the musical, Metropolis, by Joe Brooks? It was a flop, but I did like some of the songs in there.

https://youtu.be/hdnxeo7iGtw

 

Sorry for the poor quality of the link, but that is all I could find

Edited October 2, 2020 by sgmaven

[InBangkok]

 

I got the link to work. Yes, it's a lovely duet. The show premiered in London in 1989. Like "Sunset Boulevard" it was based on a classic movie but also flopped as a musical, although "Metropois" closed after only a short run if I remember correctly. I cannot find on the internet how many performances were actually presented before the producers closed it. Even though it had massive scenery and an excellent cast, it seems it just could not compete with the 1980s blockbuster musicals then running in London - shows like "CATS", "Phantom of the Opera", Les Miserables", "Starlight Express" and ""Miss Saigon".

 

Did you see it @sgmaven? I'd love to hear your comments on it. 

Edited October 3, 2020 by InBangkok

[sgmaven]

8 hours ago, InBangkok said:

 

I got the link to work. Yes, it's a lovely duet. The show premiered in London in 1989. Like "Sunset Boulevard" it was based on a classic movie but also flopped as a musical, although "Metropois" closed after only a short run if I remember correctly. I cannot find on the internet how many performances were actually presented before the producers closed it. Even though it had massive scenery and an excellent cast, it seems it just could not compete with the 1980s blockbuster musicals then running in London - shows like "CATS", "Phantom of the Opera", Les Miserables", "Starlight Express" and ""Miss Saigon".

 

Did you see it @sgmaven? I'd love to hear your comments on it. 

Yes, I watched it about 3 times in the London Westend. The run wasn't long, but I happened to get good tickets for cheap. That was how I know about it, and got to know Judy Kuhn, who was the female lead in the musical. She later went on to voice Pocohontas when she was singing on the Disney movie.

 

As for the musical, I thought it was actually quite good (I actually have the double-CD soundtrack for the musical too). Just that it didn't sync with the prevalent thinking and mood at that time, I guess. Even more successful musicals like Chess, has become so dated, due to the changes in the global political landscape

 

If you are interested in watching the musical, there is a not-so-good version done in 2002 at the Pentacle Theatre of Salem in Oregon on YouTube.Metropolis, The Musical

 

However, that should give you an idea of the musical and its contents. BTW, Brian Blessed played John Freeman, the ruler of the surface in the original musical. He is another titan of the industry, having played Old Deuteronomy in the original production of Cats, as well as voicing Clayton in Disney's Tarzan.

[sgmaven]

On 10/2/2020 at 10:26 AM, InBangkok said:

 

Great to see an example of one of the older classic musicals. This production posted by @Maturechnman of the wonderful Cole Porter's "Anything Goes" started in London with Elaine Paige and then transferred to Broadway where I saw it with the then queen of Broadway Patti Lupone in the lead role. So many great songs in the musical. This clip of the opening number is from an Awards show with reduced scenery. In the actual production the band was on the upper level of the ship.

 

 

 

I watched Anything Goes in the Westend, with Elaine Paige. She was such a chilli-padi...

[sgmaven]

I haven't been able to find any video clips of my favourite song from Aspects of Love, "Hand Me The Wine And The Dice". Quite an under-rated musical, even though it was an Andrew Lloyd Webber one. I think most people will only remember "Love Changes Everything" by Michael Ball from that.

[poet]

When I Look At You from The Scarlet Pimpernel 

 

 

[InBangkok]

4 hours ago, sgmaven said:

I haven't been able to find any video clips of my favourite song from Aspects of Love, "Hand Me The Wine And The Dice". Quite an under-rated musical, even though it was an Andrew Lloyd Webber one. I think most people will only remember "Love Changes Everything" by Michael Ball from that.

 I found the song on the original London cast album. Unfortunately no video. This was Lloyd Webber's attempt to get away from the blockbuster musicals of the 1980s. Roger Moore was in the cast, a piece of weird casting by Lloyd Weber that he was to continue with the American production of "Sunset Boulevard" which resulted in law suits. Moore knew he could not sing and pulled out of the the show two weeks before opening night. His understudy took over the role. The show had a good run in London but Broadway audiences just did not take to it. The reviews were poor and the show lost around US$8 million. I did not see the show but do like 'Love Changes Everything'. 

 

 

 

Edited October 3, 2020 by InBangkok

[InBangkok]

On one visit to New York, everyone was talking about a new musical staged by Michael Bennett with music by Marvin Hamlisch. "A Chorus Line" is like no other musical. For a start it takes place on basically a bare stage. There is really no scenery apart from several mirrors the full height of the stage which occasionally revolve. Also the main character never appears. He is just a voice. The plot too is incredibly simple. The voice is a show director and he is trying to find a group of dancers for a new dance musical. The focus is therefore on the dancers, their hopes and their fears. It was a monster hit and went on to run for 18 years.

 

The one seriously disappointing aspect of the show is that the movie version bombed. Several directors were offered the film but turned it down. Few could envisage how it could be anything other than a stage show. Richard Attenborough had recently had a big success with his movie "Gandhi" and so the producers thought he might be able to make it work. He didn't. It seemed he also had little clue what the show was about. Doing one television interview, he said it was a movie about young guys and gals trying to break into show business. It's virtually the complete opposite! It's about dancers near the end of their careers hoping for just one last show before they retire. The show if full of lovely numbers, the best known of which is the closing rendition of the signature song 'One'. The only version I can find is from the movie - but then there was not much Attenborough could get wrong with this!

 

 

[sgmaven]

Did any of you catch Miss Saigon? I watched the opening cast in London, which was the WestEnd debut for Lea Songla!

[amicablyalan]

 

My fave from Les Miserables, since Lea Salonga was mentioned...

Edited October 3, 2020 by amicablyalan

[amicablyalan]

 

Another my fave... although a much older one.

[sgmaven]

 

From Miss Saigon...

Edited October 3, 2020 by sgmaven

[sgmaven]

 

Another one from Miss Saigon

[sgmaven]

4 hours ago, InBangkok said:

 I did not see the show but do like 'Love Changes Everything'.

Here you go...

[sgmaven]

 

A lesser-known gem from the musical Chess...

[wilfgene]

2 hours ago, amicablyalan said:

 

Another my fave... although a much older one.

 

On 9/28/2020 at 8:32 AM, wilfgene said:

A miracle?  Was in Backstage, the bar. Saw replay of Hello Dolly twice before undergoing quarantine.  Can't possibly beat the lavishness, on stage.  Nonetheless, there was a sense of cosiness with the production in a small theatre in Budapest.  Yet, for stage there is also an unlimitation to limitation with Faust by the Slovakian National Theatre, the first year after the Velvet Divorce in Prague and traditional Chinese operas.

 

On 9/28/2020 at 9:28 AM, InBangkok said:

"Hello Dolly" is a great older style musical. Incidentally the music was written by Jerry Herman who also wrote "La Cage aux Folles". Starring in the movie was the wonderful Barbra Streisand. Have you heard her two Broadway albums? Great songs fabulously sung. No less than five of the songs come from "West Side Story" which many consider is the greatest musical of all time. Steven Spielberg has just completed the second film made from the show.

 

This was very much a gay developed show. All the main creators were gay. Book Arthur Laurents, lyrics Stephen Sondheim, choreography Jerome Robbins and composer Leonard Bernstein. Bernstein maintained a facade of being straight but even his wife acknowledged in a letter a year after their marriage that he was gay and would probably never change.

 

Since the original movie version is pretty dated, here is a clip of Barbra Streisand singing a cover arrangement of one of its hit songs.

 

 

 

 

[sgmaven]

2 hours ago, amicablyalan said:

 

My fave from Les Miserables, since Lea Salonga was mentioned...

Since you mention Les Misérables... Still my favourite musical!

 

 

[sgmaven]

Colm Wilkinson - The best Valjean!

[sgmaven]

Michael Crawford, the quintessential Phantom...

[sgmaven]

I remember going to watch Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat with Jason Donovan. He was still very popular at that stage, and there were so many teenage girls there, just to see Jason Donovan...