Can anyone recommend some musicals I should listen to?

[sakabatou]

Last edited Fri Apr 13, 2012, 01:35 PM - Edit history (1)

Besides Les Miserables, any others?

Thanks for the recommendations. I'll check them out.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Fiddler on the Roof is an outstanding musical!

And if you like impossible romances, try Brigadoon.

West Side Story is outstanding.

Have fun!

[sakabatou]

2. Thanks

[elleng]

3. A few:

http://www.broadway.com/shows/south-pacific/video/145502/show-clip-south-pacific-younger-than-springtime/

[RZM]

4. South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut

It is a musical, after all

[mulsh]

5. Anything by Rogers & Hart

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodgers_and_Hart

[Honeycombe8]

6. W/o knowing your tastes, here's a few:

If you REALLY like musicals, as I do, you may like these favorites:

Chicago (an absolute MUST...one of the best musicals ever made, IMO. Bob Fosse)

South Pacific (Rogers & Hammerstein, I think)

The Music Man (Rogers & Hammerstein, I think)

Oklahoma! (Rogers & Hammerstein, I think)

Cabaret (Bob Fosse) (not a great movie, but the music and choreography is superb)

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (if you like to watch big brawny athletic men dancing, and who doesn't, this is the movie for you!)

[Lydia Leftcoast]

8. The Music Man was by Meredith Wilson

not Rogers and Hammerstein.

[Honeycombe8]

9. Ah...I stand corrected. The lyrics of some of those songs are amazing. nt

[grasswire]

41. Willson -- double L n't

[Graybeard]

25. "Seven Brides..." also has Jane Powell.

Of all the young sopranos of the 40s and 50s era I loved Jane Powell's beautiful voice the most. Her song, " Wonderful Day" in this is glorious.

[Honeycombe8]

34. She had such a strong voice for such a small woman. And I'd kill for her figure! nt

[bluedigger]

7. Jesus Christ Superstar

It's on youtube. It's pretty good.

[Honeycombe8]

10. A clip...or two...

Enjoy! And all that jazz.

&feature=fvwrel

[JVS]

11. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

[HeiressofBickworth]

12. Hair

anti-war and great commentary on the times (Vietnam War).

[Joe Shlabotnik]

13. No

"Anything too stupid to be said is sung"

Just my opinion, but take a step back before you get caught in the middle of a knife fight between the Sharks and the Jets.... it ain't worth it, and its a stupid way to rot you brain cells. Theater is dead, baby, dead. (we should have a beatnik smiley icon!)

[Sanity Claws]

14. West Side Story

Oklahoma
Music Man

They're classics!

[CBGLuthier]

15. Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

Absolutely Incredible

[lovemydog]

16. Kiss Me Kate

(Cole Porter lyrics)

Tommy by the Who (watch the movie for the Tina Turner, Elton John and Eric Clapton set pieces)

Mama Mia (music by Abba)

yes, I have eclectic tastes

[grntuscarora]

17. Big River.

music & lyrics by Roger Miller.
1985 Tony winner: Best Musical.

[Graybeard]

18. Kiss Me Kate: 1999 revival.

Marin Mazzie and Brian Stokes Mitchell are wonderful in the lead roles and the Cole Porter songs are witty and unforgettable. But the real star of this production is arranger Don Sebesky and his Tony Award winning orchestrations.

He uses Elizabethan period instruments in the Shakespeare scenes that transport the listener back in time.

Great show.

[grilled onions]

19. A Couple With Political Hue

Of Thee I Sing(early 50's). Cute lyrics including a song about corn muffins with the comment "down here we feed them to Republicans". Another harder to find was the musical Jimmy(around 1970) with Frank Gorshin playing the part of NYC mayor Jimmy Walker. I only know of it on LP. I iwsh they did have a copy on CD.

[avebury]

20. I recommend the following

1. Rent
2. Aspect of Love (another Andew Lloyd Webber) - not as well known as his others but a really good show
3. Cats
4. Bombay Dreams (A R Rahman) - visually was a wonderful show to see and I loved the music
5. Phantom of the Opera (of course)
6. Les Miserables Live 2010 Cast Album (If you don't have this one it stars John Owen-Jones as Jean Valjean, the youngest performer to be cast in the roll in the West End, and my favorite Jean Valjean. I love him and saw him star in the show twice in London. He is currently playing Phantom in the West End and also has the record of the longest run playing the Phantom). He has some albums out and another due to be released soon.
7. Jesus Christ Superstar
8. Anything Oscar and Hammerstein
9. Mamma Mia (what can I say, I loved the music and have seen it six times)

[OriginalGeek]

22. "9. Mamma Mia (what can I say, I loved the music and have seen it six times)"

Nothing at all wrong with that. Well choreographed and admirably performed. I loved it too.

My wife didn't want to see it - I had to go by myself.


The funny part is I didn't grow up listening to Abba.

I grew up listening to commercials for Abba records on TV. I only ever knew the hooks - and only a few seconds of each as the commercials back then would scroll a list of all the songs on the record and and play snips of some of them. Much later after leaving home I would be somewhere and hear a ABbba song come over the store's loudspeakers or pass by a radio that was playing something and the hooks would remind me of my youth spent watching UHF stations after school. Gilligan's Island, Leave it To Beaver, Gomer Pyle, Hogan's Heroes etc... all interspersed with commercials for records.


re: OP - I would add Saturday Night Fever and Rocky Horror Picture Show.

[sakabatou]

29. My fave Valjean is Colm Wilkinson

I don't think John Owen-Jones has the same power the Colm Wilkinson does.

[Graybeard]

21. Sweeney Todd: In Concert 2001

Stephen Sondheim's masterpiece was never better than this performance in San Francisco's Symphony Hall. Patti Lupone and George Hearn sing the leads and Neil Patrick Harris is Tobias.

Magnificent and stirring production.

[Tom Ripley]

23. Gypsy, Damn Yankees

[ceile]

24. There's so many to choose from

Here are some of my favorites:

Jesus Christ Superstar
Music Man
Easter Parade
Mame
Dear World
Hair

From Dear World

&feature=related

From Hair

&feature=related

[warrior1]

26. The Unsinkable Molly Brown

[cbayer]

27. Book of Mormon.

And if you ever get the chance to see the play, do not miss it.

[mrmpa]

28. Company......the quintessential '70's musical by...........

Stephen Sondheim.

[soleiri]

33. Another yes for Sondheim.

He is a genius.
A living legend.

Into the Woods
Company
Assassins
Sunday in the Park with George
Follies (which is touring, I believe)
Basically, anything Sondheim.

other musicals I like include:
Hair
Wicked
Avenue Q
Spring Awakening (not everyone likes this one, I love it)
Book of Mormon
Urinetown
Next to Normal
The original Evita with Patti Lupone and Mandy Patinkin is Heaven! I've been listening to that endlessly.
and of course, Chess. Personally, I like the NY benefit concert better than the London benefit concert because Sutton Foster was in the NY concert. It may be harder to find, however.
and others, of course.

[CBHagman]

36. Let's not forget "A Little Night Music."

Everyone knows "Send in the Clowns," but the real show-stopper for me is the ensemble piece "A Weekend in the Country."

[HopeHoops]

30. Genesis - "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway"

[Bertha Venation]

31. Ragtime

It was the first show I saw, and I was so moved by it all that I cried the whole way through.

Especially moving are "The Night That Goldman Spoke at Union Square," "Till We Reach That Day," "What A Game" (for the baseball fan) and my favorite, "He Wanted To Say."

Don't miss it.

[DryHump]

47. Ragtime

Gotta agree with Bertha Venation - I'm not a huge fan of musicals but this show is, I believe, on par with Shakespeare's works. A classical take on America and the world at the turn of the century.

[benld74]

32. 7 Brides for 7 Brothers was the 1st I saw,,

Howard Keel in the original went to the HS I graduated from

[pscot]

35. Three Penny Opera

If you can find the German recording, you're in for a real treat.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

40. Kurt Weill was an underappreciated genius.

So was his playwright, Bertolt Brecht.
If you are old enough to remember the Ernie Kovacs show, he would play the original Mack the Knife in German (Mackie Messer) with Brecht singing it, and show an oscilloscope.


Bryn Terfel, baritone, singing Mack the Knife in German:

Bryn Terfel singing "Stars" from Les Miz:

Weill/Brecht also wrote "The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny". The Doors covered "The Alabama Song" from this opera.


He's Evil from Preservation Act II, by The Kinks. A far better musical than Tommy, and it has many different styles of music in it.

Shepherds of the Nation, from Preservation Act II. Sounds like the Moral Majority:

[Tom Ripley]

44. His work with Maxwell Anderson wasn't too shabby either

[Manifestor_of_Light]

45. The only Kurt Weill opera I have seen is "Street Scene". It was wonderful.

[Major Nikon]

37. Rocky Horror Picture Show

There are literally two types of people. Those who have seen it and those who haven't. Those who have seen it know who they are.

You don't have to be under the influence of a mind altering substance to enjoy it, but it's a great start.

[snacker]

38. Phantom of the Opera

The music is absolutely beautiful.

[peacefreak]

39. A Chorus Line

Annie (OK,OK, shoot me for that one)
How To Succeed in Business Without Even Trying

[grasswire]

42. Porgy & Bess, Victor Victoria, Man of La Mancha, Sweet Charity, Thoroughly Modern Millie...

Porgy & Bess is about a white man and black woman in love in the South. Bittersweet, with stunning Gershwin music.

Victor Victoria is about a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman. Julie Andrews, Robert Preston, James Garner and a fabulous score and story. You'll laugh yourself silly. (My Favorite Movie)

Man of La Mancha. The story of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.

Sweet Charity. A Bob Fosse period piece starring Shirley McLain.

Thoroughly Modern Millie -- a cutesy funny movie set in the 1920s with Mary Tyler Moore and Julie Andrews. Flappers, kidnapping, Charleston!

Showboat. About a white man and a black woman in love in the South, set on a paddlewheel steamboat.

My Fair Lady. A British intellectual takes a low-class London girl from the gutter and turns her into fake royalty, teaching her manners and speech, all to win a bet. She comes to resent this. Audrey Hepburn.

American In Paris. Music of Gershwin. Audrey Hepburn and Gene Kelly.

Singin' In The Rain. Classic, superb, funny! Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Donald O'Connor

Meet Me In St. Louis. The World's Fair is in town, it's 1904, and Judy Garland is in love with the boy next door.

A Chorus Line

Can't believe this hasn't been mentioned....... Sound of Music! Nazis, nuns, singing children, mountains, and drama. Julie Andrews again.

And..........Mary Poppins! Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, so many wonderful songs. The story of a *magical* nanny in London.

[grasswire]

43. oh and Camelot!

The story of King Arthur and Guinivere. Outstanding lyrics and music. Lerner & Lowe.

Oklahoma. Did anyone mention Oklahoma? Cowboys and farmers should be friends. Territory folks should stick together. OK.

[Arugula Latte]

46. I like "Singng in the Rain" too

Last edited Fri Apr 20, 2012, 11:58 AM - Edit history (1)

Who can resist this ...

...edited 'cuz I first wrote it was from American in Paris ... d'oh.

[MichiganVote]

48. Sunday in the Park w/George-Sondheim

[suninvited]

49. Rent

I havent heard it in a while but for a couple of years I listened to it almost daily. Loved it.