The We Love Musicals Week Tag! // This is all I listen to on Valentine's Day and it is most definitely not "a waste of a lovely night"...

"'After the war I went back to New York---' 

'A-AFTER the war I went back to New York..."

*interrupts my current Hamilton song infatuation*

Hi, friends!

Today is the last day of Hamlette's We Love Musicals Week so I'm popping in to fill out the tag she has created for the festivities. It's my tradition for the last 3 years to do computer programming while listening to musicals on Valentine's Day so even though I don't have any computer programming homework this semester, musicals never go out of style.

1.  What are your favorite musicals?  (Tell us a top 3 to 5, that sort of thing.)

Hadestown: 

I have a poster from this musical in my room and it is the first and last thing I see every day. This musical tells such a visceral grip on my heart, I don't have words for it. I loved it before seeing it, and then seeing it was one of the best experiences of my life.

Favorite songs: "Road to Hell" // "Any Way the Wind Blows" // "Livin' it Up on Top" // "Wait for me" + reprise //

Source

Six: 

"And even though this feels so right, // I'm holding back the tears tonight // It's true I'll never be over you // 'cuz I have built a future in my mind with you..."

If the incredibly long post I just wrote about it didn't tell you that this is my second favorite movie of all time, I don't know what will.

Favorite songs: ALL OF THEM.

Source

Fiddler on the Roof (1971): 

This also wins the award for favorite movie musical because nothing that has happened on screen makes me happier than Topol's dances as Tevye. Tevye's avoidant behavior of "I'm just going to tell Goldie that I had a dream..." is ICONIC. Just today I purchased a copy of the original stories by Sholem Aleichem that inspired this story! 

Favorite songs: "If I Were A Rich Man" // "Tradition" : 

The Hunchback of Notre Dame: 

both animated and Broadway versions. 

And yes, as my sister informs me, they are nothing like the book but I DON'T CARE because the book inspired this story that never fails to give me shivers in my soul. 

Favorite songs: "God Help the Outcasts" will always be one of my favorite songs of all time (especially from an animated movie. There's no question), but also "Heaven's Light"?? GORGEOUS. I will also quote "Rest and Recreation" on a regular basis...

Into the Woods (2014): 

This feeds the continual craving I have within me for fairytales. Sondheim is a musical legend and that is fully shown through the lines "Be careful of what you wish // for wishes come true not free"...

Favorite songs: One time I sat down and ranked all of the songs in a post...

2.  What do you like about musicals?

Musicals provide a vulnerable and intimate look into the heart of the characters. In no other genre is it as easy find the soaring joys and plunging depths of a character's emotions because in musicals they sing it out to you. They take the highs and lows of human pain, heartache, and love and translate it into a way that anyone feeling those songs can sing to release them from the burden of not having the right words.

Source

Then there is time to just have fun with playing with music and singing. Like when there are different stories being sung and then they all come together? AH. I want to make a whole post about this, but for example. "96,000" from In the Heights is one of my go-to for story examples for giving characters different motivations.

Then there are times the characters are such darling idiots. Like, I'm playing "Kiss Me (pt. 1)" from Sweeney Todd over and over again because it makes me giggle because Johanna and Anthony are on SUCH different wavelengths they aren't listening to each other and it's like you TWO hold up for ONE SECOND---

3.  What's the first musical you can remember seeing?

The Wizard of Oz (1939) which is consequently also the first movie I ever remember watching, so my movie-watching experience is very tied to singing and dancing. In fact, when I was very little I got bored of any movie that DIDN'T have singing and dancing...

I think the first live musical I saw was Seven Brides for Seven Brothers in 2013? I still haven't seen the movie version because the version I saw was so much fun.

4.  Have you ever seen a live musical onstage?

Yes! I am very lucky to have lived in places with amazing community theater productions and to also have gotten to travel and see amazing shows. I saw 11 live musicals last year alone which was a record that I don't think I'll ever be able to top and I'm very grateful for!

5.  Have you ever performed in a musical?

Source

Yes, my very first time doing any theater was in a version of Roger and Hammerstein's Cinderella. While I do not like that musical, it definitely grew on me and I had a ton of fun. Then I was also in Little Women the Musical! I only had one song that I had to sing and I never, ever, hit the right note. But I was kind of a goofy character in the ensemble so maybe it was in character.

6.  Do you periodically dance about and burst into song in real life?

Source

I do but in different ways than musicals, because usually I'm reenacting musicals. Lately, out of the blue I'll just start singing, "ALL I HEAR IS SCREAMS!" which is from the concept album of EPIC the Musical, which is a musical version of The Odyssey in 9 "Sagas." I haven't listened to the last one yet, which came out in December, because I'm not ready. That's okay, I'll just keep listening to The Underworld Saga (which, Hadestown fans, you should totally check out this whole musical, but this section will be a favorite, I bet).

7.  What's the newest movie musical you've seen?

Looking through my journals and records of various kinds I think it is 2023's Wonka? This chocolatey masterpiece is sweet and fun in so many ways. "A World of Your Own" and "For a Moment" are some of my favorite songs because they are so joyful and celebrating life.

8.  What's the oldest movie musical you've seen?

The oldest titles I could come up with that I for sure have seen all of is either Follow the Fleet (1936) or Shall We Dance (1937), but just because I watched them doesn't mean I remember them. In fact, I don't. I have absolutely no clue. I remember disliking Follow the Fleet, so I guess I'm glad I don't remember it?

I also have no real memory of Swing Time (1936) and I don't think I ever saw the beginning, but I remember one scene better than the other two combined, sooooo...

9.  What's the last musical you watched?

La La Land (2016). I really want to write a blog post about this film but I don't know what to say that hasn't been said before. It is magnificent. According to Spotify, "City of Stars" is my most listened to song at the moment. I'd heard about it ever since it came out, but no one told me how tender, vulnerable, and real that song is. And "The Fools Who Dream" is one of the most heartfelt songs to have touched this earth.

"I'll be the one to make that call." "But you will call?"

10.  What musical do you hope to watch for the first time soon?

I mean watch is the key word there because there are a couple of musicals that I listen to a lot but have never actually seen. Like Hamilton. Forever the top two that I wanted to see were Little Shop of Horrors and Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, but I saw both of those last year! But I haven't seen the movie versions themselves.

A friend and I are trying to get together to watch Pillow Talk (1959), so that will probably be the next one! Though looking it up, there don't seem to be that many songs so maybe it's not a musical. Others on my list include: The Barkleys of Broadway (1949), Fame (2009), and Guys and Dolls (1955).

Source
Me every day...

That does it! It's taken me so long to wrap up this post because there are so many more musicals I want to talk about like my intense love for Hamilton and The Music Man and and and I'll let you all go, though. If YOU are looking for more musical fun, then check out all of the other posts in We Love Musicals Week, HERE!

Thanks, Hamlette for hosting!

And thanks to all of you for reading! Do any of you have musical songs stuck in your head now? I will as soon as I turn off my playlist, but I don't want to stop listening... How many of these musicals have you seen? Do you listen to musicals before you watch them or do you watch them before just putting the soundtrack on repeat? What makes a musical special to you? 

Chloe the MovieCritic