DON'T CRY FOR ME ARGENTINAAAA

[Harlequin]

MUUUUUSICALSSSSSSSSSSS
Those glorious outbursts of song; the extravagance; daaaaancing. I can't think of an intro for this thread, you all know what musicals are, go for it.

Have you seen a musical? Do you have a favorite one? Favorite song from any?

[Shining Raichu]

The only musical I've seen (Glee doesn't count, right?) is Mamma Mia! at the movies. My favourite song from that was "Voulez Vous" because I'd never heard that before and I loved the fast rhythm!

NO WAIT. I have seen another musical! "Once More, With Feeling", the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer which does count I don't care what you say. That was the best musical I've ever seen ever and it will endure through time!

I doubt anybody will know what I'm talking about, but my favourite song from it was "I'll Never Tell".

[rpryor03]

Ragtime was amazing (I love the fact that it had my 2 favorite Broadway actors, Stokes and Audra McDonald.) My favorite song is Wheels of a Dream which is a Stokes/Audra Duet, it sounds amazing.

[Scarf]

I've seen a small production of Showboat, a big production of Phantom of the Opera, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, and Repo! The Genetic Opera. (Interesting spread, innit?) Probably other things that I've forgotten.

I'm not a musical fan though so I have only vague memories of the songs. Musicals just don't do it for me. I've tried a range of things as you can see: old timey broadway, more modern broadway, comedy, etc. All go in one ear and out the other.

[Hagumi]

I've been to see the musical theatre productions of Hairspray, We Will Rock You, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and a smaller, local production of West Side Story. I'm going to see Dirty Dancing later this year, which should be good. Out of all these, Hairspray would have to be my favourite. I enjoyed all of the songs and I liked how upbeat the show was. The costumes and outfits were wonderfully colourful and the dance choreography was also great. My favourite song from it would either be “Good Morning Baltimore” or “You Can’t Stop The Beat”.

Not sure if pantomimes count, but if so, then I've been to see quite a few pantomimes over the years, all of them local productions. I think the local ones have deteriorated a bit in quality lately, but they're still good to watch. The majority of the ones I've been to see have been based on fairytales (Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, and so on).

[dragonomega]

I haven't seen any live productions, only DVDs. :( Hairspray takes the top spot for my favorite musical. <3 It has amazing dance routines, catchy songs, and a good message that some people needed to learn. You Can't Stop the Beat will forever and always be my fav. n_n

I've also seen Chicago, West Side Story, RENT, The Wizard of Oz, glee, Grease and Sister Act. For my first live show I really, really want to see Wicked. <3

[GolurkIsDaBomb]

I've seen a couple live, Phantom of the Opera, Beauty and the Beast...and some others.

My favorite musical (if it counts) was a very potter musical. It was soooooooo funny. The music isn't amazing, but it's funny and fun to sing to, plus it isn't exactly professional, making everything about it more impressive. Favorite song...probably Gotta get back to Hogwarts, or whatever it's called. Ah, man I need to watch it again! :D

[Mr Cat Dog]

I'm strangely bipolar towards musicals of both film and stage. I say that because, for the most part, I'll either love a musical or hate it. And normally it's the perceived 'classics' that I hate. West Side Story, The Sound of Music, Oliver!, My Fair Lady (the film and not the stage version, which I actually like when done well)... I can't stand any of them. Not because they're badly-made; all of them won Best Picture Oscars and have substantial craft in them. I guess for me it's just a question of suspension of disbelief. As petty as this is going to sound, I don't believe that any of the characters in those films would just suddenly break out into song. (Especially West Side Story, which feels strangely wrong on so many levels.) It's not that I object to random bursts of song and dance in general, but in those films it feels perfunctory more than anything else. Like they're sticking to the tried-and-tested formula with little-to-no variation. And while that's fine for most people, I guess I just want something more.

Which is why most of the film musicals I like are a bit more unconventional. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg - a ridiculously bright, 60s French musical - is one of my favourite films of all time, and its picturebook cinematography and sung-through libretto just feels right. Similarly, I've always felt that Chicago gets a bad rap from musical fans due to its occasionally schizophrenic editing, but I really admire the narrative risks that film took and - yes - I think the editing works more often than it doesn't to create the atmosphere the film is going for. And then there's something like Dancer in the Dark, with the crazy musical stylings of Bjork in all of her Bjorkiest, and it's completely un-musical: harrowing in a legitimate sense of the word, and not the 'musical' sense. I could talk about more film musicals that I like (and alternatively hate) but that would be boring and take up too much of your time.

Stage musicals, on the other hand, I have a greater affection for. Living in London helps, as I'd had no exposure beforehand. I mentioned liking My Fair Lady earlier; that's probably because I worked on a student production of it at uni and came to admire the craft of not only the book and music in equal measure. It's still a bloated-ass film, though. Other favourites include the more modern, filthy Avenue Q and The Book of Mormon, whose vulgarity adds an extra bit of oomph to a medium that's (often rightly) perceived as staid. But my favourite stage musical is probably Company by Stephen Sondheim. Genuinely revelatory about story construction, musicality and just gosh-darn human emotion, I feel something different every time I see it (which, admittedly, is just videos of productions, but that still counts!)

And yet, despite the word vomit you've just read, I wouldn't consider myself a massive musical fan. The ones I like, I often reeeeeeeally like. But, more often than not, they happen to be anarchic drops in an otherwise campy and traditional ocean. Maybe I am a bigger fan than I realise and have just been in denial this entire time... meh. And I didn't even talk about the Disney musical renaissance of the 90s! Ah well, another time.

[Patchisou Yutohru]

I'm not really someone who goes out of their way to watch musicals. I was in one in middle school, and the only musical I really know anything about is Wicked. I do go to school musicals, though. If someone invited me to go see one, I would, but I wouldn't go on my own free accord, unless it has someone I follow, it's a school musical, or it's a realistic distance away.

[Creame]

I have seen loads of musicals! In both Dutch and English language! And the musical I loved the most is The Lion King!!

[Paparazzo]

My favourites are definitely Chicago and Hairspray. Grease is fun. I liked Mammia Mia and We Will Rock You. Cannot stand Oliver.

[Erik Destler]

Originally Posted by Shining Raichu

(Glee doesn't count, right?)

GLEE DOES NOT COUNT

Anyway.
Musicals? What are those?
I would link to my last.fm, but I recently cleared a bunch of my non-standard music tags (except my Stephen Sondheim tag because..he's a legend.)

I grew up watching Wizard of Oz all the time. It opened me to musicals. But, I mean, I didn't really listen to musicals like I do now until I saw Phantom of the Opera's movie adaptation in 2005. That led to Wicked, Chicago, Into the Woods, Rocky Horror Picture Show, and more.
I recently compiled a list of soundtracks in my library. I think that'll help you realize my obsession.

I've only seen Phantom and Wicked on Broadway, though. :c I desperately want to go back and see more shows, especially Matilda (when it comes out over here obvs) and Edwin Drood.