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#1

Campiest musical ever?

With all this talk about Dracula being bad, but not baaad enough, what's the campiest musical you've ever seen?

For me, I guess it's that perennial gem, Rocky Horror.
BlueWizard's blog: The Rambling Corner HEDWIG: "The road is my home. In reflecting upon the people whom I have come upon in my travels, I cannot help but think of the people who have come upon me."
#2

re: Campiest musical ever?

I was about to say that, with the cast recording on my desk.

Going by this definition of campy - an affectation or appreciation of manners and tastes commonly thought to be artificial, vulgar, or banal - I would say Little Shop of Horrors and Urinetown.


"We like to snark around here. Sometimes we actually talk about theater...but we try not to let that get in our way." - dramamama611

Updated On: 8/22/04 at 10:38 PM

#3

re: Campiest musical ever?

I never cared to see ON THE TWENTIETH CENTURY a second time, but I'm not sure if it was bad, not bad enough or even camp.
" ...the happiness in the tune convinces me that I'm not afraid."
#4

re: Campiest musical ever?

Rocky Horror Show, most definitely.
"The stage is where I live and come alive and act out all the things that go on in my life. It's not just what I do for a living, it's my shrink and my love affair. No one in my life has ever or ever will kiss me on the mouth like this lover called my relationship with my performance."
#5

re: Campiest musical ever?

What was the Simpsons' definition of campy? "The tragically comic, the comically tragic"? I don't remember.
BlueWizard's blog: The Rambling Corner HEDWIG: "The road is my home. In reflecting upon the people whom I have come upon in my travels, I cannot help but think of the people who have come upon me."
#6

re: Campiest musical ever?

I would say TMM and/or maybe The Producers.
"Chicago is it's own incredible theater town right there smack down in the middle of the heartland. What a great city! I can see why Oprah likes to live there!" - Dee Hoty :-D
#7

re: Campiest musical ever?

Would Fame be considered campy? If not, it's almost there.
#8

re: Campiest musical ever?

Fame's just the CRAPPIEST musical ever. Though, perhaps not the CAMPIEST.
#9

re: Campiest musical ever?

I agree with Rocky Horror - too easy! For the record I believe that Homer Simpson's understanding of "camp" was "you mean like when a clown dies?"
"What could a computer do with a lifetime supply of chocolate? I am now telling the computer exactly what it can do with a lifetime supply of chocolate!"
#10

re: Campiest musical ever?

When done well, RUTHLESS! is deliciously campy.
#11

re: Campiest musical ever?

ROCKY HORROR SHOW defines the word "campy".
There's a light in the darkness of everybody's life.
#12

re: Campiest musical ever?

Rocky Horror
and Urinetown (in its own, quirky way)


I also think The Producers will eventually become a camp-classic.
#13

re: Campiest musical ever?

i agree. rocky horror and urinetown.
"People asking questions, lost in confusion. Well I tell them there's no problems, only solutions." ~The one and only John Lennon
#14

re: Campiest musical ever?

not little shop. little shop isnt supposed to be camp, if it is played for camp then it is being played wrong (or so it says on the script)- though i see what you are saying millie, and i see why it is often played for camp.
id say rockey horror wins that prize.
#16

re: Campiest musical ever?

Thanks for the clarification. re: Campiest musical ever?


"We like to snark around here. Sometimes we actually talk about theater...but we try not to let that get in our way." - dramamama611
#17

re: Campiest musical ever?

Some of Little Shop is camp, but not all.

Hairspray also has some delightful camp. Very tongue-in-cheek, I love it.
BlueWizard's blog: The Rambling Corner HEDWIG: "The road is my home. In reflecting upon the people whom I have come upon in my travels, I cannot help but think of the people who have come upon me."
#18

re: Campiest musical ever?

I love little shop, but it is camp. That doesnt necessarily mean it should be played that way, it should come naturally. A man eating talking plant? Totally campy, with the dentist, etc. Very surreal and campy.
Rosencrantz: "Be happy - if you're not even HAPPY what's so good about surviving? We'll be all right. I suppose we just go on." - from Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead
#19

re: Campiest musical ever?

when i was in the show (high school production- im not trying to sound like a know-it-all pro or anything) my script had a message from the creators which said that it should be played for dark humor, not camp. i think that when it isnt played for camp, it works better, it has more heart. the humor is dark but there is emotion as well.
#20

re: Campiest musical ever?

For me, dark humour is something like Sweeney Todd, or even some parts of Cabaret: depends if the focus is the "dark" or the "humour". But Little Shop is neither of those. Considering some of Little Shop's rediculousness - a funny-looking talking female plant with a deep bass voice, conveniently bought from a Chinese man - it's definitely camp.
BlueWizard's blog: The Rambling Corner HEDWIG: "The road is my home. In reflecting upon the people whom I have come upon in my travels, I cannot help but think of the people who have come upon me."

Updated On: 8/23/04 at 12:36 AM

#21

re: Campiest musical ever?

i would say bye bye birdie..but it's still a fun show
#22

re: Campiest musical ever?

Hairspray. And Fame.
"I really liked the show--Wish I saw Boy's Night...Am I allowed as I am not a boy anymore:)"-duffyny1
#25

re: Campiest musical ever?

Gotta be Bye, Bye, Birdie!
~m~
For heaven's sake, don't try to be cynical. It's perfectly easy to be cynical. ~The Importance of Being Earnest~

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