Musicals Considered the Best Ever... — Page 2

GYPSY9 -- I know we've 'talked' before about our mutual love affair with GYPSY and The Merm. You're one of the only ones on this board who was fortunate enough to actually see the Original Broadway cast. Fascinated to hear that you purposely didn't listen to 'Rose's Turn' until you saw the show in person. I have, of course, listened to it ad nauseum on the OBCR. Do you remember what it was like to see the Merm perform it LIVE?! Were there anythings she did, physically, that stuck out in your mind? I know she's been the target of a lot of criticism over the years for her delivery of the "m-m-m-ma-ma" line.. but there are other points in the song where her passion, determination, grit and bulldozer mentality shine like no other.. without coming across as forced or 'acted.'

I remember being less enthused with Tyne than most were. Although I liked her performance, I wasn't blown over and I actually said to myself and others "Why isn't Linda Lavin playing Rose instead?"

Then Lavin took over. And she was not good.

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Thanks for such a warm welcome, Gaveston.

It's true that the post-title song period of She Loves Me presents challenges, but I've seen them resolved with great success, most recently in the magnificent Roundabout benefit concert.

First of all, let's identify the problem (the kind of problem any musical should be blessed to have). We have just seen, in cracker jack succession, three of the most satisfying, thrilling, exquisitely written and composed scenes/moments in musical theater. George's visit to Amalia's bedside, with its palpable irony and tension (and the charm of "Where's My Shoe?") culminating in a believable softening of their relationship, and then - wham! "Vanilla Ice Cream" - one of the most brilliant songs - a play within a play - ever written for a soprano. And when Amalia is an amazing singer, great actress, and stellar comedienne, an out and out showstopper. Then George has the unenviable task of having to follow that with "She Loves Me," which, when he succeeds is an infectious outpouring of unabashed joy from a protagonist who has been fraught with professional and romantic anxiety since the show started. All in all, what we have just experienced should be pure bliss. And to see O'Hara and Radnor in those roles, taking the audience on a romantic rainbow ride, was an experience that I will never forget.

Are you with me so far? I know that you are.

Now, after all of that, it would seem there is no place to go but down, no matter how good what happens next is. but, if you are lucky, "down" can mean a very satisfying landing on a magic carpet. And if the audience cares as much about Ilona as it does about George and Amalia, with the inestimable Jane Krakowski in the role opposite a Kodaly as devilishly, unctuously and hilariously sexy as Gavin Creel, and expert comic punctuation by an Arpad and Sipos as endearing as Rory O'Malley and Michael McGrath, the next scenes, and "A Trip to the Library" and "Grand Knowing You," are not a "hole" in the middle of a great musical. Rather they are, at once, a thoroughly engaging happy resolution of subplot and a welcome return to earth (after scaling the thrilling heights).

"Twelve Days" may be my least favorite number in the show (which isn't saying a lot, since the score is so damn good) but it still works well as a buildup to the final moments of the play, which when well cast and directed, for my money, comprise the most emotionally satisfying resolution of any romantic comedy.

Have I mentioned that I love this show?

Updated On: 5/26/12 at 09:08 AM

I'd like to see the TONY Awards give a "Best Musical of the Decade" every 10 years.

I like a lot of these lists. It's hard to pick one, just like a potato chip.

My personal stage favorites (not based on any specific production) for quality, structure, inspiration, and entertainment are, in no particular order:

Sweeney Todd
A Chorus Line
Gypsy
Ragtime
West Side Story
The Music Man
The Drowsy Chaperone
The King and I
A Little Night Music
Sunday in the Park With George

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Ok, if the Tony's voted on best musical of the decade, what would win?

In my opinion, West Side Story is the best ever - and it seems to be considered to be so more frequently in the UK than in the USA!

If I had my way:

I think it depends on what criteria you're observing.

The best SCORE? WEST SIDE STORY

The best BOOK? WEST SIDE STORY

The best choreography? WEST SIDE STORY

The most innovative concept/method of storytelling? WEST SIDE STORY

But what do I know? I think American Beauty is the greatest movie ever made.

Henrik, you're welcome; and yes, I can follow you. Though I will admit I've only seen the show once, I know both the OBC and Roundabout revival recordings well and I have read the libretto a few times.

I think "Twelve Days" is kind of brilliant, actually, but it's too late in the evening to dazzle us with brilliant writing. If it were performed in Act I, I think we'd all point to it as a clever use of music and lyrics. And I think "A Trip to the Library" is hysterical (particularly as performed by Sally Mayes).

Of course, I agree with you about the first half of Act II and the sequence of amazing scenes and songs. But personally, I am so invested in Georg and Amalia by the time he sings the title song that the wrapping up of Ilona's and Kodaly's subplots feels like killing time. As I write this, I realize I shouldn't feel that way (because I like the secondary characters), but I do.

Maybe the focus on the main plot from "Will He Like Me?" in Act I through "She Loves Me" is just too intense to give way to subplots again late in the evening. For me, anyway.

I'm not saying this makes SHE LOVES ME a bad show. Hardly! I have no problem putting it in the Top 20. But I don't see it in the Top 5 with GYPSY, OKLAHOMA! and MY FAIR LADY.

I think 1776 belongs in the discussion. There is nothing extra, nothing wasted, no song inserted to serve a character. Everything is about the story. It manages to make a story where everyone knows the ending seem thrilling.

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GYPSY in my humble opinion is the most perfectly put together musical ever...MUSIC, LYRICS, STAGING, ACTING all come together in a seemless production...not a wasted song or moment in the whole show...it has continued to be produced over the decades because it holds up so well in all those departments...plus it's a great show!...while MY FAIR LADY maybe be perfect in many ways it does not have an ounce of life in it on stage...that is what makes GYPSY stand out...WEST SIDE STORY a close second right behind GYPSY

^Interesting. Never thought of that. Could you offer some examples?

henrikegerman wrote:Could you offer some examples?

For a start, there are the obvious ones in "Why Can't the English?: 'hung' instead of 'hanged', the error of the tense in 'there even are places where English completely disappears' and the Americanism in 'I'm afraid we'll never get'. Higgins simpy wouldn't make those mistakes.

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Gaveston 2 wrote: I don't see the error in "places where English completely disappears". Obviously, Higgins has anthropomorphized the English language, and that sort of figure of speech was known long before Edwardian England.

Yes, that figure of speech is called personification. However, it is not Higgin's use of figurative language that is the problem here. As I said, it is the tense: the line should read "where English has completely disappeared" if it is to mean what Higgins means when he is talking about the use of English in places like America.

Gaveston 2 wrote: I'm not posting to defend Lerner except to say whatever errors he made were not made for lack of meticulous effort and attention. In their divorce proceedings, his wife at the time testified to the countless hours Lerner spent on each page of the libretto...

In that case, the glaring errors in his lyrics only make him less of a lyricist to my mind, particularly given that during this point of Lerner's career there was a greater concern with language than there is today. The thing is, I'm not advocation that every character in musical theatre should speak and sing in perfect grammer with a highly refined idiomatic use of language. Were these lyrics in, say, COCO, it probably wouldn't be an issue as it is in MY FAIR LADY. Even if they were foisted off onto Freddy in MY FAIR LADY, one could argue, rather shakily, that it is not problematic in the way that it is when they are issued from Higgins's lips. One of the fundamental points that defines Higgins as a character is his use of language. It is the lyrical equivalent of costuming Coco Chanel in unstylish clothing or directing the actor playing Freddy to speak in a Cockney accent.

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I will never understand the hype surrounding My Fair Lady. I find it to be one of the most boring musicals ever written. I have seen it three times (one was even the critically acclaimed Cameron Mackintosh production), and all three times I have been bored out of my mind. I designed the set for a production of My Fair Lady as well. Yes, some of the songs are nice, but other than that it is just beyond boring IMO.

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