I think Grease has probably been the best but even though I DETESTED Carrie Underwood I would rank SOM higher. Simply because of the rest of the casts performances (Audra, Laura Benanti, Christian Borle etc). Peter Pan is/was by far the worst. I think Christmas Story is either above or at level with The Wiz
I still liked The Sound of Music the best save for Underwood's acting. Everything else about it was wonderful and they stuck to the script. The other broadcasts have made too many changes and cuts for me to fully enjoy with The Wiz and Peter Pan being the worst offenders. I enjoyed A Christmas Story quite a bit.
My personal ranking would be: Grease A Christmas Story The Sound of Music Hairspray Peter Pan The Wiz
My father (AIDS)
My sister (AIDS)
My uncle and my cousin and her best friend (AIDS, AIDS, AIDS)
The gays and the straights
And the white and the spades
I think Grease and Sound of Music were the best. Grease was the most fun and consistently entertaining with a few inspired moments. Sound of Music was the most technically clean and delivered on just about everything. It just had Carrie Underwood's dreadful performance weighing it down.
Grease is the only one worth mentioning. I genuinely was surprised was a success, utilized the medium to the fullest and even breathed new life into Grease and is the only one of these that felt worthy of rewatching.
Hairspray should have been done by the FOX crew. It could have been INCREDIBLE and it just felt...tired. I almost wonder had they had a second go would it have been better.
I actually did not watch A Christmas Story. I'm not a fan of the movie, and never bothered to listen to the musical-- always seemed like a cheap cash-in on the title.
Grease was by far the best. The Wiz and Hairspray were done well enough. The Sound of Music makes one appreciate Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer all the more. Peter Pan was a slog.
I'm wondering if this brief revival of live musicals is almost over? NBC hasn't found the success they wanted, and I'm convinced Bye Bye Birdie with JLo will never happen. Fox is supposed to air Rent in 2019, but maybe they'll get cold feet if they think Grease was a fluke. Besides Rent, all that's left is Jesus Christ Superstar.
I think they should do Cinderella again. I love the idea of TV musicals being revived on TV. And unlike Peter Pan, Cinderella is fairly well remembered by Millennials thanks to Brandy's version. I think it could be a real hit, and since Meron and Zadan did Hairspray twice, they have no excuse not to do Cinderella again.
I would be up for Cinderella Live as long as the book from the recent Broadway production by Douglas Carter Beane is used. And I'm thinking Heather Headley should be Fairy Godmother
I didn't care for A Christmas Story Live -- and I loved the musical on Broadway. Doesn't it say a lot that the live commercial with Hugh Jackman generated more excitement?
I'm not sure this spells the end of these live TV musicals-- although a Vanity Fair article today was headlined Has A Christmas Story Live! Killed the Live TV Musical for Good? -- but it's hard for me to imagine getting as excited as I was when they started.
The format needs yet another shot in the arm. It seemed like it wasn't going to be around for the long haul after Peter Pan but then The Wiz and especially Grease showed how well it could be done. But Hairspray just didn't have that magic and I don't think A Christmas Story as a musical was accessible to enough of the general public despite the decently received Broadway production and the source material. I'm not sure Jesus Christ Superstar is going to be the answer either but perhaps a big time family offering like Cinderella or Annie might be able to give the format the next boost it needs.
Jesus Christ Superstar may still have the ability to generate controversy but it’s dificult to guess if that would reflect positively or negatively on the ratings.
