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#51

The Eight Perfect Musicals

Posted: 4/4/11 at 1:57pm

"THE SOUND OF MUSIC isn't perfect. Had it been, they wouldn't have been able to improve upon it, when they made the film."

"But they didn't improve on it. They added that awful, sacchrine "somewhere in my youth or childhood" song and took away the great "How Can Love Survive?" "

I agree! Sound of Music isn't perfect.... but it also didn't improve with the film. The only musical that had greatly improved with the film version would be Cabaret. IMHO.

#52

The Eight Perfect Musicals

Posted: 4/4/11 at 2:07pm

There are differences in what I'd consider a perfect musical and what are my favorite musicals. Sunday In The Park With George is my favorite musical of all time, but is not a perfect musical. It just speaks to me. Does that make sense?

What I consider perfect musicals:
Sweeney Todd
West Side Story
Gypsy
A Chorus Line
Ragtime
My Fair Lady

My Favorites:
Sweeney Todd
Sunday in The Park With George
Gypsy
Les Miserables
Rent
Grey Gardens
Ragtime
Carousel

#53

The Eight Perfect Musicals

Posted: 4/4/11 at 2:29pm

Okay, without taking into account my personal favorites, here are what I consider as close to perfect as it gets:

Showboat
Oklahoma!
Carousel
West Side Story
Gypsy
Kiss Me, Kate
My Fair Lady
Sweeney Todd
Cabaret

#54

The Eight Perfect Musicals

Posted: 4/7/11 at 3:15pm

Based on the OP's criteria, I think I would go with . . .

Show Boat
South Pacific
Guys and Dolls
My Fair Lady
The Music Man
West Side Story

Torn over whether to include Gypsy. Given everything that happens to the characters and their relationships, I tend to think of it as something of a musical horror story.

Which is not how I think they intended it to be interpreted, which makes it think that it works for me on a different level than it was meant to work . . . which makes me uncertain whether to include it!

Updated On: 4/7/11 at 03:15 PM

#55

The Eight Perfect Musicals

Posted: 4/7/11 at 4:57pm

The Music Man
Gypsy
West Side Story
Fiddler on the Roof
Les Miz
Ragtime
Oklahoma
Finian's Rainbow

That would be my list. I omitted some musicals that are personal favorites like Joseph, Starlight Express, Big, and the Producers. Because they are more of a taste matter rather than whats categorically good. Those eight have both been revolutionary and masterpieces. Especially since Music Man is my favorite musical of ALL TIME.

#56

The Eight Perfect Musicals

Posted: 4/7/11 at 5:34pm

Oklahoma
The Sound of Music
My Fair lady
Chicago
The Producers
A Chorus Line
Ragtime
Guys and Dolls
Sweeney Todd

"I saw Pavarotti play Rodolfo on stage and with his girth I thought he was about to eat the whole table at the Cafe Momus." - Dollypop

#57

The Eight Perfect Musicals

Posted: 4/7/11 at 10:40pm

Not all shows that I love or even like, but shows that seem seminal or that taken together seem to encompass the history of musical theater:

Gypsy
West Side Story
Oklahoma
Cabaret
A Chorus Line
Company
Phantom
RENT

#58

The Eight Perfect Musicals

Posted: 4/7/11 at 10:59pm

Eight shows that are perfect that changed American musical theatre?

Show Boat
Oklahoma
Fiddler on the Roof
West Side Story
A Chorus Line
Les Miserables
Rent

You really can't choose anything else. Those are IT! You only get 7. And to label some of the above as "perfect" is stretching it, too. And just because a show was "perfect" then doesn't make it "perfect" now (case in point: THAT CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON).

For me personally, the eight musicals that challenged my thoughts on how a musical could be done and changed my perceptions include (in chronological order from my birth, when I discovered the shows) [note: not at all including the 'perfect' factor in these]:

Peter Pan
Cats
West Side Story
Bat Boy
Caroline, or Change
Spring Awakening
Passing Strange
Next to Normal

"The Spectacle has, indeed, an emotional attraction of its own, but, of all the parts, it is the least artistic, and connected least with the art of poetry. For the power of Tragedy, we may be sure, is felt even apart from representation and actors. Besides, the production of spectacular effects depends more on the art of the stage machinist than on that of the poet."
--Aristotle

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