I'm gonna have to agree with ZONEFACE on THE PRODUCERS, RENT, and MUSIC MAN with Broderick and Chenoweth. I thought they were terrible. Also, I really was not a fan of the PHANTOM OF THE OPERA movie. Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum are terrible singers. A lot of their vowels are horrible.
This is really a hard decision to make.
1) FUNNY GIRL - Barbra Streisand is so amazing. I think they could have chosen a better singer for Arnstein than Omar Sharif, but he wasn't terrible. I love the "Don't Rain on My Parade" sequence. I love the scene where Fanny's on the boat, sailing past the Statue of Liberty (which is my avatar pic). I was very glad that they chose "My Man" for the ending, instead of "Don't Rain on My Parade (Reprise)." It's a much more poignant ending, I think. I loved Streisand in all black, in front of the black background, so all you could see were her head and her hands. It was so cool! Such an amazing movie!
2) HELLO, DOLLY - Another Streisand movie, and an amazing one at that. Seeing the movie made me realize how much I really liked this show. After listening to the recording with Carol Channing, I didn't like it (mainly because I don't like Channing at all), but after hearing Streisand, I fell in love with it. It has some really catchy and charming songs, such as "Put on Your Sunday Clothes" and "Before the Parade Passes By." I also like the opening in the movie, "Just Leave Everything to Me," better than that in the stage show, "Call on Dolly." Michael Crawford was also a good Cornelius, I think.
3) SINGIN' IN THE RAIN - Such a fun show. I love Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds. I was reading an interesting interview with Betty Comden and Adolph Green the other day. They were talking about how much they loved SINGIN' IN THE RAIN and how proud they were of it, but they were so upset when it was made into a stage musical. They were totally against it from the start. When I saw this thread, "Good Morning" got stuck in my head!
4) OKLAHOMA - This is probably my favorite Rodgers and Hammerstein show. I say "probably" because I love all of their pieces, and choosing a favorite is extremely difficult. Shirley Jones has such a beautiful voice, and the story is a lot of fun, with some REALLY fun musical numbers, like "The Farmer and the Cowman Should Be Friends." The only problem I have with OKLAHOMA is the Dream Ballet. I love it, it just drags on forever and ever and ever. I would have cut it a tad had I choreographed the show.
5) BRIGADOON - This was one of the very first musicals I ever saw live, and soon after I fell in love with the movie. I love the opening dance sequence. It's such a cool scene. Cyd Charisse is also amazing, and BRIGADOON has some really pretty songs, my favorite being "The Heather on the Hill." Actually, I think I'm going to go rent BRIGADOON. It's been a while since I last watched it.
"I believe that art does not exist only to entertain, but also to challenge one to think, to provoke, even to disturb, to engage in a constant search for the truth."
- Barbra Streisand
