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#1

if you know a lot about musicals...

Posted: 2/22/07 at 7:41pm

name all the musicals meeting these critia:

lot of stage time for ensemble

fity-ish person cast (including ensemble)

complex plot/multiple story lines

not childish, but not adult-only

preferably no racial musts




i'll add any other stipulations as i think of/recieve them. THANKS!
#2

re: if you know a lot about musicals...

Posted: 2/22/07 at 7:50pm

The Wiz perfectly fits your criteria. It started out with an all black cast, but the script adjusts itself to any race. You may also like Urinetown.
#3

re: if you know a lot about musicals...

Posted: 2/22/07 at 7:54pm

FIDDLER, of course.

You might want to look back at some of the older Gershwin/Porter shows: BOYS FROM SYRACUSE, for example.

110 IN THE SHADE, but the rights may be tied up.
http://docandraider.com
#4

re: if you know a lot about musicals...

Posted: 2/22/07 at 8:00pm

Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat.
Hello Dolly
Bye Bye Birdie
....but the world goes 'round

Updated On: 2/22/07 at 08:00 PM

#5

re: if you know a lot about musicals...

Posted: 2/22/07 at 8:06pm

umm... 42nd Street! What an amazing show- and the ensemble chorus members are pretty much the stars.
"Are you sorry for civilization? I am sorry for it too." ~Coast of Utopia: Shipwreck
#7

re: if you know a lot about musicals...

Posted: 2/22/07 at 8:15pm

Guys and Dolls, and I agree with 42nd Street and Anything Goes as well. Also...Me and My Girl.
#8

re: if you know a lot about musicals...

Posted: 2/22/07 at 9:49pm

Ragtime?
"Inside every actor there is a Tiger, a Pig, an Ass, and a Nightingale. You never know which one is going to show up." -John Michael Higgins in FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION
#10

re: if you know a lot about musicals...

Posted: 2/22/07 at 10:01pm

Bye Bye Birdie
"Fenchurch is correct, as usual." -Keen on Kean
"Fenchurch is correct, as usual." - muscle23ftl
#12

re: if you know a lot about musicals...

Posted: 2/22/07 at 10:24pm

Titanic

"A coherent existance after so many years of muddle" - Desiree' Armfelt, A Little Night Music "Life keeps happening everyday, Say Yes" - 70, Girls, 70 "Life is what you do while you're waiting to die" - Zorba
#13

re: if you know a lot about musicals...

Posted: 2/22/07 at 10:51pm

those suggestions all really help, but what i meant by racially open, without being blunt, was that we don't have black people who can play leads.
#14

re: if you know a lot about musicals...

Posted: 2/22/07 at 10:58pm

Carnival can have a big chorus, and the secondary characters are great and they blend in and out of the leads' plot so nicely. I'm biased though. It is by far my favorite musical.

Crazy for You, colorblind casting perfectly okay, big ensemble, fun subplots.

A lot of Rodgers and Hammerstein stuff can have big ensembles and be colorblind, always some fun secondary characters.

Once Upon a Mattress is a fun show that meets all of your requests, too.
#15

re: if you know a lot about musicals...

Posted: 2/22/07 at 10:59pm

yeah then your best bet is definitely something like 42nd Street if you have some dance talent.
"...and in a bed."
#17

re: if you know a lot about musicals...

Posted: 2/22/07 at 11:22pm

Can't believe no one said Follies. Though you need a good chunk of 20somethings for the ghosts--and a cast of 50 might be a bit much...

*edit* oh wait I thought you meant the cast should be around the age of 50 *blush* oh well still could be an interesting choice.

Not a perfect musical by any means but how about Sondheim's Anyone Can Whistle? COuld fit the criteria well I think
#18

re: if you know a lot about musicals...

Posted: 2/23/07 at 12:33am

Music Man fits all your criteria. Also Oklahoma, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, West Side Story etc. Look at standard shows - those are usually the ones with big, busy ensembles. Typically not too complex storylines, though.
#19

re: if you know a lot about musicals...

Posted: 2/23/07 at 12:55am

THE SECRET GARDEN (which is not a childish show, but has children in it).
"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
#20

re: if you know a lot about musicals...

Posted: 2/23/07 at 1:49am

Fiddler does have racial musts...Ummm... I won't go into that...
Les Miz, Sweeney, Urinetown, West side story (kind of)...
What a night! I was in more laps than a napkin!
#22

re: if you know a lot about musicals...

Posted: 2/23/07 at 2:01am

"The Wiz" much as I like to pretend I can be in it, is meant to be done by African American's only...it's just an embarrasment to see a group of white people do it.

"Working" has some def. racial issues (due to time period...could be changed)

"Anyone Can Whistle," "Anything Goes," "Into the Woods," are all good options.
http://www.youtube.com/huskcharmer
#23

re: if you know a lot about musicals...

Posted: 2/23/07 at 6:07am

>> Fiddler does have racial musts...Ummm... I won't go into that

Good thing, because it would say more about you than the show. I've seen it performed a half dozen times, by everytihng from a polished Broadway cast to a mixed-race high school in Georgia, and the show supercedes any bias you might want to throw at it.

MATTRESS is an excellent choice, but 42ND STREET and CRAZY FOR YOU (and ANYTHING GOES, for that matter) are dependent on a chorus that can tap dance, which is pretty much becoming a lost art form.

WHISTLE has its own racial issues (See the first act finale, and I doubt you could rewrite the lyrics to suit).

The R&H warhorses -- CAROUSEL, OKLAHOMA, and SOUTH PACIFIC -- are all good choices, although PACIFIC needs a huge male chorus to work.
http://docandraider.com
#24

re: if you know a lot about musicals...

Posted: 2/23/07 at 7:32am

"although PACIFIC needs a huge male chorus to work"

So does HOW TO SUCCEED...
Cheyenne Jackson tickled me. AFTER ordering SoMMS a drink but NOT tickling him, and hanging out with Girly in his dressing room (where he DIDN'T tickle her) but BEFORE we got married. To others. And then he tweeted Boobs. He also tweeted he's good friends with some chick on "The Voice" who just happens to be good friends with Tink's ex. And I'm still married. Oh, and this just in: "Pettiness, spite, malice ....Such ugly emotions... So sad." - After Eight, talking about MEEEEEEEE!!! I'm so honored! :-)
#25

re: if you know a lot about musicals...

Posted: 2/23/07 at 10:23am

seussical.. u may think its a bit childish sounding.. but its just such an amazingly fun show. There are so many parts and you can make the ensemble as big as you want. It's so much fun to do.
"..but really who am I if i'm not who I am? So I threw up my hands and said f*** it! If I can't fit into your mold I'm gunna break it and make a new one." -shoshana bean

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