Fiddler On The Roof (1971 Soundtrack)

This is quickly becoming one of my all-time favorite CDs. I don't even know if I can describe how much I love this musical, but let's see if I can get a decent review done for you all. ;)

1. Prologue And Tradition & Main Titles - This song starts the musical off splendidly. I love every little bit that the fiddle plays (that high note at the end! :) and Tevye's narration is so funny! Sure, it's a little long, but you won't ever regret listening to it all. I don't think I can go a day now without snippets of Tradition playing through my head. If I had ten thumbs, they'd all be going up.... wow, that's a wonderful mental image. *cough*

2. Matchmaker - Tzeitel, Hodel, and Chava sing about Yente the matchmaker finding them all matchless matches. This was pretty much the only song I knew from FotR before watching the musical (if knowing the first stanza can count as "knowing" it), and it is a big favorite in our house right now. Since Tevye's daughters add up to five, the exact same number of girls in *my* family, my dad thinks that his daughters need to learn this song to sing together. *grins*

3. If I Were a Rich Man - Tevye's iconic song, and a definite favorite. I don't know what more I can say about this song, save for the fact that I laugh every time Tevye sings about his wife looking like a rich man's wife... with a proper double chin. If you haven't heard this song yet, you're totally missing out. You *must* listen to this one!

4. Sabbath Prayer - Not a huge song in the musical, but the rich and haunting melody has put it high on my favorite list. Love.

5. To Life - Lazar Wolf and Tevye have come to an agreement - the betrothal of Tevye's daughter to Lazar himself - and it's time to celebrate! "To life, to life, la'chaim!" Very fun.

6. Miracle of Miracles - Motel the tailor is a poor man, but wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles, God did what he thought was impossible. This "love" song doesn't have the feel that most love songs do, but I love it just the way it is. 

7. Tevye's Dream - How to convince your wife to agree to something you know she never will? Give her a detailed description of a pretend nightmare - that'll do the trick! This song isn't as famous as other songs from FotR, but it's still fun. My sisters and I joke that our dream role in a musical now is to play the people popping out from gravestones. "It's her husband! Fatal wedding!"

8. Wedding Procession - Instrumentals only, but still awesome. This is (one of) my younger sister's favorite songs, and she asks us to play it constantly so she can dance to it.

9. Sunrise, Sunset - One of the most popular songs from FotR, and it is by no means less popular in our house. It's pensive, beautiful, melancholy, serene, rich, etc. etc. Highly recommend. :)

10. Wedding Celebration/The Bottle Dance - Personally, this is probably one of the least-listened-to songs on this soundtrack for me. Although the music for the celebration and dance is really pretty, it's not as epic as the songs with words. Good, but not an absolute favorite, in my opinion. The bottle dance is cool to watch, but of course, you can't do that with a CD. 

11. First Act Finale - A rather dramatic instrumental piece that ends the first half of the musical. Despite the wedding just taking place, we learn that peaceful times are not in store for Tevye and his family. It's a powerful scene to watch, but not particularly a favorite just to listen to.

12. Entr'acte - Epic. It's a minute and forty-nine seconds of all the big songs from the first half. Who can't love entr'actes?

13. Do You Love Me? - "Golde, I'm asking you a question!" The lyrics in this song are sweet, but for some reason, they always make me laugh. "You're upset, you're worn down! Go inside, go lie down!" Tevye and Golde have been married for twenty-five years after their parents arranged the match. They first met on their wedding day, and yet, they learn that after twenty-five years, they really do love each other.

14. Far From the Home I Love - This is a sweet song sung by the second daughter, Hodel, as she's leaving to go meet her fiancee in Russia. Tevye doesn't want to give up his children, and the relationship he has with his daughters is so touching. Hodel doesn't have a particularly strong voice, but this song is still one of my favorites.

15. Chava Ballet Scene - "Little Chavala..." this is probably the prettiest scene in the movie to watch. And I'm a little disappointed because my DVD doesn't have the whole song. It cuts straight from Tzeitel being carried away to Chava. They skip all of Hodel in the middle. As second daughter, I shake my head. Anyway, the song is still beautiful, sung by Tevye as he contemplates the different paths his daughters have taken.

16. The Rejection Scene - If I were to pick a least favorite track on this CD, this would be it. It's a powerful scene between Tevye and Chava, so I can't complain, but there's no singing. The raw emotion they poured into this really is... wow, but I'd rather watch the scene than just hear it.

17. Anatevka - "Underfed, overworked Anatevka." What's so nice about a little bit of this or a little bit of that? Forced to leave their homes, the Jews sing about what they're leaving behind. Which... amounts to nothing much. I consider this the saddest song in the musical as Motel says to the Rabbi in the beginning of the track, "We've been waiting all our lives for Messiah. Wouldn't now be a good time to come?" But that's real! The Jews have no idea that He came, He died, He saved them, and He rose again, and they His own people! Truthfully, it breaks my heart.

18. Finale - A five star finish! What starts out as the familiar violin solo soon turns out in a full orchestra commemorating the opening melody from the musical. "TRADITION!"

19. Any Day Now - This is a deleted song from the film. I'm sad it didn't make the final cut, because this is one of my favorites! Yes, I tend to have a lot of favorites when it comes to FotR. *sheepish grin* This tune is catchy, and the words are so hopeful. Love.

By the way... just something interesting to note: while Jerry Bock was the man behind writing the musical, John Williams was the composer who put everything together for the film. I find it funny that the man we know for action films like Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and War Horse also worked on musicals. *grins* 

I have a feeling I should wait to post this until tomorrow, but I don't want to wait. Besides, it's only fitting that I should post a review of one of my absobloominglutely favorite CDs on my birthday. Yes, I'm justifying this.

God bless!

Peter Pan (Original Cast Soundtrack)

To be honest, I have had zero inspiration for blog posts these last couple of weeks. My mind has been so stuck in Secret of the Hazel Tree that every time I have free time to waste on the computer, I'm researching for the story or writing it. But... I'm reaching a compromise with myself. Since I have no ambitions for great posts at the moment, I will be making myself write up reviews to all the millions of musicals I've been listening to lately. There are some real gems out there, folks! And the sad thing is... most of them are going unnoticed by the greater crowd. 

So... first on the list, the musical that delighted me while I washed the dishes this morning: 

Peter Pan (Original Cast Soundtrack)

1. Medley: Opening Titles/Tender Shepherd - This song starts the musical out with a glorious overture full of tunes that immediately stick in your head. Mrs. Darling says good-night to her young children, and the narrator warns of a certain Peter Pan who is coming after the parents leave the house. The Tender Shepherd song is a lullaby-like song, soft and beautiful.

2. I Gotta Crow - Once you get past the odd fact that Peter Pan is played by a girl (Cathy Rigby in this soundtrack, but she does a rather good job of playing the all-famous Pan), this is a fun song. Peter sings of himself and all his cleverness, boasting his accomplishments, and all in all being very proud of his shadow. Definitely one of my favorites.

3. Neverland - "Peter, where do you live?" This song is really pretty and another favorite; Cathy Peter sings of Neverland, showing Wendy all the wonders of the island.

4. I'm Flying - Peter teaches Wendy, John, and Michael how to fly. Michael's "CANDY!" always makes me laugh during this song, and the lyrics are spot-on. You can imagine just what is going on without even seeing anything. "You try, and you'll fall flat on your face. I told you, Wendy." But visuals are always fun, so here you are.

5. Medley: Opening Act Two/Hook's Tango - "The lost boys were out looking for Peter, the pirates were out looking for the lost boys, and the Indians were out looking for the pirates." The narrator says this straight out of the book. Don't you just love it when adaptations do that? :) Hook's Tango introduces us to the villainous Captain Hook and his despicable crew, and in a fun, Carmen-like ballad, Hook tells of his plan to kill the lost boys. 

6. Indian Dance - Look out! It's Tiger Lily and the Indians! This song is mostly instrumental as the Indians go on the warpath, with a few cries and chants thrown in. In my personal opinion, Jules Styne did a great job of capturing the different elements of the island in this musical, because this song sounds very Indian.

7. Wendy - Peter and the lost boys want Wendy to stay to be their mother, so they build her a house to live in. "Peter, wait! We forgot the chimney!" Very fun.

8. I Won't Grow Up - How could it be a Peter Pan musical without the famous opinion that Peter thrives on? This is one of those catchy tunes, and even if you do want to grow up, it's hard not to sing along with Peter and the lost boys. And poor John fails epically in trying to fix Peter's grammar. "I won't grow up! Not me!" "Not I!" "Not me!" :)

9. Hook's Tarantella - Hook had a tango before, and now he requests a tarantella. This song is short, but it's got one of the best moments in the musical. Just listen to it, and once you get to the pirates', "To the ship! To the ship!" you'll know what I mean.

10. Ugh-A-Wug - Another Indian song, with lots of drums and hardly any lyrics. Not that that's a bad thing, but it's nice to have lots of lyrics to sing along to. While I'm still not sure what "ugh-a-wug" means, the lost boys and the Indians make peace during this song. ;)

11. Distant Melody - Another one of my favorites, a duet between Peter Pan and Wendy as they recall the mothers they left behind on the mainland. 

12. Farewell - The above video is 8 minutes long, and it includes Distant Melody and Farewell. I couldn't find another video of Cathy Rigby singing, so I had to go with the long video. Wendy and her brothers want to go home, and the lost boys wish to accompany them. Yet, Peter cannot leave Neverland. 

13. Hook's Waltz - Not many villains get to choose their own songs, but Hook is no ordinary villain. He's the slimiest rat in the pack, the unlovable, the one who would stoop to the lowest of tricks in the book, the creepiest creep in the world... yes, him. Captain Hook. And this is his song. He's in his element, you know.

14. I Gotta Crow (Reprise) - Peter takes down Captain Hook, and now everyone sings his glory. They all love him, and they all clamour for him to teach them how to crow. After all, can anyone not admire Peter Pan?

15. Finale - Wendy brings her company (i.e. brothers and lost boys) back to her house as Mrs. Darling breaks into a reprise of Tender Shepherd. Mr. Darling sets a few ground rules for his new children, and they're all happy to grow up together (reprise of I Won't Grow Up sung as I'm Going to Grow Up). Peter promises to come back for Wendy, and mistakenly does so when she's all grown up. When Wendy tells him she's forgotten how to fly, her daughter Jane takes her place to go to Neverland with Peter. Peter belts out one last reprise (Neverland) as he and Jane fly off towards the second star to the right.

16. Medley: Bows/End Titles - And here we are, suddenly at the end. How to describe the end titles except a fantastic conglomeration of all the wonderful songs from the musical that make you wish they were the opening titles all over again? 

And that's it! A five-star soundtrack all around! This is quickly becoming one of my favorite musicals, and I hope you enjoy it, too!

God bless!

"Except One Uncle Who... Well, Maybe Let That Pass."

It was my intention this week for Amy's Celebrate Musicals Week that I swarm the world of blogger with wondrous posts about BatB. However, seeing as I don't like to fangirl nor do I consider myself a great author of inspiring posts, time slipped away before I realized it, and here we are at the end, and I have only four posts up to show for it. 

But! Never fear! I am finding time for one last post. I had wanted to post a BatB Dream Cast, along with a comparison of the Original Broadway Cast (which shall henceforth be referred to as OBC because I don't feel like typing it all out) with the London Cast (likewise, LC). I wanted to incorporate the Australian Cast in this as well, but I regret to announce that I have heard only select songs from that performance. For the point of haste, I'm going to combine the two posts into one, smash all my paragraphs together, and then only spend time on those things that I like. (Bonus points to anyone who read that in Emma's voice.)

Now that I think of it, I probably should have saved Gaston's "You've been dreaming just one dream" line for this post. But we mustn't cry over spilled milk. Besides, the above that I used for this post's title is one of my favorite sung lines in the BatB musical, so I must use it somewhere during the week. And it works for today's post.

Anywho...

I never thought much about dream casts until just recently because it was until just recently that I was content to leave musicals as they were. Granted, I did have more or less favorite songs based on what the singers sounded like, but I really wasn't partial to one singer over another. Yet, now I've been learning to appreciate the singer as well as the song. I know a good voice when I hear one, and it's always a pleasure to have one's favorite songs sung by those who actually know how to sing. Did I say that out loud *coughNJinHeartFullOfLovecough*? 

So, whom do I wish to play whom? (That sound awkward to anyone else?) 

I mentioned in Amy's tag that I posted on Tuesday that I thought Aaron Tveit would make a good Beast and the more I think on it, the greater I like the idea. I've only ever heard him sing in the 2012 Les Mis, but he did an incredible job in that! Seeing him portray Enjolras, could give some seriousness to the character of the Beast, and at the same time be able to pull of his gruffness and his anger, but yet his hopefulness and his love.

I like Terrence Mann's (OBC) and Alasdair Harvey's (LC) voices well enough for the Beast, but there are parts where they annoy me and make me think that they're poking fun at the role. In the Something There segment, for example, both of them turn the Beast into an almost comical role when giving Belle the library and again when she asks for a second chance at dinner with him. Since when is the Beast comical?? I realize that is part of the musical, but I don't like it. The Beast is a man (if we can call him that in such a physical state) who suffers the consequences of his rash anger. He has a temper, but as he spends more time with Belle, he learns to soften and love. That's not a comical character, peoples. That's growth, something never to be laughed at. At least, not in a hilarious aspect. 

Wow, some comparison, Kiri, criticizing both men who played the Beast. Truthfully, I don't think I could choose between Terrence Mann and Alasdair Harvey, even though I disliked them both for making me want to laugh at the Beast. Terrence truly captured the Beast's sadness when he sang, but Alasdair, I felt, lent a little more hopefulness to the role. So, readers, you get to decide between the two. I cannot.

Whom for Belle? Whom for Belle? This one I've struggled with for a while, not exactly sure whom to choose, one because I'm extremely picky, two because I really cannot pinpoint that many Broadway singers. So, I'll have to settle for Laura Osnes. She has the spunky personality that Belle exhibits, and she's got an A-class voice, too. I've just been listening to snippets of her singing from Cinderella on Hayden's blog (so, Hayden, if you're reading this, thank you for posting your Cinderella sampler), and the more I hear of her, the more I like. 

She sounds similiar to Julie-Alanah Brighten who sings Belle in the LC, as both have a softer quality to their voices. Susan Egan from the OBC is usually pinpointed for her role in BatB, but I'm not a huge fan of her. Never have been, suspect I never will. Belle is a young woman, yearning for adventure, ready to make friends who will stay by her side, and I felt that Susan Egan didn't get that across. Sure, Belle is different from everyone else in her town, but she didn't have an ego. Not like Gaston. But I digress. Julie Brighten captured more of of the true Belle, even though it made me laugh to hear her sing certain lines. British singers, folks, singing an American musical set in France! Is this a international musical, or what? 

As soon as I told myself to post a BatB Dream Cast, my mind settled on one person to play the part of Gaston, and I haven't been able to talk myself out of it. So, I present his name here to you for your consideration. Ramin Karimloo. Wouldn't he make a great Gaston? He's got the deep voice, and he played the part of the Phantom in PotO, so I think he'd make a great villain. Just give him a gun, some of those "nobody-clomps-around-wearing-these-like-Gaston" boots, and he'd be good to go!

Burke Moses played Gaston in both the OBC AND the LC, so it hardly seems fair to compare him to himself. However, I can compare him to another Gaston. In the Australian cast, Hugh Jackman himself played the part of Gaston and, although I'm still having trouble getting my brain to process Jean Valjean being the bad guy in a red tunic and a ponytail, he did an admirable job. He gives a liveliness to Gaston that no other Gaston had given the role before, however, I'm not totally pleased with his vocals. He's a bit softer than I'd imagine Gaston to be, and he lacks a power behind his voice. Burke Moses, on the other hand, definitely captured the power of Gaston in his performance, so I'd have to pick him over the bread-thief-turned-French-villain. Or would that be the other way around?

Well, that's the last of the Dream Cast that I can think up at the moment, so the rest will be quick comparisons, for I fear time is escaping and I still have to publish this post. 

Lumiere is probably my favorite character in BatB, just because I love characters who can make me laugh. Gary Beach sang as the candelabra in the OBC, and Derek Griffiths took the role in the LC. To keep this simple, I prefer Derek because Gary sounds like he's trying to force a song over that rock he calls a tongue.

Cogsworth, another worthy person Enchanted Object of fame, is another great character for fun, even when he does not want to be. Actually, Cogsworth doesn't have a large singing portion in the musical (being too busy to get the castle to obey him, no doubt), so you don't hear much of Barry James's (LC) and Heath Lambert's (OBC) voices. They sound very similar to me, so I don't think I can decipher between the two.

Mrs. Potts. Well, who dares to follow in the great footsteps of Angela Lansbury who gave the character the iconic voice in the 1991 Disney film? Beth Fowler (OBC) and Mary Millar (LC), that's who. And of the two, I'm more inclined toward Beth Fowler's performance, liking the motherly way she acts toward Belle, and she does a marvelous job in the song. So, there.

Okay, are we done? *looks back over what's written* Looks good, peoples. So, now I say good-bye and...

God bless!

P.S. I apologize for the lack of pictures in this post, but my internet and my blog have banded against me in making it a year and a day to upload pictures to one of my posts. It's a pain, and I'm working on the problem, but for now, you'll have to content yourself with much-worded blog posts on Lianne Taimenlore.

"And We Provide The Rest..."

Yesterday, Amy posted a video of The Phantom of the Opera in ten minutes, and if you haven't seen it, you should. Link here. Go watch it. Now.

Seen it? Insert Mr. Bennet's "Excellent." Moving on...

I was greatly inspired to search out BatB videos of my own to share with you all, so off to the depths of youtube I traveled (okay, it wasn't that deep of a search, but it's a scary place, I'm sure you'll agree). Guess what, peoples? I found a BatB in ten minutes. Granted, it's not nearly as funny as PotO in ten or even P&P in ten (which Amy posted a while ago on Sink Me!), but it's pretty spiffy. Please enjoy.

And then I couldn't stop there, so let's add a few more videos, just because, okey dokey?

I usually skip the first minute of this just because the triplets are so annoying, so feel free to start at about 1:00 or so. 1:01 works, too. This has got to be one of the best renditions of "Me" that I have seen! I love the choreography and how perfectly Gaston and Belle play off one another. Her little pointing off into the distance to distract Gaston and then trying to flee behind his back makes me crack up every time! Just to give credit where credit is due, this video is from a school's (it's only listed as SCA, so I apologize for not knowing the name) 2009 production of BatB, featuring Kaden Forsberg as Gaston and Stephanie Pennar as Belle.

This is snippets from the 1994 Original Broadway Cast starring Susan Egan and Terrence Mann as Belle and the Beast (two persons that I'm certain you recognize by now if you've read any of my previous posts). Gaston is played by Burke Moses, Lumiere by Gary Beach, and Mrs. Potts by Beth Fowler. I apologize for the poor quality of the video, but I had a hard time finding just Be Our Guest from the 1994 cast, so we're settling for this just because I wanted to include something from Be Our Guest in this post and I felt like slipping in the movie clip was cheating because it's not technically part of *the* musical. 

Also from the 1994 cast and sung by Susan Egan and Tom Bosley, one of my favorite songs: No Matter What. I am disappointed that this version doesn't include the intro to the song where Maurice sings, "No, we're not odd, it's true. No family could be saner, except one uncle who, well... maybe let that pass. In all you say and do, you couldn't make it plainer. You are your mother's daughter, therefore you are class." You don't get the deepness of the relationship between father and daughter in the 1991 Disney movie because they put most of the focus on Belle's relationship with the Beast, but I love how they gave Maurice those extra scenes in the musical. That's when you start to fully understand why Maurice was so intent on achieving fame with his invention and why Belle willingly offered herself in exchange when the Beast had Maurice locked up. A strong family that sings together... what's not to like?

God bless!

"You've Been Dreaming Just One Dream..."

And now, my answers to the tag Amy posted that I promised you yesterday... 

*ahem* 

1.  What musical did you pick to "spotlight" this week and why? Beauty and the Beast; and if you'd like to know why, please read THIS post. I think I covered all the basics there.

2.  How did you discover the musical you picked (hereinafter referred to as "your musical")? I was first introduced to Beauty and the Beast at a very young age by watching the Disney film, and I instantly loved it. But it wasn't until about a year or two ago that I was searching BatB (abbreviated for my convenience) songs on Youtube and discovered a video containing clips from the movie during Gaston's proposal put to a song called Me. After listening to it only once, I was hooked. It was that awesome. From there, I found out that BatB had been turned into a full-fledged musical a few years after the film had been released, so I looked up the cast recording on Amazon and listened to all the 30 second snippets the site allowed. And now I have the entire CD on my computer. And yes, the snippet I have for my title is from Me. *grin*

3.  If you had to pick three favorite songs from your musical, which ones would they be? Definitely Me would fall first on that list, followed then by....hmm... so many, so many... No Matter What and Home. All three of those songs aren't in the animated Disney film, but they're all beautiful.

4.  What's your least favorite song from your musical? Hmm... the first one coming to mind is Prologue where the narrator tells the backstory of the Beast (a.k.a. Prince Adam). It's not really that I *don't* like it, but there are more songs that I prefer due to containing singing rather than just talking.

5.  Who are your favorite characters (choose up to three)? Lumiere, Clogsworth, and Belle. The first two because they're so hilarious together, and then of course, we couldn't leave out the main character.

6.  Which versions of your musical have you seen/listened to, and which is your favorite? Actually, I've never *seen* any adaption of the musical other than the 1991 Disney film, but I've got that basically memorized, and I've done loads of research on the Broadway musical so I think I've got some right to boast. The most popular version is the Original Broadway cast which ran in 1994, featuring Susan Egan and Terrence Mann as the lead roles.The other big recording in the 1997 London Cast recording with Julie-Alanah Brighten as Belle and Alasdair Harvey playing the Beast, but I have yet to listen to all of that recording. The funny thing is that both those casts had Burke Moses playing Gaston! 
As for my favorite, I'd have say that although I love the extra songs in the musical, that position would fall to the actual animated movie. Paige O'Hara and Robby Benson pretty much captured the iconic Belle and Beast voices, and I love listening to them sing.

7.   Is this your favorite musical of all time?  If not, what is? Nope, it's not. But I can't tell you which one is. Why? Because I have too many favorites! I don't think there is actually just one that sticks out and stands above all the others. Besides BatB, I love Cinderella, Les Mis, My Fair Lady, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Singin' in the Rain, The Happiest Millionaire, etc. etc.

8.   Which cast album/musical soundtrack in your collection do you listen to the most? Truthfully? I think that's actually been Alan Menken's The Little Mermaid featuring the Original Broadway Cast with Sierra Boggess and Sean Palmer. At least, the most I've listened to recently. I don't endorse that story, nor do I recommend *all* the songs from that recording (I think I have barely over half of the tracks in my Media Player), but Alan Menken composes such beautiful songs! Part of Your World, Her Voice, One Step Closer, and If Only are my favorites and probably the ones I've played the most from that recording.

9.   What is your favorite costume from your musical? No contest there! Belle's blue dress!

Belle from the Broadway tour

 

10.  If you could change anything about your musical, what would you change? Probably the fact that there's kissing on-stage and also a few low costumes. Other than that, I'm good!

11.  Which role(s) would you most like to play in any musical, if you had the opportunity to do so on stage? So many choices! Actually, I learned not too long ago that they're turning one of my favorite animated movies into a musical: Anastasia. 20th Century Fox made this film back in 1997, and again, while I don't whole-heartedly endorse it, it's a beautiful musical, and the two songs Anastasia sings (Journey to the Past and Once Upon a December) are absolutely beautiful, and I'd love to sing those on-stage! However, I don't know what other songs Anastasia would be required to sing, so I can't say that she's my biggest dream role. 
Eponine from Les Mis is more my voice range because I sing better lower than higher, but other roles I fancy include Meg from The Phantom of the Opera, the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz (what? we said dream roles, didn't we?), Belle from BatB (duh!), Eliza in My Fair Lady... pretty much any role that wouldn't require me to do something I consider wrong (kissing, swearing, immodesty) just because I love acting and singing. However, I will say that roles such as Christine from PotO and Cosette from Les Mis would be less desirable because I don't like those high notes, mostly because I cannot hit them.

12.  If you could choose one performer to play any part in your musical, who would you choose and which part would you have them play? Haven't given them much thought... it would be interesting to see Aaron Tveit play the Beast; he's a great singer and I'd love to hear him do If I Can't Love Her. By the way, does anyone know anything more about Aaron Tveit singing the part of Dmitri in the Broadway Anastasia that I mentioned above? I know he read for the part, but I haven't heard anything else since.

13.  Do you consider yourself a musical theatre fan in general or do you just like a few musicals? "In general" doesn't even cover it. If it's a musical with good music, I'll love it. I have a bunch of favorite musicals, I have many more favorite songs, I.. yeah. I can be picky with absolute favorites, but music is an occupational hazard.

14.  Are you tired of the word "musical" yet? Never. How could you even suggest that?!

15.  Turn your music playing device on shuffle (or utilize Pandora if you don't have one) and tell us the names of the first three show tunes that come up-- no cheating!  How do these rank on your favorites/most-listened-to list? Who Am I? from Les Mis, A Bit of Earth (Reprise) from The Secret Garden, and I Whistle a Happy Tune from The King and I.  
Who Am I is from the 2012 film and is sung by Hugh Jackman; I don't have this song memorized yet, so it's not the best Les Mis song, in my opinion, but I do enjoy hearing Hugh Jackman sing this. The conflict he fights with himself is so... wow. It's not every day that someone can put that much emotion into a song. Definitely part of my most-listened-to list.
A Bit of Earth (Reprise)... well, I quite forgot about that musical. I heard someone sing A Bit of Earth and couldn't help thinking, "Wow! That sounds like it should belong in The Secret Garden!" So, I looked it up, and guess what? It's from the Broadway musical, The Secret Garden! The reprise is barely a minute long, but it is very nice to listen to. Good, but not an absolute favorite.
And finally... I Whistle a Happy Tune my family says is my motto. I am constantly whistling, and yes, I think I'd break into whistling to prove I wasn't scared. Marni Nixon sings this song from the film, and I will admit that this is probably one of my two favorite tracks from The King and I. The other is Shall We Dance? This song ranked? Favorite.

God bless!

"Tale As Old As Time..."

When Amy of Yet Another Period Drama Blog announced that she would be hosting a Celebrate Musicals Week, I immediately knew that I had to join in the fun. After all, music is an occupational hazard in my family, so how could I not? 

But the tigers come at night, and Amy then dashed my bubble of happiness by saying that we had to pick one musical. ONE, peoples. Read it: ONE.

Which one, which one, which one?

The most popular musical right now ~ Les Mis. I do love that one. Oh, but there are songs I skip, and some swearing, and I wouldn't count myself a big enough fan to do it credit.

Ummm... Cinderella. That's a big one! Beautiful music, too! Yet... I don't know all the songs, and I only have 3 total from the musical on my computer. Nuts.

The Sound of Music. The basic, everyone-knows-it musical. Every song memorized, and I even saw this one onstage (which, even though it was only a local highschool, was amazing). But I don't know if I'd classify this one as my absolute favorite.

Mary Poppins! Who doesn't love Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious? Bother, I don't know that much about the actual musical. My big Mary Poppins experience is mostly with the Julie Andrews film, other than knowing a few Broadway songs.

Oklahoma... very fun, but I'm not a cowboy.

The Little Mermaid... love most of the music, but again, songs to skip, swearing, and on the whole, I really don't endorse that story.

The Phantom of the Opera... the musical everyone has heard of due to music in the night and asking of you only one lifetime, but again, not a favorite. *huff* I annoy myself with my pickiness. And yes, spellchecker, I'm making "pickiness" a word.

Newsies has a great story, but some songs... ehh... that and the Broadway musical isn't that familiar to me.

My Fair Lady... very familiar as I sing these songs almost on a regular basis, but...

Seven Brides For Seven Brothers. Amazing musical! Definitely a favorite! Yet, there could be a better one...

Annie Get Your Gun is absolutely hilarious! I just discovered this one, so again, not a big enough expert to do it justice.

Oliver!, Meet Me In St. Louis, Singin' In The Rain, The King and I, The Music Man, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Wizard of Oz.... none of them really stood out to me as MY musical. Amy, I must say, you really threw me a curveball. I was up a tree with a creek and got stuck on a limb without a paddle. Or something like that. So, I opened up my Media Player and browsed through the musicals I have downloaded onto my computer. Surely I could find something.

And then I found it. And if you know anything about musicals and how to identify them by snippets of songs (such as I used for the title of this post), then you probably already know which one I chose. Pat yourself on the back and have some virtual gingerbread, courtesy of me.

My dear readers, I'm doing...

Beauty and the Beast

So, why Beauty and the Beast? For as long as I can recall, Belle has been my favorite Disney princess (replaced only recently by the long-haired, blonde Rapunzel), so it was natural for me to run around the house singing "Be Our Guest" at the top of my lungs. Belle wears a blue dress, a lovely shade which happens to be my favorite color, and she is extremely fond of books. Helllo, don't most of us love her for only that reason? 

Yet, the story of Beauty and the Beast is unlike most fairy tales, a fact which I am most appreciative of. For instance, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty both are, in the original tales, woken with a kiss and instantly marry their kisser, or, in the famous Disney film adaptions, fall in love with a prince after a single, romantic song. In all cases, their marriage was based on love at first physical appearance, something that drives me batty. Note: I'm not saying I don't believe in love at first sight, but I do think it's wrong to base an entire lifetime on a single meeting with someone whom you believe has awesome looks. Granted, it is a fairy tale, and I do like to believe in the impossible and suspend my disbelief, but let's keep some reality in here, people, please.

But Beauty and the Beast was different. Disney actually took the time to develop Belle's character, one of their first female characters who was actually real. She had hopes and dreams, and she wasn't afraid to learn how to change. If we stuck Belle in Snow White's place, she'd have fallen in love with the first handsome singer and would have ended the movie in fifteen minutes married to Gaston. Instead, she determined that she would be looking for a friend not a lover, and waiting for the adventure that life would bring. Sure, she doesn't seem very patient about it, a trait with which she is flawed and grows from, but she knows that while she is a woman and meant to be a wife someday, she's not wasting her time moping at the lack of suitable husbands. I would say potential there, but Gaston was stalking her in her hometown, so there wasn't a lack of potential.

And then when Belle went to the castle to take her father's place (I'm assuming here that we all know the basic storyline of Beauty and the Beast so I won't give you a play-by-play commentary on the plot), she was frightened, but she loved her father so much that she was willing, pretty much, to give her own life so that her father, the only family she had in the world, to go free. It was more important to her that the ones (or one) that she loved most were well than for her to look after her own interests. Yet, the time in the castle proved to be most interesting with dinner and a show, a snowball fight, and a whole bunch of other fun and lighthearted stuff that one would never expect in a dark, gargoyle-guarded castle. For it was here that she learned to love for more than physical appearance. Belle fell in love with the Beast (who, if you didn't know, is really named Adam... Prince Adam; you're welcome, that was free) because of his character rather than his bulging muscles and dashing brow. The Beast saved her life, he was gentle with the most delicate of creatures, he was eager to ascertain that she was happy and well-taken care of, all of which was a lot more than boisterous, random-people-knocking-out Gaston ever did. 

I could go on and on about this, as I'm sure you all should know by know, but I won't prolong things and make this post an epistle. Certainly by now all of you should be tapping your computer screens and saying, "Uh, Kiri? This is Celebrate MUSICALS Week, not Celebrate MOVIE week. Why are you still talking about the movie?" Elementary, my dear Watson. Beauty and the Beast: The Broadway Musical was based on, inspired by, named after Beauty and the Beast, the 1991 Disney film adaption. If you noticed, most of the songs, in fact, I believe ALL of the songs in the movie are present in the musical. For the most part, the storyline of the musical is the same as the movie's, with only a few minor differences, as well as seven new songs, songs that I will discuss in a later post. However, the point of this post here was to establish my love of musicals, my gratitude to Amy for hosting such a fun celebration, pinpoint my own musical, state the reasons why it was my favorite, and move on. I think I did all that, so...

God bless!

P.S. Yes, I do realize that most posts today concerning this great event will be answers to the tag Amy posted earlier, but I wrote this before and wanted to post it as my introductory to the week. I have no further explanation to give. Don't worry; you'll see the tag popping up later on Lianne Taimenlore.