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Musicals

Sindatur

Regular
Is this appropriate forum, since it's movies, or should it be down below?

Got Cats for the Weekend, never seen any versions of it, just wondering if anyone can suggest a particular frame of mind to watch it in to get the most enjoyment out of it.

Also, have Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Don't know a thing about it, aside from it's Andrew Lloyd Webber also, and it's supposed to be good.

Anyone seen either one?
 
Have not seen those two, but I've seen quite a few musicals. Just keep in mind that they're meant to be seen on Broadway, on a strage where things are always larger than life.

There's a huge difference between a movie adaptation (or a taped broadway show like Cats) and seeing it live. It may come across as a little hokey on the television, as some of that excitement of seeing a "live show" is not there.

I would just consider them fun and entertaining and not look for much beyond that. The older musicals transfer better to the television, imho: West Side Story, The Music Man, My Fair Lady. Nowadays, the more modern musicals are far more sophisticated and have the uber "special effects," and as I said, it's always better to see in person so you can be wow'ed.

All of this said, I'd still watch both of the ones you have now, but I think I'd have to be in a pretty open / upbeat frame of mind, else the grand gesture of it all may feel a little strained. :)
 
Watched Cats and thoroughly enjoyed it on individual levels. The singing was great, the costumes and makeup, the characterization of the different breeds, and the acting like cats were all fantastic, but, I still have no idea if there was a plot LOL.

Wow, 18 views, and only one reply (Thanks Alluveal), is it possible I out-geeked the board?
 
What a wild coincidence: about a week ago I saw Joseph and the ATD. :cool:

I liked it a lot, despite the fact that Donny Osmond stars in it. :LOL: I've never seen a musical that has this much variety in the musical numbers.
 
Hypatia: HAHAHA on the icon pic.. that kitty is CUTE!

And now I'm really wanting to see CATS. I like that song, Memories.
 
Started Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, but, wasn't in the right mood for it, so only watched a couple songs.
 
It's different. :) And yea, you'll have to be in the mood for it, that's for certain.

Thanks, Alluveal. I shall let her know that she was, yet again, adored by someone on the internet. :)
 
Got Cats for the Weekend, never seen any versions of it, just wondering if anyone can suggest a particular frame of mind to watch it in to get the most enjoyment out of it.

Asleep.
(This extremely snobbish, culturally arrogant response brought to you by a born 'n' raised New Yorker, who's solemn duty it is to hate Andrew Lloyd Weber).


Then again, the only musical movies I like are The Blues Brothers and This Is Spinal Tap, so don't mind me...

s it possible I out-geeked the board?

I can't imagine a big intersection of sci-fi and musical fans.
 
I can't imagine a big intersection of sci-fi and musical fans.

Why not? God knows I'm a big fan of both.

I've never heard of "Into the Woods" before. :)

I'll have to check that out one day. At this point I think I've seen most Hollywood musicals. Other than "Cats". That soundtrack doesn't thrill me. Although hearing "Memories" would be cool, that is a nice song.

I like some attempt at a vague plot in my musicals. :)

I guess that's why "All that Jazz" also disappointed me a bit.

"Cabaret" is my current favorite, I think. Maybe "Chicago" as second. Although you have to put "Fiddler on the Roof" in there up high somewhere, too.

Although I've always wondered what "Fiddler" would have been like if they'd cast the man who played it on the stage: Zero Mostel, IIRC.

I"ve never heard him sing. :)
 
I can't imagine a big intersection of sci-fi and musical fans.

Why not? God knows I'm a big fan of both.
Nothing says that a person can't be a fan of both. I like both as well. However, in terms of percentages, the dominant demographics are different, so there figures to be some limit to the intersection of the two sets. It's not like "watches football" and "drinks beer".


I've never heard of "Into the Woods" before. :)

I'll have to check that out one day. At this point I think I've seen most Hollywood musicals.
Hollywood hasn't done Into the Woods yet. The Broadway production that AdmDave mentioned having taped is available on DVD. You might consider putting it on your Netflix queue.

It's a lot of fun. It stitches together several very familar fairy tales (and one new one) into one crossover universe. The thing is, the "happily ever after" point that we all remember happens at the end of the first act (intermission), not at the end.

Other than "Cats". That soundtrack doesn't thrill me. Although hearing "Memories" would be cool, that is a nice song.

I like some attempt at a vague plot in my musicals. :)

I guess that's why "All that Jazz" also disappointed me a bit.
To my knowledge, Hollywood hasn't attempted Cats, either. I have never gotten around to seeing Cats.

I did really like All That jazz, though. It is basically a character study, but there is an arc involved for that central character. It never struck me as being a plot-free movie.

You must have hated A Chorus Line. Now, *that* had no plot. Of course, I still loved it. That is, I loved the stage version when I saw a national touring company perform it way back when (circa 1980). The movie version, on the other hand, I dispised. I suspect that I would have thought it was OK if I hadn't seen the stage version first. However, the movie destroyed everything that was great about the original, aside from some of the music. Even with the music that they kept, though, there were cases where really screwed it up. I hated that they completely changed the context of the song "What I Did for Love" so that it meant something *completely* different in the movie than it had on stage.



Although I've always wondered what "Fiddler" would have been like if they'd cast the man who played it on the stage: Zero Mostel, IIRC.

I"ve never heard him sing. :)
Mostel, particularly with the greater intimacy of film, would have come off much more comically over-the-top. It would have played much more as a farce. I'm sure that Mostel was wonderful on Broadway. However, for maximizing the emotional and intellectual complexity, and for bringing home the more painful and tragic elements of Fiddler, I think that Jewison made the right call in going with Topol over Mostel in the movie.

If you want to see Zero Mostel in a major motion picture musical (adapted from Broadway), check out A Funny thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. It's fun, assuming that you like farce (and I know some people who don't). It won't be everybody's sense of humor ...... picture It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World as a musical set in ancient Rome and you're getting in the ballpark of the basic tone (and, of course, Phil Silvers is in both of them).


Oh, and as for the other musical asked about in the original post: I've seen Joseph performed in community theater, but not professionally.
 
I saw an item on 60 Minutes last night for the Eric Idle musical Spamalot . That looks that it might be a musical worth seeing - not that I've ever seen one.
 
I saw an item on 60 Minutes last night for the Eric Idle musical Spamalot . That looks that it might be a musical worth seeing - not that I've ever seen one.

Yeah I've been meaning to go.
 
The good thing about geeks is that we like whatever we darn well please and to heck with the rest of the world. That's what makes us so cute!
 

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