|
One of my favorite characters from all of musical theatre is Bloody Mary from South Pacific. What's interesting about that show is that many, many of the songs from it were recorded, outside the confines of the show, as 'standards'. I was raised on the Ezio Pinza/Mary Martin version, and it's still incredible. I saw Robert Goulet chew his way through the scenery once in Atlanta. Still pretty great.
That said, I'm addicted to Avenue Q. I saw it on Broadway - the book and score are both terrific. Hard to say if it'll stand the test of time, but remember, it beat Wicked for the Tony. Particular standouts for me are "It Sucks To Be Me", "The More You Ruv Someone" and "For Now".
Wicked is beautifully staged, and I love both "Popular" and "What Is This Feeling?". I'm so tired of hearing "For Good" and "Defying Gravity". Like every song from Phantom and Les Miserable, they've been ruined for me by being played to death. I actually didn't love Phantom. More specifically, I hated it. There, I said it!
I loved Drowsy Chaperone - saw that the same weekend as Avenue Q. The music is sweet and fun - and Beth Leavel in the title role was spot on. Danny Burstein as Aldolpho was great - and during that time, Man in Chair was played by Jonathan Crombie (Gilbert Blythe from Anne of Green Gables).
Now, the first show I ever saw on Broadway wasn't a musical. It was Lily Tomlin's one woman - The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe. I was 12. She was amazing. I got her autograph afterwards.
I've gotten to see some incredible theatre. I grew up in Atlanta, saw Driving Miss Daisy as a play (long before it went on Broadway), and as much as I loved the movie... that play was mindblowingly good.
__________________
Live with Heart
|