theatre
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Singin’ In The Rain (1983)
Hmmm. A prime example of how casual shoppers (or in my case, completist library browsers) can end up with a sub-par product: it turns out that VPL and therefore now I have the 1984 London cast recording of this show, which is short (13 tracks including the overture) and which for no obvious reason includes Continue reading
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Some Like It Hot / Sugar (1972)
So yeah, this was turned into a musical in 1972 but its name was changed to “Sugar”. And now I’ve listened to the 1992 West End revival, where they changed the name back. Did I tell you I don’t like Tommy Steele? He’s in… this too. The songs are by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill. Continue reading
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Songs For A New World (1995)
You ought to know Jason Robert Brown’s name by now; his major shows include this, “Parade”, “The Last 5 Years”, and “13”, and he’s also banged out a very good solo album, “Wearing Someone Else’s Clothes”. He’s been called the new Sondheim, and certainly Sarah grimaces in pretty much the same way when someone shows Continue reading
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Songs From An Unmade Bed (2005)
This show is short – I like that – and a revue – I usually like that – and features one singer singing eighteen songs with lyrics by one guy, Mark Campbell, and music by eighteen different composers – which is interesting. The result is eighteen vignettes of single gay life in New York – Continue reading
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The Sound Of Music (1959)
1949 autobiography, 1956 Austrian movie, 1959 musical, 1965 musical movie, endless revivals since then, and right now, a 40th Anniversary two-CD soundtrack edition with bonus versions of all the songs. Argh. The plot: an Austrian governess is dispatched from the convent where she was confusing all the nuns to take care of the seven children Continue reading
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South Pacific (1949)
The perils of movie soundtracks… My head has just been compressed to the approximate size of a walnut by the singing voice of Giorgio Tozzi, the Met opera star who sang for the character of Emile. If you’ve never heard an opera star singing “Some Enchanted Evening”, with full dynamic range and directly into both Continue reading
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Spring Awakening (2006)
Hmmmm. (And avid readers will know what “Hmmmm” encodes ;-) This is based on an 1891 German play which was banned for a century because it was basically about teenagers coming of age and doing a whole bunch of cumming in the process. What could make it interesting, and presumably made it very popular – Continue reading
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Starlight Express (1984)
I honestly didn’t expect this to be a show featuring plainly gay trains. My sister often remarks, “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, said the trucks.” I’m not sure she’s ever seen this, but it could easily be a (short) review. The strangest thing about this show is the complete clash of tone between the Continue reading
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Summer Of ’42 (2001)
I really ought not to have liked this show, for the following reasons: And yet. I think that this is actually a very sweet and in-its-way-hypnotic show. My emotion warning sensor went off fairly early on, registering the slow pace and slice-of-life approach as the calm – the very, very long calm – before the Continue reading
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Sunday in the Park with George (1984)
Blimey. OK, GHM attempts to step up to the plate for this one… This is Sondheim’s 1984 collaboration with James Lapine. The first act is about Georges Seurat in 1884 painting “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” – i.e. this – http://www.fabulousmasterpieces.co.uk/userimages/seurat.JPG. The second act is set in 1984 and shows Continue reading
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Sunset Boulevard (1991)
Andrew Lloyd Webber, never one to shy from a challenge, here takes on the task of musicalising the famous and critically-acclaimed 1950 Billy Wilder movie – the one which equally famously starts with a voiceover nominally spoken by that guy floating face-down in the pool. The story is of a wealthy but ghastly former silent-movie Continue reading
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Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street (1979)
So in contrast to “Sunset Boulevard”, which probably thought it was tackling some heavyweight nasty characters, here’s what happens when Stephen Sondheim puts his talents to use in service of a strong thriller plot. Of course, being Sondheim, it’s not that simple, but happily the complex aspects are all positive ones. GHM is going to Continue reading
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Sweet Charity (1966)
A short and sweet review, this one. The show description doesn’t sound very interesting, and from the soundtrack this doesn’t sound like it’s greatly special; it generated a few hits, including “If My Friends Could See Me Now”, “Big Spender” and “Rhythm Of Life”, but my pick from the soundtrack is “My Personal Property”. Warning: Continue reading
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Swing! (1999)
Description here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swing! I’m mildly offended that this received nominations for Best Musical. I know this is slightly like arguing for subgenres and classification, because that works so well when you’re trying to find what you’re looking for, and I also suppose that if you were real good at keeping a straight face, you could Continue reading
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Tarzan – The Musical (2006)
Here at Gil Hates Musicals, we (er, I) are… am… anyway, GHM rarely shies away from controversy. But usually that’s because it’s fun annoying people by saying “Your favourite old / venerated musical is, in fact, horrible tacky outdated crap”. On the occasions where I boost a show, either it doesn’t come as a surprise, Continue reading
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Tell Me On A Sunday (1977)
Wow, this was disappointing, and it’s all in the execution, because this – read the extremely interesting backstory here on Wikipedia – is a very good concept for a show. There’s a great story to be told about a transatlantic relocation, of moving to a new world, and finding how that new world treats you, Continue reading
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The 3 Musketeers (2010)
(its official title appears to use the digit… not sure I like that) Sometimes you just cringe, don’t you? You hear of an adaptation from one form to another of something you like, and you think “Oh god, please, no”, or sometimes you advance straight to “Just don’t fuck it up”, or you can’t stand Continue reading
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The Threepenny Opera (1928)
Laurie Anderson has a song called “Difficult Listening Hour”. That phrase kept surfacing in my mind like a bad (three)penny while I was listening to this. This show dates from 1928 and was written by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, lifting the plot from an 18th century English show called “The Beggar’s Opera”. It’s about Continue reading
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Titanic (1997)
In which yet again Maury Yeston proves that he can write moderately good music but doesn’t know what to do with it… oops, spoilers. And on the subject of spoilers: IT SINKS, so don’t get your hopes up: the only drama in this show is whether the actor playing the helmsman will announce “Fuck me, Continue reading
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Urinetown (2001)
This musical was apparently inspired by the author’s encounter with a pay-toilet in Europe. (There are also, you may wish to know before you travel, pay-turnstiles at London train station toilets.) How to describe “Urinetown”? It somewhat reminds me of “Evil Dead – The Musical” and also of “The Threepenny Opera”. At the start a Continue reading
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Lists and Recommendations
I originally listened to 260 musicals in 2009/2010. Here are some lists and recommendations: Twenty shows which I think are just great, although some are unlikely to be performed anytime soon, so you might as well listen to the score and use your imagination: 1776AmourBombay DreamsBright Lights, Big CityThe CapemanCurtainsDirty Rotten ScoundrelsIn The HeightsJane EyreKristinaLittle Continue reading
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Bonnie & Clyde (2009)
Gil Hates Musicals reviews “Bonnie & Clyde” (2009), music by Frank Wildhorn, lyrics by Don Black, book by Ivan Menchell. Everyone’s familiar with the famous quote “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a musical in possession of a good soundtrack must be by someone other than Frank Wildhorn”. But it’s easy to forget that Continue reading
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The Bridges of Madison County (2014)
You’d think this would be promising; it’s a straightforward love story, backed by a popular movie, and the occasionally problematic but essentially very talented Jason Robert Brown supplies music and lyrics. Unfortunately, and let me not beat about the bush on this one, it’s shit, and it’s his fault. There are 20 songs and the Continue reading
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