LoC 70: Top 50 Musicals!

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BTW: the videos of Into The Woods on YouTube are awful. Lots of community theater productions where the narrator can't sing or better productions filmed with someone holding a cell phone camera.  I basically chose the London version because Dolores Umbridge is the Baker's Wife and Red Riding Hood looks like Harry Potter. Horrible costumes though, London.

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Number 43 : Labyrinth
(25 points on 2 of 12 lists. Top Vote #12 by Johnny Unusual)

Synopsis:
A frustrated teen, Sarah, while babysitting her baby brother, wishes that he be taken away by goblins. The Goblin King then appears, seizes the tot and tells Sarah if he can solve the mystery of his labyrinth within the next 13 hours, she can have her brother back. Otherwise he will belong to the Goblin King forever. Sarah is transported to the labyrinth and, with help from a sour dwarf (Bruenor Battlehammer), a gentle beast and a fox-like knight eventually find and confront the Goblin King and rescue her brother.  And then there's a party.

Memorable Songs:
Aside from the score by Trevor Jones, the movie also features five songs by Bowie, most notably "Underground" which had some modest success on the pop charts.

Awards:

Trivia Notes:
The line "You remind me of the babe" from the above video is a reference to the Cary Grant/Shirley Temple film "The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer."

The film was not received well during Henson's lifetime and he went to the grave considering it to be among his greatest failures. The film has gained quite a bit of a cult following in the years hence though.

DVD sales spurred the Henson Company to look into making a sequel, titled Curse of the Goblin King. However, they instead decided to do a similar feeling film instead, which eventually because Neil Gaiman's Mirror Mask. So Henson fans? Go fight the Gaiman fans over that.

Coming Soon:
You'd think Taylor Lautner was in this, but he isn't.   

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Number 42 : Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
(25 points on 2 of 12 lists. Top Vote #8 by Mrs. Dick Courier)

Synopsis:
A backwoodsman (Adam) meets a girl (Milly) and they fall in love and are married a few hours later. Upon returning home, she discovers that Adam has six brothers living with him. Milly teaches the boys manners, social mores and also teaches them how to dance. The boys soon realize that in order to wed, they'll need Milly's help.

At a nearby barn raising, the boys meet some girls whom they fancy, but whom also have boyfriends already. After some taunting, a fight erupts, the barn is destroyed and the boys are banished from town. As winter arrives, Adam encourages his brothers to go and get those women back. So they kidnap them and trigger an avalanche which keeps the town from following them. Milly banishes the boys to the barn and Adam leaves to pend winter in a trapper's cabin. Over the winter, the girls fall in love with the boys and Milly gives birth to a daughter. When spring arrives, the townsfolk arrive to rescue the girls who no longer wish to be rescued. The boys are captured, and about to be hung when a baby's cry is heard. It's Toby who's been stolen by the Gobl... Oh wait. It's Milly's daughter. The townsfolk ask whose child that is, and all the girls claim that its theirs. Boom. Mass shotgun wedding. The end.

Memorable Songs:
Well, I was going to say "Ducks and Gesse and Pigs" but that's from Oklahoma. Whoops. Anyway, the songs aren't the high points of Seven Brides. It's better remembered for the choreography. Not many musicals have choreographed axe wielding.

Awards:

Trivia Notes:
Seven Brides is based on the ancient Roman tale "The Rape of the Sabine Women." (As they note in the trailer, which is no longer the above video.)  And no, that doesn't mean what you think it does. The Latin word rapito basically means "abduction" rather than the modern meaning of sexual assault. So the Romans just abducted the woman of a neighboring village.

Yeah, that's not much better, is it?

Well, the story basically says that Romulus and Remus offered the abductees greater civil rights than they'd have under the Sabines and so most stayed. Except for the one who opened the gates to the Sabines during the almost immediate war thereafter. She was crushed to death by the Sabines' shields and then thrown off a rock. Sadly, the song based on this bit of the story got cut from the musical.

A TV series based on the musical ran in the early 80s. Not a musical (I think) but it featured early appearances by River Phoenix and Richard Dean Anderson.

There's a Bollywood version of Seven Brides as well called Satte Pe Satta.

Coming Soon:
Nary a Peter Cetera to be seen.

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Number 41 : Chicago
(25 points on 3 of 12 lists. Top Vote #11 by George Harrison)

Synopsis:
In 1920s Chicago, a chorus girl (Roxie) murders her lover. She convinces her husband that the deceased was a burglar but that soon falls apart and Roxie is sent to jail. In the slammer, she meets Velma, a vaudevillian who murdered her husband and sister when she found them cheating. Roxies's case becomes a major story in Chicago and both Velma and Roxie plan to use their notoriety to propel them back into the show biz spotlight. But Roxie stabs Velma in the back, stealing her story, only to see her moment in the sun disappear as the press instead concentrates on a newer sorid story.

Memorable Songs:
Yeah, I used "Mr. Cellophane" rather than the other songs in the film. How often can I put in a clip of John C. Reily singing? The show's opening "All that Jazz" and "Razzle Dazzle" are probably better known though.

Awards:
Several Tony and Olivier Awards. The movie version won several Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress for Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Trivia Notes:
Both Roxie and Velma were based on actual murderesses in Chicago. Prior to becoming a musical, the story inspired a silent film from Cecil B. DeMille, and a talkie in 1942 starring Ginger Rogers as Roxie Hart, who was merely falsely accused in this version.

The movie version of Chicago never hit #1 or #2 on the weekly box office charts, but still grossed $170 million in the states. That was the highest gross for any film that never hit the top box office spot. Or at least it was until it was dethroned by Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel.

Coming Soon:
We go on some trips! New York! London! Paris! Munich! Kinda! Then we see some of the least convincing drag queens ever! Plastic ducks! And more technicolor madness! All this and more tomorrow!

[Johnny Unusual]

Chicago barely made it onto my list.  I kind of like the idea behind it and I love Reilly in the movie, but to me, it's just OK.

EDIT: Oh, and you know, I never knew the story for 7 Brides for 7 Brothers.  I always thought it was an adaptation of the 7 Chinese brothers (AKA the 5 Chinese Brothers though the original story was the 10 Chinese Brothers.  Someone needs to make a movie of that).

[Kete]

No other votes for Flight of the Conchords? For shame!

[Johnny Unusual]

I've never really watched it apart from some scattered clips.

[MightyJack]

  Yay for Fiddler on the Roof, Seven Brides and...

Chicago  -I liked the movie a lot personally, but remember, this is also for stage as well as film. Some of my votes aren't exclusive to the theatrical version

Across the Universe - yup my favorite song here is "I Wanna Hold Your Hand", just a beautiful rendition. They took a cool pop song and made it a pretty ballad. Tramor did stellar work on the film. Obviously one of my toppermost favs.

Swing Time - My favorite old time song and dance musical. I think it's Fred and Ginger's best (even surpassing the superlative "Top Hat") funny, tuneful romantic.. and the dance choreography is without peer. The director of Chicago (or any modern dance movie musical) should watch this and follow its example. There are no MTV style rapid cuts - Director George Stevens wanted his dancer's to work their magic and have them, not the camera, be the focus. He used a minimum of edits and only 1 or 2 camera setups in their numbers, and this proves to be a wise decision. Especially in the memorable, "Never Gonna Dance", which shows off the duo at their finest (Many feel this is Ginger at her peak -and most fluid- form)

[Mrs. Dick Courier]

the dance numbers in seven brides make me happy.

And Ruta Lee may have been in the horribly bad Doomsday Machine, but she was in this.  So all is forgiven.

[ColeStratton]

Am I seriously the only one who voted for Into The Woods? FOR SHAME, LIST O' CRAPPERS. It's Soundheim at his finest. And although Chess is kind of dull plot-wise, the music is fantastic -- in addition to One Night in Bangkok, there' s Pity the Child, I Know Him So Well and Nobody's Side, which are all awesome.

[Tripe]

Am I seriously the only one who voted for Into The Woods? FOR SHAME, LIST O' CRAPPERS. It's Soundheim at his finest.

Oh, I'm sure Sondheim will be receiving some love higher up the list;  I have a couple of his on my list and I would be shocked if at least one of them didn't show up but everybody's got the right to vote how they like. 

I like Into The Woods but I don't love it; I very much want to see it on film however.

[Darth Geek]

I'm not surprised to see Chicago on this list, given it's popularity, but I absolutely LOATHE that film! One of the only movies I've ever turned off in my life. Everything I hate about film noir (well, film noir usually doesn't have songs). Everyone is unlikeable at best, and actively selfish and hateable at worst. Particularly the main character that we are supposed to be following and care about. The only likeable character is the husband, and he is shown as a weakling for being a decent guy. It was right around the time they trotted out Queen Latifah's ugly fat ass in a corset and had her sing all supposedly sexy that I checked out.

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Yeah, Cole (who is reading this right now). You'll be happier today.

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Number 40 : The Mikado
(26 points on 2 of 12 lists. Top Vote #8 by C Jones)

Synopsis:
In Japan, a wandering minstrel, Nanki-Poo, arrives in the town of Titipu looking for his lost love, the maiden Yum-Yum. Upon his arrival, he discovers that flirting has been decreed to be a capital crime. The town's residents have gotten around that decree by appointing Yum-Yum's guardian, Ko-Ko, who was also the next to be executed, to be the High Executioner. And until he cuts off his own head, he's unable to fulfill his execution duties. Nanki informs Ko-Ko of his love for Yum-Yum, but is sent away. Nanki meets his beloved and informs her that he is secretly the heir to the Mikado, who is in hiding since an elderly dowager, Katisha, is pursuing him.

But Ko-Ko discovers that the town will be demoted to a village unless they execute a person every month. So he offers a deal to Nanki. he may marry Yum-Yum if, at the end of the month, he agrees to be executed. But as the pair is set to be wed, Katisha arrives to try and claim Nanki, but her revelation that Nanki is the Mikado goes unheard.

Later, Ko-Ko discovers that if a married man is beheaded, his wife must be buried alive. Yum-Yum refuses to marry in that case. Ko-Ko then sends the pair away rather than executing them. But the Mikado himself arrives in town, along with Katisha, looking for his son. Unfortunately, Ko-Ko thinks that he's arrives to see if an execution has been performed and reports that Nanki has been executed. The Mikado then orders the death of Ko-Ko for killing the heir. Ko-Ko then throws himself on the mercy of Katisha, feeling that if she was married to him, then Nanki could return to the village in safety. She eventually agrees, Nanki returns with bride in tow and the Mikado is mollified.

Okay, everyone got that? I don't want to have to try and explain that again.

Memorable Songs:
It's Gilbert and Sullivan. They're all memorable songs.

Awards:

Trivia Notes:
The Mikado was performed by the D'Oyly Carte Opera company from 1885 to 1982. This long run of shows was the third longest run of musical theater in length until its record was broken by Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel.

In one of his later performances, Groucho Marx starred in the TV production of the Mikado, playing Ko-Ko.

The Mikado is one of the G&S musicals performed by the FBI Light Opera Society in the Simpsons episode Cape Feare.

Coming Soon:
Well, I'll be dancing through a minefield on the next one.

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Number 39 : Hedwig and the Angry Inch
(27 points on 2 of 12 lists. Top Vote #3 by Cole Stratton)

Synopsis:
An East German slip of a boy loves rock music but can not act on that desire while stuck in East Berlin. He meets an American soldier, Luther and falls in love with him and the two decide to marry.  But, since this is 1990 East Germany and not 2013 Boston, they are unable to do so unless one of them is female. So Hansel agrees to undergo a sex change. But the doctors botch the operation and leave Hedwig as she is now known with a dysfunctional one inch bit of flesh between her legs. She moves to Kansas with Luther, who divorces her a year later on the same day as the fall of the Berlin Wall.

In response to her life falling apart, she forms a band with some Korean army wives. She also befriends and later falls in love with a shy teen, Tommy, who writes some songs for her. He then leaves he and becomes a wildly successful rock star, performing the songs he wrote for her. Hedwig follows Tommy's band for a while, hoping to sue him for copyright infringement, but her life spirals to worse and worse places. Eventually she becomes a streetwalker and runs into Tommy again. They reconcile , but are stumbled on by the press, reigniting her fame. And then we head to a dream space where Hedwig/Hansel confront Tommy and Platonic halves reunite with each other.

Memorable Songs:
Tear Me Down, I suppose, which refers to the nature of being split in two, referring to both Hedwig's feelings on her gender and to Berlin during the 60s-80s.

Awards:

Trivia Notes:
Tear Me Down has been covered by both Meatloaf and Stephen Colbert. Name another song that can boast that.

Coming Soon:
Okay, there are multiple musicals with this title. I'm going to assume that folks are voting for the best known one.