Oh what about Brigadoon, 42nd Street, Zigfield Follies, and Sweeney Todd

Diane Judge I loved this production of “South Pacific.” Kelli O’Hara is enchanting and the Paulo Szot is wonderful. All three hours of this classic is mesmerizing. I saw the original back in 1949, having left eh standing room line at the old Met Opera House and walking past the Magestic Theatre and someone offered us seats. Wow! My first musical was “Cabin In The Sky” with Ethel Waters. My Mom and I would take the train and a ferry from New Jersey on every school holiday. Lunch at the Automat, dinner at Toffinetti’s. I have spent so much of my life in the theatre. For many years I was a Broadway Press Agent and worked on the original “Gypsy” and “Sound of Music” (It’s true, those of us on the inside called it “the Sound of Mucous.”) The current production of Gypsy is also fabulous. Patti LuPone is merely marvelous. As is Laura Benanti. I’m just sorry that once again comes Tony Time, ” Gypsy” will have such fierce competition. Originally it won nothing as “Sound of Music” and “Fiorello” won everything. I also recommend seeing “Sunday in the Park” and “Passing Strange” — they are both innovative productions. We are blessed to live so close to all this talent. Bravo! Broadway. Diane Judge

Oklahoma!

The very first night I ever went to. DRURY LANE cannot remember the date…too long ago! Now its SUNSET BOULEVARD.

My mother took me to the film Gigi when I was 8. It began a life-long love of musicals and I have seen so many on the London stage, in provincial theatres, in cinemas and on television since. Also I used to teach music and tried to get involved in musical productions, whenever possible. I am currently a Sondheim addict. When I was 12 my mother took me to the film of South Pacific. We lived in a small Northern Irish town at the time and we walked to our local cinema. On the way there, we were accosted by a drunk who told us that Kennedy had been shot. We didn’t believe him until we arrived home after the film and discovered that the story was unfortunately true.

This question motivated me to buy several CDs of these great musicals (since I no longer have a turntable to play the old LPs on. Can’t wait to get them in the mail!!! It will be a fun musical weekend in our household.

I loved all of the musicals of the fifties and sixties, but when Sondheim arrived on the scene I was totally hooked. Company and Follies (the original cast and productions of each) were, to my thinking, perfection. The musical I will most remember, however, was the oringinal production of Chicago, starring Gwen Verdon and Chita Rivera. It will always remain stuck in my brain because I especially wanted to see the great “Verdon” on stage. The first performance I attended began with an announcement that the star would not be able to perform at that particular time due to illness and would be replaced by someone else. “Ditto” the next five attempts I made to see her by purchasing tickets and attending performances of the show. Go figure.

Mame with Angela Lansbury. Saw my first standing ovation.

I grew up with musicals as background music. I’ll always remember my father’s recordings of The Student Prince with Mario Lanza. On most Fridays, my mother would take us to the movies to see the old MGM musicals. I love all of Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Lowe, and Stephen Sondheim. I’ll always remember the birthday when I was taken to see The Desert Song, and also enjoyed the revival done by the New York City Opera. My first Broadway musical was Bye Bye Birdie (sorry, not a favorite for me), but that was followed by My Fair Lady. I have been a life long lover of musicals, though as a teenager I became a passionate opera fan. It was probably just a normal progression or a further bloosoming of my earlier experiences. Another vote for Showboat. I’m currently looking forward to seeing South Pacific, Candide, and Sunday in the Park with George. Am thrilled to discover this site after listening to Charlie Rose last night. It felt good to remember how much these musicals have meant to me in all of the stages of my life, and what wonderful memories I have that are associated with them.

My father took me to see Gypsy when I was a young girl, and the star was Ethel Merman. She was unforgettable, and now I look forward to seeing Patti Lupone in that role!

I will never forget being from the West Coast and a town that dreams of Broadway were so far away. When I was sitting watching a Chorus Line it was like someone was singing my dream life. I wanted to dance at the ballet, I wanted to sing, I wanted to be up there and prove I could do it. Then, I went home and realized that it would never happen and my talent was in the skill to watch and enjoy. I have spent the last 30 years doing so and find that the classics still hold up and I am so proud of the new productions that prove creativity and imagination is alive and well. Yes, I still dream it is me up on stage, that I can dance at the ballet, and I would be good enough for the chorus line, and maybe even the star of the show.

The Sound of Music was the first musical play that I saw. I was sitting in gym in Gainesville, Florida and was suddenly transported to Austria and the world of singing Von Tramps. I loved it. I am still a fan of musicals. Two of my children because involved in musical theater. It was such a joy to watch them preform. Linda

growing up, there were always broadway musicals playing on the stereo, and although we didn’t live in new york, we went to the theatre often. as a very young child i remember listening (on our portable record player) to “guys and dolls” (daddy’s favourite). instead of a record album, we had them in a box of 45 rpms, and they were blue, red, and yellow vinyl. we loved them and played them over and over and over until the score was burned into our brains. i still get tears in my eyes whenever i hear the overture for that musical…it always brings me back to my dad. years later, i sat in the shubert theatre at the 1985 tony awards…i was a production asst. for “big river”, and from that, my greatest joy…the producers who i worked for also produced the revival of “guys and dolls” with nathan lane, and i was able to get my parents 3rd row seats to see it. …and like me, daddy got tears in his eyes during the overture.

In 1959, my mother was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer and was in the hospital. One Sunday afternoon, to relieve the sadness a little, my father took my 2 brothers, my sister and I to see “South Pacific”. It was such a sad time for us but seeing that wonderful musical in the movies raised our spirits and gave us a little joy. It was the first time I had heard any piece of art address Tolerance and it was wonderful. I still love the music and it always brings back bittersweet memories.

Am I forced to choose only one!!?? Well, it would be West Side Story, not just the incredible music, but the wonderful dancing. I want to tag onto something that Annette comments on: the wonderful ability of musical art to address important issues, and share an experience that I had with the movie South Pacific. Like West Side Story, South Pacific deals with the issue of intolerance and fear of others from a culture we don’t know. When I was 13 or 14, South Pacific was playing at a local drive in and I asked my dad if we could do a daughter/dad thing and go and see it. I was thoroughly engrossed in the movie and was surprised when at some point mid-movie, my dad started up the car and we left. I immediately asked why and kept asking why we couldn’t stay to see the rest of the movie. He was very angry and said something about how he could just predict how it would end: The two couples would overcome their differences and live happily ever after (we hadn’t stayed long enough to know that the younger white Navy guy would not stay with the beautiful native girl he loved). As I look back, I can see how my dad in subtle and not-so-subtle ways wanted to see that I was ‘carefully taught’ to believe that white people were superior to other people. I don’t know what happened to my dad in his early life that taught him those lessons of prejudice, but I am glad he wasn’t able to teach them to me. While I do tremendously enjoy the more ‘non-message’ musicals like “Hello Dolly”, the ones that touch my heart the closest are the ones that can frame sometimes hard-to-hear points-of-view through great music, staging, and dancing.