The only way to describe my tastes is: ECLECTIC!
My collection of music includes Classical, Folk, Swing, Blues, Jazz, Pop, Rock'n'Roll, Heavy Metal, Rock, Country, "Easy Listening", and numerous other genres. In fact, there are few genres (and let's face it there are far too many new ones appearing every day!) that I regard as a total loss, though Club is the best candidate...
I have a great love for musicals, though not always the conventionally accepted "greats". I'm no great fan of the likes of Oklahoma or South Pacific, and I firmly believe that some musicals only succeeded because of the artists in the first, or best known, productions and have no intrinsic merit of their own! My favourite musical of all time is Les Miserables, followed by Man of La Manchaand Godspell . I also enjoy Jesus Christ Superstarand Calamity Jane.
Les Miserablesis without doubt one of the greatest musicals ever written! Bordering on the operatic in the quality of the songs, it is able to stand on its content with or without stage scenery. It's one of those musicals where I cannot say that any one song is my favourite above any of the others. I watched the Dream Cast production on video shortly after seeing the film of Les Miserables starring Frederick March (a stunning performance as Jean Valjean!) and have now watched that tape so often that it has almost worn out. In fact, I was so inspired that I bought the Penguin Classics edition of Hugo's book and read it! While the story is phenomenal, it's not an easy book to read, I assure you, though it isrewarding to do so.
I've only seen the movie of Man of La Mancha, starring Peter O'Toole and Sophia Loren. This is perhaps the best movie of a musical since West Side Story. I've always wanted to read Don Quixote but have never quite gotten round to it, not since I picked up a book of suitable title only to discover that it was just one part of the book! Still, from what I've gleaned from snatches of the story, the casting in the movie was truly inspired!
As for Godspell , again I love the movie version. I first saw it at the cinema, and then had to wait decades for it to be screened on TV! A stage production at our local theatre that I was lucky enough to attend was a real delight and something I'll never forget! It appeals to me because it is so full of life and happiness, so much bounce! It's a real tonic for when I'm feeling low. While it's widely regarded as an inferior competitor to Jesus Christ Superstar, it is a more complete look at the story of Jesus and doesn't focus on the dark side. It's more about joy and celebration!
Okay, so I've mentioned Jesus Christ Superstar. There is no doubting the quality of the show, or the impact that it's had, with some fine songs. One thing doesbug me, however, and that's the fact that there seems to be a conspiracy to forget than Tim Rice wrote the lyrics! While Andrew Lloyd-Webber has a raft of successful shows to his name, he owes much to Tim Rice and Tim has had his own successes without the fanfares. That said, I have to say that this is definitely one of those shows which I prefer to see as a stage production. The movies fine, as such, but it lacks the impact of the real thing.
Calamity Janeis here because it's just plain good fun! It's rousing, has some excellent songs, and very little depth to weigh you down! I've enjoyed both the movie (with Doris Day and Howard Keel) and stage productions.
The place of honour is reserved not for my favourite Les Miserables, but for the musical which demonstrated to me that they can convey something other than bright sun and twittering birds: WEST SIDE STORY! Stunning songs and dance pieces, with an intrinsic darkness that has been relevant to youth for millenia. The Romeo and Juliettheme is not original, but then it wasn't when Shakespeare wrote hisplay! It's purely an observation of the reality of love frustrated by imposed circumstance, most commonly experienced by the young, but not unknown to older people. Indeed, I believe that it would be perfectly feasible to write a version involving two lovers in their twilight years, and I may just do that!
