Anita Bensoussane wrote:
I seem to remember an episode of Keeping Up Appearances in which Hyacinth Bucket thought she had a chance of being chosen to play Maria in an amateur production of The Sound of Music!
The mind boggles
(I once dressed up as a goat for a sing-along with the movie version of
The Sound of Music, but let's not go into that.
)
I love musicals too - wouldn't be able to say which my favourite is!
I think the most recent one I saw on stage was
Matilda, which was brilliant and in many ways expanded on and even deepened the themes of the book (and made Matilda's parents even more skin-crawlingly revolting than they were in the original story!). My only objection was that although the music was wonderful, there weren't many songs in it that were easily memorable or singable, and there were no big stand-out solo numbers like there are in most classic musicals. There was also a sense of darkness and gloom through the whole production, which made it less uplifting than it could have been, although it was still hilariously funny. The scene with Bruce Bogtrotter and the giant cake had me in stitches!
I must say, though, the best musical I've seen live has to be
The Lion King - quite possibly THE most incredible and amazing production I've ever seen on stage anywhere. I always loved the original film, but the musical was roughly a million times better! Along with the jaw-dropping puppetry, artistry and dance, this was another one that enhanced the original story line and made it a lot deeper, with more genuine African music and cultural elements and even a few echoes of the real-life struggle for freedom in South Africa. I've only seen it once (nine years ago, now I think about it... where does the time go??), but the memories are still so vivid - really must save up and go to it again one day.
The production of The Sound of Music I saw was by a local group and it was a bit like that, but not as funny! It seemed odd that Maria was the one who taught the children to sing, as she had a weak and wobbly voice compared to Captain von Trapp's fiancée, who sang beautifully.
