The best musicals according to Frank

After seeing Kinky Boots this week, I realized that this show was fun but by no means a “great” musical.  Having seen many musicals over the past decades I think I can tell a great musical from a good or fun one.  I thought about some of the musicals I’ve seen and decided to compile a list of some that I think are great musicals for various reasons.   With my last posting I realized that this is my page and that I can and should express my views, not those of others, of the critics, or of the general public.  I did not even try to rank my list.  I just listed them.

For its cultural impact, I thought about including Show Boat.  It deals with race and interracial marriage and was written in the 1920s.  However, its music is dated and saccharine and I am not including it.

The first musical to win a Pulitzer Prize was Of Thee I Sing, first produced in 1931.  The title song was popular during the 1930's and the show introduced the immortal character, Alexander P Throttlebottom, played by the great Victor Moore.  The story is about politics and the President.  Mr. Throttlebottom is the befuddled, lost, and delightful Vice-President.  However, it is very dated.
I have also not included either Phantom of the Opera or Cats.  I liked neither of these musicals and cannot say why they ran so long on Broadway.  As my son said about them, “That’s why there is a McDonalds!”

Similarly, I do not understand the popularity of The Sound of Music.  That show won the Best Musical Tony and Best Actress Tony over Gypsy and Ethel Merman.  It is so saccharine that my blood sugars increase dramatically and I usually call it The Sound of Schmaltz.

Although I think The Book of Mormon is one of the funniest and most outrageous shows ever done, it is not a “great” musical.  But it sure is fun!  As Walter Kerr said about Gypsy, “It’s the best damn musical I’ve seen in years.”

The final show I did not include is Porgy and Bess.  Porgy is one of the greatest pieces of music every written.  But to me, it is a grand opera more than a Broadway musical.

I think Sweeny Todd is the greatest musical.  Its music is amazingly powerful.  The topic is not the stuff of musical comedy.  It is a musical drama of operatic proportion.  “Johanna” is hauntingly beautiful. I get a chill every time I hear it.  “Pretty Women’ is beautiful and the comic relief of “The Worst Pies in London” and “Have a Little Priest” is macabre and very funny.  It has been done several times, most recently as a concert version in NYC.  I was fortunate enough to see the original production with Len Cariou and Angela Lansbury.

Les Miserables is another very powerful musical.  The songs are heroic, haunting, rousing, and beautiful.  Based on a classic story the musical captures the all of the elements and drama of a 1000 page Victorian novel without losing the slightest bit.

A Chorus Line is a truly American musical about theater people.  I defy anyone not to be moved by the stories of the various gypsies in the play and not be concerned whether or not they get the job.  Paul’s monologue is so powerful.  Short bits by Mike taking his sister’s place and Richie’s wanting to be a Kindergarten teacher are delightful truths.  The final number is an affirmation of working in the theater!  I’ve seen this play at least 5 times including 2 productions in NYC, in London, Valley Forge, Hilton Head, and at the Surflight on LBI.  The Surflight production was one of the finest. 

South Pacific deals with multiple issues, again including race relations and interracial marriage.  The song “You’ve Got to be taught” is enough grounds for the musical to have won the Pulitzer Prize.  The musical is perfect for the time and place and has not become dated.  The variety of characters including Luther Billis and Bloody Marry will live in theater history forever.

Miss Saigon is another realistic tragic story with fantastic music that fits the time and place.  I cannot see the helicopter leave the building in Saigon without thinking of one of my fellows who was in one of the last choppers escaping Viet Nam.  His family had already left.  That scene alone is amazing theater.  The entire show deals with the American presence in Nam and its aftermath, a disturbing episode in our history.

A Little Night Music is a perfect gem.  It’s a diamond, beautiful, bright, lovely, and romantic but realistic.  The music is lilting and the lyrics are sophisticated and witty.  I’ve seen this in various forms several times.  I saw the original production with Glynis Johns, Hermione Gingold and Len Cariou.  I saw it again with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury.  We went another time to see my favorites, Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch.  Each of these actresses brought a different point of view to their character.  It was as if we were seeing different shows.  Another memorable production was at the NYC Opera with Jeremy Irons as Frederick.  This is the only production in which I don’t know who played Desiree.  Mr. Irons was so wonderful as Frederick that he became the central and most important character and the entire show revolved around him!  He is truly a great actor.  If you like Send in the Clowns, visit youtube.com and look for Judi Dench’s performance in the 1990’s in the London revival.  It is, without question, the definitive rendition of the song!

Sunset Blvd is the best work by Andrew Lloyd Weber.  He based it on a brilliant screen play by Billy Wilder and turned it faithfully into a brilliant musical.  He captured all the best of Wilder’s screenplay and wrote an excellent score for it, which according to me is unusual!

Gypsy is one of my all-time favorite musicals.  It’s a great story based on Gypsy Rose Lee’s autobiography.  Madame Rose is the prototype stage mother.  The music is fantastic.  I’ve seen this musical 5 times with a variety of leading ladies:  Ethel Merman (x2), Anne Southern, Angela Lansbury, and Bernadette Peters.  I missed Tyne Daly and Patty Lupone.  Each brought a different approach to Rose’s character.  The scenes in the burlesque house are riotous and Rose’s Turn is one of the greatest numbers ever written.

Guys and Dolls is another classically American musical.  The Damon Runyon characters are unique and the music is wonderful.  The show has had successful revivals and remains very popular. The songs are part of the Great American Songbook.

1776 is an amazing musical about the adoption and signing of the Declaration of Independence.  The main characters are John Adams, Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and John Dickerson.  That someone could write a successful, interesting American musical based accurately on history makes this a truly amazing piece of theater.  I defy anyone not to be touched as the Congress signs the Declaration and end up reflecting the famous painting.

The musical, Follies, for me, has some of Sondheim’s best music.  It’s a very difficult, expensive show requiring a very large cast of very talented people.  I’ve seen the show twice.  The Paper Mill Playhouse production had some good people and some not so good.  Ann Miller was amazing as Carlotta and sang I’m Still Here with truth and great energy.  The concert version which PBS did not record is one of the perfect versions.  The recent revival with Bernadette Peters was great with amazing people in every role.  The initial Follies numbers including Broadway Baby are classics.  “I Think About You” is a touching, haunting torch song.  This is a great musical!

Cabaret is based on the short stories of Christopher Isherwood and was originally done as I Am A Camera.  The musical, not the movie, reflected the beginnings of Nazi takeover in Berlin and had interesting supporting characters that were ignored in the film, to the detriment of the story.  The original cast included Lotte Lenya and Jack Gilford as two older people looking for a little happiness.  The entire score reflects the times and the scary times ahead.  By the way, Judi Dench played Sally Bowles in the original London production of the musical!

Company is the first of the “modern” musicals.  It has little story but a group of couples who are friends of the main character, Bobbie.  The music is fresh, even today.  The songs are great.  Being Alive and the Ladies Who Lunch are now classics.  Again, it’s a show I’ve seen more than once.  Neil Patrick Harris and Patti Lupone did a concert version with a great cast that is available on youtube.com

West Side Story is the successful, modern version of Romeo and Juliet.  Rodgers and Hammerstein tried to do a version in Me and Juliet but were unsuccessful.  Bernstein captured New York, the gangs, the ethnic clashes and the youthful energy in his music. The beginning music and the Quintet are still dramatic and forceful music.  Whenever I see this musical I am energized and enthralled.

It is obvious from this list that I think Stephen Sondheim is truly a genius.  The variety of his musicals, the beauty of the music, and the wit, sophistication, and brilliance of his lyrics shine through in every musical.  Into the Woods is a joy and is returning to Broadway in an outrageous production by a group called Fiasco.  We saw them at McCarter, while sitting near Sondheim, who roared with laughter throughout the production. 

Even some of his flops have become cult favorites with music that will live on.  Merrily We Roll Along recently had a London production which I saw at the movies.  It has wonderful music including Good Friends and Our Time.  Any One Can Whistle also has music that is very popular among singers.  The original Pacific Overtures was an amazing piece of theater, thanks to Hal Prince.  Using Kabuki techniques for 95% of the show with only male performers was perfect.  The revival was not successful for me.

So, my list includes 14 top musicals.  I’ve seen many, many more that provide happy memories of fun productions and interesting performances.  For me, live theater is a tonic, a spell-binding experience that overwhelms me totally. 

There are some moments in a few shows that I've never forgotten.  In "Do I Hear a Waltz?" a supporting character was played by Carol Bruce.  She owned the pensione.  She was not a beautiful woman but she was sleek and extremely sexy.  Even her walk was seductive.  She had a song in which she seduced the juvenile to go with her in a gondola.  She was so seductive that I am sure every and any man in the audience would have gladly gone with her.  Sondheim does not like this musical (he wrote the lyrics).  But it has touches of pure Sondheim.  It was not a good experience for him, having to work with Richard Rodgers.

Yul Brynner was a sexy man.  He could be seductive with a gesture.  In The King and I, when he approaches Mrs. Anna to hold her and dance with her--that's pure theatrical sex!