<p>I usually enjoy most musicals I see, however I just couldn’t get into “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown”</p>
<p>I’ve never had more fun reading a topic. Whoever started this… thanks. For those of you posting on this board who are either current or future students of MT and hate Rogers and Hammerstein, think of me in four years when you suddenly discover the depth, beauty and musical genius of these shows. I hated them when I was 18 as well.</p>
<p>I think one’s opinion can be colored by the performance–we really didn’t like “Into the Woods,” for example, but I really have to wonder how we would have reacted if we’d seen it with Bernadette Peters.</p>
<p>We HATED Starlight Express in London–but we saw it again years later, and liked it much better. I can’t explain why.</p>
<p>On the other hand, we’ve really liked some musicals that were terrible flops–for example, we liked “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” with Debby Boone, which closed in about a week.</p>
<p>I am so proud of all of us being able to list what we like and don’t like without being criticized by others because our opinions are not the same! Like I said in my original post, being MT people, we LIKE far more than we dislike, and I think it is interesting to read everyone’s thoughts. I also find the the ‘age’ thing interesting. The students (my D included) don’t really like R & H, but they worship Sonheim, and I (being older than dirt) think most of his stuff is just plain weird!</p>
<p>I agree about the Rogers & Hammerstein thing…the kids like the edgy ones, but I’m a sucker for a happy ending. And their music is classic for a very good reason. </p>
<p>I have “rediscovered” some musicals I used to hate too…The King and I became a favorite when I saw a great production of it. </p>
<p>Suprised to have liked a couple I had no interest in seeing at first: Spamalot (silly and fun) and Children of Eden, The Apple Tree, Rent. And Titanic was a pleasant surprise (I know it was not a critical success, but I loved it.) So much for ones with happy endings!</p>
<p>Thumbs Down for Into the Woods. And I think Sondheim is either a love or hate. I don’t get him.</p>
<p>I am going to go see Phamtom of the Opera in a week! I hope I like it. I hated South Pacific. My friend loved it.</p>
<p>I also don’t like Sseusical. I don’t find it sufficiently Sseus-y.</p>
<p>All right. Why not. </p>
<p>Dislike (only listing the more popular shows produced today): Phantom of the Opera (but I like Phantom), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Rent, Camelot, Grease, Beauty and the Beast, and at the risk of having my car firebombed by angry MT lovers - Wicked (don’t really like Pippin or Godspell either.)</p>
<p>Fan of all things Sondheim except Passion and The Frogs but think Sweeny Todd and Little Night Music are masterpieces. Adore Ragtime, Little Shop…, I’ll take a great production of an R&H show over most other things (and I’m not as old as dirt :). Cabaret and Chicago are just damned fun. </p>
<p>Be interesting to start a thread “Worst Show Ever.” My vote goes to “Footloose”.</p>
<p>Sorry I misspelled Sondheim in my earlier post when I said most of his stuff is weird. I do like Assassins, which I was not expecting to like, and Into the Woods, although it could end after the first act and that would be fine with me. And I do recognize that he is probably a musical genius, but I never find myself with one of his melodies stuck in my head.</p>
<p>I guess my favorite is Les Miserables, but mostly I like the ones that are just plain fun like Hairspray and Thoroughly Modern Millie.</p>
<p>This really has been fun to read. Someone posted something about Seven Brides for Seven Brothers which I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. But I love the movie version and have never been fortunate enough to see the stage production. The music is fantastic and the dancing divine. Wonder if it will ever come back to Broadway. I just finished reading “Making it on Broadway” and it made me a little nervous to admit that I love Les Miz after all the negativity I read about those kinds of shows in the book. But alas, I have to say, I still love Les Miz most of all (but Sound of Music is my other “favorite”). And I really enjoyed Jersey Boys and Mamma Mia…mostly because they are fun and entertaining. :)</p>
<p>I love Camelot! AND Carousel, I gotta say HSMS isn’t even a musical :P</p>
<p>I don’t really like Five Guys Named Moe though,</p>
<p>and of course I love everything by Andrew Lloyd Webber :D</p>
<p>Maybe not much of Love Never Dies though :P</p>
<p>OK, dictated from the almost 17 year old: </p>
<p>Adores- Les Miz, Sweeney Todd, Next to Normal, Wicked, Fantasticks (too many more to list)</p>
<p>She dislikes- Seussical & Hair</p>
<p>King and I.
Rogers and Hammerstein should have been banned from writing shows about Asians…I spent about 4 months doing that show…I could not stand the racism in it. I feel that way about Flower Drum Song, but David Henry Hwang’s revision of it has made it a favorite. I just feel like R+H had no idea what it meant to be Asian and the shows were written from the point of view of a Westerner without empathy towards the Asian culture.
There is a difference in making fun of the Asian stereotype a la Avenue Q and Spelling Bee, and I love love love that…but the way K&I is? Cannot stand it when I hear a mostly Caucasion audience laughing at things that are obviously just making fun of how the Asian culture is different. The portrayal of Mongkut was very de-humanizing, yet he was one of Siam’s most progressive kings.
Yes, the music is beautiful…I just cannot enjoy the musical without cringing everytime I find something heinously racist.</p>
<p>CC2014
I totally agree with you about the King and I… I just saw a production recently that was beautiful looking but was really insensitive to this issue. And discussions by audience members and reviewers is troublesome as they don’t get how offensive their comments can be. I would go further to say that shows that were written a long time ago about people in the south and rural places etc were equally offensive: Annie Get Your Gun is quite offensive, as is Lil Abner and others I am not thinking of right now.
It is a shame because some of the shows written a long time ago had beautiful music but it is very difficult by today’s standards to watch some of them without cringing now. Some shows really need to have re-writes to make them palatable by today’s standard. </p>
<p>Just because it is a piece of our history does not mean that we need to keep repeating insensitive, inaccurate, and offensive material. </p>
<p>I too love Wicked I admit it. Also Avenue Q (laughed until I cried), Billy Elliot, Next to Normal, West Side Story, Carnival (beautiful music), LIght in the Piazza, Thoroughly Modern Millie, My Fair Lady, Aida, Music Man (great Americana), Suessical, South Pacific (more great melodies), Sunday in the Park (brilliant music), Sweeney Todd (really brilliant music) Shows with great music and move me emotionally I love.</p>
<p>Hate, loathe, despise: Annie, Oklahoma (although music/dance is beautiful), Rent, Grease, Bye Bye Birdie, High School Musical (atrocious drivel), Evita (incredibly long and boring opening scene) </p>
<p>Worst show ever: I agree with whoever said Footloose (God awful!!!) and I am a dancer!</p>
<p>Jumping into the pond.
Dislike; Brigadoon , Cats, Kiss Me Kate, Carousel, Curtains, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Coat , Godspell.
Love; Spring Awakening, Millie, Light in the Piazza, Miss Saigon, Sweeny Tod, Flower Drum Song the original, A little Night Music,</p>
<p>It definitely depends upon whether you’ve seen a good production, professional, HS or otherwise. The first time I saw CATS–liked it a lot. Years later, we saw a touring company do it–afterwards,when we got in the car, my H and I teased: “The next cat I see, I want to RUN IT OVER!” (jk, cat lovers) It was an awful production.</p>
<p>I’d really like to know, what’s not to like about Westside Story? (I haven’t seen the new bi-lingual version, but it sounds great).</p>
<p>Sopranomom92 I was one who now dislikes it, I LOVE the music, but I have unfortunately seen so many poor HS/local productions of it that went on FOREVER… I do think it is a long play to begin with, but if it is long and painful, you just stop wanting to give the next production a try, even Broadway. Especially at current prices.</p>
<p>Grease. Loath Grease. We had a rash of Zombie Proms at local high schools the past couple of years. This is actually one of the worst scripts I ever read. Anything that begins with the words H.S. Musical… Although I saw the original Pippin (dating myself) and LOVED it, (well, I was a kid on a school field trip!), I now find it hard to sit through. Mostly just a dated feeling.</p>
<p>Love- Billy, Lion King, Mary Poppins, Pacific Overtures, Sweeney Todd, Rent, Gypsy.</p>
<p>Of course I imagine I will happily sit through any of the plays I hate if my kid is in it!!!</p>
<p>^^^Ha ha…so true!</p>