West Side Story

     Hey all! I'm sad to say that this will be my last blog post, but I encourage you all keep watching musicals! I bet many of you don't know that the musicals of broadway heavily influenced American pop culture. Many songs as well as shows and movies were inspired by musicals / plays. Just take a look at "West Side Story". "West Side Story" is essentially a modernized version of William Shakespeare's "Romeo & Juliet." Anyways, let begin with the review. As you can see, I've decided to review "West Side Story" this week. This musical is about two young teens from different rival gangs in New York who fall in love. The fighting between the two gangs get worst when they find out about the relationship and all eventually lead to a tragedy.

     I think this musical is just simply wonderful. I mean "West Side Story" did get tagged the most acclaimed motion picture of our time. It really is an incredible musical! The songs have become legendary and the dance numbers are easily the most energetic and incredible ones ever caught on film. "West Side Story" is a calculated milestone in screen musicals. It breaks new ground in its depiction on contemporary social issues in a musical. The motion picture explores with deep emotional resonance, a world of hate, violence and prejudice. It challenges all of us to struggle for understanding and justice. History will remember "West Side Story" as the most important musical force in the 20th century.

The Wiz Live!

     Hey everyone! This week I will be reviewing "The Wiz Live!" I've actually been waiting to watch this ever since I heard they were going to be doing it on NBC. I've only ever seen the movie production of "The Wiz" with Michael Jackson. "The Wiz" is a reimagining of the classic "Wizard of Oz" with an all African American cast. It differs in mood and songs with an emphasis on the more traditional black vibe.

     I really loved this production of "The Wiz." The dancing was amazing as were the acrobats. The choreography was very hip and modern. It reminded me of the old black and white movies where the dancing was at least as important as the singing and the acting. I highly recommend this musical. It's definitely one to watch with the family. If you're really interested, you can watch it online at Hulu or even IMDB. Hope that helps!

Funny... You're a Funny Girl!

     Hello all! Who's excited for another week of musical reviews? I know I am and I hope you all are too. So for this week, I thought I would review a classic, "Funny Girl!" "Funny Girl" is probably one of the first musicals I've ever seen so it definitely had been a while since I saw this. That's actually one of the reasons I decided to watch this this week. "Funny Girl" is about an aspiring Broadway actress, Fanny Brice, who sort of starts off as an "ugly duckling," struggling to find work on Broadway, but soon lands a lead role and becomes a major star. The show goes on to show her life after and her relationship with the very handsome Nick Arnstein.

     Barbara Streisand made one of the biggest debuts in the history of films playing Fanny Brice in "Funny Girl." Although the musical slows down a bit in the second act, Streisand keeps the viewers glued with her brilliant performance. Terrific musical numbers comes one after another and Streisand switches gears effortlessly between comic gems like "I'm The Greatest Star" and "Don't Rain on My Parade." Big, bright, and splashy, "Funny Girl" is one of the last great old style musicals produced in Hollywood. Definitely recommend this musical!

Phantom

     Hey everyone! Welcome back back to another week of musical reviews. For this week, I have decided to review "Phantom of The Opera." "Phantom of The Opera" originated in 1986, but today, I will be reviewing the 2004 movie adaptation. This musical is about a phantom who hides in a shadowy existence, beneath a paris opera house. Shamed by his physical appearance and feared by all, he terrorizes the opera house. He falls for a chorus girl in the process.

     I have seen "Phantom of The Opera" many times and I am still enthralled by it. It was a visually stunning movie. The costumes and the scenery were superb and the acting was excellent! The music of Andrew Lloyd Webber was just outright amazing. At times, there was almost a bit too much going on, which I thought started to take away focus from the music, but in the end it had a good balance of both. I remember seeing this when I was very young and the phantom scared the crap out of me!

At The Late Night.. Double Feature.. Picture Show..

     Hey everyone! Hope you all had a good week. I was kind of dragging all week and couldn't wait for it to be over. So last night, I decided to watch one of my favorite musicals of all time to cheer me up. This week, I will reviewing "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." The story begins with a newly engaged couple who run into some car trouble and get stranded in the middle of nowhere. Seeing no other option, they walk over the the Frankenfurter Mansion to use the telephone. I don't want want to give too much away in case you planning on watching it, but just know, they're in for a hell of a ride. The show is so fast paced with one thrill after another.

     Its really easy to see why "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" is such a huge cult classic. When the show came out in the 70's, no one had ever seen anything like it. Its such a fun and riveting experience. I love everything about this show from the story to the music. The music has some of the most memorable songs around. I would have to say a few of my favorite songs are "Dammit, Janet!", "Sweet Transvestite", "Time Warp", and "Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch Me." I remember the first time I watched "Rocky Horror" and thought, "This is amazing!" Then I remember finishing it and going, "That's it? That's how it ends?" Like I said earlier, I don't want to spoil it for anyone, so go watch it and see what I'm talking about. Haha!

The Full Monty

     Hey everyone! Thank you for checking in again for another week of musical reviews. This week I will be reviewing "The Full Monty." Now for those who don't know, "The Full Monty" is explicit and has sexual themes. If you don't feel comfortable with that, I'm warning you now. Don't watch the musical or movie. Now some of you might be wondering how I watched this seeing as the original broadway play was back in 2000. I'll be honest with you. I watched a bootleg version of it. Shhh, don't tell anyone! Haha! Now back to the review, "The Full Monty" is about six unemployed steelworkers looking for jobs. Desperate enough, they take jobs as chippendale strippers, but not without hesitation.

     "The Full Monty" is so funny. Watching middle aged men try to become strippers is just so bizarre. Although, what some people don't see is that behind the strippers, and the g-strings, and the nudity, "The Full Monty" is about unconditional love and the lengths people will go to to keep a family together. David Yazbek's music has some shining moments too. Some of the most notable numbers are "Scrap," the number the men sing when they are out of work and "Michael Jordan's Ball", which is the number they learn how to dance. Patrick Wilson has one of the best voices of the men and his performance of "Breeze Off the River" is touching as he tells his son about his failures and his loves. From the casting to the music to the story, I thought this whole production was brilliant! I highly recommend this show to the more mature audience.

Anchors Aweigh

     Hey everyone! In this week's musical review, I will be reviewing "Anchors Aweigh." I happened to stumble upon this musical by accident. Late one night, I was just flipping through channels and came across "Anchors Aweigh." It looked really old, but I saw that Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly were in it so I decided to give it a chance. The more I watched, the more entranced I became. This musical comedy is about two young Navy sailors on leave for a few days in Los Angeles. Quite a few things happen in those few days.

     "Anchors Aweigh" is everything a musical comedy should be. I'm fully aware that this musical is kinda cheesy and a little dated, but you can't beat Sinatra's pipes and Gene Kelly's dance choreography. And lets not forget about the comedy. This musical has some truly funny lines like "You think the Navy takes dopes?" and "We got in a little trouble, we picked up a little kid." I really enjoyed this film, but I wouldn't recommend this musical to everybody. As I said its pretty dated, but if that's what you're into, then go for it! Thanks again everyone, for tuning in. Don't forget to check back again next week.

I Will Love You Until My Dying Day..

     Hey guys! Thanks for checking in for another week of musical reviews. For those who did not quite make the connection from my title posting, I've chosen to do "Moulin Rouge!" this week. I saw it for the first time a couple days ago with a friend. She was really surprised that I had not seen it and made us watch it immediately. "Moulin Rouge!" came out in 2001 which made me simply too young to watch it with all the sexual themes and whatnot. I'm really glad I finally got to sit down and watch it. This movie musical quickly became one of my favorites. "Moulin Rouge!" is a musical film about a penniless British writer named Christian, who comes to the Moulin Rouge, a theatre in Paris, France, and falls in love with an actress and courtesan named Satine.

     The story, the music, the acting, and the visual imagery is without a doubt, brilliant! Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman's voices compliment each other and the story perfectly. The score skillfully weaves modern and popular songs and rescores them into a masterpiece. I really liked the use of popular music because I was able to sing along to just about every song without having even seen the movie yet. Although, the original was actually my favorite. Come What May was so beautifully executed between Christian and Satine and the use of it again later on in the film shows you just how powerful it really is. "Moulin Rouge" is a musical I'll be seeing again in the near future. I highly recommend it. Thanks again for checking in. Hope to see you next week!

Why, it's Grease Lightning!

     Hey everyone! Thanks for joining me in another week of musical reviews. This week, I chose to review "Grease." "Grease" is a musical-play turned movie-musical. It's centered around a group of high schoolers in the 1950's and the adventures they go through. Now, I've never personally seen the live musical, but the movie has been a regular in my life since I was a kid. "Grease" is such a timeless classic that I'm sure everyone has at least seen it once. It's definitely one of my top favorite musicals. I could watch this movie over and over.

     Something else that makes this movie-musical so amazing is the music. Hands down, "Grease" has some of the most catchiest music of all time. From the corny love songs to the flamboyant and electrifying dance numbers, it's hard not love "Grease." My favorite musical number from "Grease" would have to be "You're the One That I Want." That's when we see that Sandy has gone through a makeover just to impress Danny and when Danny officially announces his jock status. They go on to perform and Sandy delivers the famous "Tell me about it, stud.." line. I highly recommend everybody go see this if you haven't already.

Wicked, What a Show!

   

      For this week's musical review, I've chosen to do "Wicked." "Wicked" is the untold story of Elphaba, the wicked witch from "The Wizard of Oz," and her friend Glinda and the life-changing event that deemed Elphaba the wicked witch. I first heard about this musical when I was in high school. I had always been fascinated with "The Wizard of Oz" so when I heard about "Wicked," I was ecstatic. I had found my newest obsession. For years after, I looked up everything I could find on the musical, from the music to the cast. I even went as far as to finding the cast members on social media to get get whatever little information I could get. I tried my best at finding videos of the show on youtube. Though, because it is copyright infringement to post videos of the musical online, the best I could get were really grainy quality clips. 

      When the traveling production of "Wicked" came to Hawai'i, you can believe my reaction was that of exhilaration, eagerness, and excitement. It was going to be my first time watching the show and I wanted to make sure I could get some the best seats possible. I bought second to front row seating right in front of the orchestra. Sitting that close to the orchestra enhanced the performance so much more. During the show, I was so entranced with the storytelling and the music and all of the performers. "Wicked," without a doubt, met all my expectations and more. I would highly recommend this for everyone. Even if you're not too keen on musicals, this is still an amazing experience for all. Thank you to everyone who read. Hope you tune in next week as well!!

- Brianna D.