My Adoration for Musicals
I love musicals- movie musicals, live theater- any way I can get them.
Last night, I went with my mother to see Catch Me If You Can– The Musical- at the Providence Performing Arts Center. It was great fun and very entertaining- I highly recommend going to see it if it comes to a city near you.
My love of musicals comes from my mother, who at an age so early I can’t remember quite when, introduced me to the amazingess that is The Sound of Music. I remember when I received the 2 tape VHS of the movie for Christmas one year- I watched that movie over and over again so many times. It was the first of many movie musicals I would own and devour like ( in random order and not an exhaustive list!) Singing in the Rain, A Chorus Line, Grease, State Fair, and White Christmas. I generally don’t purchase DVDs any more but every now and again an old movie musical classic will be released on DVD and I snatch it up for my endless viewing enjoyment.
This love of movie musicals led my parents to buy me tickets to see The Sound of Music on stage when it came to Providence in the early 1990s, with Marie Osmond as Maria. I was mesmerized by the live acting, the amazing singing and dancing. It wasn’t my first time seeing a live play or dance ( I believe my first was a performance of The Nutcracker in Boston at the Wang Theater when I was 7), but it was my first musical and I loved every minute of it.
Throughout the years my mom and I would go frequently to the theater to see musicals and somewhere along the line, maybe when I was in junior high or high school, my mother decided to become a PPAC season subscriber. Year after year, we would attend a six or seven musicals a year, seeing the best shows on national tours, many straight from Broadway. ( As an aside, the Providence Performing Arts Center does a really awesome job of bringing awesome, high quality theater to the region). There have been a few repeats and a few clunkers over the years; we’ve never left a show ( though have watched many do so) and more than a few have left us in tears. We stopped the subscription while I was away at college and began it again when I was in grad school- it really is a great time out for the two of us. My brother joined us for the season last year and every now and again we can strong arm my Dad with an extra ticket into coming to a show or two.
In general, I prefer older/classic movie musicals to the current ones being made, while for live theater I find the pace and music of newer musical theater more entertaining, but honestly, I love just about all of them- even the bad ones! I’m not sure what it is about musicals that I love- they are my go to on a sick day and I watched my fair share of them over and over again when I was in the lowest times following my divorce. Not all of them have happy endings so it’s not that, but maybe it’s the singing and dancing that I appreciate, or just the creativity and work involved in putting all of it together. I think it is just about pure entertainment, enjoyment, and a bit of escapism- that in every musical every one on the street knows the steps and words to the song, that outfits involve lots of sparkles and sequins, and in general, it’s just about putting on a show for people to enjoy. And what’s not to like about that?
Any other musical lovers out there? I’d love to hear some of your favorites or musical ( theater or movies) memories!
Image via here
Life By Kristen 