ANNOUNCER: Welcome. Ladies and Gentlemen, you are about to see a story of murder, greed, corruption, violence, exploitation, adultery, and treachery – all those things we all hold near and dear to our hearts. Thank you. (Instrumental) Velma: Come on, Babe Why don’t we paint the town? And All That Jazz I’m gonna rouge my…
That opening song on Chicago must have fascinated you despite several things happening at the same time. Velma Kelly was at her diva-best. Roxie Hart is bonking away with her lover. Still, the catchy jazzy allure of that opening theme is irresistible. Whether it’s the film version that you’re watching or any of the live…
“Sun and Moon” is such a romantic song that it makes you forget that Miss Saigon is basically a love story between a neophyte prostitute and the the customer who popped her cherry. Bad things are bound to happen but songs like this make you hope for the best. It might be the biggest reason…
Before Susan Boyle sang this on Britain’s Got Talent, Elaine Paige gave life to one of the most memorable characters on West End – the down-trodden Fantine of “Les Miserables”. Several theater actresses have played this role. Regardless, most “Les Miz” fans still sing along to this ballad. After seeing Anne Hathaway sing this onscreen,…
Some of the most memorable songs are the painfully honest ones. The ones that never apologize for being honest, they seep right into our consciousness and stay there until we outgrow them. The last part doesn’t usually happen once you get to read the lyric sheet. I am referring to Rent’s “Take Me or Leave…
The moment that the organ starts blaring those keys loud and clear, goosebumps arise and the audience watches the Phantom take away Christine to his lair. Half-scared, half-amazed, we all watch what lies ahead for her. Long before the status “It’s Complicated” became the norm in social media. it already existed between Christine and the…
Seeing the story tip over like an overflowing bucket of water is fascinating. In musicals, that excitement is heightened over. As I have learned months ago, opera was invented because the spoken word is not enough. So seeing sites that included the verbal tussles between Glinda and Elphaba made sense. In musicals, song and dance…
What if everything you ever believed in turned out to be false? It’s a philosophical way to view the synopsis of the monster hit musical “Wicked”. All Elphaba wanted in the beginning was to take care of her sister, Nessarose. It’s also the only reason why their father let her get enrolled with her to…
Who would have thought a moderately successful novel about an obscure and mysterious opera house would inspire one of the longest running musicals in Broadway today? Had the novelist been alive at the time that the musical debuted, he’d be more than happy to witness his literary work surpass his own fame in French journalism….
You may have read my previous article discussing the characters in “Rent” that have several similarities with Giacomo Puccini’s “La Boheme”. It became evident though that it was a homage. Jonathan Larson must have envisioned “La Boheme” in New York where the raging issues are HIV and homosexuality. But, unlike some opera houses today that…