Eleanor Powell was born to dance. [more inside]
posted by Joe Beese on Oct 24, 2009 - 15 comments

Somewhere, over the rainbow, way up high,
There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby.

The MGM musical version of L. Frank Baum's 1900 children's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz turned 70 this week. It wasn't the first time it was a movie, nor the last time it was a movie or a movie musical. [more inside]
posted by crossoverman on Aug 28, 2009 - 53 comments

Ted Neeley has made an entire career of playing Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar. He starred in the movie back in 1973, and is currently on tour, still playing Jesus at age 65, almost twice the age of the historical Jesus when he died. Like the character he portrays, Neeley has quite the following, but some wonder if he's too old to play Jesus.
posted by JustKeepSwimming on Apr 9, 2009 - 69 comments

You've read the book, attended the seminars and pondered the accumulation of surplus value – now see the musical.
posted by Kirth Gerson on Mar 24, 2009 - 11 comments

Clue : 60 years, the movie, the books, the TV series, the fan site, the musical, the Harry Potter edition, the movie remake.
posted by crossoverman on Feb 25, 2009 - 91 comments

"When Mr. von Trapp finally returned to take over from his father, Johannes, he had had quite a decade: teaching skiing in Aspen, modeling for Ralph Lauren, surfing in Chile and even making People magazine’s America’s Top 50 Bachelors list in 2001. Recently, he sat in a dark office at the Trapp Family Lodge, the inn his grandmother started, trying to decide what to do with some old curtains..."

- the legacy of the Von Trapp family, made famous (but not rich) by The Sound of Music, now with less singing at the Trapp Family Lodge in Vermont. [more inside]
posted by crossoverman on Jan 2, 2009 - 38 comments

In the 1960s and 1970s Hong Kong had a thriving film industry, dominated by studios such as Cathay Studios. One of Cathay's most fabulous stars was Grace Chang (Ge Lan), referred to by some as the Marlene Dietrich of Hong Kong Chinese cinema. Her greatest hit was The Wild Wild Rose (Ye mei gui zhi lian), based on Bizet's Carmen. The showstopper is her version of Habanera (YT). [more inside]
posted by carter on Oct 21, 2008 - 16 comments

"I don't want to be writing for a fuddy-duddy audience." Tori Amos follows up this year's Comic Book Tattoo (a graphic novel adaptation of 51 of her songs) with a musical version of George MacDonald's The Light Princess for the Royal National Theatre.
posted by crossoverman on Oct 14, 2008 - 13 comments

Even if you only have a passing familiarity with Bollywood musicals, Asha Bhosle's voice will be familiar to you. As one of the most sought after playback singers in Bollywood, and an accomplished, versatile musician in her own right, she's reputed to have sung over 12.000 songs and may be the world's most recorded artist. She's certainly one of the most beloved.
posted by freshwater_pr0n on Oct 6, 2008 - 19 comments

Finally available on CD is the Original Cast Recording of Sondheim's Evening Primrose. Although other recordings of the score have been made available, this is the first time that the original cast will be heard on a publically released recording. [more inside]
posted by bookwo3107 on Apr 16, 2008 - 7 comments

I don't know about you, but I've always thought West Side Story needed a little extra something. Like Cher doing all the parts. (Part two).
posted by adrober on Apr 6, 2008 - 9 comments

Nearly 12 Years Old, ‘Rent’ Is to Close. The 1996 Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning musical will close its doors at New York's Nederlander Theatre on June 1st. The 7th longest-running musical in Broadway history, it is based on Puccini's La Boheme and is credited with bringing young people to musical theatre and the invention of Broadway Rush ticketing - it sold its first two rows for $20: first in , first served on the day of the performance. [more inside]
posted by crossoverman on Jan 16, 2008 - 77 comments

Fiddler on the prairie. The story of a 1970s high school production of Fiddler on the Roof. The school was in Billings, Montana.
posted by joseph_elmhurst on Oct 11, 2007 - 10 comments

Although Industrial Musicals and their jaunty odes to corporate pride and brand loyalty have seen the same fate as the values they espoused (mostly), goofily earnest and undeniable catchy tunes like Exxon's Up Came Oil♫, General Electric's Make a Woman Out of Your Wife♫, and The Monroe Calculator Company's 1660 & 65♫ are still as potent as all get out! [More songs and albums to help you get your gray flannel funk on inside]
posted by Alvy Ampersand on May 31, 2007 - 24 comments

"Someone in a Tree" -- an incedibly rare video from the original, 1976 production of "Pacific Overtures." I grew up listening to an L.P. of these same people perform this same song, but I've never before seen them perform it. I grew up in Southern Indiana, so actually seeing a Broadway show was out of the question. But I loved this song, and -- years later -- I read that it was Stephen Sondheim's favorite of all the songs he ever wrote. Today, I found this video on YouTube and it was like finally seeing someone after being blind for years. I still have chills running up and down my spine. Also: Sondheim forum, online journal, and various gems (and bombs) on youtube -- including the man himself teaching a master class and this 12-year-old's spirited performance!
posted by grumblebee on Apr 28, 2007 - 14 comments

Broadway.com has been doing a video diary of Legally Blonde: the Musical as it moves toward Broadway. See the first rehearsal with director/choreographer Jerry Mitchell, visit a costume fitting, or catch a sneek peek of the show's pre-Broadway tryout in San Francisco. Legally Blonde starts performance in New York City on April 3rd.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero on Mar 26, 2007 - 13 comments

"Ten Favorite Offbeat Musicals" by Jonathan Rosenbaum
posted by matteo on Apr 4, 2006 - 30 comments

Of course, you've seen Get Your War On the comic strip, but have you seen Get Your War On, the Musical? It's playing in Austin, apparently to rave reviews and sold out shows. They even have photos of a performance.
posted by mathowie on Feb 9, 2006 - 23 comments

The Elements of Style, the classic writing manual by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White, has been produced as a musical featuring the Omit Needless Words Orchestra.
posted by ScottMorris on Nov 1, 2005 - 34 comments

A couple years ago, they did SILENCE! the musical version of Silence of the lambs, now they're working on "RoboCop The Musical" with this track uploaded as a preview entitled "Murphy, It's You" performed by RoboCop and Anne Lewis.
posted by mathowie on Apr 25, 2005 - 24 comments

Library Musical. "Sometimes, you are moved by such a strong emotion that you can only express it through song. As we learn from musical theatre that emotion can swell up anytime: in a corner deli, on a playground, in an open field--and even at the library."
posted by adrober on Jan 10, 2005 - 15 comments

"I must congratulate you on your virtuoso performance, my boy. Centauri is impressed. I've seen 'em come, and I've seen 'em go, but you're the best, my boy. Dazzling! Light years ahead of the competition! Centauri's got a little proposition for you. Are ya interested?"

That's right. The Last Starfighter: The Musical. Can a Planet Of The Apes musical be far behind? What other sci-fi flicks would you like to see a musical made of? And why isn't Carrie Fisher's virtuoso performance from the Star Wars Holiday Special on the new DVD set?
posted by keswick on Sep 22, 2004 - 29 comments

Classic Movie Musicals.
posted by hama7 on Dec 13, 2003 - 9 comments

A Pretty URL Is Like A Melody: By a waterfall, I'm calling Who's Who In Musicals, diligently compiled by John Kenrick, a wonderful little resource.
posted by MiguelCardoso on Sep 30, 2003 - 6 comments

Silence of the Lambs: The Musical - Featuring the showstopping tune "If I Could Smell Her..." Ummm...you know what? Just click the link.
posted by ColdChef on Jul 18, 2003 - 22 comments

She's been (among other things) Maria Callas, Norma Desmond, and---(of course)---Eva Peron; she's done Sondheim, Mamet, and Porter; she's worked with DeNiro and Spike Lee; and she has a new cd out. Impressed? There's more: Patti Lupone sells stuff on e-bay!
posted by adrober on May 24, 2003 - 4 comments

9/11: The Musical will feature the "searing guitar licks of Austrian rock band Slash." Something bad wrong here.
posted by fred_ashmore on Sep 10, 2002 - 4 comments

Osama Bin Laden - The Musical? A new play, being performed in the Jordanian capital Amman, is inspiring a rare glimmer of humour about the world's most wanted man. In one joke, Osama bin Laden tells the audience that he is ready to travel to Washington to hand himself over to US President George Bush but on one condition - "You come with me and I fly the plane!" The musical satire, written by actor/director Hisham Yanes, provokes laughter in about 70% of the audience, he says. The rest want to see him lashed. (Via alt.muslim)
posted by laz-e-boy on Feb 14, 2002 - 2 comments

I'm going to miss 'Cats'. This writer isn't though.
posted by feelinglistless on Jan 17, 2002 - 12 comments

Stage musical to be written based on Nike ads...

i think that says it all.
posted by o2b on Nov 13, 2000 - 3 comments