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Myself, I prefer something with memorable songs, great staging, and preferably decent acting. If the musical re-uses popular music, then the book better be good. If it re-uses music I’ve never heard before (like Singing In The Rain) then even better. (I suffer from Stalling’s Syndrome because I watched too many MGM and Warner Brothers cartoons as an adolescent. Now I create soundtracks subconsciously while I walk down the street. Today it was “Sunny Side of the Street”. Much of the popular music in my head comes from those cartoon music videos.)

Some performers can cover a great song and make it memorable. (Just ask Liza Minelli about “New York New York.) Others can take a song and make you either laugh out loud or cry silently. (Golden Throats) The same goes for musicals.

And Heidi, not everything Gene Kelly did was great. Yes, he was a master perfectionist and made dancing athletic (while Fred Astaire made it look gracefful). But if it wasn’t for him dancing on roller skates, I would never have watched It’s Always Fair Weather.

And here’s the source for those April fools…
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/107378.html

Test screenings have not been favorable – and Julie’s getting a little nasty about Eric Roth’s proposed one hour and forty-five minute cut.

~

Coat

“How Do You Solve A Problem Like Peter,” anyone?

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I’m amused to see American Idol and the ghastly Dancing with the Stars somewhat reintroducing the idea of classical musical traditions (corny as they may be) to large audiences. I think this kind of storytelling has long been missing, and people were subconsciously hungry for it.

So there.

Frankly, the phrase “Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly understand song and dance and allow the music to flow in its own timing and rhythm” does not, in fact, make any sort of sense whatsoever. “Flow in its own timing and rhythm?” What, exactly, does that MEAN?

Also, Vicente Minelli directed An American In Paris, a Best Picture-winning musical that is “FAKE” by the Beat’s standard.

Baz Dopeman reduced all of the songs he licensed to the level of a Sweeney Sisters routine. For two endless hours.

As you may know, I DETEST Moulin Rouge because it is a FAKE musical. Julie Taymor is everything Baz Dopeman is supposed to be. I see your point about the musical being “non -original” but up until Cole Porter and Rogers and Hammerstein, many stage musicals were little more than revues featuring popular songs of the day.