men dancing and musicals

[watervole]

While out working today, I picked up a few second-hand videos. 'Easter Parade' was a must. It's worth it just for Fred Astaire's dance routine in the toy shop, not to mention him and Judy Garland doing 'We're a couple of swells'. It's a superb film for both music and dance.

Then, I came home to watch Gene Kelly in 'The Three Musketeers'. There isn't any actual dancing in it, but Gene Kelly's dance training shows in all the sword-fighting scenes. There's a wonderful grace to the way he moves and the way the fights are choreographed. I'm reminded of 'Singing in the Rain' whenever I watch him move.

Why don't modern films have these fantastic tap-dance routines? Where are the Fred Astaires and the Gene Kellys of today? We have hunky men and violent men and pretty men, but where are the dancers?

And where are the musicals? Another purchase was 'Gigi'. Worth the price just for Maurice Chevalier singing 'Thank heaven for little girls'.

There's nothing like a good musical when you're feeling blue. A good musical has an energy and a vivacity that carries you through it with joy. You forgive all the totally predictable plots and just sit back and enjoy! Musicals are to carry you away, to have you singing 'Black Hills of Dakota' in 'Calamity Jane' (and to set aside all you ever knew about the real history of the period and the character).

There was a time when I grew up and grew out of musicals, and I stopped thinking 'The Sound of Music' was fantastic. I decided they were unbelievable and predictable and cliched. I even thought carnivals were silly and pointless. Then, fortunately, I grew up a little more and realised that parades and musicals had no purpose other than to be enjoyed. So, I'm jolly well going to enjoy them. All I need now is a second-hand copy of Showboat. Ever since dougs sang 'Old Man River' for the ceilidh workshop at Redemption, I've had a hankering to hear the song again.

Comments

[watervole.livejournal.com]

Forget Leslie Caron (she didn't do much for me either) - just sit back and enjoy Maurice Chevalier!

Seven Brides is also on my list to watch again as soon as I can find a cheap copy or it comes up on TV.

And of course, there's all of Gilbert and Sullivan.

[vicarage.livejournal.com]

Chevalier does even less!

BBC2 did the the complete G&S canon about 15 years ago, and I listened to them all again on cassette tape over the winter. The good is very good, and the bad (Utopia Limited and Princess Ida) is very dull. One day I'll consult a concordance and find how many times the word 'duty' appears in the operettas.

[watervole.livejournal.com]

There are some of the Savoy Operas that aren't worth the space and some that I adore. The Mikado and Iolanthe are always favourites of mine, and Pirates and Pinafore.

I do like ones where the patter songs are modernised. I saw a good performance of the Mikado in that regard. G+S took digs at things that were topical and it makes sense to do likewise in songs like "I've got a little list"

[vicarage.livejournal.com]

Iolanthe is my favourite, but I've always felt the Mikado over-rated. I've got a 2 volume commentary on the Operas, and its interesting seeing how the performances have changed over the decades, with rapid cutting during the first few performances, then ad-libs sneaking into the libretto over the years to come.

Mikado

[watervole.livejournal.com]

There was a modern dress production done by the English National Opera. That was the performance that converted me to The Mikado. I borrowed it from my library last year. The other version I'd seen wasn't nearly as good.

[temeres.livejournal.com]

Do you mean the Jonathan Miller production of the Mikado, set on Brighton Pavilion with Eric Idle?

"All weighlifters and bodybuilders, people of that sort / Bankrobbers who run off to Spain the minute they get caught / Archishops who don't believe in God, Chief Constables who do..."

See, it's out of date already.

[watervole.livejournal.com]

Yes, I liked that production for many reasons. The patter song has dated already, but it's still more relevent than the G+S original. "People who eat peppermint and puff it in your face"

[temeres.livejournal.com]

I thought you didn't like satire:)

[watervole.livejournal.com]

I don't really see it as satire.

[temeres.livejournal.com]

G&S were satirical, no doubt about that. The Monty Python of their day, in fact. Iolanthe rips the shit out of the aesthetic movement. HMS Pinafore made more than a token poke at the Admiralty, and the Mikado was a parody of British upper class values. 'Gentle but genuine satire' was one description I came across, somewhere long ago. It's because of that satiric dimension that I like G&S.

[cobrabay.livejournal.com]

I'm with you on this, never liked Chevalier, and never enjoyed Gigi.