27 of My Favorite Things>..................(Which are Musicals) Part 1

On Tuesday, the day of love is upon us. Some hate it, some love it, and some love to hate it, kinda like musical theatre. They both can rip your heart out and stomp on it or give you the best 3 hours (or 3 minutes) of your life. Since I'll be away from my hubby this year becoming a master...thespian in the big smoke, I thought I'd spend this week reminiscing with my other love affair...musical theatre by picking my favorite musical for every letter of the alphabet. As Maria tells us, "Let's start at the beginning, it's a very good place to start." Which is why I'm gonna start with the numbers, because I'm not a nun teaching in the Alps mofo, I go rouge. I'm a loner Dottie, a rebel...AND the first musical sets up the whole alphabet thing...so I DO WHAT I WANT. Leave me alone!

0-9

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (2005)

Candy Heart Message: TXT ME

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (2005) is a quirky one act musical written by William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin. It follows 6 kids through the bee and their journeys to the competition along with the addition of 4 audience members who also participate during the bee (sometimes you see celebrity guests). This alone make Spelling Bee fun to watch as you see audience members get easy words and cast members heckle them, listen the hilarious definitions or sentence improv by the bee judges, or other immersive 4th wall breaks. These devices engage the audience and sets up the tone for the show. The Broadway cast even had "adult" spelling bee nights where the improv was less "school appropriate". I also love successful Broadway shows that are budget friendly for smaller theatre companies. This show can be done on a shoe string budget and still have them rolling in the isles. It also has great opportunities for those who don't necessarily get cast as the leading man or lady (like me) or who aren't necessarily the best singers as all the characters are lovable weirdo misfits. Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family) got his big break originating the role of Leaf Coneybear and Dan Fogler (Fantastic Beasts) originated the role of Barfee (In which he won a Tony). The songs are sweet and full of humor including the standouts Magic Foot, Pandemonium, My Unfortunate Erection, and The I Love You Song.(Man I really wanna play Logainne) But, unlike most musicals where you can listen to the cast album and know what you're getting yourself into, the real magic of this show is the sense of constant improvisation and the unpredictable nature that you have to be in a seat to experience. That, my friends spells S-U-C-C-E-S-S...You know I had to get a spelling trope in there...

A

Avenue Q (2003)

Candy Heart Message: QT PIE

Hi kids, the letter of the day is A for Avenue Q (2003). Being of a certain age *cough cough* I grew up with the likes of Sesame Street and Mr. Rodgers' Neighborhood, so it isn't surprising that Avenue Q is my pick for the letter A. It takes adults' nostalgia for their childhoods and turns it on its head with this hilarious, raunchy, non p.c. musical. I mean come on...puppet sex AND a woman playing Gary Coleman?!? Brilliant. The show is set on the fictional Avenue Q in New York City and follows Princeton, a recent college grad, and his struggles on how to answer the questions such as What Do You Do With a B.A. in English? or "What is my Purpose?". It is PACKED full of singable songs and it's one of my favorite cast albums. True to Sesame Street form, It teaches life lessons...comments on adult themes like the taboo around talking about sex with The Internet is for Porn or You Can Be as Loud as the Hell You Want. However, it goes deeper with more complex themes of racism with the dichotomy between the human and monster puppets and characters such as Christmas Eve and Gary Coleman through songs like Everyone's a Little Bit Racist (although now in the era of Trumpism it doesn't pack as much punch, some people are more than just a little bit racist...). While great points are made, the show skilfully keeps the tone light and non-preachy. The finale For Now leaves us with the reassurance that everything is for now and the struggles of the present shall pass. The lyric "George Bush is only for now." is quite ironic as most of us would love to go back to a time where George Bush was the bad guy but now most of us are wishing we could find the way to Avenue Q, or Canada. This is one of those must see shows for anyone who wants to laugh and feel a little bit better about their own lives by the end. My personal favorite song: I Wish I Gould Go Back to College. I seriously tear up every time I listen to it. It's the love letter to the 10 years outta college blues. I am now currently back in college and the line, "I'd sit in the quad and think 'oh my god these kids are so much younger than me'." I find myself saying it every day and it makes me smile.

B

Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (2010)

Candy Heart Message: OCCUPY MY <3

Before Hamilton comes Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (2010) which coincidentally both started at The Public Theater. BBAJ is an emo-rock commentary on Andrew Jackson, America's 7th and first official "rock-star" president. He was extremely popular in his time, but now known for his mass genocide of indigenous people and forcing them from their land. This show is a Brechtian political satire of this era in America's history with tongue and cheek songs such as Populism, Yea Yea, Rock Star, and the most politically successful of the show Ten Little Indians. The show is the precursor to Hamilton not only for the historical content, but the melding of modern musical genres to comment on the content and both create interesting parallels by doing so. This show would be amazing to do now in the era of Trumpism especially for songs like The Corrupt Bargain and Crisis Averted which sound like soundbites from our recent election. BBAJ echos of shows such as Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Spring Awakening which will most likely also end up on my list. Like Spelling Bee, the show is great for small companies who want a big bang for their buck and allows for a great ensemble show with a chance for a stand out male performance. AJ was originated by dream boat Benjamin Walker (American Psycho the Musical) who also played another President, Lincoln in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter...so could he step in now and play President Trump...but like, in real life?

C

***Cats...j/k Chicago (1976)***

Candy Heart Message: FUNY HUNY

If you know me at all, you would know this is in my top 5. Roxie is MY DREAM ROLE. It was my first email address as well...Chicago (1976) is probably the biggest blockbuster musical that will make it on this list, but for good reason. It combines two of my favorite things...satire and Fosse. Chicago is the story of Roxy Hart and Velma Kelly who end up in the Cook County Jail in Chicago "unjustly" for killing their lover and sister respectively. Velma is a cabaret celebrity and Roxy yearns to be her, but the show really runs on all cylinders when the tables turn and Roxy becomes the celebrity through her high profile court antics. It a look at the three ring circus that is the justice system in america and how through the media we celebritize the vile and fame-hungry of society. Can we say alternative facts like We Both Reached For the Gun? (SNL just parodied Roxie with Kellyanne Conway. I'll just leave this here)

It's funny how all these shows still are relevant to our current society. (Chicago was written 40 years ago) That's how you know you've created a winner. Also, what can you say about Fosse?!? The greatest American theatre choreographer maybe of all time? There is a reason people don't change the choreography, it's that good and is almost a character of its own. The songs are some of the most iconic in all of broadway: All That Jazz, Mr, Cellophane, Cell Block Tango, Razzle Dazzle, and Nowadays. I guarantee you know at least one if not all of these. The video I chose to link above is not of the stage version, but of the film which also deserves a mention. To me, it is one the greatest movie musicals of all time. None of this effin La La Land BS. This is how musical theatre deserves to be honored. The use of Broadway "razzle dazzle" vs the grungy muted tones of 1920's Chicago and the Cook County Jail, Stage show from reality, is beautiful design and visually dynamic. Along with an all star powerhouse cast (with surprising performances from Queen Latifa and George C. Riley), the movie breathed new life into 42nd street by appealing to mainstream audiences and that's showbiz...kid.