27 of My Favorite Things>...........................(Which are Musicals) Part 3
Part 3 brings us 2 Sondheim classics and the most awarded musical of all time.
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Gypsy (1959)
Candy Heart Message: UR A STAR
Lauded as one of the greatest musicals with one of the most complex female musical characters of all time, Gypsy is the first Sondheim show to make the list. Gypsy tells the tale of Mama Rose and her obsession with fame and making her children Hollywood stars. She is what we have come to know today as a "stage mom". A woman you would see now on Toddlers and Tiaras or Dance Moms. She is ruthless and will stop at nothing to fulfill her dreams through her kids. She sums it up when she explains, "I was born too soon and started too late. With what I have in me I coulda been better than any of you!" She is THE part that women would kill to play, so it's no surprise that so many icons have played her: Ethel Merman (who the part was written for), Angela Lansbury, Bernadette Peters, Patti Lupone, Bette Midler, and Imelda Staunton (fitting the woman who played Dolores Umbridge, plays Mama Rose with such dexterity...she is my favorite actress to play the role). Gypsy gives us so many classic musical standards such as Everything's Coming Up Roses, Get Yourself a Gimmick, Rose's Turn and Some People that many stars such as Judy Garland have done their own versions of these iconic melodies, cementing Gypsy's place at the top...just like Mama Rose wanted.
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Hamilton (2015)
Candy Heart Message: HELPLESS
This one's a no brainer. Hamilton has pretty much redefined musical theatre as we know it. Unless you have no contact with the outside world or live somewhere other than North America or England, you've undoubtedly heard of Hamilton, theatre person or no. It is the hip-hop retelling of the life of Alexander Hamilton our "five dollar founding father" who created Amercia's banking system and it definitely lives up to the hype. I'd say that it is at the number one spot on my entire list at the moment. It's one of those times that everything comes together to make the perfect storm. The songs, the performances, the design, everything is pitch perfect. At the helm is creator Lin Manuel Miranda who is pretty much the best human being to walk this earth. Seriously, subscribe to his Facebook and Twitter and you'll agree. Which makes it all the better that a show that brings in 250,000 A PERFORMANCE is happening to a guy like him. The show was nominated for a record 16 Tonys and won 11 of them. It also won the Pulitzer, a Grammy, along with 16 other awards. So, it stands on its laurels. No need for me to go on and on, but if you've never listened to it, it is a must. But, make sure you listen to it in order to get the full effect. My favorite songs include Schuyler Sisters, Satisfied, History Has it's Eyes on You leading into Yorktown, One Last Time, Burn, It's Quiet Uptown, Who Lives Who Dies Who Tells Your Story. The show has gone onto spawn 2 other productions in Chicago and London. Along with Lin-Manuel making hilarious appearances on Drunk History and SNL that have made him a household name, Hamilton has also garnered news off stage from the night Mike Pence came to a performance and from Tony night when the cast performed without bayonnets out of respect for the Orlando massacre that had happened that week which culminated in Lin Manuel's now famous sonnet acceptance speech "love is love is love is love". There is a script called the "Hamiltome" that includes Lin's dramaturgial notes, a Hamilton Mix-Tape full of celebrity covers of songs, and a documentary called Hamilton's America (below) that follows the journey the show took to the top. It too has been nominated for its share of awards. This show is a dramaturg's dream because of the willingness of Lin Manuel to divulge so much of the creative process, which is probably why I can't get enough. And maybe, it has one more revolution to start, the revolution of the new Broadway: a Broadway for everyone! Raise a glass!
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Into the Woods (1987)
Candy Heart Message: EVER AFTER
This is one of my favorites for personal reasons. I played Little Red my senior year of college and fell in love with the show. On the surface it is the story of some of literature's most famous fairy tale characters: Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel and the witch, and Cinderella. In Act 1 you see their journeys as we know them, but in Act 2 these tales are turned on their heads. What is the price of getting all your dreams? Well Sondheim teaches us to take heed. In the finale he warns, "careful the wish you make, wishes are children, careful the path they take, wishes come true, not free." I couldn't truly appreciate what Sondheim was trying to do with this show until much later, but the song No One is Alone has always hit home. When I did the show, I could never get through the song without crying and my director would say, "you can't cry so much, you've got to get through the song." I challenge you, watch the video above and NOT cry. It's one of my favorite Sondheim songs period. Other greats are Agony, Stay With Me, Your Fault/Last Midnight, and No More.
