27 of my favorite things...............................(which are musicals) PART 5

Ah another week another musical. Last week we left off with everyone's favorite doomed marriage The Last 5 Years. This week will cover M, N, and O! TWO shows include exclamation points in the titles and one is an exclamation point of its own. PLUS A BONUS HISTORY LESSON YOU DIDN'T KNOW YOU WANTED!!!

M

Moulin Rouge!

Candy Heart Message: WRITE ME

Moulin Rouge! single-handedly brought back the movie musical. Period. From here you see a slew of musicals rising up in its stead: Chicago, Dreamgirls, Mamma Mia, Across the Universe etc. Not to mention Glee and singing competitions like American Idol. I'm not saying that Moulin Rouge! is the sole reason for this phenomenon. But, it pushed the boundaries of what a movie musical could be. Baz Luhrman's unique pastiche-jukebox take on the opera La Traviata is not only touching as a story, but visually gorgeous. A story of ill-fated love between a penniless writer and a woman who sells her body for fame and money. What Baz Luhrman does that is really special is that he keeps to the Victorian feel of opera but updates it with songs from iconic singers from the past 30 years. Artists such as David Bowie, Madonna, Elton John, Queen, Nirvana, Whitney Houston, even Marilyn Monroe all get an homage. Nature Boy, Roxanne, Your Song, The Show Must Go On, and the Mash-up Elephant Love Medley are the most effective for the story. The Cultural Re-purposing of these songs to drive the story line allows the plot to be fresh and current to modern audiences while still staying true to the classic roots of the piece. There are a few original songs added in just for an extra bit of love for the musical theatre genre. The best being Satine and Christians secret song Come What May. Art Direction and Cinematography should also get a nod. I always love the way Baz Luhrman's movies look and feel. You always know they are going to be gorgeous to look at from the sets, costumes, and the lighting design (extra shout out...as evidenced from the above video). The way he cuts back and forth like your weaving through cones going 100 mph keeps you on your toes, and gives extra emphasis for those scenes he chooses to linger on. However, non of this would be a success without a spectacular cast. Broadway, West End, and Film giants grace the frames of this movie: Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, Jim Broadbent, John Leguizamo, Caroline O'Connor, and a cameo by Kylie Minogue. I recently went to Secret Cinema's version of Moulin Rouge! and I am not too proud to say that I welled up more than a few times. I sat there baffled asking, "with the plethora of good awful jukebox musicals out there on Broadway...why has this never transferred?" I think it would be rather easy to adapt this to stage and still hold its integrity.I know for me, Moulin Rouge! solidified the fact that I knew that musicals were my calling. I need them in my life. I will forever remember the moment I first saw this film in the small over-sold Oklahoma City theater sitting on the stairs in the isle with my head in my hands, filled with childish wonder. Extra Bonus: We got the epic collaboration between the Divas of the day: Christina Aguilera, Maya, Pink, and Missy Elliot for the credits sequence with their rendition of Lady Marmalade. Epic.

N

Next to Normal

Candy Heart Message: U R HOME

Next to Normal is the second Pulitzer Prize for Drama winner on my list. This show is such an important statement when Broadway was just cranking out pointless jukebox musicals in the wake of 9/11. Next to Normal centers on the loss of a child and how that effects mental health and the relationships between bereaved parents themselves and their children. Every role in this show has moments to shine and the original cast was certainly stacked. My current in-my-dreams-Broadway-lover and every day MCM: Aaron Tveit and Alice Ripley are powerhouses in front of a stellar cast. As characters, I connect to the daughter Natalie the most having been a child of divorce and a not always stable home life made her songs such as Everything Else and Hey 1, 2, & 3/ Perfect for You resonate. I do also love I am the One, Aftershocks, and There's a World. Unfortunately Next to Normal was taken off Spotify for some reason, so you cant listen to it there but Pandora says it's available although I can't verify since Pandora isn't available in Europe...so maybe check out Pandora. It is such a unique show for its subject matter alone, but I also love the very simple stage design, no flash just human interactions on display. This show is for anyone who can relate to the unfair stigmas surrounding mental health, the loss of a loved one, or the inability to let go of past trauma.

O

Oklahoma!

Candy Heart Message: HEAT WAVE

Ok ok, just hold your horses!!! Hear me out. If you don't like Oklahoma!, you haven't seen Oklahoma! done right. Oklahoma! is a really dark musical PLUS! feminist/polyamorous women in early musical theatre writing!?! Oscar Hammerstein was really before his time. Hammerstein believed that there should always be a political message in the underbelly of each of his pieces, however he was writing at a time where people just wanted pretty music. They didn't want a story line mucking everything up, but Oscar Hammerstein wanted there to be a way to merry all these concepts together to create what is now know today as a "Book Musical". If for nothing else, you must respect that Oklahoma! is essential viewing/study for anyone wanting to know about musical theatre.

Anyway back to the point I was making about Oklahoma! being dark. Ah yes, most people just know Oklahoma! for its catch numbers such as Oh What a Beautiful Morning, Surrey With the Fringe on Top, I Cain't Say No, The Farmer and the Cowman, and of course the title song, Oklahoma. BUT if you've never seen a good production you haven't seen the dark side of what Rodgers and Hammerstien produced. The biggest fact being there are no American Indians.

CONTEXT: This show is set in a time where Oklahoma is not yet a state. Now, if you're from Oklahoma you know that up until Oklahoma became a state it was the last true Indian Territory carved out after the Trail of Tears that drove the Native Americans out of the southeastern states to "reservations" or pretty much the land no one wanted at the time (which is now Oklahoma) during Andrew Jackson's presidency. Basically, apartheid.

Approximately 6,000 Choctaw natives alone died on the trip. This does not include figures from the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Creek or Seminole tribes. This was supposed to be their land buth here come the white folks swoopin' in to come claim it. Gentrification at its lowest. The "Indian Territory" known now as Oklahoma was opened up to settlers starting in 1889 by the "Indian Appropriations Act" (vile I know) and later the "Homestead Act" (Passed by Abraham Lincoln...yeah shocking) these gave away lands for people to "improve the lands" (as if men need to come in and improve what geology has already created).

That's how we get to Oklahoma! In 1907 Oklahoma officially becomes a state and this show happens in the months before that happens. So, if you can just IMAGINE the historical context this play lands itself in?!? A ton of scholars have noted that there aren't any Native characters in the cast HOWEVER I think this MAY have been on purpose. (plus R&H didn't have to deal with controversy from those who don't really see the negation as a statement) The fact that there are no Native characters makes me think that this is a statement, a statement of the injustices of the Native people. NOW this may not be the case and I'm just trying to pull out reason, but after really reading up on Oscar Hammerstein and his extreme liberal views, I feel this is on purpose. My dream, if I were to ever produce this show, would be to add Native characters on the fringe of the action or as characters that the cast don't really acknowledge to punch home the "White Privilege" aspect of the show. It's very subtle for those who don't have knowledge of Oklahoma history, or for those who don't actively seek to understand the omitting.

NEXT I want to comment on rape, bullying, and suicide...yup those are in Oklahoma! too. This presents itself in the character of Jud. Jud is in love with Laurie who is his boss' daughter. He is an odd and lowly character not fit for the likes of Laurie, a highfalutin homesteader with all the finer things. Laurie is frightened by Jud, but in a way I feel is unjustified. She judges him for his stature in life and looks down on him. Curly comes in to save the day and goes to talk to Jud in his shack. Curly's idea is to get Jud to hang himself and does this through the song Poor Jud is Daid (above). Curly has bullied Jud throughout the show, but to bully him to the point of getting him to commit suicide is just unnerving. These themes are further realized through the Dream Ballet at the end of Act 1. Dream Ballets are just that, dreams; and in this case it's Laurie's. In the ballet Jud shows up and tries to rape Laurie on stage. This is all kinds of effed up; for her to project that onto a guy who is just a socially awkward farmhand shows how far she has villainized Jud. Through these interactions I can totally understand why Jud snaps in the end, he has been pushed to the edge by Curly and Laurie's incessant bullying. Dark enough for you? Not just boot scootin' boogie after all.

Moving over to the feminist aspects that arise in the character of Ado Annie. Ado is a free spirit with lots of love to go around. She is a polyamorous character who is having trouble setting down with her main man Will. Though the songs Cain't Say No and All Er Nuthin. In Cain't Say No she sings:

When a person tries to kiss a girl I know she aughta give his face a smack! But as soon as someone kisses me I somehow sorta want to kiss him back! I'm just a fool when lights are low I cain't be prissy an' quaint I ain't the type that can faint How can I be what I ain't? I cain't say 'no!'

She is so self aware. She knows she's not like Laurie the one man, prissy, good mannered type and she isn't afraid to admit that she likes being with men. She has no shame and it's glorious. She is who she is and she isn't going to apologize for it. Then, in All Er Nuthin she allows Will to have the liberty to do the same. She sings:

But if a wife is wise, she's gotta realize That men like you are wild and free. So I ain't gonna fuss, ain't gonna frown, Have your fun, go out on the town, Stay up late and don't come home till three. And go right off to sleep if you're sleepy, There's no use waitin' up fer me!

Hence the polyamory. She's ok with him going out if she can go out too. This is modern beyond the time it was set in along with the time it was created (1943) Women were supposed to be dainty, well mannered, and quiet and Miss Ado Annie is NONE of those things.

To conclude, if you still feel like Oklahoma! is just one of those musicals to sweep under the theatre rug...think again. Oklahoma! is FULL of opportunities to get really political. The Oregon Shakespeare festival is producing Oklahoma! this year with same gender pairings. So Laurie and Curly will be cast as women and Ado and Will as men...should be interesting...although I think you can still go further. I think this would at the top of my list for musicals I would LOVE to produce/direct in the future, to take all these concepts and produce a truly Brechtian production of Oklahoma! that's gritty and brings all of the disgusting themes into the light. SO if you're into that and have money, give me a call.