My favorite musicals. {Classic Movie May}

I love musicals. (I even wrote a post about why a couple of years ago.) Musicals are over the top and splashy and sometimes a little obnoxious and just plain fun. My favorites always make me smile, and here they are:

Singin' in the Rain

I've already gushed about this one enough, I think. :) I don't want to get repetitive with my posts this month, but I had to include this one. It's just about the perfect musical.

 

Summer Stock

Gene Kelly and Judy Garland- who could ask for anything more? {Oops...getting a little mixed up on my songs there. :) I've Got Rhythm is from Girl Crazy.} Seriously, though, Summer Stock is so overlooked when it comes to musicals. It's hilarious and kooky and generally awesome. It was Judy Garland's last film at MGM, the studio where she got her start, so that's sad and significant. And it includes a genius dance where Gene Kelly's props are a newspaper and a creaky floorboard. Yes. Almost as good as him dancing on roller skates. (And to add to the awesomeness, he's dancing to "You Wonderful You," which is a song I love.)

 

In the Good Old Summertime

It's a musical remake of The Shop Around the Corner, which was the basis for You've Got Mail. Need I say more? I sort of wrote a review several years ago. It's just really charming, and Judy Garland and Van Johnson have great chemistry as you watch them go from disliking each other to falling in love (while not wanting to admit it). Plus, there's S.Z. Sakall and Buster Keaton. The end of the movie has me snort-laughing one minute and swooning the next because Van Johnson was being so ridiculously romantic. :)

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

This one is just so much fun. I love the songs (though I'm not into operatic-style singing, so I'm not too crazy about Jane Powell's voice. I do love Howard Keel, even though he does get dangerously close to sounding too opera-ish :). It's such a classic, even if it is one of the most unbelievable musicals ever. Meet a man once and agree to marry him 10 minutes later? Yes. Kidnapping leads to true love? Yes. Having a waist as tiny as Dorcas' is possible? Yes. {I can handle this. West Side Story? No.} Also, the brothers' colorful shirts are gorgeous and the barn raising dance scene is one of the most amazing things ever.

 

The Sound of Music

 

The Sound of Music is probably the first real classic movie I ever watched. I used to watch it every time it came on TV, but I never got past the first half because then it was my bedtime! So I never knew what happened between Maria and the Captain or how the film ended. (I told someone that once and she said, "You were missing the best part!" :) Then I bought it on DVD when I was about thirteen or fourteen (at a Christian bookstore- very unusual) and it sat on my shelf for a couple of years before I finally watched it all the way through. How can you not like The Sound of Music? The music is great, it has a very good plot, and there's Julie Andrews.

What are your favorite musicals?

Until next time,