As an admittedly bad singer, I believe I have always been slightly offended by musical theatre. Perhaps I harbor a secret fear that at any moment, in any innocuous location, people around me might burst into song and dance, dragging me into a horror of my own making. And I, knowing neither the words nor the moves, nor having the vocal wherewithal to pull it off, am relegated to a mere observatory role. However, personal terrors aside, I have grown to appreciate a few of the more melodious films.
Singing in the Rain (1952): An American musical classic, I first viewed it in an Italian hotel room with my sister as there was nothing else available beyond local telenovelas and some of the more, shall we say, colorful films. Ears pressed to the speakers so as not to wake our parents, we were taken aback by its spontaneous bursts of song and oddly placed segues that seemed to serve little purpose beyond yet another silver platter opportunity to bust out a dance number. We loved it. Far and away my favorite musical, it is a delightful romp through a 20’s era love story, unapologetically ridiculous and thoroughly over-the-top. It doesn’t try to force the songs to act as dialogue, or to move the story forward or frankly even to fit into the plot. The story weaves a nice yarn, but it is the songs themselves that carry the movie, turning back the clock to yesteryear, before reality ruled and the Kardashians were king.
Grease (1978): I don’t think there is a girl (or musically inclined gentleman) alive who has missed this one. Or frankly, who doesn’t own the soundtrack and has been known to faux-reluctantly belt one out at a local karaoke club. Yea, we all have. While I must admit, I do enjoy the bevy of sing-along tunes that make up the bread and butter of this one, I think it is the characters and the story that solidify my interest. I mean really, who can resist a blond-wig clad Stockard Channing parading around the room in mock portrayal of chaste Sandra Dee? Or the love triangles and sexual standoffs between Danny, Sandy, Rizzo, Kenickie and, ever the wallflower, Cha Cha DiGregorio at the school dance? Definitely a well deserved, if endlessly cheesy, staple of the musical genre.
High School Musical (2006): A favorite of the tween set (and a certain unnamed college roommate of mine), HSM, as it is affectionately referred to by those in the know, is one of those musicals that makes a valiant effort to incorporate all the songs in a seamless and totally-not-weird-that-a-roomful-of-highschool-students-burst-into-song kind of way. But yea, it’s weird. Case in point: Zac Efron, the quintessential blonde basketball playing heart throb gets into a fight and storms back to school in the dead of night where, to get a handle on his feelings, bursts into an apparently spontaneous song and dance number, the dénouement of which features him falling to his knees in front of a 2 story poster of himself playing basketball. I mean, I know my high school had giant posters of all our jocks. I will say, the songs are pretty catchy but yea, just own up to being a ridiculous musical. Don’t try to sell me that a random school in New Mexico is just full to the rafters with Disney trained starlets. You are fooling no one.
So alright, maybe I like musicals a bit more than I initially let on. Did I cry at Rent? Of course. Did I find myself breaking into spontaneous dance moves during Moulin Rouge? You know it. Did I grin awkwardly all by myself during White Christmas? Unfortunately and embarrassingly, yes. While I’m still not a good singer and should probably leave soundtracks to the professionals, at the end of the day, the inside of my car doesn’t talk.
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