All tagged Meet Me in St. Louis

The Ten Best Film Performances of Judy Garland

If you love musicals then there is a pretty good chance that you are a fan of Judy Garland. No female star of classic Hollywood shown as brightly in musicals as Judy, who often held her own against (or out-shown) co-stars such as Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, and Van Johnson. They called her “the little girl with the big voice”, but what she really was had more to do with her extreme talent and the unbridled energy she poured into each performance. This article may not be the perfect topic for the holidays, but as I was thinking of what gift I could give to my readers, it was clear: I should share my favorite moments of my favorite film star. I hope you enjoy watching these clips as much as I enjoyed assembling them for you!

Binge-Watching Christmas Songs from the Stage and Screen

It’s that time of the year again. For some, it has already started. For others, it will be ushered in with Thanksgiving. It is time to play Christmas music: merrily, joyously, incessantly. Growing up in my home, we had a rule that Christmas carols could not be played until after Santa Claus arrived at the end of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Nowadays, it seems we are pelted with them like soggy snowballs from the minute Tiny Tim climbs on the school bus in September. But who am I to be such a Scrooge when we are so close to Thanksgiving, even the curmudgeonly Theatre Guy’s heart grows a few sizes and he embraces the yuletide when it comes around. With that in mind (and heart), I thought I’d put together a collage of Christmas Caroling clips of songs from movies, television and stage musicals for all of us to celebrate the countdown to December 25th.  It’s guaranteed to put you in the mood for the season.  

Movie Musicals On the Stage: What Is the Recipe for Success? – Part One

Those classic Hollywood musicals of the old studio system (particularly Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) were, for many of us, our glorious introduction to the musical form. Our affection for the iconic moments and memorable songs in these cinematic masterpieces makes them ripe for the picking to transplant to the Broadway stage. Whether-or-not doing so does them any justice is another question altogether. We are often disappointed by the result; how do you effectively take what was artfully and intimately captured through a camera’s lens and reimagine it in the wider, more distant picture of the stage?