All tagged Babes in Toyland
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.
There are many movie musicals that were not perfect. For one reason or another, they just don't delight audiences the way big hits like Singin' in the Rain, The Sound of Music, or West Side Story do. That's perfectly fine; not every outing is going to be a hit. There are, however, several movie musicals that may have missed the mark, but managed to still have moments of beauty and magic. Today's column explores eight movie musicals that deserve a second look.
We left off with our epic journey through the history of musical theatre having just explored British composing team Gilbert and Sullivan’s influence on the evolution of the art form. Their popular operettas crossed the Atlantic and took America by storm. It wasn’t long before American composers got on board with this trend and began churning out their own operettas, a trend that would hold on for decades, well into the 1930s. In the early part of the 20th Century there were several homegrown operettas entertaining the Broadway audiences. The Wizard of Oz (1902) and Babes in Toyland (1903) were both enormous successes on Broadway, on the road, and overseas. The family-friendly nature of their plots, as well as the popularity of the sheet music in conjunction with lavish spectacle soon made operetta a hot ticket.
With the month of March just around the corner, I thought it would be fun to discuss Broadway showtunes that follow a "march" rhythm. These are the songs that put a little pep into your step, getting you to lift those knees up high and to puff out your chest. Marches can be regal, and marches can be celebratory. They can be patriotic, perky, jaunty, and most of all, fun. Here are some of my favorite marches from Broadway musicals.
