My church in Wichita Falls had the best music program of any church I've ever been a part of. I had the pleasure of singing in a men's quartet for a couple of years while there. Some of the most fun I have ever had singing. As to my all time favorite musical, you and Red have named some great ones, but I have to give my nod to Oklahoma, simply because I got to play the lead in it. Truly a hoot to perform a major part in a musical.
At the risk of derailing the thread, in general, there is no comparison between a Broadway musical and a movie musical. The stage demands a different kind of performance. The Music Man gets a pass in such a comparison, because Robert Preston originated the role of Prof. Hill on Broadway, and Meredith Wilson insisted he get the part in the movie. But take a look, for example, at Sweeney Todd. I love Johnny Depp, but here's his performance of "Epiphany": [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjCUJh9iULk&feature=related]Sweeney Todd Epiphany - YouTube[/ame] Now here's George Hearn's performance on Broadway. This is the only clip I could find, and it doesn't begin until 10:25. No comparison, you can see him snap. I saw this one in person, and they way he picked out people in the audience and called them out was incredible: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-KLi8R5Meo]Sweeney Todd the Musical (Broadway 1982) part 5 - YouTube[/ame]
Films are different, but not always worse. On the stage they have to sing to the back row, with films you get something more real. It depends on the show. Johnny Depp is not a singer. Period. Hollywood has a habit of doing this. Once they dubbed them, now they just let them sing poorly. Paint Your Wagon starred Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood, neither of whom could sing a lick.
I've seen it so many times that I can recite every line ... just not as fast as Robert Preston. And when I go watch the plays that come to town, I know when the miss a line and they always have to slow the songs down just to be able to spit out all of the words (including Mathiew Broderick's version). And the Buffalo Bills were awesome. And Shirley Jones was pregnant during the movie.
The Music Man is a great movie,.. I need to watch it again now. The stage play is wonderful too. It plays at our local theater every so often, always a hoot. And Rhans you're right, Robert Preston is far, far better than anyone else as the music man.
