Webby's Musical Myriad

[Webizoid]

Okay, so I've decided that I should just go ahead and create one of these once and for all. Here is where you can ask me questions about musicals, share opinions, bash me for liking musicals, whatever. I just want to share my tastes with the good people of SBC, which is something that I feel as if I've never really done.

 

If anyone has any requests, such as reviews and opinions, post them please! I would love feedback!

 

I'll post something tomorrow. It's late here in the EST time zone.

[Amphibia]

hey Webby, been a while..

 

(where have you been? )

[Webizoid]

I took a random hiatus from the site, but now I am back!

 

Do you have any suggestions? I'll even talk about Disney movies, since those qualify in my mind as musicals too!

 

(Some of them are musicals that have been on Broadway, or are still on Broadway in the case of The Lion King)

[Sauce Mama]

Do you think Wicked is overhyped?

[Webizoid]

Do you think Wicked is overhyped?

 

This is a good question for many reasons.

 

I do think Wicked is overhyped, and here's why:

 

1. Not all of the music is all that great. I can only deal with Defying Gravity and For Good so many times before wanting to take up life as a Deaf person (I'm learning ASL as of now, I could do it).

2. The special effects, although cool, seem to be compensating for something.

3. So many people grasp onto the music and poor Idina and Kristen that they forget that there's, oh I dunno, A PLOT.

4. It's been on Broadway way too damn long. So many great shows were only on Broadway for one or two years, and then there are shows like Wicked and Cats and Phantom of the Opera THAT NEVER LEAVE. There's a time to come to New York and there's a time to leave, to quote Kathy from Company, another great musical, for those who didn't get the reference.

5. Another aspect of the music that I don't like is that it is mostly too dramatic (I'm looking at you, No One Mourns the Wicked).

6. Elphaba's Father is an asshat. And Nessarose is a skank.

7. Poor Boq, man.

8. I wanted to see more Doctor Dillamond. That character wasn't as developed as I wanted him to be.

9. Speaking of Dillamond, the baa-ing joke is only funny the first time, so there was no reason for it to be in there twice.

10. I didn't care for the Glinda-Elphaba-Fiyero love triangle.

11. GAlinda? Are you kidding me? (Not the musical's fault, I know, I know...)

 

Wow, those got out of control. However, with all of that said, I think it isn't all bad. And here are my reasons for liking it.

 

1. Those special effects really are cool, though.

2. The plot that I referred to earlier is a damn good one. Considering that Wicked was based off of a book, this makes it less impressive, but their adaptation was true to the source material, which is almost always a good thing.

3. Some of the music, I must admit, is pretty good (Dancing Through Life and What Is This Feeling are probably among my favorites).

4. The fact that Joel Grey can kick ass at his age is astounding. What a wonderful person to play a character so complex as the Wizard of Oz.

5. Madame Morrible was pretty interesting.

6. Poor Boq.

 

Score: 5/10

 

So that's my two cents on it. Feel free to give yours, if you like. I hope this helped!

[Sauce Mama]

Ewww do you think Cats is a creepy musical?

[Webizoid]

Ewww do you think Cats is a creepy musical?

 

I do, a bit, but I also think that it relies on dance too much. The only role I would want to be in that show is Rum Tum Tugger. That song is a guilty pleasure of mine. And the opening song isn't too bad either.

[Clappy]

Your thoughts on The Book of Mormon?

[Amphibia]

your thoughts om Disney's Frozen?

[Webizoid]

Your thoughts on The Book of Mormon?

 

I think this one may be one of my favorites. And I'll really delve into it sometime later, but here are the basic things that I love about it:

 

1. The creators of South Park wrote the book and some of the music along with good ol' Bobby Lopez (who wrote the music for Avenue Q, another comedic musical of the 21st century parodying Sesame Street)

2. They took major risks (*AHEM* Hasa Diga Ebowai, anyone?) And all of them paid off. Surprisingly, they've had very few walk-outs. For a musical so raunchy, that's definitely something to be proud of.

3. Andrew Rannells has a perfect voice. And so does Nikki M. James. And Rory O'Malley. And pretty much anyone who has ever been in that show.

4. Josh Gad is hilarious.

5. General Butt-Fucking Naked is one of the best character names I have ever heard. Next to Mrs. Thistletwat, from Avenue Q.

6. I want to be in that show so badly.

7. I've seen clips online, and they are all hilarious and awesome. The director and choreographer had some wonderful ideas, and that shows, big time.

8. Come on, those songs are so catchy!

9. Elder Cunningham (Josh Gad and his replacements) often calls Nabulungi (Nikki M. James and her replacements) different names on accident, such as Neosporin, Newt Gringrich, and other great names that they IMPROVISE each night (impressive, if you ask me).

10. I love the many musical tip-of-the-hats, such as You and Me (But Mostly Me) being a nod to Wicked's The Wizard and I, among others.

11. Spooky Mormon Hell Dream sure is spooky, and pretty hilarious at that.

12. A kick-ass ending for a kick-ass show. The finale and the curtain call make me shamelessly dance around the room, singing, "I HAVE MAGGOTS IN MY SCROOOOOOOOOTUMMMMMM"

13.

Spoiler

I love how Cunningham slowly becomes the main character. At the beginning, it seems that Elder Price (Andrew Rannells) will be the protagonist, but it turns out that it is HE that is second banana to Cunningham in the end. I love shit like this.

 

And I haven't even seen the entire show yet! Something that I will await for years to come. But when that day comes, oh man oh man.

 

As of now, I have nothing against it, so I will give it a 9.5/10 for now, the .5 out of expecting the show to be wonderful.

 

your thoughts om Disney's Frozen?

 

Here are the things I like:

 

1. WAY TO USE BROADWAY STARS! It was a BRILLIANT idea on Disney's part to put Broadway actors into a movie. AT LAST! I wish other movies had done this (Les Miserables, I'm looking at you).

2. Josh Gad (see above, for he was in Book of Mormon) is not only funny in this movie, but so darn loveable. Whenever I meet someone who finds him annoying, I just can't think of why that would be. He is way less annoying than other "sidekicks" throughout the years.

3. I thought Hans would be such a boring character. That is, until

Spoiler

He shows his true colors.

4. The songs were written by Bobby Lopez (OH LOOK, ANOTHER BOOK OF MORMON PERSON WOW), so you can't go wrong there.

5. Idina still has them pipes. Damn.

6. Kristen Bell was a wonderful Anna.

7. I saw it on a first date, so that may have enhanced the experience (we just broke up, so I'm going to see it again to see if that is the case).

8. The movie is truly wonderful to look at. Beautiful.

9. Speaking of beautiful, daaaaaaaaamn, Elsa! She is sexy! I know it's hard for most people to find an animation in such a light, but probably not after this movie. The way she moves her hips in let it go couldn't have been done by an animation. It couldn't have.

10. The Duke of Weselton was a pretty great character.

11. I loved the plot, actually. I really did.

12.FROZEN IS GOING TO BROADWAY YES YES YES YES YES (now fix the mistakes I have listed below, 'kay? 'Kay)!

 

Here are the things I DIDN'T like:

 

1. Um, hi, don't mean to sound so mean, but, uh, how do I put this WHERE WAS THE FUCKING FINALE NUMBER?! I waited and waited and waited and NOTHING. No song to finish it off! Not even a REPRISE of a song! What the hell?! Just sing First Time in Forever or SOMETHING, damn!

2. The last musical number was the Troll song. Go and look. You know I'm right. That's like, only two-thirds of the movie. WTF?

3. The troll song was a throw-away, for that matter. It sure didn't stay in my memory very well.

4. Jonathan Groff (Krystoff) DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH SONGS. Come on, if you're casting Broadway people, give them better material to work with! You can do better than that, Bobby!

5. Now that I think about it,the songs were too pop-y. Not authentic enough for a musical. But, hey, there will probably be changes in orchestration, so this one doesn't worry me as much.

 

So I give Frozen a 7/10.

[Sauce Mama]

What were you're thoughts on Les Miserables the movie? I've never seen the musical, and my friend invited me to go see the movie cuz she loves the musical. I had NO IDEA the ENTIRE MOVIE would be singing so I was just like -___-?

[Webizoid]

What were you're thoughts on Les Miserables the movie? I've never seen the musical, and my friend invited me to go see the movie cuz she loves the musical. I had NO IDEA the ENTIRE MOVIE would be singing so I was just like -___-?

 

The movie had some dialogue in it, but the musical has a grand total of NO dialogue! This is because Les Mis is an operetta, which is defined as a musical with no dialogue. Think opera, but with everything in English. 

 

So I had MANY MANY MANY problems with the movie, so I'll save that list for a bit. Here are the things I liked about the movie:

 

1. If only it were the thought that counted.

2. That Gavroche kicked ass.

3. Aaron Tveit = Perfect

4. Samantha Barks was great.

 

You know what? I have so many problems with the Les Mis movie that I will make another post about it, as soon as I find the things I wrote. I made a long list, but I'm not quite sure where it is. Stay tuned.

[Burgerpants]

Avenue Q

[Webizoid]

Avenue Q

 

Love this musical. Frickin' hilarious. There are few things I don't like about it, but here they are:

 

1. Kate Monster can get kind of annoying

2. The liscensed version cut a verse out of both Schadenfreude and Give Us Your Money for no reason.

3. The school version is a joke.

4. There needed to be more Rod in Act II.

 

But yeah, other than that, I really like it. Listen to the songs and laugh. Laugh very hard.

[Burgerpants]

TMNT: Coming Out Of Their Shells

[Webizoid]

TMNT: Coming Out Of Their Shells

 

Hmm. I wasn't aware that was a thing.

 

Well, judging from the first song, there is way too much percussion. Not enough guitar or bass. But the singers are pretty great, not going to lie.

[Burgerpants]

Hmm. I wasn't aware that was a thing.

 

Well, judging from the first song, there is way too much percussion. Not enough guitar or bass. But the singers are pretty great, not going to lie.

Full musical/Stage show review?

[Webizoid]

Full musical/Stage show review?

 

As soon as I get around to watching the entire thing.

[Wumbo]

Yo, I'm seeing American Idiot: The Musical a few months from now. I'd like to hear your thoughts on it?

[Webizoid]

Yo, I'm seeing American Idiot: The Musical a few months from now. I'd like to hear your thoughts on it?

 

I'm actually not extremely familiar with this musical. But I will tell you what I do know:

 

I like Green Day, as do you. Looking at the song list, they all seem to be Green Day songs. That way, we know the songs won't be bad (unless they do something weird with the songs that I have no idea about, like a random barbershop quartet of Basket Case they randomly decide to do one night).

This musical belongs to a genre of its kind known as jukebox musicals.

 

There are GOOD ones:

Tommy

Jersey Boys

Motown the Musical

 

And there are BAD ones:

Mamma Mia!

A Night with Janis Joplin (The entire premise of the show is just a Janis Joplin concert. Basically, you have paid to watch another woman act like Mrs. Joplin for 2 hours.)

 

From what I hear, it is one of the better ones, and that says a lot. And from reading the plot, it sounds very interesting.

 

So I in no way discourage you from seeing this. In fact, once you come back from seeing it, could you tell me how it was?