Celebrate Musicals Week: Kickoff and Tag

Welcome, everyone, to Yet Another Period Drama Blog's Celebrate Musicals Week!  I'm incredibly excited about everything we have in store for this week, and I'm looking forward to the spectacular posts you guys have been working on.  To start things off, let's have... a tag!

I've written this tag to mainly center around the musical you chose to spotlight this week (see here for more details than that-- and if you're late to the party, by all means go ahead and join in now!), but there are a few wild-card questions thrown in there to jazz things up a little.   My answers can be seen below, and if you scroll to the end of the post, the questions are all there for your taking.  Please feel free to fill this tag out on your own blog and then follow the instructions at the end of this post for linking up.  Thanks!

1.  What musical did you pick to "spotlight" this week and why?

I chose Phantom of the Opera, because it's become one of my absolute favorite musicals in the last year (despite my rather ignorant abhorrence of it a few years ago :D) and I wanted to showcase it here on my blog.  This may or may not have been the reason I hosted the Celebrate Musicals week in the first place.  Ahem.

2.  How did you discover the musical you picked (hereinafter referred to as "your musical")?

I fell in love with POTO very gradually-- the process started when I first heard "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again," which is still one of my favorite songs from the show.  After hearing so much about it in the blogging world, I watched a few clips from the 25th Anniversary production at the Royal Albert Hall (and enjoyed each one immensely) and after hearing from a friend about the part that needed skipping (yes, unfortunately there is one scene that's rather inappropriate) I took the plunge and watched the whole thing.

And I kind of loved it.

And then I watched it again (and again) and created Phantom stations on Pandora and listened to the original cast album in its almost-entirety a lot of times (ahem) and bought the 25th anniversary album and listened to (and watched) an awful lot of bootlegs on YouTube.

And now?  Yeah, now I'm a Phan.  It's a silly name, but I've always been rather partial to silly names.  I really love this story, despite my scorning it when I was younger.  It's dramatic, it's romantic, it's heartbreaking, it's hilarious at times, it's a gorgeous spectacle, it features some of the best music ever to grace live theatre.  (I should note here that it's also a darker story than some of my other favorites, and for that reason I don't recommend the musical for young children.)

Oh, and I am totally Team Raoul.  Just for the record.

3.  If you had to pick three favorite songs from your musical, which ones would they be?

"Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again," "All I Ask of You," and "Final Lair." (The track I call "Final Lair" is listed on the 25th Anniversary album as "Down Once More/Track Down This Murderer" but I prefer "Final Lair."  It's simple, it says it...)

4.  What's your least favorite song from your musical?

Definitely "Point of No Return."  I actually haven't heard the whole thing, but believe me, you miss nothing if you skip it.  There's way too much ick in that song.  I think the plot could have moseyed along quite nicely without it.

5.  Who are your favorite characters in your musical (choose up to three)?

Raoul and Christine, obviously, and then Andre-and-Firmin.  Yes, they count as one.  Stop looking at me like that.  And all you Erik fans can just put down your Punjab lassoes.  Sure, I feel sorry for the Phantom and all that, but the guy is an obsessive murderer.   I feel a tremendous amount of pity for him, but that doesn't excuse his actions, and I think Christine definitely made the right decision in choosing Raoul.  (More on that later in the week.)

6.  Which versions of your musical have you seen/listened to, and which is your favorite?

I've seen the 25th Anniversary Royal Albert Hall production and the 2004 movie (skipping certain parts), and I've listened to the Original Cast Recording as well as too many other versions of various songs to count. (Seriously, it's like every theatre singer EVER has covered "Music of the Night" at some point in their career.)  Plus dozens of clips on YouTube.  Michael Ball does a pretty amazing "All I Ask Of You," for the record.

7.  Is this your favorite musical of all time?  If not, what is?

Nope, though it definitely ranks in the top five.  The prestigious honor of Miss Dashwood's Favorite Musical to End All Favorite Musicals goes to... say it with me, guys...

LES MISERABLES!!!!

8.  Which cast album/musical soundtrack in your collection do you listen to the most?

That would be the TAC-- the Les Miserables 10th Anniversary Concert.  No shame.  :D

9.  What is your favorite costume from your musical?

Christine's "Wishing" gown, hands-down.  I want it for my owwwwwwwwn.

10.  If you could change anything about your musical, what would you change?

I'd cut out "Point of No Return" (like I said, it's stupid and unnecessary) and give Christine and the other slave girls something more than a grass skirt to wear during "Hannibal."  I really love some of the costumes in this show (post coming on those later in the week, too!) but with others there are some serious modesty issues.  And don't get me started on the movie.  Eeeeeeeyuck.

 11.  Which role(s) would you most like to play in any musical, if you had the opportunity to do so on stage?

For the past year and eight months or however long it is since I first heard the cast album, my dream has been to play Eponine in Les Mis.  Seriously, she's the PERFECT role.  Her songs are all within a comfortable mezzo range (no struggling with super-high notes),  she has one of the best solos in the history of theatre (I fell in love with "On My Own" from the first hearing of it and yes, I know it's become a teenage girl cliche but hey, it's a great song) she gets to die onstage and sing a heartbreaking duet while doing so, and she doesn't have to kiss anybody.  Wins all around.

My second choice would be to play Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady because that would just be awesome.  She also has some pretty incredible songs, plus she gets to do an awful lot of screaming onstage, plus she gets to wear fabulous clothes, plus she ALSO doesn't have to kiss anybody.  Oh, and doing a Cockney accent is fun.

12.  If you could choose one performer to play any part in your musical, who would you choose and which part would you have them play?

I really want to see James Barbour play the Phantom--  I think he'd do a beautiful job.  (Stay tuned for my dream casting later in the week! Yes, this post is a shameless plug for Upcoming Features.  That's what happens during blog parties.)  His version of the ubiquitous "Music of the Night" is one of the best I've ever heard.

13.  Do you consider yourself a musical theatre fan in general or do you just like a few musicals?

I am definitely a musical theatre geek.  No doubts there.  I've never yet had the privilege of being in a show, but I can identify with practically every one of those Thespian Peacock memes.  Heehee.

14.  Are you tired of the word "musical" yet?

I'd better not be, because it's going to turn up on this blog many more times before the week is out.

15.  Turn your iPod or MP3 player on shuffle (or utilize Pandora if you don't have a music device) and tell us the names of the first three show tunes that come up-- no cheating!  How do these rank on your favorites/most-listened-to list?

~"The Perfect Nanny" from Mary Poppins (the film).  I love this movie (and the stage musical!) and proudly know all the songs in it by heart, but this one isn't necessarily a top favorite.
~"The Embassy Waltz" from the My Fair Lady film soundtrack.  I love this piece, but again, I don't listen to it all that often.
~"ABC Cafe/Red and Black" from the TAC.  This one is definitely the favorite/most-listened-to of this list at least.  Nobody does "the color of despair" like Michael Ball.

And here's the list of questions for your own blogs!

1.  What musical did you pick to "spotlight" this week and why?
2.  How did you discover the musical you picked (hereinafter referred to as "your musical")?
3.  If you had to pick three favorite songs from your musical, which ones would they be?
4.  What's your least favorite song from your musical?
5.  Who are your favorite characters (choose up to three)?
6.  Which versions of your musical have you seen/listened to, and which is your favorite?
7.   Is this your favorite musical of all time?  If not, what is?
8.   Which cast album/musical soundtrack in your collection do you listen to the most?
9.   What is your favorite costume from your musical?
10.  If you could change anything about your musical, what would you change?
11.  Which role(s) would you most like to play in any musical, if you had the opportunity to do so on stage?
12.  If you could choose one performer to play any part in your musical, who would you choose and which part would you have them play?
13.  Do you consider yourself a musical theatre fan in general or do you just like a few musicals?
14.  Are you tired of the word "musical" yet?
15.  Turn your music playing device on shuffle (or utilize Pandora if you don't have one) and tell us the names of the first three show tunes that come up-- no cheating!  How do these rank on your favorites/most-listened-to list?

Please fill out this tag at any time during the week and tag your post with the phrase "Celebrate Musicals Week."  Once you've filled out the tag, you can come back here and leave a comment with the URL for that tag (as explained here.)  Then be sure to tag all your other musical posts throughout the week with that same tag, so that anyone who follows the URL can see all your posts in one tidy spot.  Make sense?  I'll link up to everyone's URLs at the end of the week.

*Please note: While I realize that some musicals out there are not necessarily appropriate for all ages and that some of your posts may cover shows that are not for children, I ask that you please be discreet and keep your language family-friendly at all times.  I will not publish a link to any post I have not pre-read and feel comfortable with, and I reserve the right to not link to your blog if I feel there's something inappropriate in one of your musical posts.  I'm not trying to offend anyone here, but this is my blog and I want to keep a good environment here for the little ones who read it.  (And yes, there are some under-13's reading this blog, so let's keep them in mind while writing, okay?)  Thanks!*

All righty then.  The tag is now open and Celebrate Musicals Week has had its official kick-off!  On your mark... get set... go!