There’s a thing going around Facebook where people are listing the things they don’t like that everyone else does. Some make sense to me – black licorice? EW. The Kardashians? EW EW. And some – well, I’ve lost all respect for some people.
So I thought I’d make a list of the musicals I don’t like that everyone else does (not in any kind of order):
- Grease
The Travolta/ON-J movie was entertaining, but really, it’s a gross musical. I simply won’t teach any of the songs from it because they’retrashnot my cup of tea. - Bye Bye Birdie
Really, this should be #1. My personal experience of Hell on earth was sitting through a high school showcase in Milwaukee where five scenes of this monstrosity were presented. I only like “Put on a happy face,” and then only sung by Dick Van Dyke. Most of the music istrashnot my cup of tea. - Chorus Line
I like the music out of context. I find the story very self-indulgent (as I do with a lot of 1970s musicals) and it’s uncomfortable to see HS kids doing it. - Godspell
Admittedly, seeing this at St. Matthias Catholic Church done by an all-volunteer group may have colored my opinion of it. But again, self-indulgent 1970s pseudo-spiritualclaptrapnot my cup of tea. - Pippin
I like Corner of the Sky. But other than that, self-indulgent etc. etc. - Children of Eden
This is the third Stephen Schwartz piece in a row. Huh. “Oh Noah – you go-ah – all the way back to the protozoa!” That lyric alone … ugh. - Jekyll & Hyde
Great music. Just too dark, no humor to liven up the endless death and dismemberment. A show only as good as its three principal actors. And “Confrontation” has to be sung by an acting phenom, otherwise it’s hilarious. - Mamma Mia!
UGH. My husband says, “But you like ABBA.” Yeah, in a club. But not an entire evening of it. Plus I kinda hate jukebox musicals. And when I saw the movie, there were a whole bunch of women from the Red Hat Society, cheering and dancing. ‘Nuff said. - Rent
Puccini did it better. I have my own personal opinion as to why it was such a success. I won’t share that here. Mimi shouldn’t live at the end. THERE ARE CONSEQUENCES. - Spring Awakening
I will say that I like the recording better than when people brought me the individual songs because the orchestration is sublime. The piano reductions are boring as hell. I don’t like the music, though. I find it too jarring with the 1800s setting. It seems… dare I say it… self-indulgent – “Look how edgy we are!”
(Dis)Honorable mention:
- You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown
I don’t like shows where adults play children. I could probably handle a production at the high school level, but a 45 year old Charlie Brown is just gross. - 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
I like the story, not the music. Which is weird because I love William Finn’s writing in Falsettos and A New Brain. Again, adults playing children is weird and off-putting to me. - City of Angels
Saw it on its national tour in DC in the 90s. Enjoyed it somewhat, I recall, but I remember nothing about it. I couldn’t tell you anything about it 15 minutes after I saw it.
There are a lot of musicals I haven’t seen and don’t wanna see. I don’t like jukebox musicals or movicals (movies turned into musicals) as a general rule. There are exceptions.
But there’s one musical for which I cannot – no, will not – make an exception (other than the DvD reference above). Just say no.
Not that I’m opinionated or anything. It’s just
trash …. not my cup of tea.