Welcome! The purpose of this thread is to talk about all things related to the wonderful world of musical theatre. Each week (or so) I will post a thread with a topic/question for everyone to respond to. This is also a great place to mention any new musicals you’ve discovered and/or general recommendations for other musical fans. Heard/seen any good shows lately? Have any theatre news to share? Tell us about it!
Before I get into this week’s topic, I want to draw your attention to BannerThief’s excellent movie musical contest. If you haven’t noticed it, I recommend checking it out because there are a lot of interesting comments about the movies (there are some particularly great ones by Roswulf). Vote for your favorites in round 3, comment, and revel in the fact that the Avocado is super into musicals right now! The Avocado’s Favorite Film Musical: Round 3
One more small thing: I probably won’t be able to post something every week because I sometimes get busy on Tuesday mornings or don’t have anything particularly inspiring to say. So, I want to officially ask if anyone as any ideas for future topics. I’d be more than happy to let others post this thread, but I’d like to have that planned ahead of time. So, if you ever feel like you’d want to write up something, just let me know!
Alright, this week I’d like to hear what you all have to say about dance. I love dance. But I don’t really know that much about it. Like, I enjoy watching dancers, but I couldn’t tell you what makes a good dancer or who choreographed anything. Also, as I’ve said before, I haven’t seen that many stage shows, so I don’t often get to actually see the dancing. That’s probably why most of my posts focus on the singing and the music. But I know that dance is a huge part of musical theatre, so I’d love to know who are you favorite dancers/choreographers? Or, what are your favorite dance numbers/dance-heavy musicals? Please share videos if you can find any!
I’ll just briefly mention the shows I’ve seen that featured lots of great dancing: The Drowsy Chaperone and Natasha, Pierre, and The Great Comet of 1812. I didn’t see The Drowsy Chaperone on Broadway, so I wasn’t able to see the great Sutton Foster, but the touring cast was spectacular. The dancing was really fun—especially the group numbers like “Toledo Surprise”. I really love shows that feature moments of dancing that seem like it’s just the characters having a blast dancing together.
This leads me to The Great Comet. There’s a lot of dancing in the show, on stage, off stage, right next to your seat, and all of it feels like a huge party you’ve been invited to—you want to get up and dance with the cast because everyone seems like they’re having so much fun! In addition to the big group numbers that make you want to get on your feet, there’s an intimate dance between Natasha and Anatole that will get your heart racing. Everything about The Great Comet is memorable (meaning I can still picture just about every moment of that show when I listen to the soundtrack), but the dancing is particularly wonderful.
Here’s a video where you can move the “camera” around the stage to see it from all angles! Experience The Great Comet!