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!

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but this thread has been going for almost two years! I’m so amazed that anyone comments here, but I’m very grateful that you do. Over the years we’ve had a lot of new people discover our lovely Avocado, and so I thought now might be a good time to go back to where we started because many of you weren’t here at the beginning. Over the next few weeks I’ll be returning to some of the prompts I asked in the past to give new people a chance to respond. And for those who have been here all along, this is a fun opportunity to see if our responses have changed over the years.

So, with that in mind, let’s go back to the very first Musicals Thread prompt: why do you like musicals? What is it about musicals that appeals to you? Here’s my answer from two years ago, with some added content:

My personal answer to this question can be summed by looking at one of my favorite musicals, The Drowsy Chaperone. If you’re not familiar with this show, it’s set during a wedding in the 1920s. Well, kind of. It’s actually set in a man’s living room. He’s sitting in his apartment one day and decides to listen his favorite musical, The Drowsy Chaperone. On stage we see the musical come to life in the mind of the Man in Chair (that’s the character’s name) while he provides commentary in between (and sometimes in the middle of) songs. In the opening scene the Man in Chair explains why he’s listening to this musical on this particular day. The reason he gives is that he’s feeling blue today:

I’m feeling a little blue myself. You know, a little anxious for no particular reason, a little sad that I should feel anxious at this age, you know, a little self-conscious anxiety resulting in non-specific sadness: a state that I call “blue”. Anyway, whenever I’m feeling this way, blue, I like to listen to my music.

I have a very vivid memory of the first time I heard The Drowsy Chaperone. I had just seen a local production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream that a friend was performing in. After the show we stayed a while to chat in the parking lot with some other friends, and because we were all musical dorks someone started talking about the new Sutton Foster musical. It wasn’t long before we were listening to the musical on someone’s car stereo as my friends sang along with Sutton Foster’s performance of “Show Off”. It was a good song, so I asked to borrow the CD to copy it. I quickly fell in love as I listened to the opening number, but it wasn’t just the music that I loved, it was the Man in Chair that really won my heart. I knew what he meant when he said he felt blue. I still know what that feels like. And I know how listening to a musical can help with that. At the end of the show, after the Man in Chair has finished listening to The Drowsy Chaperone, he reflects on why he likes this particular show so much:

Oh, I love it so much! I-I know it’s not a perfect show; the spit take scene is lame and the monkey motif is labored. But it does what a musical is supposed to do: it takes you to another world. And it-it gives you a little tune to carry with you in your head for-for when you’re feeling blue. You know?

So, that’s why I love musicals. But what about you? What is it about musicals that you like? Do you listen to your favorite shows? Do you love the spectacle of live theater? There’s a lot to love about musicals! As always, you don’t have to stick to the prompt. If you have any musical news to share, please share.

And now, for a little taste of The Drowsy Chaperone! I hope you’ll enjoy this clip from the Tony Awards in 2006.