MY FAVOURITE MUSICALS

'Jab dil ko sataye gum, tu chhedh sakhi sargam'. So went a popular old Hindi song- when you are  troubled by sadness, turn to music.

I had a grim couple of weeks mid-October. First, a dear friend passed away. Then I came to the end of a book highly praised and Booker Prize winner of 2023, "Prophet Song" by Paul Lynch. The story turned was frightening and starkly dark. Shumita gave me another book to read, "Brotherless Night" by V.V.Ganeshananthan. I browsed through it and asked her if it was dark. Her answer, endorsed by a nod from Shiven, "intensely". Thanks a lot! So I tuned in to Apple+ and saw the fifth episode of the serial "Disclaimer", about the darkest drama I've ever seen!

To uplift my mood, I decided to follow the advice in the Hindi song and turn my thoughts to my favourite musicals. Here we go.

Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start, with the movie, "The Wizard of Oz". It was released one year after I was born and seen by me in School in the early 1950s when for Jaipur Xavierites, the legendary Father Cosgrove used to screen movies on weekends through his 16 mm. projector. An unforgettable and touching story of a harassed little girl Dorothy who dreams of being transported to the Land of Oz and home of the good-hearted Wizard. Twenty year old Judy Garland was superb in her role as Dorothy and sang "Over The Rainbow" so well that it is regarded as one of the most beautiful songs ever. The movie put us teenagers in a happy mood and I recall my friends and me dancing all the way home singing "We're off to see the wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz."

Rodgers and Hammerstein formed a composer-lyricist partnership in 1943 with "Oklahoma", a trendsetter on Broadway and the first of the duo's many outstanding and award-winning musicals. Its story is about a farm girl, Laurey, caught between two rival suitors, one good, Curly, the other wicked, Jud. Songs that are my favourites include "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin" sung by Curly on his way to see Laurey- 'I've got a beautiful feelin', everything's goin' my way.' Another great number was "People Will Say We're in Love". The song is sung twice, first with a list of 'don'ts' so that people don't gossip-  'Don't throw bouquets at me.....Don't sigh and gaze at me....Don't take my arm too much....Don't dance all night with me....People will say we're in love.' Towards the end when the too are engaged, they decide to shed their reservations and sing, 'Let people say we're in love'. The third song I recall is "All Er Nuthin'" sung by a supporting couple, Will and Annie, in which Will tells Annie that she will have to give up flirting with other men since 'With me it's all er nuthin'....It cain't be in between, it cain't be now and then, no half and half romance will do.'

Just 2 years later, Rodgers and Hammerstein came up with their second musical, "Carousel", which again was a superhit. Rodgers later wrote that it was his favourite musical. The plot is about a poor barker, Billy, and Julie who fall in love and get married. Billy, after a failed robbery to make money, kills himself. 15 years later, Billy is allowed to return to earth for just one day to seek forgiveness from Julie, attend the graduation ceremony of his daughter Louise, who was born after his death, and gift her a star from Heaven for support.

The musical has one super song after another but I will just mention three. First there is the instrumental "The Carousel Waltz" which, true to its title, goes round and round in my head. Then "If I Loved You", one of the best love songs ever-written which is sung twice, the first by Julie and Billy too shy to confess their love but imagining what life would be if they were in love, and then again when Julie feels Billy's presence during his visit from Heaven. One of the all-time inspiring numbers is "You'll Never Walk Alone", again performed twice, the first when Julie's cousin Nettie sings it to raise Julie's spirits after Billy's suicide, and then at the end when Louise finds the star left by Billy. 

I was indeed lucky to watch its Broadway revival in 2018.

So we come to "Singin' in the Rain", a 1952 movie. It starred Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds; Rita Moreno and Cyd Charisse. It is widely regarded as a classic, considered by many to be the greatest Hollywood musical ever. An exceptional feature of the movie was the brilliant dancing of Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Cyd Charisse marked by a stunning extended-fantasy dance number by Kelly and Charisse while O'Connor entertained with some exuberant gymnastics. The title number, sung and danced by a stripe-suited and hatted Gene Kelly swinging from a lamppost in the rain, is a lasting image from the movie.

My next favourite is the movie "South Pacific" (1958) another work of Rodgers and Hammerstein. Most of us must have seen the movie and I was lucky to see its revival on Broadway a few years ago. The story is adapted from a James Michener collection of short stories, "Tales of the South Pacific". Mitzi Gaynor and Rosanno Brazzi play the lead roles, the former of a young US Navy nurse, Nellie, who can't help falling in love with a much older French widower, Emile (Brazzi). A delightful supporting role is that of an elderly Polynesian woman called Bloody Mary (Juanita Hall) who makes us laugh but will not have anyone belittling local people.

The songs are many and cover diverse moods ranging from light and comic to wishful and lovelorn. Sailors sing of the remarkable "Bloody Mary" and express their desire for female company in "There is Nothing Like a Dame", Bloody Mary sings of the irresistible pulls of the island "Bali Hai", children learn French through "Dites-moi", Nellie declares she is a happy-go-lucky girl in "A Cockeyed Optimist", then on meeting Emile first wishes to get rid of him, "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair" but finally acknowledges her love for him with "I'm in Love With a Wonderful Guy", and Emile sings the classic romantic number, "Some Enchanted Evening" with the beautiful lines -

"Some enchanted evening, when you find your true love....across a crowded room,

Then fly to her side, and make her your own, 

For all through your life you may dream all alone,

Once you have found her, never let her go,

Once you have found her, NEVER LET HER GO."

Sad to say, Mitzi Gaynor, the only star who sang her songs herself and was not dubbed, passed away recently at the age of 93.

Another great musical that same year was "Gigi". It was an Alan Jay Lerner-Frederick Loewe effort which won all 9 Oscars it was nominated for including Best Picture and Best Direction. The story set in Paris is about a wealthy philanderer, Gaston (Louis Jourdan), who spends a lot of time in the house of a Madame. Madame Alvarez has under her care a little girl, Gigi (Leslie Caron), who looks upon Gaston as an uncle and Gaston in turn treats her as a child. In time, Gaston is stunned by the sudden realisation that Gigi has grown up into a charming lady and that he has fallen in love with her. After much resistance from all including Gigi but who gradually starts loving Gaston, they get married.

Along with Jourdan and Caron, an exceptional part is played by the famous French actor and singer, Maurice Chevalier, as Madame's old husband, Honore Lachaille. He sings some outstanding songs in his suave but mischievous manner in a heavy French accent including "Thank Heaven For Little Girls"-

"Each time I see a little girl of five or six or seven

I can't resist the joyous urge to smile and say

Thank heaven for little girls, they grow up in the most delightful way.....

Thank heaven for little girls

Thank heaven for them all, no matter where, no matter who,

Without them, what would little boys do?"

Watching Gaston tormented by the ups and downs of his love affair, Honore (Chevalier) sings another interesting number, "I'm Glad I'm Not Young Anymore". Gaston expresses his sudden realisation of Gigi coming of age and his feelings for her in the title song- 

"Oh, Gigi, have I been standing up too close or back too far,

When did your sparkle turn to fire

And your warmth become desire

Oh, what miracle has made you the way you are?"

Gigi, on accepting her love for Gaston, sings the sweet, touching song, "Say a Prayer For Me Tonight."

I saw the movie in my younger days and was once again lucky to catch it on Broadway in 2018. 

Next is "My Fair Lady" (1964). Alan Jay Lerner based the story on George Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion" about a poor flower-seller, Eliza Doolittle (Audrey Hepburn), who has a heavy Cockney accent. A diehard bachelor and phonetics professor, Henry Higgins (Rex Harrison), takes her under his wing after a bet with a friend, Colonel Hugh Pickering (Wilfrid Hyde-White), that he could teach her to speak proper English and get rid of the Cockney accent. Gradually, Higgins falls in love with Eliza, winning her over rich Freddy Eynsford-Hill (Jeremy Brett), who is besotted with her. A comic and delightful role is that of Eliza's carefree, libertine father, Alfred Doolittle (Stanley Holloway).

The movie has 25 musical numbers and the lyrics by Lerner are a treat, mostly funny and superbly delivered by Rex Harrison, Audrey Hepburn and Stanley Holloway. The theme is set right in the beginning by the number "Why Can't the English" 'learn to speak' which is a dialogue between Higgins and Pickering interspersed with Eliza's speech dropping h's, 'tike' for take, 'Aoooow's and 'Garn's, etc. Higgins says 'By law she should be taken out and hung for the cold-blooded murder of the English tongue.' Eliza's accent is clearly brought out in "Just You Wait" with the opening lines sung as 'Just you Wite, 'Enry 'Iggins, just you wite' while the "The Rain in Spain" becomes 'the rine in spine stise minely in the pline'. This song is then repeated with correct pronunciation towards the end to mark Eliza's victory over her Cockney accent with Higgins celebrating the accomplishment of an impossible task. 

Higgins takes Eliza to a ball to showcase her refined personality and dances with her. Eliza is delighted and sings, "I Could Have Danced All Night." On the romantic side, Freddy sings "On the Street Where You Live" outside Higgins' house where Eliza is staying, and Higgins, realising that he has fallen for her, sings "I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face."

The next year, the movie, "The Sound of Music", again by Rodgers and Hammerstein, was released. The story was based on the real life memoir of Maria von Trapp. Maria (Julie Andrews) is training to be a nun who the Mother Abbess finds too free-spirited and indisciplined- 'How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?' So when a retired naval officer and widower, Captain Georg von Trapp (Christopher Plummer) approaches the Mother for a governess for his seven children, she happily sends Maria for the task. Initially, Maria faces hostility from the children but she gradually wins them over and we hear ''My Favourite Things''. She takes them for a picnic in the mountains and sings, 'The hills are alive with "The Sound of Music"'. She teaches them music with "Do-Re-Mi" and makes them perform a puppet show, "The Lonely Goatherd", for their father which wins her his favour. At a party at Captain von Trapp's villa, the children are guided one by one to bid good night to the guests by singing "So Long, Farewell, Auf Weidersehn, Good Night". And in the end, the Captain sings the touching patriotic song, "Edelweiss" at a function to keep the German officials engaged while the family members make good their escape from the Nazi occupied Austria.

The movie was shot in Salzburg and the town has a dedicated "The Sound of Music" tour where they take you to all the places where the movie was shot. I have been fortunate to take the tour twice, once on my own and again with Akhila. It was a tour the memories of which I shall cherish forever.

It was 12 years later that my next favourite musical appeared. The movie "Saturday Night Fever" rocked all music lovers. I was in Staff College, Wellington, and all of us rushed to Ooty, not once but over and over again, to see the movie. John Travolta's dancing was electrifying and Bee Gees' songs delightful. Everyone wanted to dance like Travolta and thronged to discos. Bee Gees, a group formed by three brothers Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb, were fascinating with their inimitable style the distinguishing feature of which was Barry's falsetto voice. The standout songs were "Stayin' Alive", "How Deep Is Your Love" and "Night Fever" which climbed to the top of music charts the world over.

Fast forward to 2008 for the movie "Mamma Mia!", based on songs of ABBA. The story is about a young bride-to-be, Sophie (Amanda Siegfried), who invites three former lovers of her mother, Donna (Meryl Streep), one of whom could be Sophie's father. The three men are Sam (Pierce Brosnan), Harry (Colin Firth) and Bill (Stellan Skarsgard). Sophie hopes to find her real father so that he can legitimately give her away at the wedding.

The movie has 20 ABBA's top hits, some of them, 'Mamma Mia', 'I Have a Dream' and 'Dancing Queen' played twice. 'Honey, Honey', 'Chiquitita', 'Voulez-Vous', 'SOS', 'The Winner Takes It All', 'Waterloo' and 'Thank You For the Music', they are all there making it a delectable treat for ABBA fans and I have yet to meet one who is not!

"Mamma Mia!" was made into a Broadway play too and a movie sequel "Mamma Mia Here We Go Again" released in 2018. Of course, I have seen them all!

So that's my list of favourite musicals but I am not done yet. I wish to include a few unforgettable lyrics from songs of musicals outside this list.

"Doin' What Comes Natur'lly" from the 1946 musical "Annie Get Your Gun"-

"Folks are dumb where I come from, they ain't had any learning

Still they're happy as can be, doin' what comes natur'lly.

My uncle out in Texas can't even write his name

He signs his cheques with Xs, but they cash them just the same.

If you saw my pa an' ma, you'd know they had no learning

Still they raised a family, doin' what comes natur'lly".

"A Spoonful of Sugar" from Julie Andrews' "Mary Poppins"-

"A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down,

The medicine go down-wown, the medicine go down,

Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down

In a most delightful way."

I'd like to end with perhaps the most popular drinking number ever appropriately titled "Drinking Song" or "Drink Drink Drink" sung rousingly by the great tenor Mario Lanza in a scene in which Prince Karl, heir to a small German kingdom, exhorts his college mates of Heidelberg University to lift their steins and drink beer in the 1954 musical, "The Student Prince" -

"Drink, drink, drink! To eyes that are bright as stars when they're shining on me!

Drink, drink, drink! To lips that are red and sweet as the fruit of the tree.....

May those lips that are red and sweet, tonight with joy my own lips meet.

Drink, drink! Let the toast start. May young hearts never part

Drink, drink, drink! Let every true lover salute his sweetheart

Let's drink!"

Tailpiece. By Western standards, most Hindi movies would qualify as musicals no matter how serious the story. So in a list of 100 best musicals compiled by Rotten Tomatoes, we have "Lagaan " at 17th! A Forbes list of 35 Best Musicals has "Mother India" at 13. And sometime back I read, though I can't remember where, that "Sholay" was also listed as a top musical!

I'll leave you with a few haunting lines of a bittersweet song from the 1972 movie, "Parichay", the story of which was patterned on "The Sound of Music"-

"Musafir hoon yaaron, na ghar hai naa thikana

Mujhe chalte jaana hai, bas chalte jana hai".