Alright, alright so there’s something about a musical that brings a tear to your eye, puts a song in your heart and gives life a new meaning. It may seem ridiculous, but I challenge thee to take your seat, enjoy the show and try not to be moved by a fairytale land where life is a song… (imagine if that really happened), don’t tell me you don’t secretly wish you could zip-a-dee-doo-dah your way to work every morning, or indeed that you woudn’t love it if an orchestra followed you around and you could break into song every time something went wrong. Er Hem… but back to reality. Here are a few of my favourite musical moments of all time.
Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth perform ‘Defying Gravity’. Following this, Menzel spent a few seasons on Glee, playing Rachel Barry’s mum. With THE most phenomenal voice on the big stage she deserves major kudos for her role as Elphaba in Wicked! The Musical. (skip into about 6.00 for the best bit!)
Christopher Sieber and the cast of Chicago sing ‘We Both Reached for the Gun’ in this 2011 Broadway production. Most of you have probably seen the most recent adaptation with the lovely Catherine Zeta Jones as Velma Kelly, Renee Zeweger, who gives a flawless performance as glamour-puss Roxie Hart and of course Mr Richard Gere as Billy Flynn. In this number, Roxie acts as Flynn’s puppet, as she learns to take his advice and fool the jury in her murder trial.
Maureen Nolan famously played the role of Mrs Johnson in the heartbreaking musical Blood Brothers. Mrs Johnson arrives home to find both her twins sons dead. I’ve seen 9 adaptations of this… yes 9, and this performance by Pierrot Productions is the best I’ve seen. In the final scene, Mrs Johnson sings “Tell me it’s not True”.
West End hit Les Miserables last year celebrated it’s 25th Birthday with an anniversary concert. This performance of ‘In My Life/ Heart Full of Love’ by Nick Jonas (cringe) and the very talented Katy Hall who gives a very vulnerable performance. The movie adaptation is set to hit our movie screens this year, starring Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Sasha Baron Cohen and the wonderfully creepy Helena Bonham Carter (with a name like that you were born to be on the stage).
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats became an overnight sensation in 1981 when it first opened on the West End. The London Production ran for a staggering 21- years and who could forget Elaine Paige’s unbelievable performance as Grizabella, one time glamour cat whose fame was dashed, and the song that made Cats famous, ‘Memory’.
Last but not least, recently named the highest earning show in Broadway’s history, Disney’s The Lion King boasts figures of £536.7 million sales since its opening in 1997. With phenomenal costumes and master puppetry, there is no best scene, it’s all brilliant, check this out!
Whats your favourite musical moment of all time? Don’t forget to let us know in the comments box below!
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May 4, 2012
Trailers