I grew up watching musicals. I love Doris Day, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire – in fact, there are very few movie stars from Hollywood’s golden era that I don’t like. There’s just nothing like a man and woman gazing into each other’s eyes and then breaking into song.
Some of my all-time favorite musicals are, in no particular order:
“Oklahoma!” Who could forget Shirley Jones in her first role as shy and idealistic Laurie, caught up in her feelings for that rascally cowboy, Curly?
“Show Boat” took on a tough topic – that of race discrimination – and brought us some of the most haunting music we’ve heard from Hollywood. “Old Man River” is a classic in the annals of music.
“Kiss Me Kate” brought Howard Keel and Kathryn Grayson together again (they also starred in “Show Boat”) as a divorced couple who still has feelings for each other, and must settle their differences while on stage in front of an audience.
“Calamity Jane” also stars Howard Keel, this time opposite Doris Day as she portrays one of the rootin’ tootin’est women the Wild West ever saw. This movie features the song, “Secret Love,” which became a huge hit for Day.
“Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” – wow, you’d think I like Howard Keel or something. In this film, he stars as the oldest in a family of seven, and he’s decided to find a wife to take care of the brood. He finds one in Millie (Jane Powell) but what he doesn’t expect is that all his brothers are going to want wives, too.
What list of musicals could be complete without “The Music Man?” Robert Preston is a flimflam artist, come to Iowa to sell the good people on the idea of a boys’ band. When he comes up against the piano teacher (Shirley Jones) he just can’t go through with his plan—he gets his foot caught in the door.
“Singin’ in the Rain” is most likely one of the most famous musicals ever filmed. Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds star as two actors from the silent screen era who decide to bring their studio into the talkie era, and fall in love in the process.
We’ll wrap up this list with “Hello, Dolly,” starring the incomparable Barbra Streisand. She’s decided what she wants, and she’s ready to go out and get it, even if the thing she wants turns out to be a man who’s completely clueless about her intentions.
If you’ve never taken the time to acquaint yourself with the classic musicals, I encourage you to grab one or two off the above list, which is nowhere near complete, and immerse yourself in some of the best music ever written, performed by the best singers, augmented by the best dancers. You won’t regret it.