The musical is easy - RENT, to my mind the Best Musical in Broadway history. No matter how many times I see it, I always walk away supremely affected on an emotional, intellectual, and spiritual level. Jonathan Larson was a genius.
Picking one performance, though, is very tough. Harvey Fierstein as Edna Turnblad in "Hairspray" comes to mind as does John Gallagher Jr. as Moritz in "Spring Awakening". However, if you're going to force me to pick just one...then chalk up two votes for Ms. Ebersole, who blew me away in "Grey Gardens". Simply stunning.
My favorite musical of all time is "Sweeney Todd" which I never saw on Broadway but I've seen the recent production on tour, a production with Kelsey Grammar and Christine Baranski (the best Mrs. Lovett I've ever seen) in Los Angeles, a few small productions, the NY concert with George Hearn and Patti Lupone on DVD and I own the video of the original production with George Hearn and Angela Lansbury which I need to switch up to DVD. It's probably the only video I still watch.
The best musical performance I've ever seen in person is Bebe Neuwirth in the Broadway revival of "Chicago". The best musical performance I've ever seen is Donna Murphy in "Passion" which I saw on PBS and own on video (though I've apparently lost it... a good reason to get the DVD).
This message has been edited. Last edited by: pacinofan,
Posts: 12939 | Location: Phoenix, AZ | Registered: February 02, 2003
There are so many worth mentioning...Show Boat, Carousel, Fiddler on the Roof, Cabaret, Sweeney Todd, Evita, Into the Woods, Ragtime, even Spring Awakening is in that panetheon...
but the cream of the crop for me is LES MISERABLES...a masterwork of adaptation and staging, and probably the best score ever written.
And recent though it may be, I'm convinced I witnessed history when I saw Christine Ebersole in Grey Gardens last year. I really think that performance will be remembered in the 'Laurette Taylor in Glass Menagerie' echelon.
Posts: 2074 | Location: New York, New York | Registered: August 08, 2003
Loving all the mentions for Christine! She was incredible. I remember at intermission my boyfriend said, 'look!'.. Four feet away from us was Angela Lansbury gushing over Ebersole with some friends.. A performance that very well may be unparalleled.
For me, it wasn't until the second act that I was really blown away by her acting, but her singing in the first act was excellent.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: dannyboy,
Well, I haven't seen anything on Broadway yet, so I can only comment on what I have seen in Germany so far:
For me, best musical is a three-way tie between Wicked, Tanz der Vampire (Dance of the Vampires) and Les Miserables. I have seen Les Miserables in Prague and didn't understand one word but that didn't change my opinion that it's simply astonishing!
The best performances I have seen so far are Willemijn Verkaik, the German Elpheba who is simply outstanding, and Barbara Köhler, who played Sarah in Tanz der Vampire (because of her, I saw it 6 times!).
Posts: 7299 | Location: Good Ol' Germany | Registered: March 27, 2005
Ragtime...simply one of the most superb pieces ever written for musical theatre.
With that, Audra McDonald's performance as Sarah was what elevated the show to another level and can never be quite achieved again.
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