Make me cry...

This week is going to be a little different. While I have a few posts already written for the next few weeks (it's a self-care thing), this week I have decided not to review a musical. Instead, I'm going to take a look at some of the sad songs that I love from my favorite musicals. I received word about 3:30am today that my grandfather has passed away after a couple of tough years battling pancreatic cancer. I want sad songs right now and I have a musical blog, so, indulge me.

In no particular order...

"I Can't Recall" from A Tale of Two Cities (concept album)
I knew nothing about the plot before I sat and listened to this album and after I finished this song I was kind of devastated that he died and by the way he died. The song is gorgeous and takes the beautiful famous lines almost directly from the ending of the book. Granted, the songs have changed a bit since the concept album, but it's the one I like the best.

"Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" from Les Miserables
So, who DOESN'T tear up during this song? Honestly, almost every version I've heard is gorgeous (I say almost...), but I cried honest to God tears during the movie version. While I love Michael Ball (OMG YES!! LOVE LOVE LOVE!) and Steve Shocket, I love the more quiet quality that Eddie Redmayne brings to the screen. And he cries. And his freckles. He's adorable. (P.S. Sorry for the crappy video quality.)

"Some Things are Meant to Be" from Little Women
The fact that Beth dies in Little Women has always been a bit of an afront to me. Why the heck does BETH have to be the one to die? Anyways, I love the song that Beth and Jo share before Beth's death.

"I am the One (Reprise)" from Next to Normal
This whole play just makes me cry. I believe I'll go more into this show next week. It's a tough show for me to watch, this last scene in particular where the father acknowledges his dead son by name after his wife decides to leave. Holy crap; it's just a powerful moment.

"I'll Cover You (Reprise)" from Rent (movie soundtrack)
I pretty much spent the last 30 minutes of this movie crying. It is so heartbreaking when Angel dies and Colin singing their song by himself is so sad.

"I'll Forget You" from Scarlet Pimpernel
I know that this wasn't on the original cast album that I have, but I somehow managed to get this song into my iTunes from a friend. I don't know how or when or what recording it comes from (and, frankly, I'm not going to go looking for it right now), but it is so gorgeous. In other news, it's also a really fun song to sing (when I'm home alone with my youtube karaoke list).

"Left Behind" from Spring Awakening
Anything dealing with the aftermath of dealing with suicide is tough, and this song kind of captured it. This and "Those You've Known" are both beautifully sad.

"Back to Before" from Ragtime
Most of the sad songs on here deal with death, but this song from Ragtime is about the death of a relationship between a husband and wife. It's sad to see how her she has essentially outgrown her husband who can't match her new pace in life after his return from his own explorations.

"God Knows Why" from Romeo and Juliet (London Cast)
This isn't my favorite version of Romeo and Juliet (not by a long shot). The lyrics from the whole show are just,... off. The translation leaves a lot to be desired. HOWEVER, this one song is so, so pretty.

"Gethsemane" from Jesus Christ Super Star
I have a confession: I've never listened or watched the entirety of Jesus Christ Super Star. I don't know why. It's just never happened. But I heard Michael Ball sing it in a video of an Andrew Lloyd Webber Celebration at Albert Hall. It's such a gorgeous and soulful song. Plus Michael Ball. He is very talented.

Of course there are a million more (and, I mean, some musicals themselves are just SAD). Any recommendations for my sad playlist?

Roméo et Juliette, de la Haine à l'Amour

We read Romeo and Juliet my freshman year of high school and I absolutely hated the experience. Not the play, mind you. Just the experience of spending every day in class with people reading the play out loud. Very poorly. With no discussion about the play whatsoever. It was horrible and made me dread ever having to teach Shakespeare once I made it into my English teaching program in college. Luckily, I was able to go to a great professional development day about teaching Shakespeare which actually got me excited about it.

Ask me sometime about my opinions on teaching Shakespeare. Really, don't. Unless you have a lot of time and energy on your hands. I get emotional. And dramatic. And loud. And possibly inappropriate.

Why does this matter? Well, my friend freshman year of high school somehow got the soundtrack to Roméo et Juliette, de la Haine à l'Amour, a French musical of Romeo and Juliet. I think someone in her family sent it to her? I'm a bit unclear. However we got hold of it, we had it and we loved it. She made a copy of it for me and it's traveled through my various computers ever since, occasionally listening to it, wishing I spoke French, and trying to decipher what exactly was happening in each song and who was singing.

It sat in the back of my mind for a long time when one day I was on tumblr and someone I followed reblogged this gifset from a Hungarian production of Romeo and Juliet set in a kind of dystopic future Verona with lots of FIRE (cuz apparently Hungarians like fire?) and Mercutio was obviously bisexual and "OMG Bereczki Zoltánwas totally awesome as Mercutio go look!" I was like, "Sweet; I like cool adaptations of Romeo and Juliet and Mercutio is my favorite. Let's check this out!" And as soon as the song started playing I got really excited. It was the music from that French soundtrack my friend gave us in high school! But in Hungarian! So I got really excited, watched the whole thing, watched it again, and then, when I couldn't find the soundtrack to buy, made my own (sssshhhh). And then I managed to find the English version (which sucked, but I can understand the lyrics so, there's that).

But enough about me, let's move on to this stunning musical.

Introduction
Star crossed lovers, three day romance that leaves a bloody trail of murders and ends in the dual suicide of two idiotic teenagers. That's the best I got for you. I hate when people try to make it look like a "true love romance and sad how they don't end up living happily ever after boo hoo" kind of story. No. It's about two idiotic families who care more about their feud than the mental and emotional stability of their children. It's horrible, sad, and not at all romantic.

And Mercutio dies. Which is the worst part.

Soundtrack
I have three versions of the soundtrack so, Jekyll and Hyde style, I'm going to take a quick look at all three.

The French version is the first I ever listened to and, talent wise, I think it has the strongest singers. Of course, this is also the only non-live recording that I have, so of course they are all at their best with no background interference, which makes a huge difference. The music itself is gorgeous. It has some beautiful love songs for the two lovers ("Aimer," "Love It" but called "These Are My Rivers" in the London soundtrack) and some really fun songs as well ("Les Rois du monde," "Kings of the World," which apparently became popular as a single in France for a while. Cool.).

Even though I do think that the French soundtrack has the strongest singers, the Hungarian version is my favorite. They put a lot of great emotion into every single song. And it's all live, so there's that as well. One of the best live recordings of a musical I've heard in a while. I'm particularly impressed with how well they do in some of the more energetic songs. Some of the songs changed, as well. Order in the show as well as what they tell in the story. And Paris has two more songs.

The English version. What to say? The singers do passably well, but their talent is a bit shadowed by the awful lyrics. Seriously, the translation is kind of awful. But, the singers do well with what they have.

I honestly don't have much to say about the English version. It's nice being able to hear songs I love in a language I understand, though. I think that's the biggest plus.

Favorite Songs
Because I'm a cheater and I have three soundtracks, I'm choosing a song from each.

For the French soundtrack, I think I'd have to pick "Les Rois de monde" because it's just so much fun. And I really love their voices in it.

For the Hungarian version, I love, love, love to listen to their version of "On Dit Dae la Rue." I have no idea what the title of that song is in Hungarian, but it is really fun.

My favorite song from the London cast is a more subdued one, "Empty Sky." It's sung near the very end by Friar Lawrence. It's just beautiful.

The Show
Through the glory that is Youtube, I have managed to watch both the French and Hungarian versions with English subtitles. Well, most of the French version. I've seen the whole thing with Vietnamese subtitles (not helpful for me, personally) and a great deal of it with English subtitles. Both the Hungarian and French versions are very different, both in how they present the different characters as well as the sets, costumes, order of songs, and even removing some characters in the Hungarian version. With that in mind, I'm going to go at these both separately.

French
The French version uses more medieval inspired costumes. Inspired, mind you. With lots of leather. Lots. I feel like it does a better job than most of making sure the audience recognizes that Romeo and Juliet are being rather hasty in their romance. It still focuses a great deal on the romance between the two, but I feel that the emphasis is on the feud, which I like. They also have two characters that I never really caught listening to the show. There's this poet that adds a bit of narration to different parts (I honestly feel his presence is kind of superfluous). And Death is a character. She doesn't say anything, but her presence is really creepy and neat. I have to admit, it took me a while to get that she was supposed to be Death.

Something else that was interesting about the show: one of the characters spoke sign language. I think she may have been a maid or an attendant of some kind to Juliet. But she definitely spoke some form of sign language. At first I was just wondering if the dancing gestures were just really choreographed, but, no. She is actually signing. At one point, Juliet even flips the Nurse's sleeve out of the way so she can see what the maid is signing. And during "Les Beaux Les Laids" I think some of the other actors sign a bit as well. I can't be sure since I don't speak French or any form of sign language (let alone French sign language). It was a really cool addition. For one, I love to see sign language; it's a beautiful language. For another, representation! Yay!

Hungarian
I have to say that I like this version SO MUCH MORE than the French version. If only for Mercutio. Mercutio was my favorite character when we read the play and the way Bereczki Zoltán (who also plays Franz Joseph in the Hungarian Elisabeth das Musical) portrays him is exactly how I pictured him when we read the play. He's hilarious, kind of a trouble maker, a bit of a dick, that funny guy who always needs to be the center of attention but still kind of takes care of everyone in his own insane kind of way. He nailed it. He's hilarious. And I love him for it.

Aside from the great Mercutio, the whole futuristic dystopia thing going on is also really cool. It's also a bit dirtier than the French version. If the translations are anything to go by (I'm going to assume they were both good subtitles), the lyrics got a bit more raunchy for the Hungarians. I like it, to be honest. They also changed Tybalt's character quite a bit. For one, he has seizures (which we also see him take meds for, later on), is kind of manic, crazy in a "I'm going to purposefully burn my hand in this fire 'cuz I'm nuts" kind of way, and has a pedophile crush on his cousin Juliet. In other news, Szabó Szilveszter who plays Tybalt also plays Death in the Hungarian Elisabeth das Musical. Yeah... the entire company is almost the same in both plays. They are pretty awesome.

It's so good.

Favorite Parts
French
I really like how they did "Les Beaux Les Laids" in this version. I love the Nurse in the French version. And the Hungarian version, heck, all versions. But, really, she's pretty great here.

Hungarian

I think I've made it pretty clear that I really love Bereczki Zoltán's interpretation of Mercutio. His performance in the duel scene and his death are amazing. It's a little long, but totally worth it. There's one part when Mercutio is dying (he takes a while to go) and he is up on this raised part of the stage and he kind of just steps off of it and falls onto the main stage while he continues singing. He thumps pretty hard, too. He's overall just pretty awesome.

This is one of those shows that give me a lot of feels. For one, I am very attached to the play itself (Hamlet is my favorite Shakespeare play, though), I grew to love the music during a very formative part of my life, and, to top it all off, the music is great (in my humble opinion). I know a lot of people don't care for musicals in other languages, but I totally encourage you to try this one out.

Spring Awakening

Since I did Lizzie "last week" (well, this week but it was FOR last week), I think I kind of want to stay with the theme of rock musicals set in the 1800's and get at Spring Awakening this week.

Before I get into this, just a bit of a warning: lots of sexy in this show and quite a bit of profanity (seriously, the biggest show stoppers are "B***h of Living" which is a song about masturbation/sex drive of teenage boys and "Totally F**ked"). So, if that's not your cup of tea, I suggest that this might not be the show for you.

Introduction
In a small town in the 1800's. a group of teenagers try to navigate their changing bodies and desires with no understanding of what is happening, nor any support from their parents in this area. We see them deal with teenage sex, pregnancy, suicide, homosexuality, sexual, physical, and mental/emotional abuse, all in the context of a town where the adults tend to take more of an authoritarian approach to parenting, rather than creating a more nurturing environment.

The Soundtrack
When I first bought it, I listened to the soundtrack nonstop. I really loved the show and the music. I read the play soon after and was amused and disgusted by the person who wrote the introduction and how they reacted to the musical. It seemed like their main complaints were that 1) they changed the play to make it more relevant to a younger audience (how DARE they!?) and 2) how could such talented people end up as depressed as Moritz and commit suicide? They would probably be super happy to be so talented!

Person obviously 1) doesn't know about how musicals (or adaptations, for that matter) work in general, and 2) doesn't know the first thing about how Depression works. Cuz, you know, you can't be sad if you have talent. Nope. Neeeeevver.

Idiot.

But back to the soundtrack! The talent in this cast is amazing. They are all so young and manage to do an amazing job. I love the combination of slower, almost gospel music like songs ("I Believe" and "The Song of Purple Summer") and the upbeat, jump up and down (literally!) songs ("B***h of Living" and "Totally F**ked"). The medley they performed for the 2007 Tony Awards was great and really showcased three of the best songs from the show.

I got into this show right before Glee started up and Lea Michelle (Rachel in Glee and Wendla in Spring Awakening) being one of the main characters got me really excited (though I have since stopped watching the show because I got bored). The talent in this cast is amazing. They are all so young and manage to do an amazing job.

The age of the cast is actually something important to consider in releasing amateur rights and in some places the minimum age requirement needs to be raised as performances with underage performers could be considered child pornography.

Favorite Song
Much as I love the big showstopping songs, I feel like what really pulls me into this show emotionally are the slower, sadder songs. My favorite song on the soundtrack is "Whispering." Wendla, after finding out she is pregnant (but before she undergoes a black-market abortion that ends up killing her), sings a quiet but powerful song about her decision and her love. It's beautiful.

The Show
I managed to squeeze the show in on a brief visit home during college. I actually convinced my mom to have my dad's 50th birthday party the same weekend the tour was in town so I could see it while I was home. And it was SO worth it.

The set was minimal. The band was in the back (some of the instruments even played by the actors), there were two sets of bleachers (one on the left and right of the stage) with a trellis behind each set of bleachers. And kind of an industrial looking brick backdrop with a ladder. That was the majority of it. Desks, chairs, a "barn loft," and other assorted props were brought out as the show went on, but it was very minimal. It was interesting at the show I saw because they brought some young (teenage) audience members up on the stage to sit in the bleachers. At least I assume they were audience members. I thought when it started that they were just members of the cast, but they never came off the bleachers. The cast members would sit amongst them when they were "offstage." It was really interesting and I think kind of shows how much the show is meant for a younger audience, not "in spite" of the strong language and dark, serious subject matter, but because of it. As an educator, I really see this show as something that carries an important message for adolescents and parents of adolescents as well.

The sex scene was really a bit more graphic than I would have wanted to see with the two elderly women sitting next to me and you can understand the concerns had for not having underage cast members. However, I am glad that they decided to change Wendla's rape (as it is in the original play) to a kind of consensual act. I say "kind of" because while Melchior understood what he was doing, she had no idea of what sex was or the possible consequences it could have. In fact, when her mother reveals to her that she's pregnant, Wendla laughs and says, "But I'm not married!" So, I still view what Melchior did as rape because Wendla was incapable of consent in this instance. And I wish that had been better addressed in the show as the idea of what constitutes consent is a huge part of what I view as a comprehensive sexual education.

Favorite Part
I really liked "Totally F**ked." I love how upbeat and jump up and down energized it is. I also like how as soon as that line comes out of Melchior's mouth, "There's a moment you know: you're f**ked." The entire audience erupts in uncomfortable laughter.

The video is a bit of crappy quality and it was Jonathan Groff and Lea Michele's last performance so the audience is kind of nuts (and Jon is grinning up a storm), but I like seeing it live. They also performed part of it in their medley for the 2007 Tony's (the first video I posted in this).

I've heard talk that they are making a movie of it. A lot of people seem really against it. I'm personally all for movie adaptations of musicals! Though I personally hope that they still get hand held microphones to sing into. How about you? Think the world is ready for a Spring Awakening movie?

Lizzie

Have you ever heard of Lizzie Borden? In 1892, Lizzie was accused of murdering her father and stepmother with an ax but was acquitted. The murders continue to remain unsolved and is one of the most famous murder cases in the United States.

There are even rumors of the Borden house being haunted. Spooky.

There are a million theories as to what actually happen, including what possible motivation she might have had such as "lesbian rage," revenge against her father for sexual abuse, etc.

Whatever happened, someone made an awesome musical from the story.

Introduction
Lizzie is a rock opera retelling the story of how Lizzie Borden murdered her controlling stepmother and abusive father.

As a fair warning, there is a fair amount of strong language in the show and some lesbian smoochies between Lizzie and Alice. And blood. Lots of blood. Like, spurting blood. Everywhere.

Just so's you know.

Soundtrack
I love this soundtrack. It has a fabulous combination of head banging rock songs ("Gotta Get Out of Here" and "Why are All These Heads Off?") as well as some sweet, melodious songs ("If You Knew"). Overall, all of the songs are well sung. Did I mention that this is a four woman show? How COOL is that?! I mean, and a band, of course. But four actors: Lizzie, her sister Emma, their maid Bridget, and her friend/lover Alice. That's amazing.

I believe we have established after Elisabeth and Jekyll and Hyde that I like creepy, dark stories and music. So, naturally, I love Lizze. Because, come on. Well sung, fun, creepy songs about murder. What's to hate?

Favorite Song
It's always hard for me to choose my favorite songs from musicals. There are songs that I LOVE to listen to, but aren't necessarily my favorite song, per se, and then it's a matter of sorting out what is just fun and what is my favorite and is there really a difference (sometimes yes, sometimes no). Such is the case with Lizzie. While I absolutely love listening to the faster, harder songs like "Why are All These Heads Off?" and "Somebody Will Do Something," I don't know that I would say they were my favorite songs.

But they are awesome. So good. Sooooo good.

So, I'm going to go with one of the "prettier" songs sung by Alice. "Will You Stay" is when Alice reveals to Lizzie that she has had the biggest lady crush on her forever and it is about the prettiest thing ever. It's slow and melodic with some beautifully belted lines. And Ryah Nixon does a fabulous job of it all.

Unfortunately, this is one of those shows that has very few videos on Youtube with just the soundtrack music. Sad, I know. But that's life. But preview the song on iTunes! It's gorgeous.

The Show
I went and saw the show at Portland Center Stage with a friend from school... and then a week later with an old college roommate. Yes, I saw it twice. And it was TOTALLY WORTH IT. Especially with my student discount!

I loved the industrial looking set: lots of metal scaffolding and pretty minimal on props. I like that a lot. I also love huge sets that spin around and do awesome cool stuff a la Beauty and the Beast or Phantom of the Opera. But I think the minimal set really suited the show, particularly with such a small cast and strong music. And I loved having the band on the stage with the actors, giving it a bit of a "rock concert" feeling (to me... I've never been to an actual rock concert, though, so maybe I'm wrong and I just liked it).

The actors were all amazing. I love, love, LOVED the woman who played Bridgette. She was so much fun to watch act. And Emma's voice was beautiful. Who am I kidding, everyone was amazing. They had a different feel from the soundtrack, but just as high quality. I loved it and it really made me want to make sure I keep an eye out for more of their musicals so I can go see them.

Favorite Part
All of it. Honestly. I loved every moment in that theater. I swear it. But there were two parts that really stood out for me and both are times with the entire cast together.

The first was near the beginning of the second act when the police are doing their investigation. The song is called "Questions Questions." This particular clip is not from the production I saw, but it's one of my favorite groups that I've seen in videos online. The costumes are very different from what they did in the Portland production, which were much simpler and didn't change to a "rocked out" version until the finale.

The second scene I want to highlight is "13 Days in Taunton" which covers the trial itself. I think that this portion of the show really shows the rock opera part of this show. I particularly love how it doesn't have to be "pretty." It's gritty and explosive. I love it. In the production I saw, they had Lizzie separated from the rest of the cast rather than in a line up like in this video and, while I like the simplicity of the line up, I also think the visual created by having Lizzie separated was interesting, too.

How do you feel about rock operas like this? Does it bring a new element to Broadway or is it too unpolished for it? Is having the grungy rock music set in the 1800's too strange or are shows like this and Spring Awakening more interesting because of the choice in music?