Demonic Fox Kurama's Movies & MusicalsDemonic Fox Kurama's Movies & Musicals
Les Miserables: this is undoubtedly my most favourite musical, EVER. I first saw it when I was about 13, and I had plastered my walls with any newspaper clipping that had subject matter pertaining to the show. That same year, I had also read two editions of the novel, one abridged, and the other unabridged (that's right, I read the 1500 page eye-sore when I was only 13!!!), as well as bought myself two editions of the sheet music, and the soundtrack. As a result, my beloved tape is now garbled, so I plan to get the 10th Aniversary cd. I am seeing it again, this month....hey I couldn't miss Colm Wilkinson for the world....and I absolutely cannot wait!!!! So what is Les Miz about? Well it mainly has to do with a man's search for self-discovery after he is given a second chance in life. He learns he is a compassionate and caring man; these emotions fully brought out by his paternal love of an orphan girl. As the years pass, he is thrown into the turmoil of the French Revolution, jealousy, then finally serenity, as he prepares to meet his maker. If you have not seen this, you seriously don't know what you are missing. At least rent a tape of the 10th Anniversary, if you've missed the zillions of times it has been shown on PBS. I most HIGHLY RECOMMEND you see this musical at least once, then buy the soundtrack and wear it out until your family is so sick of it that they too can sing the songs by heart.
Just for fun, check out this script I wrote involving Hong Kong pop star Aaron Kwok auditioning for the cast of Les Miz. I call it Aaron's Audition.
Ragtime: contrary what the advertisements and name implied, this musical was no light-hearted epic. Instead it turned out to be one of the most heart-wrenching musicals I had ever seen. The storyline set in the 1920's basically followed the lives of this typical white family, a talented black piano player, a refugee and his daughter, and a young black woman who had abandoned her child. Anyone who knows me will contest that I am hardly the crier, but this one had me choked up throughout the entire show. You see it also explored the transitions these people had to go through on account of their traumatic experiences, esp. Coalhouse, the piano player, Sarah, the woman who had abandoned her child (the child was Coalhouse's, but he never knew), and a woman simple known as "Mother", of the typical white family, who was the one to discover the buried--yet still alive, baby. Truly tear-jearking. The soundtrack of this one is absolutely great, as most of the music is rag, and this time I bought the cd, so I couldn't wear it out.
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat: I am positively insane about this musical. I love Donny Osmond's voice, it's soooo good!!! When I got the Mulan soundtrack, I kept on repeating that "Be a Man" song because I find his voice so sexy. Mind you I found Shang pretty hot too. Back on topic, Joseph is based on the story of Jacob and his sons in the book of Genesis, but Andrew Lloyd Webber decided to put a comedic spin on the tale. This is precisely what you get when you watch Joseph. All the strong biblical elements are there; however, they are in a high energy, modern-comedic form. When I was younger, I had a thing for the "Coloured Coat" song...I memorized everyone of the colours: "It was red and yellow and green and blue and scarlet and black and ochre and peach and....etc.; but now I like "Close Every Door" because when Donny sings it, he just gets so emotional that your heart goes out to him. Unfortunately I only got to see this once, but I do have the soundtrack, so I can listen to my heart's content.
Death of a Salesman: now this is not a musical, but a pretty famous play. I saw this last year, and geez, it sure as hell blew me away. Like Ragtime, it had me pretty choked up throught the entire thing as well. Death basically followed the life of salesman Willy Lomax, and his family. It was pretty depressing, because practically everyone in the family had repressed anger towards Willy, who could not adapt to the changing times. He also refused to acknowledge he had done anything wrong on his business trips, where he cheated on his wife, and instilled trauma in his favourite son Biff, who had caught him during one of his liasons. As a result, Biff never amounted to anything in life, having had to repress his emotions regarding the matter. Yeah, this one is a real doozy, but when I saw it, it was performed by a stellar cast, and was forever imprinted in my mind.
Amadeus: this is favourite play EVER, based on the life of composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It's really cool because writer Paul Schaffer (or is it Peter...I can't remember), took liberties with history to make the title character come across as a modern playboy, rather than serious composer. He also portrayed Mozart's wife Stanzie (Constanze) as an aggressive modern woman, though the historical books say nothing of the sort. (Hey, I did a project on him for history.) Basically the storyline follows mediocre composer Antonio Salieri's undying obsession to become the best composer, although he knows deep in his heart that he SUCKS THE BAG!!!! (ha, ha...that's one of my friend's sayings when something really reeks.) Upon meeting Mozart, his obsession comes to the fore, as he attempts to ruin him under the guise of friendship. Mozart, as history buffs know, dies at a very young age, while Salieri lives. I am not sure if this is true, but Salieri tells his tale at a mental asylum, so he may have gone insane. Although like play and musical on this page, I saw this live, There is a movie, which I do own, and it is just as good as the play. It stars F. Murray Abraham as Salieri, and Tom Hulce (who did the voice of Quasimodo in Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame) as Mozart, and you can rent it at any good video store.
These are my ultimate favourites, but other plays and musicals I liked were: Beauty and the Beast (I still think the movie was better than the musical, with the exception of the song "Home"), Phantom, Sunset Blvd, The Who's Tommy (lead actor Tyley Ross was a BABE!!), Showboat, Oliver, Man of la Mancha, the Kiss of the Spider Woman, Miss Saigon, My Fair Lady, Much Ado About Nothing, the Merry Wives of Windsor, Little Women, Julius Caesar and this Andrew Lloyd Webber concert I saw with Michael Crawford (the original London Phantom with the sexiest voice). I have not seen RENT, but I do have the soundtrack, and I'll bet if I did, it would have been right up there with my other favourites. I really liked the experimental risque plot-direction the author took. It's just sooo cool. My personal favourite song from RENT is "One Song One Glory" sung by AIDS victim Roger.
For more musical info. not to mention links to the official sites, visit Zev's Realm.
Welcome to the movies and musicals page. If you've been to my personal info page, you'll know that at one time in my life, I had prided myself in seeing almost every musical in town. Thanks to my mom, I've been watching plays and musicals practically forever. In high school, I was one of those kids who had seen every Shakespeare play we were required to learn before even touching the book. It was kind of cool. I'm also a huge movie buff and this page lists some of my all time fave movie picks. Anyway, since I've seen so many musicals, I've narrowed down the profiles to just a few of my very favourites; however, if you want the low-down on some obscure musical, play, or movie you can always e-mail me, and if I have indeed seen it, I'll give you my biased yet informative opinion on the matter at hand. So without further adieu, lets get this show rolling:
Other "Musical" Notables:
JP: Recording artist JP, under the record label Joe Kool Records, is an independant singer/songwriter on the rise to fame. He has awesome material you can check out at the Joe Kool Records Online site, which is also found through my LINKS page.
Also, check out this exclusive interview he gave me the last time he was in town promoting the single "I Think We're Alone Now", illustrated above.
The Austin Powers Soundtrack...Baby: this soundtrack is AMAZING!!! It has all those cool 60's themed songs such as "Incense and Peppermints" by Strawberry Alarm Clock as well cult hit "BBC" by Ming Tea. I listen to this one even more than I listen to some of my Japanese cds. I absolutely love "Female of the Species" by Space, and the "Soul Bossa Nova" by Quincy Jones and His Orchestra, that grooovy song he dances to at the beginning of the movie. Smashing soundtrack for a smashing movie. You can check out the original site...baby, through my LINKS page.
As I've said, I'm a huge film buff. I don't really have a favourite director, but I do like Akira Kurosawa a lot. I like Hitch, natch ^_~ but I usually go by reviews and actors when dealing with what I want to see. So without further adieu, some of my fave movies:
Yeah...there are a whole slew of movies I like, but these are some of my very favourites. Quite a lot, ne?
Well that about wraps up my movies and musicals page, so click here: 
to return to my homepage....baby!!!!