Today marks the halfway point of this here blog party! And since no blog party would be complete without a game, here is one to test your musical song know-how.
Without further ado, I present to you the....
How To Play
There are two lists below: the first, numbered 1-10, are song titles; the second, lettered A-J, are titles of Musicals.
Simply match each song to the correct musical in which they are performed.
You can answer in the comments or on your blog; the prize will be bragging rights on how extensive your musical knowledge is!!
I tried to make it a bit challenging, so put your thinking caps on and let's get to it!
The Songs
1. No Way To Stop It
2. People
3. Ascot Gavotte
4. Vanilla Ice Cream
5. You and I
6. A Woman's Touch
7. Sincere
8. Stars
9. Off to Massachusetts
10. Something Wonderful
The Musicals
A. Funny Girl
B. Little Women
C. She Loves Me
D. The Sound of Music
E. Les Miserables
F. Meet Me In St. Louis
G. The Music Man
H. The King and I
I. Calamity Jane
J. My Fair Lady
How'd you fair? Was it challenging? Easy as pie?
We will be posting the answers near the end of the blog party, so have fun waiting in suspense till then!
We're just dropping in with our tag answers! Hope you enjoy!!
Quick note: Some of the songs listed down below, come from musicals containing material we don't fully stand behind and therefore simply enjoy a portion of their soundtrack.
Katherine's Answers
1.
What are three musicals you really, really, REALLY like?
"She Loves Me" (this is such a sweet, fun love story with such a TALENTED cast - if you'd like more details on the show, check out our review)
"The Sound of Music" (My siblings actually were watching this movie the day I was born while waiting for my Dad to come out and tell them that I had arrived! So this has kind of been "my" birthday movie!)
"Les Miserables" (Come on, it's Les Mis! Need I say more?)
Who is your favorite actor or actress from a musical?
I'm going to pick Zachary Levi and Samantha Barks solely based on the one role that I've seen them in. Samantha Bark's Eponime in the 25th anniversary of "Les Mis" was just so well done! I love her version of "On My Own" so much and her portrayal of Eponime was heart wrenching! Zachary Levi on the other hand did an outstanding job in "She Loves Me". He just became his character so seamlessly, it was just amazing!
4.
Do you have a favorite musical duet or two? Favorite version?
"One Day More" - Les Miserables (25th Anniversary Version)
8.
What musical theatre song (or entire soundtrack!) do you like to belt out around the house?
"Les Miserables", and "The King & I"!
9.
Which underrated musical would you like to tell us all about??
The Count of Monte Cristo!!!
This musical sountrack is just so richly written, oh, it will just give you shivers! The suffering Edmond experienced in the Chateau D'if, the conniving of his enemies, the ever hopeful, undying love Mercedes and Edmond shared for each other....*sniff, sniff* - you need to give this musical a try!
Alright, It's Grace's turn!
Grace's Answers
1. What are three musicals you really, really, REALLY like?
Les Miserables: It's such a classic! Jean Valjean's redemptive story and the students fighting for freedom move me every time!
Phantom of the Opera: It's such a roller coaster of a story that holds a lot of nostalgia for me since my siblings used to play the cd in the car all the time! We used to air play the organ during the overture.
The Pirate Queen: I LOVE the music and characters in this musical and if it ever comes anywhere near me, I'll BE THERE! (See what I did there??!!)
2. Name three of your favorite songs from musicals?
The Impossible Dream- The Man of La Mancha
Katherine and I disagree over which version of this song is the best, but for me it's Brian Stokes Mitchel. He plays the part to perfection and sings with so much emotion.
That's What You Call A Dream- Bonnie and Clyde
So this musical has A LOT of problems, but THIS SONG is near and dear to my heart!!!! It's sung by the wife of Clyde's brother and I connect so much with her desire to simply live a normal, quiet life.
Against My Will- Pride and Prejudice: The Musical
What a way to end Act 1, am I right? Oh, you poor Mr. Darcy!
3. Who is your favorite actor or actress from a musical?
Ramin Karimloo and Hadley Fraser are tied for first place in the actor category. Their voices and abilities to portray emotion and bring their roles to life are incredible! Jeremy Jordan and Zachary Levi also deserve honorable mention.
In the actress category, I adore Sierra Boggess. I never liked nor understood Christine in Phantom of the Opera until I saw Sierra's portrayal! She has such a beautiful voice, has terrific comedic timing, and overall is a very charming, sweet person.
4. Do you have a favorite musical duet or two? Favorite version?
"Lilly's Eyes"- The Secret Garden
"A Girl in the Valley"- The Secret Garden
Both these songs are so sweet and full of emotion, I'm not crying you are!
"More Than I Am"- Little Women
AHHH, why are all my songs sad, you may ask? BECAUSE THAT'S LIFE PEOPLE!!!!
"All I Ask of You"- Phantom of the Opera
These two together are *chefs kiss*
Bonus: "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" is not a duet, but when these guys sing it, it sounds SOOO BEAUTIFUL and HEART WRENCHING!!!!!!!
5. What are your favorite female solos?
"My Man"- Funny Girl
I cried when I first heard this song! Yes, Fanny! You stand with him!
"Happily Ever After"- Once Upon A Mattress
And here we break from the sadness and add in some comedy! I LOVE this one and Carol Burnett is a legend!
"God Help The Outcasts"- The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Aaaand we're back to sadness!! But good sadness!
6. What are your favorite male solos?
"Born to the Battle"- The Far Pavilions
I was so excited to find this song after reading the book! And AGAIN! The POWER and EMOTION my man Hadley puts in there! PEOPLE!! THE GUY'S GOT TALENT!!!
"Bring Him Home"- Les Miserables
I love this song as a solo, but these two together make it even better!!
"I Wonder What The King Is Doing Tonight"- Camelot
My friend introduced me to this musical, which I have yet too see (even though I own it), but this opening song is golden!
7. Favorite ensemble songs?
"Sunrise, Sunset"- Fiddler on the Roof
Oh, the nostalgia!! Kill me now!!
"One Day More"- Les Mis
OOOOOHHHH, THE SHIVERS!!!! OOOHHH, THE EPICNESS!!!!!! I SHAN'T SURVIVE!!!!!
"Once And For All"- Newsies
FYI, this whole soundtrack makes wonderful weed pulling/barn cleaning/inspirational music!
8. What musical theatre song (or entire soundtrack!) do you like to belt out around the house?
"Land of Yesterday"- Anastasia
Oh yes, this one is often heard quite loudly!
"My New Philosophy"- You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown
This one too! It's so catchy!
"There once was a Man"- The Pajama Game
Katherine and I heard this one last year and again we can't speak to the entire musical, but this song is soo funny!!
9. Which underrated musical would you like to tell us all about??
Titanic: The Musical! Step aboard and give it a chance; it has NOTHING to do with the movie aside from the title and the ship! When you sit down to listen to it, be prepared to be FRUSTRATED because you know what the future holds and the poor innocent passengers do not. Prepare to become EXCITED to get on board a doomed ship. To be AMAZED at all the information they cleverly packed into the songs. To be HEART-BROKEN by the several love stories that blossom onboard. To get your heart RACING and find yourself FRANTICALLY searching for a life vest during the RIVETING second act. And to be SOBBING during the Finale! Is it worth it you ask? YES... YES, IT IS!!!!!
Well, that was horribly hard!! We have found we are terribly indecisive and can not for the life of us pick only one answer!!
Folks, can I have your attention,please? Your attention, please?
Today is the first day of....
*Grace throws confetti while
Katherine releases balloons*
We just can't wait to fill the "blogosphere" with the Sound of Music!
Depending on your weather you might even beSingin' in the Rain!
And if you ask nicely, you might even persuade the Fiddler on the Roof to accompany you...
If any of you, My Fair Ladies, need a refresher course on the rules, whys and wherefores of this party, please refer to this post.
For those of you who would wish to participate in this party, but do not wish to sing, we will have multiple (non-vocal😊) activities throughout the fortnight which we'd love to see you take part in!
We'd like to put a disclaimer here at the beginning of our festivities:
All musicals we mention during the course of this party may include material in them that we do not agree with or stand behind. Depending on the particular instance, we may choose to enjoy only a portion of a musical's soundtrack/production and skip over the "undesirables". This is purely our personal choice and we encourage you to do your own research.
We are so excited this party is finally here and have written a musical parody "in honor of the day" to (hopefully) "spur you on to musicals heights"!
(Lyrics are in the video's description)
Go ahead, tell us how awful it was. Yes, well, ahem, don't let our bumbling debuting abilities discourage you.
-Well, I couldn't really sing, you may say.
-Well, yes you could, we would say, you have a lovely voice!
- Oh, surely not, you may still say.
- Surely yes, we would still say.
- But what would I sing, you would ask?
- And we'd say, EVERYTHING!!
- And you'd say, I tried already! I have scoured the beast of the internet, searching for the "song" of my dreams and have now lost all hope, lying upon my fainting couch in despair....Woe is me...
- *After recovering from your speech, we would find our voices and reply*
Well, never fear! Your friends, the Maidens are here to assist thee!
So, Ladies, below is a list of musicals that
will hopefully inspire you!
(You can click on each title to go and listen to it's soundtrack)
And again as a reminder, please use this list in conjunction with the guidelines in the post linked above.
Are you inspired yet? Just remember to have fun, and don't worry about making your recordings perfection! Just relax and enjoy yourself!
We'll see you back here tomorrow for more fun and as always, we'd love to chat with you in the comments! Parties wouldn't be parties without lots of gabbing!! :) :)
Today we have a list of some of our favorite "declarations of love" movie scenes!
What constitutes a "declaration of love", you may ask? Well, for us this means any scene where a character expresses his or her feelings of love to or about their love interest, whether for the first time, or in reaffirmation.
{Katherine's Comments will be in RED}
{Grace's will be in BLUE}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1) Edward Ferris & Elinor Dashwood
[Sense and Sensibility]
This is the only video of Edward's proposal that we could find and it's not the best, but we couldn't not include this couple so just fill in the blanks where needed!
I just love this scene! It's just so sweet. Here Elinor has been so miserable on her own, trying to be happy for Edward's imminent marriage, and then finally, when she resolves herself that he's not the one for her, he shows up and announces himself quite free! Aghh!! And then he tells her how long he's loved her, but why he couldn't tell her.....and....will she marry him????
2) Tzitel & Motel
[Fiddler On The Roof]
I ADORE Motel and Tzitel! And when Motel overcome's his fears to stand up for his love AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!
This scene is just.....wonderful! I love Motel's timid sincerity as he states his case before Tevye and then rises to the occasion to tell his future father-in-law why he's a good match for Tzitel! Oh, it's a wonderful dialogue!
3) Alfie Arlis & Minnie
[Lark Rise to Candleford]
Minnie is the purest little lump of goodness and she found the perfect match in Alfie! I love that line, "I am yearnin' for him and he is yearnin' for me",
*goes off sobbing*
4) Cosette & Marius
[Les Miserables]
I have one word for you.....
🎝'Just one look and I knew.....I KNEW IT, TOO'🎜
(actually, that's 10 words, but who's counting?)
Eeek! I adore this part of Les Mis!
5) Emma Woodhouse & Mr. Knightley
[Emma]
'I find....I do not know what to think'........
(sighs dramatically)
6) Prince Henry & Danielle de Barbirac
[Ever After]
Oh my word, I love this movie so much!!!! And Prince Henry's proposal? Where are my smelling salts, I'm about to swoon!!
Oh, come now, Grace, you're not really going to...(hears loud thud)...Agh! Grace!! Grace? GRACE?! Hill! HILL! Fetch some water immediately!
7) Prince Albert & Queen Victoria
[The Young Victoria]
This scene is so touching! Albert was the only one rooting for Victoria's success, while Victoria's own mother was interested only in controlling her daughter's power as Queen.
8) Amy Dorrit & Arthur Clennem via John Chivery
[Little Dorrit]
Poor dear sweet John! He deserved better! This scene is so emotional I'm gonna cry!
Katherine -
9) Grace O'Malley & Tiernan
[The Pirate Queen]
Grace and Tiernan are such a testament to lasting love and commitment. If you haven't listened to this musical, stop right now and save it to listen to later. It is AMAZING!
10) Anne Elliot & Frederick Wentworth
[Persuasion]
Oh, this love story is so heart-wrenching........but in a good way! This scene was done just beautifully with Anne reading Frederick's letter, and then running, trying to catch the him to tell him.....*sniff, sniff*......to tell him.......*sniff, sniff*......she loved him too!! Oh, it's just too delightful!
11) Demelza & Ross
[Poldark]
This was one of the best Poldark moments! The poor thing in love with a good for nothing, stubborn, bullheaded, proud, Ross and then he FINALLY realizes what a treasure she is.......and how much he in fact is in love with her!
12) Fanny Price & Nick Arnstein
[Funny Girl]
This song is sung after Fanny and Nick are already married, and when they are going through a VERY rough patch. It is Fanny's reiteration of her love and willingness to stand by her husband and I think it's just beautiful and was crying from the start! Fanny, you dear, wonderful, beautiful thing!!! Yes, you stand by your man and let him know that you won't let him go! Barbara Streisand has such an amazing voice!
13) Mia & Nicholas
[Princess Diaries 2]
Ah yes, the ever perfect response to a declaration of love...
"Do you have a chicken for my table?"
Just keep that in mind ladies and gents!!!
And we reach the end......alas!
So what are your favorite confessions of love? Have you seen any of the scenes from our collection?
