STREAMING MOVIE MUSICALS REVIEWS AUGUST 2023 PART 2

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1) "Carousel: The Lincoln Philharmonic"--Prime Amazon--concert film--2 hours & 12 minutes-- in 1945 I saw my second Broadway musical and was knocked out John Riatt singing of "Soliloquy" --now, 78 years later, I go back to being that boy, no matter how many times I hear the score from that show--it is always in my top 10 musicals list-- and what a score! From the jubilant "June is Busting Out All Over" to the inspirational "You'll Never Walk Alone" to the emotional "Soliloquy" and "If I Loved You" through stripped-down staging the score and cast are magnificent! 2) "The Pajama Game"--Prime Amazon--1957 film of 1954 stage musical--1 hour & 40 minutes--in 1948 I walked into a movie theatre in Boonton, New Jersey, and fell 'in love' with Doris Day in "Romance on the High Seas" singing "It's Magic"--this teenage boy, for 3-4 years, kept scrapbooks--now 8 years later she was starring in a movie version of a show I had seen on Broadway with the aforementioned John Riatt and Janis Page with his doing the movie role and Doris Day doing the Page role--and what a pair they made/make on screen--lots of songs, dancing, comedy--from "Hey There" to "Fernando's Hideaway" (the latter showing Bob Fosse's strength as a choreographer and dancer)--a big fan of both Riatt & Day plus a very enjoyable movie musical! 3) "Till The Clouds Roll By"--Prime Amazon--movie--2 hours & 16 minutes--a pseudo biography of Jerome Kern. the composer, as an excuse to use every M-G-M star to sing and dance to his great songs--examples: Katherine Grayson & Tony Martin "We Could Make Believe", Lena Horne's "Can't Help Loving That Man of Mine", Judy Garland's "Look For The Silver Lining" and you can't miss her in the production of "Who" and dozens of others plus a medley with Frank Sinatra with "Old Man River" not to forget Angela Lansbury--a time to hear and share some of the best stars and songs of yesterday with today's kids and revisit some favorites! 4) "Damn Yankees"--Prime Amazon--movie--1 hour &50 minutes-- a classic Broadway musical turned into good musical if for no other reason to capture one of Broadway's biggest musical stars Gwen Verdon--just to see her sing and dance "Whatever Lola Wants" and "A Little Brains, A Little Talent"--oh yes, let's not forget the number she and Bob Fosse do "Who Got The Pain?"-- a typical Broadway made into a Hollywood movie with a leading lady who did it all with others or by herself and the camera loved her! 5) "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum"--Prime Amazon--1 hour & 37 minutes--another Broadway hit preserved on a Hollywood film with some of the funniest comedians of yesterday-- burlesque as it was--shows what made burlesque such a big entertainment and eventually why it 'died'. 6) "Moulin Rouge"--Prime Amazon--film--2 hours & minutes--an extravagant, flamboyant, young love, old love, a writer, a courtesan, all with a background of Paris and the Moulin Rouge and various 'jukebox' tunes--you will either love it or it will drive you crazy. 7) "13: The Musical"--Netflix--movie--1 hour & 34 minutes--after his parents divorce a New York boy moves to Indiana--and he is a fish out of water--he decides to throw himself the best Bar Mitzvah ever --good songs, good music--a very talented group of youngsters make a good movie. 8) "I Wanna Dance With Somebody"--Netflix--based on Houston's life--2 hours & 24 minutes--the complex portrait of a singer's stunning ascent from a New Jersey choir to super star--another tragic celebrity story--a beautiful voice, record-breaking hit songs and a wild private life--it is worth watching for the music and Whitney's medley at the end of "Porgy", "And I'm Not Leaving" along with "I Who Love You".