Tag: musicals

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Well, this was fun!

I grew up on musicals, many of which were by Rodgers and Hammerstein. I sang along to the soundtrack recordings of The King and I, South Pacific, and Oklahoma. I didn’t know Flower Drum Song, Carousel, or State Fair quite as well (meaning I didn’t have every single melody, lyric, and inflection memorized!😂), but between piano sheet music, concert band arrangements, orchestra pops concerts, and catching the occasional television broadcast, I was pretty familiar with those as well.

But I missed out on Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella completely! True, I had the vaguest of memories of seeing something on television — once — when I was a little girl, but it wasn’t until many years later that I found it once again on the internet (that was the 1965 version starring Lesley Ann Warren).

What a revelation! I realized that hints of the songs had lingered in my awareness, even after only one viewing, and it was so wonderful to finally know what they were and where they came from.

Well…imagine my surprise when, just this past year, I stumbled across a DVD of Rodger and Hammerstein’s Cinderella…with Julie Andrews in the starring role! I just watched it for the second time tonight and now I’m looking forward to the treat of getting to know all these songs really well.

Having the voice and gracious beauty of Julie Andrews combined with the sublime melodies, witty lyrics, and emotional depth of Rodgers and Hammerstein definitely takes me to a very, very happy place deep inside.

Oh, and let’s not forget the humor; love this!🤣

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More remembering

Found myself thinking more about the musicals I grew up with and felt inspired to revisit some of my favorite lyrics (a few are excerpted below)…

From “South Pacific”
Happy talk keep talkin’ happy talk
Talk about things you’d like to do.
You gotta have a dream
if you don’t have a dream
How you gonna have a dream come true?
👉 THE TAKE AWAY: Focus on the positive and dream your dream!

From “The King & I”
I whistle a happy tune
And ev’ry single time
The happiness in the tune
Convinces me that I’m not afraid.
Make believe you’re brave
And the trick will take you far.
You may be as brave
As you make believe you are.
👉 THE TAKE AWAY: Acting “as if” really can help!

From “The Sound of Music”
I have confidence in sunshine,
I have confidence in rain.
I have confidence that spring will come again!
Besides what you see I have confidence in me.
Strength doesn’t lie in numbers.
Strength doesn’t lie in wealth,
Strength lies in nights of peaceful slumbers,
When you wake up, wake up!
It’s healthy!
All I trust I give my heart to,
All I trust becomes my own!
I have confidence in confidence alone!
Besides, which you see, I have confidence in me!
👉 THE TAKE AWAY: Believe in yourself and know the true source of your strength!

From “Camelot”
Camelot! Camelot!
I know it gives a person pause,
But in Camelot, Camelot!
Those are the legal laws.
The snow may never slush upon the hillside.
By nine p.m. the moonlight must appear.
In short, there’s simply not
A more congenial spot
For happily-ever-aftering than here
In Camelot.
👉 THE TAKE AWAY: In retrospect I wonder if this song didn’t reawaken samskars or astral memories. I loved the idea of that special, perfect, magical spot, but now I’m thinking that the perfection is never just about the physical reality; it come from being surrounded by harmonious vibrations and people of high consciousness…also known as spiritual community!

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Music history 101

I had many music history classes in college, memorizing lots of composers’ birth/death dates (most of which I’ve long forgotten, not that it matters even a little bit, thanks to the internet). But tonight I’m reflecting on my personal history of music and realizing that music impacted me in a wide variety of ways during the different “eras” of my life.

I grew up on musicals. That’s the first music that I was consciously aware of. The first time my family went to an indoor theater (as opposed to a drive-in movie) was to see My Fair Lady, with Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison.

And I can still picture the light blue sweater and blue/yellow plaid skirt I wore on an elementary school field trip to see The Sound of Music at the Century 21 theater in San Jose. That was a defining moment of my young life.

The Music Man. Camelot. The King and I. Oliver. Oklahoma. West Side Story. Flower Drum Song. Fiddler on the Roof. South Pacific. The list goes on and on. These movies were the soundtrack of my childhood. We had recordings of most of them and I spent hours singing along and memorizing the lyrics. (I would sometimes dance along as well; such as when I was around twelve and would go home, put on my red net petticoat, and dance my little heart out to “Shipoopi, shipoopi, shipoopi, the girl who’s hard to get…” from The Music Man!) 😂

I absolutely loved the clever use of words, the intricate rhythms, and the beautiful melodies. But many of these movies had either a positive message, or at least a few positive songs, or else upbeat tunes which raised my energy regardless of the lyrics. So I think I owe them a debt of gratitude for helping me develop into a pretty darn positive and optimistic person.