New Songs in Movie Musicals

I’m in a very musical theatre mood, so I’ve been watching movie musicals and listening to countless cast recordings, including multiple recordings of the same show. It’s incredibly entertaining to watch and/or listen to multiple versions of the same show for the sake of comparison. It’s amazing how much the enjoyment of a show can fluctuate from something as small as a directorial change or cast swap. However, as I’ve been listening, I’ve been reminded of a larger change, one that seems odd but is actually very common in movie musicals: an added song. In most cases, movie musicals are shorter than their onstage counterparts, and more often than not at least one song from the stage gets cut. It seems odd, then, that there are often new songs in the movies. As a general rule, I’m skeptical of this. I understand additions if there are gaps in the existing material, but it’s harder to justify cutting a popular song for one that is untested (and particularly if the song was added purely as awards bait). It’s certainly true that some of these song swaps are unjustifiable mistakes but, to my surprise, I actually found a few that are not only welcome but actually wonderful.

Without further ado, here are ten movie musicals that, for better or for worse, tried something new.

“What Ifs” from Mean Girls

• Notable songs cut (or drastically shortened): “Where Do You Belong?”, “Meet the Plastics,” “Fearless,” “Stop,” “Whose House is This?,” “More is Better,” and “Do This Thing”
• Song swapped: “It Roars”
• Original songs written by Nell Benjamin and Jeff Richmond
• New songs written by Nell Benjamin, Jeff Richmond, Michael Pollack, and Reneé Rapp

Left: Movie Cady during “What Ifs.” Right: Onstage Cady and Damien during “Stop.”

For the record: I saw the show onstage long before I saw the movie, and went into the film knowing the original songs very well.

I was hyped when I heard about this movie. I like the original movie, but I LOVE the musical adaptation; I followed the production of Mean Girls closely and was excited by most of what I heard. In particular, the casting of Renée Rapp and Jaquel Spivey had me particularly enthusiastic: movie musicals don’t always hire bona fide Broadway vocal talents, and it struck me as a very good sign that this one had. Despite my interest, I didn’t make it to the theatre and therefore had time to read a bunch of online reviews (and get one from my sister) before I saw the show myself. I was warned that the songs have a different feel in the movie than onstage, so I was prepared for it. While Janis and Damien still get to have very theatrical sung moments, most of the other characters have their songs shifted subtly for a less overtly Broadway sound. Their songs are a little more pop-y, more tiktoky. This might be a controversial opinion but I was kind of into it. I absolutely missed the songs that were cut—Spivey is SO GOOD as Damien that cutting anything he would have sung feels like a mistake, and “More is Better” is thematically an important song, not to mention beautiful) but on the whole I really liked the movie. I had a great time with it and will happily watch it again.

With this new direction, “It Roars” doesn’t exactly fit Cady’s vibe… or her voice. It has been said before and often that actor Angourie Rice doesn’t have the vocal dynamism (or, in any case, wasn’t directed to showcase the vocal dynamism) for Cady’s more powerful songs. I’d argue that Janis and Regina are more the protagonists of Mean Girls the musical than Cady is (they have all the best songs! And Janis sings “I’d Rather Be Me,” which is arguably the big solo of the show, the type that would normally be reserved for the hero), but onstage Cady still has some big vocal moments. The movie removes them. Her verses of “Apex Predator” are given to Damien (it’s not the best thematic choice, but it sounds amazing so I’ve forgiven it), “More is Better” hit the wastebasket, both “Stupid with Love” and “Stars” are sung much smaller (except a verse that is sung by a different character), and “It Roars” is swapped for the much meeker “What Ifs.” It’s a cute enough song. It’s pretty, and it has a less theatrical, more popish sound that fits in with what the movie seems to be doing with Cady. The energy after “A Cautionary Tale” drops quickly being followed with “What Ifs,” in a way that I don’t like, but I don’t hate it. I can see movie!Janis singing “It Roars,” but movie!Cady doesn’t have that energy, and that song wouldn’t work with the soft, flat sound she maintains throughout the movie. If you asked me which song I prefer I would take “It Roars” every time, but I get what was intended with “What Ifs” and I wouldn’t call it a failure.

Verdict: A qualified miss

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“Still Holding My Hand” from Matilda

• Notable songs cut: “Pathetic,” “This Little Girl,” “Loud,” “Telly”
• Song swapped: none directly
• Original songs written by Tim Minchin
• New song written by Tim Minchin

Left: The movie’s Miss Honey and Matilda during “Still Holding My Hand.” Right: Mr. Wormwood performing “Telly” onstage.

For full transparency: While I had listened to the original cast recording many times before seeing the movie adaptation, I have never seen the stage version of Matilda.

Ash (Book Review)

Recently, I read Malinda Lo’s National Book Award winning, Stonewall Award winning, Asian/Pacific American Award-winning, and Printz award honoree Last Night at the Telegraph Club. It is absolutely fantastic: excellent writing, a compelling balance between optimism and darker realism, likable characters, and a refreshingly diverse story from an era that is often depicted as overwhelmingly straight and white. I don’t read much historical fiction, so the fact that I loved Last Night at the Telegraph Club as much as I did is remarkable. When I found out that Lo had also written a fantasy novel? I was hugely excited, especially when I realized that Ash is about fairies and that it has been endorsed by Leigh Bardugo, Holly Black, Rainbow Rowell, Nina Lacour, Kristin Cashore, and more. 

What’s it about?

Billed as a lesbian retelling of Cinderella with some dark, Irish-inspired fairies sprinkled in for good measure, Ash follows a young woman in the wake of her parents’ deaths. When her father’s debts are made known, Ainsling—called Ash—is forced to serve her stepmother and stepsisters as a servant. Unbeknownst to her stepfamily, in the wake of her grief Ash has befriended a fairy and secretly desires to join him his home where, the stories suggest, she may be able to see a version of her mother again. 

What’d I think?

I feel a bit let down by Ash. It’s not a bad book, but as you can probably tell from my introduction to this review, I had my hopes and my expectations sky-high. Ash’s writing style mirrors its heroine’s grief, giving it a strangely cold and passive voice for much of the story. It’s hypnotic, in a way, luring the reader—like Ainsling—to a kind of numbness. Stylistically, it works brilliantly because it locks the reader into Ash’s headspace. There’s a numbness about it that suits the story really well, but at times it struggled to hold my attention. 

I liked Ash, but I had a nagging feeling throughout that I should have enjoyed it more than I actually did. Possibly because Ash was Lo’s first novel there are things about it that are just a bit off. For instance: Kaisa, the royal Huntress who is Ash’s love interest and fulfills the role of the Prince from the traditional fairy story, is kind of a nonentity. Now, you may be saying, the love interest from Cinderella is always kind of a nonentity. They’re really just there to provide that romantic happily-ever-after that the story hinges on. And sure, yeah. That’s a valid point. But it feels like Lo was trying to develop Kaisa beyond that. She and Ash meet many times before the Hunt of the ball and they develop a friendship before Ash has any inkling of romantic feelings. Despite this, there’s not much substance to Kaisa, and I’m not even fully convinced I understand why she is so highly ranked. Why is hunting so valuable in this society? I get that Kaisa is good at it, but I don’t get the impression why any random nobody couldn’t do her job as well or better than she does. That and Kaisa is deeply, deeply affected by killing animals. I liked that scene because it’s the biggest hint of personality for Kaisa that we get, but it does make her seem like a strange pick for the position.   

If I Were a Rich Man… I’d See Lots of Musicals (Musical Monday)

Happy Monday! It’s time to talk about musicals. It’s always time to talk about musicals, but at this point you know what I mean, so here we go! Five more shows I love!

Rent

How I’ve Experienced it: I’ve seen both the movie version and the 2008 version filmed live on Broadway.

It’s about a group of starving artists during the peak of the AIDS crisis.

Why is it so good? It’s a love song to living life by your own compass, and—like everything else that will appear in this series of musicals I love—it has great songs. I’m particularly drawn to stories about different kinds of people making their ways in life even when other people/society tells them that they should be doing it differently, so RENT really appeals to me. Plus, it’s got a kind of rock sound that’s still musical theatre-y enough that I like it but also different from a lot of what I listen to.

My recommendation (if you can’t see it live): I mean, I love the movie, which I know gets a lot of grief. Personally, I don’t get it. It’s great. It has the original Broadway cast–which includes Anthony Rapp, Adam Pascal, and Idina Menzel among other talented people–and swaps out the weak links in the cast. The Live on Broadway version is good. I watched it after I’d seen the movie many times. Some things about it are a lot better: movies always have to cut lots out, and the full show has a lot more in the way of character development particularly for Mark and Benny. However, while I loved most of the cast–Reneé Elise Goldsberry and Justin Johnston as Mimi and Angel, respectively, particularly impressed me–I much prefer the OG/movie Mark and Roger. Since Mark and Roger are the main characters, that’s not a minor consideration. Whichever way you to, you get Tracie Thoms, though, which is a plus. Supposedly RENT! Live isn’t very good, but I haven’t seen it so I wouldn’t know.  Also, I’ve heard there’s a filmed version from the Hollywood bowl that has Aaron Tveit.

My favorite songs: “What You Own;” “Take Me or Leave Me;” and “Seasons of Love”

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Fiddler on the Roof

How I’ve experienced it: In addition to seeing it live once, I’ve seen the 1971 movie. To be totally honest, the movie didn’t really grab me when I first saw it, but seeing it onstage was spectacular.

It’s about: A Jewish man tries to uphold tradition despite a changing world and the atypical romantic choices of his many daughters.

Why is it so good? Fiddler has some absolutely amazing dancing in it. “The Bottle Dance” has some of the coolest choreography I’ve ever seen. And the songs are good blah, blah, blah. Bits of this show are little too, ahem, traditional for my taste (I get tired of the everyone-gets-married thing more quickly than your average person), but the overall sweep and splendor more than makes up for it.

My recommendation (if you can’t see it live): Watch the movie.

My favorite songs: “Matchmaker, Matchmaker;” “If I Were a Rich Man;” and “Sunrise, Sunset”

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West Side Story

How I’ve experienced it: I love the 1961 movie.

It’s about: It’s a retelling of Romeo and Juliet, but instead of warring families there are two rival gangs.

Why is it so good? West Side Story takes on of my least favorite Shakespeare plays and makes it really fun. “America” is one of the best musical theatre songs ever, and the aggressive gang snapping is possibly my favorite thing ever.

My recommendation (if you can’t see it live): The 1961 movie is a classic. I don’t think it needs remade, but it’s being remade and Mike Faist (aka Connor Murphy from Dear Evan Hansen) is going to play Riff, so I’m cautiously optimistic. There’s no way to beat Rita Moreno, George Chakiris, and Russ Tamblyn, though.

My favorite songs: “America;” “Tonight Quintet;” and “I Feel Pretty”

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Hairspray

How I’ve experienced it: There are multiple versions of Hairspray available. I’ve seen the one from 2007 and the NBC Live production.

It’s about: An overweight girl wants to dance on TV, and along the way gets swept up in the fight for civil rights and risks her dreams to fight for equality.

Why is it so good? Hairspray mixes fun, upbeat songs with a strong social conscience. The varying styles and beat of the music is really good. There are some that make you want to jump up and dance to and others that’ll make you cry. In my opinion, the best musicals are the ones that are fun on the surface level but are more rewarding the more you engage, and Hairspray succeeds there.

My recommendation (if you can’t see it live): While both versions of Hairspray I’ve seen are good, there are a few decidedly weak cast members in the live version, so I’d stick with the movie.

My favorite songs: “I Know Where I’ve Been;” “Run and Tell That;” and “You Can’t Stop the Beat”

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Cinderella

How I’ve experienced it: Even though there are multiple TV versions of this, I’ve only seen the 1997 one (the one with Brandy and Whitney Houston). I also saw a community theatre version years and years ago.

It’s about Cinderella. I’m assuming everyone knows the story of Cinderella.

Why is it so good? It’s just… charming. It’s the fairytale at it’s most beautiful (and least dark). I’m generally skeptical and nonromantic, so the fact that I’m swept away by a show that is entirely based on a romantic fairy tale should tell you something about how much fun it is.

My recommendation (if you can’t see it live): While I’m sure that the older versions of this show are also good, you absolutely can’t beat one with both Whitney Houston and Bernadette Peters. Plus, the nontraditional casting makes my heart happy. That being said, it’s also worth listening to a Broadway soundtrack, because there are some songs omitted from the filmed versions, and my understanding is that there are actually a few plot differences..

My favorite songs: “Stepsisters’ Lament;” “Impossible;” and “A Lovely Night”

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Which of these five musicals do you like best? Are there any cast recordings you think I should check out?

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gif credits here, here, here, here, and here

Geekerella (Book Review)

I love this adorable, specific cover.

I have been reading books about fangirls (and boys!) and fandom as much as possible, since it is really exciting to actually find stories with protagonists that I can really relate to. I am first and foremost a nerdy geek, so as much as I like witty heroes with groups of clever friends who save the world or enact huge societal change, it is nice read about characters a little more like me once in a while. Of course, fictional nerds are generally cooler than I am too, but whatever.

I hadn’t actually heard of Geekerella by Ashley Poston before stumbling across a couple of other book blogs that had positive things to say about it. Naturally, I found it as quickly as I could to add it to my collection of other fandom books (Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell; All the Feels by Danika Stone; Stranger than Fanfiction by Chris Colfer; Kill the Boy Band by Goldy Moldavsky; Scarlett Epstein Hates it Here by Anna Breslaw; The Geek’s Guide to Unrequited Love by Sarvenaz Tash; gena/finn by Hannah Moskowitz and Kat Helgeson).

What’s it about?

I really liked it. It was a one-day read, largely because nothing was going on. In normal circumstances I might not have torn through it quite as quickly, but it was definitely enjoyable. It is a retelling, obviously, of Cinderella, starring a geek named Danielle but called Elle. Elle is a big fan of an old TV show called Starfield. Elle and her late father shared Starfield, but now the show is off-air. She still runs a blog about the show, but no longer attends the Starfield con that her dad started. She lives with her evil stepmother and evil stepsisters (well, one is evil and one is passive), because this is Cinderella. Meanwhile, a soap opera star—Darien—is cast for the lead role of the Starfield reboot. He’s a huge fan, but the whole fandom writes him off because they assume that he’s just a pretty face and nice body (with insured abs). Like Elle, Darien doesn’t have a lot of friends—fame has isolated him—and so when he accidentally texts a fellow Starfield nerd who has no idea who he is (it’s Elle), he’s keen to develop the relationship.

What did I think?

A Court of Thorns and Roses (Book Review)

I read A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas for book club. I’ve read other books by Maas before. I read most of the Throne of Glass series, which I really liked at the start. I thought it went downhill by around book four and I never got around to finishing the whole thing. I don’t know exactly when aCoTaR was written compared to the ToG books, but I was hesitant to read the book because I felt that, to some degree, it felt like Maas was running out of ideas. The first few books cover a lot of ground and have a lot going on. The last one I read was disappointing since it felt like a lot of of felt like spinning wheels. The point is, I didn’t pick this book and I wasn’t sure what I was going to get: exciting page turner or uneventful slog.

It was fine. I didn’t hate reading it or anything, but I also never got that must-keep-reading feeling. It is basically a retelling of Beauty and the Beast with fairies. Also more sex and murder. And with a bit of Cinderella and Hercules mixed in for good measure. Personally I think that Throne of Glass is better, but again. There’s nothing specifically wrong with A Court of Thorns and Roses, except perhaps that it is largely a romance. The only real expectation I had before I started was that it was going to be a fantasy. It is a fantasy, sort of, but it is definitely a romance set in a fantasy rather than a fantasy with romantic elements.

The story follows Feyre, who is a human despite the name. She starts the novel as a kind of Katniss figure who hunts to keep her impoverished but previously wealthy family fed. One day she shoots what she thinks about a wolf. It turns out to be a fae, and as punishment she is taken to live in the world of the fae with Tamlin, a High Fae with the power to shapeshift. Naturally, Tamlin is super handsome and Feyre eventually falls in love with him even though there’s a magical “blight” that is sucking his powers and leaves him (and everyone else in his court) with a mask stuck to his face. In other words, Tamlin can turn into a beast but he’s still super hot. It makes the Beauty and the Beast thing easier since you don’t have to worry that the heroine is uncomfortably in love with something that doesn’t even resemble a human.

That’s the basic premise. The love story between Feyre and Tamlin, as usual, is the least interesting part of the book for me. It is pretty straightforward. If you have ever read any fantasy romance, you can probably guess exactly how it unfolds. Not everything in the book is paint-by-numbers, though. The secondary characters are awesome. Lucien, Tamlin’s second in command, is awesome. He has an interesting backstory, and his and repartee with Feyre is mocking but affectionate. Their love-hate relationship is a lot more dynamic than Feyre/Tamlin, in my opinion. That’s probably because they like each other most of the time, but at other times they sort of think that the other one is just the worst, and that’s a fun dynamic.  Rhysand is also a fascinating character. I don’t want to talk too much about him, because I’m trying to avoid spoilers, but basically he has all the mystery and clouded motives you could want from a baddie.

It was frustrating to me that the whole story was centered around Feyre and Tamlin’s love story. There are times when romance is appropriate, and there are other times when I just want to shout at the main characters, “GUYS! PRIORITIES!” I also struggled with the fluctuating personalities of Feyre’s sisters.

Thankfully, Amarantha is nicer than Gollum. Or, at least, not as hungry.

The most frustrating part of the book, though, is how stupid Feyre is. There are many instances that she makes things incredibly and unnecessarily difficult for everyone involved because she tossed herself into danger for no apparent reason or because she did exactly the wrong thing. And the fact that she failed to answer the easiest riddle in existence. I am terrible at riddles. Seriously, the worst. During my intense Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit phase, I looked up lots of riddles for the fun of seeing if I could get through a Gollum encounter without dying. I couldn’t. For every twenty or so riddles I read, I maaaaybe got one right. But the riddle that offers Feyre an immediate end to all her suffering and which would have shaved off nearly a hundred pages of pain and turmoil? That one, I got immediately. I asked a few of my book club ladies, and they didn’t have any trouble with it either. Conclusion: Feyre is literally the only one who couldn’t answer the darn thing.

I love fantasy. I love finding a new series to read. But I don’t think that this is one that I’ll keep reading. It just didn’t enough to keep me interested beyond the last page. That being said, I’ve heard a lot of enthusiasm for it and I didn’t actively dislike it or anything, so it’s possible I could be persuaded, provided I don’t find something better.