(no subject)
I'm not sure that I've ever put one of these up here because, well, they're dumb. Nevertheless:
George and Dot from "Sunday in the Park with George"
We'll dispense with the fact that these two are played by Bernadette Peters and Mandy Patinkin, which frankly would be
enough to qualify them for the list outright. Dot, wanting only tenderness and affection, leaves the brilliant George for
the loveable baker Louis. A rather stark depiction of love's difficulty despite the genuine caring between the two
characters, perfectly summed up by the following:
Louis' always so pleasant,
Louis' always so fair.
Louis makes you feel present,
Louis' generous.
That's the thing about Louis
Louis always is "there."
Louis' thoughts are not hard to follow,
Louis' art is not hard to swallow.
Not that Louis' perfection-
That's what makes him ideal.
Hardly anything worth objection:
Louis drinks a bit,
Louis blinks a bit.
Louis makes a connection,
That's the thing that you feel...
Only a hundred years later do Dot and George come to terms with her leaving him for Louis, the easier choice.
Tevya and Golda from "Fiddler on the Roof"
Though they spend a good portion of the show bickering about the futures of their children, this arranged couple reaches
a crossroads when Tevya, realizing that the world is changing when his daughter decides to marry a Russian
Revolutionary against her father's wished, asks his wife simply "Do you love me?" Her response:
Maybe it's indigestion
...
For twenty five years I've washed your clothes
Cooked your meals, cleaned the house
Given you children, milked the cow
...
If that's not love, than what is?
Yes, I suppose I do
It should be that simple for all of us.
Sweeney Todd and Nelly Lovett from "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"
He kills people who come in for a shave. She bakes their flesh into meat pies that become the hit of London. These two
were made for each other. While Sweeney can only think of vengeance on the judge who exiled him, raped his wife and
kidnapped his daughter, all Mrs. Lovett wants is to retire to the sea where there's no one nosy. I maintain, though I've
been yelled at for this by lots of people, the heartbreak of the show comes not when Sweeney realizes the awful thing he
does is the pursuit of "justice", but Mrs. Lovett's ridiculous response "Can we still be married". There's no one set of
lyrics that sums up this couple, but in the depths of Hell, I promise you that they're together, comfy-cozy.
Frank, Charlie and Mary from "Merrily We Roll Along"
Three friends who go through adulthood together, the tragedy of the show is that we know from the start that the three
will drift apart within 25 years. Frank, Charlie and Mary, in a show with arguably the worst book on the face of the
planet but a beautiful score, go through every kind of up and down together, and while their friendship doesn't manage
to survive, all three are diminished without the presence of the others. If that's not love, than I don't know what the
point of this game is.
Hey. old friend
Are you okay, old friend
What do you say, old friend
Are we, or are we, unique
...
Most friends fade or they don't make the grade
New ones are quickly made
Some of them worth something, too
But us, old friend
What's to discuss, old friend?
Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn, few...
And finally, just for Julia:
Christine and The Phantom from "The Phantom of the Opera"
The soundtrack of this show has never managed to do it justice, because the cast album, which does a fine job of
capturing the music, misses the critical element of the show. It's about seduction. It's about wanting what you can't
have, what you know you shouldn't have. It'd be a much easier tale if it were merely a daemon terrorizing a poor
innocent woman, but it's more complicated than that. She's honestly torn until the very end, but it's his devotion to and
total love of her, plus the fact that Raoul's a big pussy, that gets the Phantom on the list and not his pansy-assed
counterpart.
Past the point of right or wrong
One final question: How long should we two wait
Before we're one?
When will the blood begin to race,
the sleeping bud burst into bloom?
When will the flames at last consume us?
Three Sondheims, the most "tradition"al show there is, and an ALW. I feel like I'm fairly diverse here, but is it any
question who my favorite is?
George and Dot from "Sunday in the Park with George"
We'll dispense with the fact that these two are played by Bernadette Peters and Mandy Patinkin, which frankly would be
enough to qualify them for the list outright. Dot, wanting only tenderness and affection, leaves the brilliant George for
the loveable baker Louis. A rather stark depiction of love's difficulty despite the genuine caring between the two
characters, perfectly summed up by the following:
Louis' always so pleasant,
Louis' always so fair.
Louis makes you feel present,
Louis' generous.
That's the thing about Louis
Louis always is "there."
Louis' thoughts are not hard to follow,
Louis' art is not hard to swallow.
Not that Louis' perfection-
That's what makes him ideal.
Hardly anything worth objection:
Louis drinks a bit,
Louis blinks a bit.
Louis makes a connection,
That's the thing that you feel...
Only a hundred years later do Dot and George come to terms with her leaving him for Louis, the easier choice.
Tevya and Golda from "Fiddler on the Roof"
Though they spend a good portion of the show bickering about the futures of their children, this arranged couple reaches
a crossroads when Tevya, realizing that the world is changing when his daughter decides to marry a Russian
Revolutionary against her father's wished, asks his wife simply "Do you love me?" Her response:
Maybe it's indigestion
...
For twenty five years I've washed your clothes
Cooked your meals, cleaned the house
Given you children, milked the cow
...
If that's not love, than what is?
Yes, I suppose I do
It should be that simple for all of us.
Sweeney Todd and Nelly Lovett from "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"
He kills people who come in for a shave. She bakes their flesh into meat pies that become the hit of London. These two
were made for each other. While Sweeney can only think of vengeance on the judge who exiled him, raped his wife and
kidnapped his daughter, all Mrs. Lovett wants is to retire to the sea where there's no one nosy. I maintain, though I've
been yelled at for this by lots of people, the heartbreak of the show comes not when Sweeney realizes the awful thing he
does is the pursuit of "justice", but Mrs. Lovett's ridiculous response "Can we still be married". There's no one set of
lyrics that sums up this couple, but in the depths of Hell, I promise you that they're together, comfy-cozy.
Frank, Charlie and Mary from "Merrily We Roll Along"
Three friends who go through adulthood together, the tragedy of the show is that we know from the start that the three
will drift apart within 25 years. Frank, Charlie and Mary, in a show with arguably the worst book on the face of the
planet but a beautiful score, go through every kind of up and down together, and while their friendship doesn't manage
to survive, all three are diminished without the presence of the others. If that's not love, than I don't know what the
point of this game is.
Hey. old friend
Are you okay, old friend
What do you say, old friend
Are we, or are we, unique
...
Most friends fade or they don't make the grade
New ones are quickly made
Some of them worth something, too
But us, old friend
What's to discuss, old friend?
Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn, few...
And finally, just for Julia:
Christine and The Phantom from "The Phantom of the Opera"
The soundtrack of this show has never managed to do it justice, because the cast album, which does a fine job of
capturing the music, misses the critical element of the show. It's about seduction. It's about wanting what you can't
have, what you know you shouldn't have. It'd be a much easier tale if it were merely a daemon terrorizing a poor
innocent woman, but it's more complicated than that. She's honestly torn until the very end, but it's his devotion to and
total love of her, plus the fact that Raoul's a big pussy, that gets the Phantom on the list and not his pansy-assed
counterpart.
Past the point of right or wrong
One final question: How long should we two wait
Before we're one?
When will the blood begin to race,
the sleeping bud burst into bloom?
When will the flames at last consume us?
Three Sondheims, the most "tradition"al show there is, and an ALW. I feel like I'm fairly diverse here, but is it any
question who my favorite is?