Let me start out by saying that while I’m not new to TCM, I am new to the message boards and the courses. I am really excited to interact with my fellow classic movie lovers, and even though it’s only day one of Mad About Musicals, I’m already enjoying myself!
For me, each stage of my life thus far has been associated with a different musical or group of musicals that I have watched repeatedly. As a child, I watched The Wizard of Oz, The Sound of Music and Annie repeatedly because they guaranteed a happy ending. I credit my late grandfather, a classic movie buff and in my opinion the first TCM super fan, for introducing me to the musicals that dominated my adolescence, all of which starred Gene Kelly—Singin’ in the Rain, On the Town, The Pirate, For Me and My Gal, An American in Paris—because I was (and continue to be) mesmerized by his trifecta of charm, grace and fluidity. As I got older, I was enthralled by West Side Story and Carousel because something about those doomed love stories spoke to me. Finally, as an undergrad I took a film course that involved a close reading of Cabaret, which is the antithesis of a typical musical, and I realized for the first time that a musical can be both entertaining and socially conscious without being formulaic.
