YarravillePaul

Showtunes! Do all gay men gravitate back to showtunes?

In my youth, I remember enjoying the three and a half hours of the Sound of Music. Indeed, the words are as imprinted in my mind as much as the standing/kneeling rituals of mass. I do neither these days.

Last nights performance of My Fair Lady by Opera Australia took me back to another famous musical. Not as grand in my memory as some others, but still there, in the basement of my brain.

The story is of a poor, common, flower girl, wrenched into upper middle class by some toffs who, for a bet, think they can turn her into a lady. George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion is the basis for this musical, although wikipedia tells me GBS based it on a story by Ovid. An apparently simple story, that also explores the complex business of human relationships in a social world.

Melbourne's State Theatre was packed to the rafters for the short season. A mixed crowd, and most seemed to enjoy it. The music and singing held little that surprised, and was therefore a rollicking bit of fun. My companions wanted to sing during the performance, but fortunately held off promising to find a sing-a-long experience of the show soon.

I enjoyed the excursion back to musical theatre. Enjoyment slightly reduced by the current cold in my head and heat in the theatre. Definitely worth catching if you want a live experience of a favourite movie.