My Love of Musicals @ Girl-Doll Fashion Gossip

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I don’t know what it is, but musicals really speak to me. Or rather, they sing to me. Most of my guy friends can’t stand musicals, but almost every girl I know, even the ones who don’t like to admit it, can sit and watch a musical over and over again. It’s kind of like the dolls here on the Doll Palace – I don’t know any girl who can’t get excited about those either.

I’m not sure what the formal definition of a musical is, but as far as I’m concerned, a musical is any movie or show that has characters singing as part of the plot. A good musical is much more than a few random songs thrown into a regular movie, there are a few pieces that must exist in a musical to make it on my list of sleep-over favorites.

Music

The most obvious thing that has to be great in a musical is the music itself. You may not have noticed, but almost every movie has music in the background almost throughout the entire show. In a musical, however, the music MAKES the show. Most of the story is told through the songs the characters sing, so they have to be good.

The music is almost always pretty catchy and if a musical is really good, I’ll be singing the songs for weeks after seeing it. Sometimes a song or two is even better than the entire movie. It may just be me, but the songs in a musical are almost always better at telling a story or expressing a feeling than songs on the radio. Hopelessly Devoted anyone?

Characters

The characters in a good musical seem larger than life. They are more than just normal people; they are fascinating, important people. Yet, even though they seem bigger than you and me, they almost always face problems we can relate to. Weight issues, possible pregnancies, boyfriends and dealing with differences are things we see around us constantly.

Seeing characters dealing with these same issues combined with powerful and uplifting music makes it feel more real to those of us in the audience. Sure, we are all excited when a girl feels pretty, but we can live the feeling with her when she shows us her true emotions through song.

The Good Feeling

Musicals seem to use more of my emotions than a regular movie. I might watch a regular movie, but I’ll experience a musical. I want to sing along, or at the very least hum softly if I’m too embarrassed to sing out loud. I feel the music, I feel the characters, and I feel so happy at the end of a good show.

It must be something about the songs that make the good feelings last. A regular movie will stay with me for a few hours (unless it’s something really freaky), but a musical can stay with me for years. Even older musicals like Annie make me feel happy – and it’s not just the happy ending that almost all of them have. High School Musical or Les Miserables – I don’t care so long as the songs are powerful and I get that good musical feeling.