A Stitch in Haste

Inside the Vault = An intermittent string of weekend posts detailing aspects of my personal life.

Gays and show tunes. Is there a more ubiquitous stereotype?

We gays love our show tunes. We would rather listen to a classic show tune than a current radio hit.‡ Even the most effeminate restrained gay male will punch you in the face if you confuse the terms “soundtrack” and “cast recording.”

Or so the preconception (prejudice?) goes.

Me — not so much. When I hear the term “show tunes” I am far more likely to think of John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith and Miklós Rózsa than Stephen Sondheim, Richard Rodgers or Frederick Loewe

Still, I go to shows, and sometimes I even buy the soundtrack original cast recording. And in a few cases I own the original cast recording soundtrack, via a video or DVD of the movie version.

Here’s the totality of my library of musicals — it’s not much. I include my favorite song from each.

Camelot
–Guenevere

Fiddler on the Roof
–Do You Love Me?

Les Miserables
–On My Own

Man of La Mancha
–To Each His Dulcinea

Oliver! (DVD)
–Who Will Buy?

South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut
–Blame Canada

The Lion King
–Be Prepared

The Phantom of the Opera
–The Music of the Night

The Sound of Music (DVD)
–The Lonely Goatherd

Titanic: The Musical
–Lady’s Maid

West Side Story (DVD)
–America

Wicked
–Defying Gravity

And that’s it. Is my collection so pathetic that I lose my Gay Card?

(Inspired by completely unrelated blogposts from Marginal Revolution and Matterdays.)

EPILOGUE #1: I had written this post and then filed it away for the weekend. When I revisited it, I realized that these songs can, with one exception, be grouped into three distinct categories –

1. The gulf between “the law” and “justice.” (Guenevere, Be Prepared, Blame Canada, Defying Gravity … and a runner-up: Javert’s Suicide.)

2. The lonely (and futile?) quest for true love. (On My Own, Do You Love Me?, To Each His Dulcinea, The Music of the Night.)

3. Capitalism and the American Dream. (Who Will Buy?, Lady’s Maid, America … and a runner-up: If I Were a Rich Man.)

(“The Lonely Goatherd” is definitely NOTA — it’s just a fun song.)

Psychoanalyze away…

EPILOGUE #2: Well if you insist, yes I will name my number one most favoritest show tune ever:

Besides the market-based theme of “Who Will Buy? is the purity of Oliver’s joy at the scene swirling beneath him. Young and innocent, high above and enjoying it all, oblivious to all the Bill Sykes of the world eager to do him harm. I haven’t felt that way in a long time.

(Runner up is “To Each His Dulcinea.”)

For Discussion: What are your favorite show tunes?

—

‡Unless of course it’s Scissor Sisters. Some stereotypes are less false than others, it seems.

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