I’ve just been watching Musicality on Channel 4, and I feel so uplifted and happy!

What is it about musicals that make people feel this way? Musicals, as we all know, were very popular up to the 1950s and 1960s, but then the movie distributors like MGM and Paramount stopped making them. Only recently, they’ve started to make a come back, but only in small numbers.

First of all, what is a musical? Dictionary.com describes a musical as a A play or movie that contains musical numbers. Compared to a play or a drama, a musical basically entails of the same thing, with the exception that the characters suddenly burst into song and dance in the middle of acting out a performance! It’s fabulous. I think we all feel like singing and dancing at certain moments in our lives e.g. when something goes our way, or we get a good result, we feel like singing “We are the champions, we are the champions, we are the champions, of the … wooooorllld!” and perhaps dancing a little jig and making groovy moves (like Andy, my CA!) or perhaps just looking into the sky dreamily and happily.

I remember when I was a young boy, I was obsessed with The Sound of Music, even though it wasn’t subtitled. I used to watch the film over and over again (without subtitles), and when I finally got to watch it WITH subtitles, all the songs still seemed so familiar. I was also obsessed with Grease and Grease 2, and I must be the only person in the world who prefers the songs in Grease 2 to the original ones in Grease! I will be the first person to admit that the acting and plot in Grease 2 is a bit, erm, diabolical, but the songs are great e.g. “Score Tonight” and “The Hands of Time”.

For some reason, I have this inbuilt desire to be a singer and dancer on the stage. Quite a strange thing for a Deafie to want, but it’s true. Sometimes when I’m alone in bed at night in the dark, I start singing (silently, some of you will be pleased to know) to myself and acting out the part!! Argh! The truth is out! The secrets of Rob Wilks when he’s alone in bed!!! Oops!

Anyway, what you guys think? Do you all harbour the same love for musicals as I do? Why do we love musicals generally?

A play or movie that contains musical numbers.