Mary Poppins: Sorting Out the Bankses

Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews. Photo: Disney The story of how Walt Disney convinced the British-Australian author P.L. Travers to let him turn her books about Mary Poppins into…

An American in Paris: Art, Dance & Romance

Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron. Photo: MGM ”An American in Paris” first saw the light of day in 1928. A jazzy orchestral piece, it was written by George Gershwin and…

Cabaret: Fun Before the Führer

Liza Minnelli. Photo: Allied Artists It’s often been said that the traditional Hollywood lost its way in the 1960s, making big, splashy and expensive musicals that no one went to…

La La Land: An Enchanting Year in the Sun

Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling. Photo: Lionsgate Remember that opening scene from Manhattan (1979)? It’s a montage of different New York City images beautifully captured in black and white by…

Beauty and the Beast 

When her father (Kevin Kline) is taken prisoner by a beast (Dan Stevens) inside a huge, wintry castle, Belle (Emma Watson) offers herself in exchange for his freedom. Another live-action…

My Fair Lady: A Loverly Musical

Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison. Photo: Warner When George Bernard Shaw’s stage play ”Pygmalion” premiered in London in 1913, it was daring for its time. Making fun of the British…

West Side Story: When Maria Met Tony

Richard Beymer and Natalie Wood. Photo: United Artists Stage director Jerome Robbins was a key reason why ”West Side Story” became a groundbreaking Broadway hit in 1957. When the time…

White Christmas

When two entertainers and WWII veterans (Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye) help a couple of charming sisters (Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen) out of a pickle, they all end up at a rural…

Holiday Inn: Where the Treetops Glisten

Marjorie Reynolds, Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. Photo: Paramount Contemporary viewers might find it curious to see the Fourth of July segment of this musical turn into a full-blown salute…