SoylentMean, think of it this way - the song is exposition, but instead of being delivered by boring talking heads, or a narrator, or thought balloons, you get it in the form of a catchy tune and fancy footwork.

McCarthy was a nutjob and I respect anyone who stood up to him, but I can't blame the ones who decided to cooperate with the House UnAmerican Activities Comittee. Those were some tough times. Most people were trying to protect their families. I don't think any of us can understand that kind of pressure, and none of it changes the fact that Kazan was one of the greatest filmmakers of all time.

But you're into Fred and Ginger stuff, as well as Busby Berkeley, so I know you know what the genre can be at the top of its game. There are so many wonderful musicals that treat its audience like adults and gives passion and emotion that most non-musicals cannot even dream of.

But prepare yourself for three hours of lame proselytizing (Nazis are bad? Really?), hummable but forgettable music and hideously grating children singing.

Let's look into the movie "Shall We Dance," the 1937 movie with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Late in the film, Astaire finds that he cannot be with Ginger's character, romantically and otherwise. They take one final ferry ride together, and he finally expresses his feelings. Is it a scene full of multiple unrequited glances or stop-and-start dialogue as he looks within his own psyche? No. He sings a slow, romantic version of "They Can't Take That Away From Me." In two minutes, Astaire gets to something that could take an entire movie in a non-musical form.

This is just an example of what I mean. A lot of musical are broad, true, but a lot aren't, and broad should not be what people think musicals are like, because that's simply not true. You just have to look.

Speaking of taking a dump, put on the soundtrack of West Side Story and go to Tony's song "Something's Coming" and imagine it's being sung by a guy on the toilet. But be warned, once you do this you may never be able to listen to it again in any other context.

Theatre people are foul beasts.

According to the lyrics you sould say you ARE a Jet since "when you're a Jet you're a Jet all the way, from your first cigarett to your last dying day". Little boy, you're a man; little man, you're a king.

I did, however, laugh really fucking hard at the SNL skit, because it was a conversation that was definitely had with the administration. But instead of censoring it, we allowed them to show up at the beginning of the musical, since technically the real show is done as a flashback.

And for the record, I did "West Side Story" post-high school in an actual production, so definitely no censorship issues there.