Valentine's Day means many things to many different people. For some, it's an excuse to celebrate their relationship with those they love most. For others, it's a pimple on the face of humanity.
If you're madly in love with someone, but you're not allowed to be together, for various reasons, check out "West Side Story." A harrowing tale of an American boy who falls in love with a Puerto Rican girl in New York City during a time where the racial divide between their two worlds was too big to jump across without getting hurt.
If Tony's "Maria" number, that pours love into beautiful high notes, is too much for you, William Shakespeare also wrote a version of this story called "Romeo and Juliet," which takes out all of the fun Leonard Bernstein music such as "Mambo," and "Cool," and replaces it with poetry. I highly suggest you and your significant other sneak out and watch this one together, but don't let the rival gangs catch you!
Now if the mush and the gush of forbidden love
"The Book of Mormon" offers Valentine's viewers a fun-filled adventure to Uganda where Elder Price and Elder Cunningham will make you laugh until you cry as they attempt to convert a village.
There is even a little love story thrown in there if you need a little love to spice up your night. A thrilling roller coaster through the joys and terrors of religion, you won't be able to get "Hasa Diga Eebowai" out of your head for weeks.
Another roll on the floor musical for those who enjoy a good laugh on Valentine's Day is "Legally Blonde." Yes, it is actually a musical too! Elle Woods is your stereotypical airhead from California who is madly in love with her "perfect" boyfriend, Warner.
Only instead of proposing at dinner, he breaks up with her. WHAT?! So Elle heads off to Harvard Law School to win him back. A musical that definitely over exaggerates the crappy and romantic things that happen to us in relationships,
"Legally Blonde" will have your Valentine's Day "Whipped into Shape" in no time.
But not all difficult relationships are something we can laugh at. Sometimes, you're in love with the wrong person at the wrong time, and it ruins everything you had in your life. "Aida," my absolute favorite musical, tells the tale of Radames, the fiance to the Pharoah's daughter, and Aida, a Nubian princess, who fall in love.
This heart-wrenching tale on the Nile will have you pouring your soul out in the Act 1 finale, "The Gods Love Nubia," and nothing hurts the heart more than Amneris' "I Know the Truth," when she discovers her fiance's betrayal... if you've ever been on any of the three sides of a love triangle, this show will speak to you.
WAIT! Hold the phone, what is a day about love without Dolly Levi's hand in the matchmaking process?! "Hello, Dolly!" a show about a woman who puts her hand in everyone's affairs, sets out to match-make herself to the crotchety Mr. Vandergelder.
Along the way, Dolly helps Irene, Cornelius, Barnaby, Minnie, Ambrose, and Ermengarde end up together, and yes, even Dolly gets her man in the end. This lighthearted tale will have you giggling with delight, and hey, no unhappy endings here! P.S. the waiters at the restaurant will amaze you as much as the costumes.
Let's delve back into love in the darkness again, shall we? Stephen Sondheim, the king of bizarre rhythms and dark plots, really digs down to what people will do for love in "Evening Primrose." This musical is about a group of people who live in a department store.
The only catch is if they leave they will be turned into mannequins. Weird, right? Well, when Ella, a girl who has lived in the store for a long time meets Charles, an outsider, she wants to escape, and because of how much he loves her, Charles goes with her.
Check this one out to find out what happens when they do leave... happily ever after? I wish.
If you think that tale of love was twisted, check out "Heathers." Based on the 1988 film starring Winona Ryder and Christian Slater, a high school girl, Veronica, finds herself attracted to the outcast trench-coat kid, J.D., who just moved to town.
But their relationship has a rather dark lining, J.D. is hell-bent on ridding the world of the jerks who rule the school. So hell-bent in fact, that by the end of the musical three of the popular kids have all died at his and Veronica's hands. A bit much for a first date?
Check it out, the catchy rock tunes hit home from "Big Fun's"
(If you can hold off your Valentine's Day binge longenough till May, Fresno State will be putting on this one.)
There are so many great musicals to name. I mean anything by Rodgers and Hammerstein is sure to be a Valentine's Day pleaser, and if Valentine's Day isn't your thing comedies such as "9 to 5," "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," and "The Drowsy Chaperone" will keep you laughing through the tears. A few worthy mentions in the cathartic crying category also include: "Les Miserables," "Rent," and "Miss Saigon."
There are so many great musicals out there, there is definitely one out there for any mood you may be in this Valentine's Day, happy ("Young Frankenstein," "The Producers") or sad ("Carousel," "Camelot), oppressed ("My Fair Lady," "Catch Me If You Can") or sensual ("Chicago," "Cabaret").
Every musical is about love in some way, whether it's love of your music ("Jersey Boys") or your love of your traditions ("Fiddler on the Roof"), musicals always include love as a major theme.
Well, I'll leave you with one last musical. A musical I finally saw for the first time this past week that I feel applies the most to my Valentine's Day this year. It's funny looking back over time at relationships that have come and go, and the one's that have stuck. It's hard not to be stuck going back in time to the ones that you wished had worked out over "The Last Five Years."
Happy Valentine's Day.
