Classic Cheesy Rockin' Musicals

I have been on an old school kick the last few years and have been dipping more and more into loving arts of the past. I enjoy watching cheesy actors of the 60's to 80's take their art to heart, especially in musicals. These cheesy musicals are classics for a reason. They speak to an audience, have a moral, use cutting edge technology for their time, and pushed social border-lines.

I have come up with my top list of cheesy musicals from the 60's, 70's, and 80's.

5. Phantom of the Opera 1986
This opera freaks me out. I can never watch the whole thing. I mean, the Phantom is a creepy dude with a mask on that stalks this girl. Scary. I used to listen to the soundtrack as a kid though. Perhaps because it has that cheesy rock edge like Meatloaf. It's a classic everyone has heard about because it's been around since the early 1900's.



4. The Whiz 1978
Back when Michael Jackson was black and Diana Ross didn't look crazy, a soulful version of the Wizard of Oz was made that made everyone act and look like a bunch of loonies. I loved it as a kid and even now. The costumes are amazing and the music gets you to bobbing. It was one of the first all black films that started a domino effect of the "blaxpoitation" film era.



3. Little Shop of Horrors 1986
Written in the 1960's about a florist who raises plants who feeds upon human blood, you have to laugh at the dark humor. One version of the musical, made into a movie in 1986, has legendary comedians, Bill Murray and Steve Martin. More puppets show how movie makers had to actually have an imagination, rather than a computer program to make the unreal come to life. This musical didn't make any big social change, but I laugh all throughout this film. The writers must have been on serious acid to come up with this stuff.



2. The Labyrinth 1986
One word: Spandex. David Bowie is a real man. He scared me in this movie when I was a kid. I reconnected with it when I got older and saw the DVD in the video store and watched it. This is a cutting edge movie with master puppeteering. Like most cheesy musicals, it has a good moral to the story, but at the same time is scary and makes you feel weird.



And the winners ARE....it's a tie. I couldn't decide which I liked best.


1. Jesus Christ Superstar 1973
Glam rock opera about Jesus' last days. It's full of lights, color, and plenty of gayness. The dancing is great and the singers are actually really good. Too good, which makes it even more FAB. It caused a stir of controversy when first released, for being sacrilegious. Everyone was offended, from Christians to Jews. Gotta love it.




1. The Rocky Horror Picture Show 1975
Transvestites are entertaining. This musical isn't as flashy as some others, but it has a man dressed as a woman in a time and age before it was acceptable. Not that it is acceptable by society now. It's fabulous, has tons of make-up, and is a cult following. Although it was not successful in the beginning, gathering negative attention for it's overly sexual nature, it keeps getting bigger and hanging on. It proves to be way ahead of it's time.



Honorees:
Grease
It's been overdone. A classic, nonetheless, I am over it.

Elvira: Mistress of the Dark 1988
Come on. Humor me. It might be degrading to women in parts, but it's silly. She still is rockin' the Elvira look, even after all these years. She has a myspace: It deserves a video.