January, I dub thee... Month O' Musicals

Let me go on record about this: I am not a winter person. Cold, dark, snow, it's just not my thing. I'd love to spend the season hibernating, but instead I try to get by with fireplaces, hot chocolate, books, and of course, movies. And what type of movie is great for chasing the winter blues away? My vote goes to musicals!

Sure, not every musical tells an altogether happy story. But even in a darker musical, there is still a sense of unreality I find refreshing, cathartic even. (When is the last time you danced out your differences with someone, or put your deepest emotions into rhyming song?) And by and large, musicals are just peppy and silly and fun. If I turn one up loud enough, I can ignore the sound of the wind blowing the snow outside.

Therefore, I declare January to be my Month O' Musicals! My goal is not to create an all-encompassing list of musicals, but instead to look a variety from the genre. I want to watch and post about musicals both old and new, revisiting some favorites and maybe watching a new musical or two.

To start off, here's a scene from Gold Diggers of 1933. In my book, it doesn't get much better than this: crazy choreography by Busby Berkeley, a literal interpretation of the song's title for the costumes, and a super-cute Ginger Rogers inging-say. Here's "We're in the Money":