Monday - Harmony College - Whose Song Is It Anyway?

Jane gives us an exercise to do in small groups: choose a song, and then find a character and a movie for the song.

Song: Never Say Never
Movie: Hello Dolly (Dolly makes a living through matchmaking . She is currently seeking a wife for grumpy Horace Vandergelder (Matthau), the well-known "half-a-millionaire," but it becomes clear that Dolly intends to marry Horace herself.) Scene where Dolly is saying goodbye to her friends at the railway station.

Song: Once Upon A Time
Movie: The Notebook (In a modern-day nursing home, an elderly man named Duke begins to read a love story to his elderly woman companion from a book he carries.)
Jane comments that it's difficult to perform a song through the role of a male character, and also that the part of the story they've chosen is sad and they might need to choose a happier section of the movie. In ballads, try to get away from singing sad stories and look for something empowering.

Song: Make 'Em Laugh
Movie: Patch Adams (the story of Hunter "Patch" Adams , a medical doctor who became famous for his unconventional approach to medicine - particularly the court scene where Patch is rejected by his colleagues but his patients support him).
Jane says we might have trouble identifying with Patch as a character. What about female comedians: Fanny Brice, Lucille Ball, Carole Burnett, Judy Garland (The Pirate)

Song: Anything Goes
Movie: Chicago (character of Valda)

Song: If I Give My Heart to You
Movie: Notting Hill
Jane asks if we can see Julia Roberts' character singing this song ... does it work for you?

Song: At Last
Movie: Cadillac Records (about Chess Records and a love story in which love is realised but not acted on)

Song: Anything Goes
Movie: Great Gatsby
Character is Daisy (played by Mia Farrow). Jane asks who is singing this song, and to whom.

Song: Sweet Georgia Brown
Movie: Chicago (character of Mama Morton) and an imagined audition scene
Jane says why not use Chorus Line

Song: Once Upon a Time
Movie: It's Complicated
Married couple who are divorced then have an affair

Song: ?
Movie: In and Out (about a teacher who announces at his wedding that he is gay)
Jane says that good comedy has something serious underneath

Song: If I Give My Heart To You
Movie: Sleepless in Seattle
Jane also suggests An Affair to Remember, the original movie

Song: Yesterday
Movie: Out of Africa
Jane says this song fits literally but not really because the era of the song doesn't match the era of the movie

Jane says the song has to match the personality of the character and the character also has to match the personality of the chorus

Song: If You Really Love Me
Movie: Mamma Mia