It had a sense of massiveness when I saw it – the use of such a vast space (which itself demands a pretty large cast (big opera house level), and the story itself is epic (to say the least!).

I would just note that my problems with it are not the complaint that was prevalent when it opened – that classic literature shouldn't be made into musicalsMiss Saigon[/i with the helicopter (echoed more recently by having a flying car on stage in [iChitty Chitty Bang Bang[/i)

And the entire trend for thru-sung shows – started by a combination of Schönberg & Boublil, and LW – with epic storylines and big sets was repeated as though it guaranteed success. It was almost as though the musical had to become like the opera. The likes of Stephen Schwarz, whose small-scale show, [iThe Baker's Wife[/i, is a pleasure if not the greatest work of the musical theatre, next produced the utterly ridiculous [iChildren of Eden[/i, of which the least said the better.

[iMoby Dick[/i was ... well, let's not go there. There was one about Robin Hood (can't remember the name) that I walked out of at half-time and wrote probably my most negative review ever – there is a place for amateur dramaBuddy[/i was fun, as was [iFive Guys Named Moe[/i – but how many of them?!

Well not if you're a relativist.

Which, you'd like to think, would be the sort of thing that edumacashun might do (as with visual art and literature). But unfortunately, that has become utterly utilitarian and we are well on our way to returning to a world where many children and young people are never exposed to things that might possibly offer them cultural mobility.

That's pretty much my take on it, though I do enjoy a bit of musical theatre now and then. A junior school production of Joseph was my first break into music - I was 'spotted' and asked along to a local music school. I played in various orchestras and brass bands and toured the USA, Canada, some of Europe and much of the UK playing festivals and competitions. I still play various instruments and compose stuff for my own entertainment - from classical to heavy metal.

Webber has composed some dross, but also some absolute epics. So have most composers and musicians - every band has album fillers, every composer has a few 'lesser' numbers. To call him 'not credible' is frankly ridiculous. He has nothing to prove. He has a remarkable talent to engage audiences, move them and bring them back again and again to his productions. It may be a more 'popular' form of musical theatre but that's down to personal taste.

R&H and some of the names on this thread were indeed at the top of the field though despite their classics I can take or leave much of their work. Much of it just doesn't engage me, though I can appreciate its quality and how it works with the wider production. If I'm honest some of it seems to belong to a bygone era and hasn't aged well. That's just down to my own taste, with my roots firmly entrenched elsewhere.

On a serious note, I'd happily travel back in time and shoot them both for The Sound of Music.

Someone posted 'there's a light at the end of the tunnel' on the 'good management' thread. The first thing popped into my head was a song from Starlight Express and I've only seen that once, around 1986.

Nah, I'd let them live simply for letting Sinatra record "This nearly was mine" from South Pacific, a wonderfully under-played, subdued, recording in which music and vocal are seemingly sung to different tempos but merge together sublimely - have a listen on Spotify, but pick Sinatra/Nelson Riddle's version.

We must be back to snobbery then!

Cheers, enjoyed that.

Perhaps just a little mild torture for Sound of Music then.