Musicals 101.2

So you'd like to give musicals a try. Where do you start? Well, as Julie Andrews sang: Let's start at the very beginning - a very good place to start. Dumb lyrics? I know. It was those oh-what-a-beautiful-morning days, when toot sweets were readily available and all and sundry whistled a happy tune. Sorry, in-joke. Ha ha.

A safe introduction comes in the form of Disney's animated cartoons. Nope, don't go through your elder sister's stash of classics Sleeping Beauty or Cinderella just yet; the tunes'd send you screaming for sanity. And forget about your younger sister's The Emperor's New Groove or Brother Bear.

The best collection, or the most appealing one at least, starts from The Little Mermaid and ends with Hercules. I would say The Hunchback of Notre Dame too, but we would leave that Handel-like piece for a later stage.

The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and Hercules were composed by Alan Menken (standing ovation please). His music is very accessible - and more importantly he puts in contemporary ballads. So at least you would already be familiar with A Whole New World, Beauty and the Beast and Go The Distance.

The Lion King - an amazing Elton John masterpiece is actually the biggest animated hit for Disney. From the opening strains of The Circle of Life, you should be hooked by the catchy tunes and lyrics (Hakuna matata!) till the end. In fact The Lion King is also the most celebrated stage adaptation of a Disney cartoon, winning numerous Tony's - largely due to Julie Taymor's animal-like choreography, savanna-inspired sets and ingenious costumes.

Give these cartoons a chance. Don't worry too much about when the character bursts into song. Rather, feel how music enhances the mood of the story.

What if I hate ballads?, you may ask. Not to worry - for the non-mainstream music lovers, there are other options available. No worries.