I’ve loved musicals my entire life. Going back to Frankie and Annette in the beach movies when a mandatory song would break out and a beach full of teenagers would get busy doing the watusi.

Some musical numbers stand out more than others. This is Part Two of a glimpse into some of my favorites.

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Streets of Fire 1984

I’ve written about Streets of Fire before as my guilty pleasure. It’s a rock ‘n roll tale about gangs, ex- lovers (Diane Lane and Michael Pare) and some fantastic music! I give mad props to Fire, Inc. featuring Holly Sherwood (on lead vocals), Rory Dodd, and Eric Troyer for their music in the song “Nowhere Fast”. (Diane Lane did not sing) First, because it’s the right thing to do and second, they kicked butt!!

I got into the film primarily because of the musical sequences even though it failed critically and commercially. Its musical score, however, by Jim Steinman, Ry Cooder, and others, as well as the hit Dan Hartman song “I Can Dream About You”, from the film’s soundtrack, helped it attain a cult following.

Fame 1980

I’ll round out this post with one of my favorite inspiring films, Fame. Produced by David De Silva and directed by Alan Parker, its screenplay is by Christopher Gore, choreography by Louis Falco and musical score by Michael Gore.

Starring Irene Cara, it’s a peek into a year of study at a New York school of performing arts. As a result of being fired up by this movie, I took my love of musicals and turned it into a path as an actress in community theater.

“Fame, I’m gonna live forever, baby remember my name!”