#I remember because sutton foster’s the lead for millie and little women and I was really into sutton foster because of the one song I knew

[hummingbirdsaltimolockia]

I recently made a list of all the musicals I’m pretty familiar with and it came out to 63. and since my sisters won’t listen to my recommendations this is a masterpost of all those musicals with a few of my Thoughts and Opinions. this gets hella long so prepare yourself

-Les Miserables

ah, you never forget your first. I heard the symphonic recording when I was six? seven? so it has become the definitive version in my mind, but cast members (michael ball) are weak, and unfortch I haven’t come across a recording were all the cast members are top notch, though the 25th anniversary concert comes very close (norm lewis!! lea salonga!!)

-The Little Mermaid

ok so on the whole this show is not particularly great or interesting and honestly didn’t do very well on stage BUT hearing sherie rene scott sing poor unfortunate souls literally changed my life and is what really sparked my interest in musical theatre. also norm lewis is there

-The Band’s Visit

unlike any broadway musical you’ve heard fs. based on the movie of the same name, it’s about the egyptian police band being stranded in a middle-of-nowhere town in israel for in 1996. it’s a simple story but incredibly charming and ernest and surprsingly emotional. also the music is played onstage by the actors which is always cool!

-In the Heights

lin manuel miranda’s first musical and is honestly just as good as hamilton, if not better (I said what I said). it’s a slice of life kinda story about people living in washington heights. great music, great story, great characters, feels very real without being like....depressing.

-Aladdin

most of the songs from the movie stay mostly the same, I think they only changed arabian nights, and friend like me (which for the latter was a huuge improvement. I can’t NOT dance whenever I hear it. james monroe inglehart is a fantastic genie). and the flying carpet!! looks amazing!!

-Once on This Island

this story made me v mad initially (the female lead just. dies at the end), but I kept coming back to it because I loved the music, and it took me a while to figure out why and it’s because the caribbean island vibes are off the charts, and that reminds me of my childhood in sofl. and the vocals of the ensemble are amazing and the 2018 revival used a in the round stage with actual sand and live animals how cool is that

-She Loves Me

a super cute, super enjoyable, super fun musical based on the old film shop around the corner. zachery levi and laura benanti make some quality faces

-Next to Normal

oooof. a very intense show both in terms of theme and music. deals with bipolar depression, schizophrenia, drugs, suicide, hallucinations, death of a child....yeah. a very good show that handles all those heavy themes realistically

-Hamilton

so yeah when it first came out five years ago it was very hyped up and was called lin manuel’s “masterpiece” and when I listened to it I was like....dam they’re right. the lyrics and wording are so precise and having a story told by the protag’s enemy is so narratively juicey. plus the music is incredible (also listen to the hamilton mixtape if you haven’t it’s great)

-The Lion King

if you’ve followed me for any time you know I love the movie and the musical only makes it better. the songs, the music, the puppets, heather headley, the songs in zulu, the costumes...ugh perfection. the most successful disney show on broadway

-Aida

ever wonder what it’s like to be so darn good at singing that sir elton john writes a musical for you? well that’s what happened to heather headley and she completely deserved it. it’s a bit problematic in that the egyptian conquerors are all white and all the nubia slaves are black and like....they’re both in africa dude

-Anastasia

ok so I know it didn’t happen but the premise is so compelling and so gd tragic and christy altomare’s voice has such a fragility to it which is such a contrast to who anastasia actually was and the show features a song about russian refugees having to flee their homeland and it’s like the saddest song I’ve ever heard

-Anything Goes

honestly this musical on the whole isn’t that great for some...reasons, but it does have some great Friendship songs and Great tap dancing and sutton foster is in it and she is the epitome of a triple threat

-Cinderella

honestly just watch the brandy version because it’s the best version. better than the broadway version for sure, even though laura osnes is fantastic in everything she does and the show does have an amazing onstage costume change, but the brandy version has the coolest cast and costume and sets

-Ragtime

ho boy. so much to unpack here. while I think this is a “good” musical, it is too long, has too many characters and storylines, and deals with some heavy themes but doesn’t handle them very well so by the end it’s just exhausting and disappointing. BUT it does have the incomparable brian stokes mitchell and audra mcdonald, who is literally the best performer to ever grace broadway

-Thoroughly Modern Millie

there is so much spirit in this show it’s infectious. also sutton foster

-Dear Evan Hanson

sigh. so this musical gained a lot popularity among the Young People and...it..didn’t...deserve it? like again it deals with heavy issues like social anxiety, depression, and suicide, but like ragtime it doesn’t handle them very well; not in an honest way. and like everything they talk about is handled better in next to normal so

-Tuck Everlasting

based on the book, not the movie. the music is something really different and I don’t think broadway was ready to accept it so it didn’t run very long. and the adaption isn’t very strong, but the lead (sarah charles lewis) is very good and it does have a very sad song about miles losing his family

-Come From Away

so this is about the 38 planes that were diverted to a small town in newfoundland on 9/11. now with as much as america loves to talk about 9/11 I had never heard this story so it was cool to hear a different side of it. also it has a song that makes me tear up every time I hear it

-Annie

not much to say about this one. a classic

-Oklahoma!

speaking of classics, if you think this musical is boring and outdated, please listen to the 2019 revival. it rocks in every sense of the word

-West Side Story

this one is also a classic, and often called a masterpiece for good reason. the music is so strong and is integrated so well and it represents the characters on both sides. this video explains it really well. tho productions consistently have trouble finding puerto rican actors to play the puerto ricans....

-Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812

this one deserved sooo much more than it got, coming out in the same year as dear shmevan shmhanson. the lighting and set design is incredible and the music reflects each character’s emotion so it feels really honest, and almost like a supporting character. it’s so good guys. it has josh groban in a fat suit

-The Phantom of the Opera

unpopular opinion (maybe): I think gerard butler was a really good phantom. probably andrew llyod webber’s best work

-Waitress

based on the film of the same name, also the first broadway show with an entirely female creative team. also what baking can do came after my entire life

-Hello Dolly!

I fell in love with the movie version with barbra streisand, but then I learned that the original broadway production had a all black cast which is awesome but wasn’t reflected at all in the movie and that’s disappointing. great show tho

-Wicked

I can distinctly remember the first time I heard the ending crescendo of defying gravity. and the fact that it has so quickly become classic staple of broadway is a testiment to how strong it is

-You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown

yes there is a broadway show of charlie brown. the songs are funny and childlike and honest, and very ernest. also kristin chenoweth is hilarious as sally brown (she won a tony for it!)

-Chess

I love the music in the show, and some songs have very complex lyrics but the main character is kinda annoying. like yeah dude deserting your country with another woman and leaving your wife and kids behind is gonna have negative consequences. don’t know what to tell you

-Finding Neverland

not as good as the movie it’s based on. while some of the music is very pretty, the songs are pretty simple and kinda boring

-Venice

ok this show also isn’t very good, the character’s motivations are not clear, especially the villain, and the female lead’s songs are weak. but the premise and some of the songs are arresting, and I kept coming back to them

-The King and I

like wws, it took a very long time for a production to cast this show accurately, and it still hasn’t....quite done it. but the songs are very beautiful. r&h strike again.

-Matilda

features a bunch of v talented children and manages to be lighthearted but also really gets you. just listen to when I grow up

-Little Women

on the whole, not a great adaption. some good songs. sutton foster is great

-Bonnie and Clyde

oh boy you want some bad guy songs? how bout a whole musical of them? oh no the public hated us and we closed after 36 performances. ah well. at least laura osnes got her first tony nod

-Beetlejuice

very catchy show with a killer aesthetic. give alex brightman a tony just for being Like That

-Hadestown

this show has such nice lyrical rhythm, even in the spoken words, and it is so smartly composed and balanced. and even tho the broadway cast recording is out, it’s worth it to listen to the earlier album as well

-Catch Me If You Can

based on the film. just two hours of aaron tveit being a little brat and norbert leo butz flexing on everyone else’s vocal chords

-Miss Saigon

an extremely problematic and infuriating show that is unfortunately very beautiful. introduced lea salonga to the world, so that’s good at least

-The Hunchback of Notre Dame

speaking of problematic but beautiful shows. exceeds the movie in my opinion. the choral vocals just cut right through you

-The Fiddler on the Roof

I listened to the 2016 revival after not listening to this show for years and you know what? it’s really good! like heck!

-Mean Girls

yes they made a musical of mean girls. yes it’s pretty great. regina has a killer song near the end that I love to belt out

-Bandstand

one of the only musicals to make me cry actual tears just from listening to one (1) song. it’s about WWII veterans coming together to form a band just months after the war ends. also laura osnes fricking kills it in the last number

-Into the Woods

I’m not a huge fan of “fairy tales but make it realistic and therefore disappointing” but stephen sondheim is a very good writer and musician so it’s worth checking out. and the witch is played by bernadette peters in the musical and meryl streep in the movie so it’s a win both ways

-How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

what it says on the can. a very fun, ‘don’t take this too seriously’ show. the lead was played by daniel radcliffe and nick jonas at one point so like. come on

-The Last Five Years

honestly this is a very depressing show, but it’s told in a interesting way. it’s about a couple who meet, fall in love, get married, drift apart, and ultimately get divorced, but not in that order

-Newsies

ok so the broadway version is very different from the movie, but it’s still worth checking out! the new verse at the beginning of seize the day makes it worth it!

-Legally Blonde

yes they made a musical of legally blonde. yes it’s great

-Daddy Long Legs

a little known musical about a young woman who is aging out of an orphanage and finds out she is being sent to school by a mysterious benefactor. meghan mcginnis has super sweet voice

-My Fair Lady

another problematic show about a british asshole who takes it upon himself to turn a flower girl into a “proper lady” (no one asked you to do that dude). but it is funny

-South Pacific

ok so I’m not actually super familiar with this show but it does have a very important song called you’ve got to be carefully taught about how racism is not “something you’re just born” so stop making excuses nellie

-Once

again I’m not super knowledgeable about this show, I’ve listened to it a few times, and read the wiki summary but I still don’t quite know what it’s about. but the music is really good, really different from a traditional broadway show. very enticing and sentimental

-Beauty and the Beast

I think this was the first disney movie that made it to broadway? I could be wrong. like hunchback, I think it exceeds the movie, esp if I can’t love her??? shoutout to my sister’s friend for blowing my socks off with that song in 2005

-Six

not a full blown production, just a rock show about the six wives of henry viii. I thought it would be like riding off the hamilton craze of “history but make it cool” but it actually kicks ass all by itself

-The Sound of Music

another classic, and edelweiss makes me emotional

-Billy Elliot

ahh this show has so much tangible emotion in it and it’s heavy but children are it and they carry it so well and the juxtaposition of the protests an d the dancing UGH

-The Lightning Thief

yes the percy jackson musical! is good and enjoyable! doesn’t take itself seriously at all (as it shouldn’t) and the last two songs go so hard!

-The Music Man

this is imprinted into my brain because of my sister’s drama group and from that day on I have never known peace

-The Scarlet Pimpernel

based on the film of the same name, it’s really good, the opening number goes really hard, and it SHOULD be revived with laura osnes

-Oliver!

this show is....good..but it’s just too long. too many extra songs that don’t do anything

-Sussical

beautifully whimsical and heartfelt. features an array of suess characters and stories

-Moulin Rouge!

the cast album that came late year and it kicks ass. it keeps some of the songs that were featured in the movie, and brings in songs that have come out since the movie like shut up and dance, royals, and bad romance

-The Greatest Showman

so technically this isn’t a broadway show, but it’s going to be, and I think it will be much better as a stage show than a movie.