I was raise in NYC, so my family attended Broadway plays and we went to see them on school field trips. My kids were raised in a upstate NY and also attended Broadway musicals as field trips. I know and have known local “kids” active or formally active in Broadway. The original LionKing Simba is from my town and I know his parents well.
My S is actively involved in our local community theater. And I enjoy attending the performances.
So what are your favorite musicals? If you hate musicals, that is your choice. But no need to tell us here. And we will maybe have another thread for non-musical theater.
I love --Fiddler On the Roof-classic
Secret Garden- not well known
Hair- a product of its times
Even though I grew up 12 miles from Manhattan, I have only seen a handful of musicals on Broadway. But my brother and I were very involved participating in the musicals in our HS. He was head of the backstage crews for his 4 years and I was in the pit orchestra for my 4 years. Of all the ones I have seen, I loved:
Cats
Fiddler
Jersey Boys
Planning to go see the touring shows of Book of Mormon and 42nd Street this coming season.
Also grew up in New York and still live in suburbs so have attended many plays. Favorite older musicals include Shenandoah, Ragtime, and Follies. Recently very much enjoyed A Gentleman 's Guide to Love and Murder.
As a kid, I loved going with family to Broadway shows. Sound of Music, How to succeed…, Fiddler, Hair, My Fair Lady, anything with Barbra Streisand , and so on.
The casts that come to FL are not the same, though we do have good plays.
One of my Ds is an actor and we’ve been a theatre family back to the days of my grandparents. I’ve seen every show on Broadway, with the possible exception of a few that have opened recently, and off-Broadway, and off-off Broadway, as well as the shows in Toronto, Stratford, the Shaw Festival, national tours, many in the West End, etc. Knowing many actors, I try to support them in the shows they’re in and often travel in order to do so.
It’s difficult to choose favorites because I do love many but if I had to choose just a few, I’d probably say Ragtime because it began in Toronto and is an exquisite show; Rent because I know so many of the actors who have been in it through the years and because it was such a huge influence on contemporary theatre; LaChiusa’s The Wild Party because it is such a terrific rollercoaster ride of beautiful music, interesting and well-developed characters and a wonderful story with probably the most interesting source material of any show I’ve seen. I also was a producing partner on a professional production of it this year so it’s still very much at the forefront of the theatre-loving part of my brain.
Most of the musicals I’ve seen were performed by D high school.
I love Guys & Dolls, and I had a lot of fun helping to make costumes.
D played Big Jule, which was amusing since she is very petite.
We loved all the shows they did, but Into the Woods, Pirates of Penzance and On the Twentieth Century are some of my favorites.
Rent! (Thanks, @FallGirl - now I have “Seasons of Love” running through my brain)
The Producers
Spamalot
Book of Mormon
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
I also like the “classics” like Fiddler and West Side Story
West Side Story - again the movie version is better than any stage one I’ve seen
Guys and Dolls
Cabaret - but not the pumped up Liza version; the story needs the menace of the future belongs to me and the despair with that
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers - the screen version is best. Sexist nonsense but entertaining.
Most shows I can take only parts, as in Rodgers and Hammerstein:
the opening parts of Oklahoma
most of Cinderella
the first half or so of Sound of Music
same with Carousel if you cut the intro
individual numbers in Flower Drum Song
I have mixed feelings about Rent. Saw it in a big production and didn’t like it. Saw it in a production where it was presented with the raw feeling it was in a workshop and it was great.
I grew up in northern NJ, and my dad worked in Manhattan. Since my parents were huge theater & opera fans, we went into NY a lot. We’re further afield now, but still did day trips to NY for musicals & shows when my daughter was young, and still do weekend trips for the theater.
Favorites are hard, but -
Stephen Sondheim - Follies, Company, Forum, Sweeney Todd
Barnum
Wicked
Secret Garden
I have never been to NYC, so my experience is limited to tours and community theatre. My all-time favorite is Les Mis. It’s my go-to road trip soundtrack.
Favorites (until I think of some more!)
Les Mis
Wicked
Drowsy Chaperone
Showboat (love the music)
Hairspray
I can say that my least favorite is 1776. Maybe I just saw a bad community theatre version, but honestly, it’s just a bunch of bickering, and goes at least 45 minutes with no song at all.
I was about to get excited that musicmom1215 is a fellow fan of Drowsy Chaperone, but then I see that she hates 1776. I’ve only seen the movie, never a live performance, maybe it’s different live, but I adore the movie and the soundtrack. Ah well, different strokes for different folks.
I’ve only seen the movie, never a live performance, maybe it’s different live, but I adore the movie and the soundtrack. Ah well, different strokes for different folks.