Top Ten _____ [Musicals]

I’ve documented my musical viewings, but what you really want to know is what’s worth watching out of all those overtures, choreography, love songs, and . . . ABBA?

10) Mamma Mia! – That’s right, we’re starting things off with a jukebox musical romantic comedy set on a Greek island featuring a Swedish pop group. It’s light and fun, and doesn’t try to be anything it’s not. Watch at your own risk of getting the songs stuck in your head for weeks.

9) The Phantom of the Opera – One of two musicals I’ve seen on Broadway. Some people can’t stand Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals, but I don’t think he’s too bad. Phantom has a coherent enough plot, good songs, a dance number, and generally ticks all the boxes of what you want in a musical, which may be why it’s Broadway’s longest running show.

8) The Music Man – Too classic to leave off the list. It’s got a lot of recognizable songs. The competing conman/falling in love plots are similar to A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, but it’s more well known, maybe because its title doesn’t take three years to type.

7) Rent – Yes, the characters are kind of lazy jerks, but you don’t always need fully lovable protagonists. The score is rock solid, and I can’t speak to how much or little it parallels Puccini’s La Boheme because I’ve never seen or read about it.

6) West Side Story – The other musical I’ve seen on Broadway, and I recently watched the 1961 movie on Netflix. It’s based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, so if you think about the plot too much it makes no sense. However, it’s a Leonard Bernstein score, Stephen Sondheim wrote the lyrics, and Jerome Robbins did the choreography, so that more than makes up for all the characters’ questionable decisions.

5) Mary Poppins – There’s something about the 1964 movie that just feels magical. Well, besides the fact that Mary Poppins magically descends from the clouds, transports children into paintings, and hosts a floating tea party.

4) Into the Woods – Scored by Sondheim, book by James Lapine. It’s a clever musical adaptation and intertwining of fairy tales. I’ve seen the Jr. version staged live and the movie, but not the full live musical.

3) Les Miserables – Probably the only musical on this list that could possibly be described as epic, in terms of both the music and the plot. It’s a sung-through adaptation of Victor Hugo’s 3000-page novel, which I have not read. (Rent and Phantom are both almost sung-through, but do have some spoken lines.)

2) Guys and Dolls – Based on Damon Runyon’s short stories of the New York underworld. Reasonable plot, interesting characters, strong songs, and interspersed funny moments make this a very solid musical, and one of my favorites.

1) The Sound of Music – Couldn’t not have a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical on the list. Based on the number of times I’ve seen this movie, I’ll call it my favorite. Besides the classic Julie Andrews 1965 version, I’ve also seen the recording of NBC’s 2013 live production starring not-Julie Andrews as Maria. Doesn’t compare to the original movie.

I've compiled a list of musicals the library has that 1) I haven’t watched and 2) aren’t random obscure productions like The Utter Glory of Morrissey Hall (run of a single show on Broadway). There’s nothing huge on the list that I think would unseat anything in my top ten musicals, but you never know. I also haven’t seen Wicked, Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, etc., or any of the Disney spectacles, so this ranking is subject to change. But this is the list for now, and here’s where I try and convince you all that Shrek The Musical is not terrible, and also surprisingly, the songs for School of Rock (scored by Andrew Lloyd Webber) are pretty good.