Okay, here are what I consider to be the ten best musicals of all time (right now, tomorrow I may feel differently).
1. Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street 2. The Light in the Piazza 3. Les Miserables 4. Cabaret 5. West Side Story 6. My Fair Lady 7. The Phantom of the Opera 8. The Last Five Years (not really a musical, but whatever) 9. Kiss Me, Kate 10. Oh, I don't know. A tie between Fiddler on the Roof and 1776.
And of course both "A Chorus Line" and "Gypsy", neither of which I personally have any particularly strong feelings for, but which most people would consider among our very best musicals.
Runners-up: -She Loves Me -Assassins -Kiss of the Spider Woman -Miss Saigon -Jekyll and Hyde (OK, not really, but I like it)
And finally, overrated shows that many people would probably want on the top-ten but really shouldn't be (IMHO): -Rent -Wicked -The Producers -Ragtime (*ducks for cover*)
I would really like it explained how "The Last 5 Years" doesn't qualify as a musical? It has minimal dialogue, and relies on the songs to convey emotion and move the story along. I think Phantom is less of a musical than L5Y, its songs are more about moments and don't get you from point a to point b like the songs in L5Y.
Sweeney Todd The Last Five Years Dreamgirls A New Brain Urinetown Once On This Island The Light in the Piazza Pippin A Chorus Line RENT
For me, it's a combination of my favorite shows, and the shows that I think MT's should know and love. (of course there's always the classics, but these are the shows that are the ones MT's get really excited about)
1. Wicked 2. Rent 3. Ragtime 4. Hair 5. A Chorus Line 6. Show Boat 7. Fiddler on the Roof 8. Guys and Dolls 9. The Phantom of the Opera 10. The Producers
Butters, go buy World of Warcraft, install it on your computer, and join the online sensation before we all murder you.
--Cartman: South Park
ATTENTION FANS: I will be played by James Barbour in the upcoming musical, "BroadwayWorld: The Musical."
1) A CHORUS LINE 2) LES MISERABLES 3) THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA 4) MISS SAIGON 5) THE PRODUCERS 6) DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS 7) THE SOUND OF MUSIC WICKED 9) RENT 10) INTO THE WOODS
"TO LOVE ANOTHER PERSON IS TO SEE THE FACE OF GOD"- LES MISERABLES---
"THERE'S A SPECIAL KIND OF PEOPLE KNOWN AS SHOW PEOPLE... WE'RE BORN EVERY NIGHT AT HALF HOUR CALL!"--- CURTAINS
1. The Light in the Piazza 2. Dreamgirls 3. Sweeney Todd 4. The Lion King 5. The Last Five Years 6. A New Brain 7. She Loves Me 8. Show Boat 9. Side Show 10. Cabaret
"And finally, overrated shows that many people would probably want on the top-ten but really shouldn't be"
Haha, I was just going to post that.
"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view - until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."
To Kill A Mockingbird
I think these are essential for MT majors b/c of how they helped shape or change the genre.
1. Gypsy 2. Show Boat 3. West Side Story 4. A Chorus Line 5. One of the big British ones b/c of its impact on American musicals (ie Phantom, Les Miz) 6. Oklahoma (not by fave. by any means...but an important one in the development of the genre) 7. Rent 8. Caroline or Change 9. Cabaret 10. Porgy and Bess
I'm sorry, but Ragtime is a thousand times better than Jekyll and Hyde.
My list: #1 - Miss Saigon #2 - The Light in the Piazza #3 - Parade #4 - Ragtime #5 - Sweeney Todd #6 - Side Show #7 - Jane Eyre #8 - The Secret Garden #9 - West Side Story #10 - The Last Five Years
Jimmy, what are you doing here in the middle of the night? It's almost 9 PM!
These are what I consider to be the best/most striking/most influential of my favorites. In no particular order:
1. Sweeney Todd 2. A Chorus Line 3. The Last 5 Years 4. Gypsy 5. South Pacific 6. The Light In The Piazza 7. Dreamgirls 8. West Side Story 9. Assasins 10. Cabaret
"We don't value the lily less for not being made of flint and built to last. Life's bounty is in it's flow, later is too late. Where is the song when it's been sung, the dance when it's been danced? It's only we humans who want to own the future too."
- Tom Stoppard, Shipwreck
1. Sweeney Todd 2. Cabaret 3. A Chorus Line 4. Oklahoma! 5. Showboat 6. Gypsy 7. Sunday in the Park with George 8. West Side Story 9. My Fair Lady 10. Company
I am a firm believer in serendipity- all the random pieces coming together in one wonderful moment, when suddenly you see what their purpose was all along.
Before I list my top ten, I think what parker said about musicals that changed the genre is extremely important, so with that in mind:
1. The Light in the Piazza 2. Nine 3. A Chorus Line 4. Les Miserables 5. Cabaret 6. Sweeney Todd 7. Oklahoma (very important as it's considered by most to be the first book musical) 8. West Side Story 9. A New Brain 10. Gypsy
bigbigbill, Rent is garbage? Tell that to the people who award the Pulitzer and the Tonys and the Drama Desk Awards. Oh, and also the millions who have seen it around the world and who have given it a ten year run on Broadway.
You may not like it but it's not garbage.
Shows every MT major should see (there are many others, ten isn't really enough!):
Ragtime Rent A Chorus Line Cabaret Gypsy Showboat West Side Story Les Mis Parade The Wild Party
7. Oklahoma (very important as it's considered by most to be the first book musical)
Except that it ISN'T. All musical comedies and operettas had books. If you mean integrated with the songs SHOW BOAT did that 16 years earlier and even that was not the first. Because of its historic importance and long-term popularity, OKLAHOMA! is often incorrectly credited with innovations.
It was Broadway's first musical to play over 2,000 performances, and it was a show that gained attention far beyond the New York theatre-goers.
It was NOT the first show to have an "original cast recording": Decca had alredy recorded PORGY AND BESS and THIS IS THE ARMY. (OKLAHOMA! was the first OCR to sell over a million copies.)
It was also, NOT the first show to use ballet. (ON YOUR TOES did that in 1936.)
But it is an important show and one that still works for audiences despite its simplistic story.
Cast albums are NOT "soundtracks." Live theatre does not use a "soundtrack." If it did, it wouldn't be live theatre!
I host a weekly one-hour radio program featuring cast album selections as well as songs by cabaret, jazz and theatre artists. The program, FRONT ROW CENTRE is heard Sundays 9 to 10 am and also Saturdays from 8 to 9 am (eastern times) on www.proudfm.com
I don't think he's asking for a 10 of your favorite shows. I'm not sure Light in the Piazza, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, or the Producers have changed the face of musical theater, but whatever. I'd say:
1. RENT - it was groundbreaking and brought modern music to the stage.
2. Oklahoma - was the first of it's kind
3. Cats - the first of the "spectacle" shows
4. Company - the first of it's kind. It introduced the "concept" show.
5. Fiddler on the Roof - It's just a solid show with a great book, lyrics, and score.
6. A Chorus Line - A very bold concept that worked.
...I'm sure there is more but I think those are the ones that all MT majors should had least be familiar with.
The top ten change sometimes but I will stick with this:
1. RENT 2. Wedding Singer 3. Bright Lights, Big City 4. The Last 5 Years 5. See What I Wanna See 6. Wicked 7. The Wild Party (Lippa) 8. Jersey Boys 9. The Full Monty 10. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
I made a list of all your faults, it was quite detailed and lengthy too and when I read it through I missed you. Your like a classic Eagles song, you just cant help but sing along even though it sometimes gets annoying too. I just know I want to be wherever I can wake and see you there next to me. **High Fidelity**
Love is what I do **The Wedding Singer**
Xanadu - Best NEW Musical of the Season!
I would HARDLY call Cats the first spectacle show.
The most important musicals for me, as an MT lover, and MT major are, in no particular order:
1) Light in the Piazza. The best show I've seen on Broadway - our of 25 or so. (I know, since I've seen so many). 2) Cabaret 3) West Side Story 4) Kiss Me, Kate 5) Caroline, or Change 6) Sunday in the Park with George. My Favorite Musical of all time. 7) Sweeney Todd Company 9) Ragtime 10) LaChiusa's Wild Party.
I do think LaChiusa will be more widely revered in years to come as one of the most important writers in modern Musical Theatre history.
frontrowcentre -- you're right, of course, technically. However, Oklahoma is given credit with starting the trend of book musicals as we know them today. Showboat was an anomaly of its time -- between that and Oklahoma there was NOTHING that matched the style of musical as we know it today.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's also the first musical that started with a solo number rather than a chorus number.
Porgy and Bess starts with Summertime, but I've never really considered that a musical -- it's an opera.
1. Carousel 2. The Light in the Piazza 3. Sunday in the Park With George 4. Caroline or Change 5. LaChiusa's The Wild Party 6. Nine 7. Into the Woods 8. A New Brain 9. Floyd Collins 10. Dreamgirls
I assume you mean from an academic standpoint and not just "pick your favorites." I would go with landmark shows that either advanced the art form or propelled it into a new direction. Here are my picks in chronological order:
The Black Crook Show Boat Porgy & Bess Oklahoma! West Side Story Hair Company A Chorus Line Les Miserables Mamma Mia!
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
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