I'm Here to Please the People

By popular (i.e., 2 people's) demand...

 

My Top 20 Musicals:

20. The Apple Tree

19. Oklahoma!  

18. Mamma Mia

17. The Producers

16. Into the Woods

15. A Little Night Music

14. Jersey Boys

13. Ragtime

12. Phantom of the Opera

11. 42nd Street

10. West Side Story

9. Little Shop of Horrors

8. Hairspray

7. Miss Saigon

6. The Drowsy Chaperone

5. Thoroughly Modern Millie

4. Rent

3. Les Miserables

2. Wicked

1. Avenue Q

 

THIS WAS THE HARDEST THING I'VE EVER HAD TO DO.

Here's the scoop on this list. Believe it or not, this is the first time I've ever put a list like this together. I've never really wanted to for fear of hurting a particular musical's feelings (yes, they have FEELINGS). I'm still not sure this is 100% correct either. However, this list is based on

a) musicals I've SEEN (because there are  slew of shows I love whose cast recordings I only know).

b) the sentimentality behind each show. For example, I'm sure you thought it would be a slam dunk that Wicked would be #1 huh? Well, yes, I'm obsessed with it and I've seen it 8 times, but Avenue Q has so much personal background to it and it's THE show that bonded B and me together. It's just special and cute and fun and clever and has a phenomenal message and score).

c) the "genius" of the show's lyrics/music. In the case of Into the Woods (16), I'm praising Stephen Sondheim's freakish ability to make words work against an anti-melodic sound with a story that's absurd. Not surprisingly, this is what gets A Little Night Music (15) into my top 20. While the story is sweet with a fun and witty love triangle as its twist, the whole show is set in 3/4 time and waltzes its way from beginning to end, only repeating musical themes for characterization and story continuity. Otherwise, it's pure genius the way that Sondheim (again) weaves humor, music and the entire thesaurus into one very entertaining 2-hour side-splitting, sophisticated piece. I respect "genius." This happens in the case of Ragtime (13) and Little Shop of Horrors (9), too. I must also add that that's how The Producers (17) made it onto my list. I wasn't necessarily blown away by the show like the critics were (I did not see the original cast, but a touring cast in Phoenix during college). I mean, it was entertaining and I enjoyed it, but what gets me is that Mel Brooks wrote his own lyrics to the hums that he created in his head. Mel Brook is a smart man and he's only just a little bit funny (sarcasm! He's super funny!). All you have to do is write shit like "Don't be stupid/Be a smarty/Come and join the Nazi party" and you get a spot in  a Jew's Top 20. It's just too good.

d) spectacle. Big, monumental shows that have broken the mold for theatrical process also have spots on here. Consequently, they may not be known for their Sondheim-like genius or Ahrens & Flaherty-like variety (a la Ragtime (13), which has a multitude of songs and sounds, mostly because they're supposed to represent different kinds of people and their cultures during after the turn of the 20th century), but these shows have paved the way for bigger, flashier and, well, $$$-er shows to come. And, at the same time, it WORKS! There are shows that are big and flashy and expensive that are also bad. So, in the case of 12, 7 and 3, Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon and Les Miserables have their gimmicks that wowed critics and audiences (the falling chandelier, boat and big elaborate sets; the helicopter; the revolving turn-table stage), and have also influenced the way that theater is presented on stages world wide. This is respectable for sure.

Okay, so this is my list. It's an ongoing list that can be revised and I'm probably even missing some obvious stuff. It's also hard not to include shows that I've been in that are near and dear to my heart just for those purposes (Barnum, Joseph...Dreamcoat), but in the cruel, cruel world of musical theater, thousands are vying for spots and only handfuls get them and my list is no different.

Curtain.