What are your favorite Broadway musicals?

Cafe Society
1

The Music Man with Robert Preston is my all time fave. Con-man story, innovative music, and a barbershop quartet. Gotta love it. Also contained the only show tune the Beatles ever recorded: “Til There Was You”.

Anything Goes, one of Cole Porter’s shows. It was the first show I ever performed in, so it holds special appeal for me. I’ve always loved the catchy tunes in this one.

Haven’t yet seen The Producers, but from what I’ve heard I’m guessing it would make my list instantly.

Which ones do you like? You don’t have to have seen them in person - the movie version counts.

2

Hmmmm. I’m really not wild about The Music Man, although I had fun when I was in it (despite the always-perilous march around the piano). I know I’m in a minority there.

Anyway, shows I like…

Les Misérables
Camelot
My Fair Lady
The Sound of Music (if I’m in the right mood – and again, performing in it was lots of fun)
Jesus Christ Superstar
Rent
Into the Woods (which my high school almost staged my senior year, then decided it wouldn’t be accessible enough. Bastards. [We did Music Man instead.])

3

Jesus Christ Superstar
Into The Woods
Assassins
Tomfoolery
Les Miserables

Then again, I’m queer. :smiley:

Esprix

4

I need to check out Assassins one of these days – all of my friends who are into musical theater rave about it. (There was a production at U of Mich last fall – I know one of the cast members – but I had something or other going on that weekend and didn’t get to see it…)

5

Les Miserables
Cats
Camelot
The Phantom of the Opera
Fiddler on the Roof
Grease

I only saw the top three on Broadway though. I’ve seen a few others as they made their way through Dallas or Houston, but those are my favorites. I can’t wait to go back someday. I’d like to see Suessical, The Producer’s and Evita.

Humming showtunes now,
Abby

6

My favorites are Le Mis and Cats. Off broadway, it was West Side Story.

7

She Loves Me is a small-scale charming musical by Bock and Harnick, the people who went on to write Fiddler On The Roof.

It’s set in Europe in a small perfume store, and the basic plot is the same as You’ve Got Mail. But the attention paid to all the characters, who work in the shop, each of whom gets a shining moment and memorable solo, makes it a delightful well-rounded gem of a show.

Most famous songs: She Loves Me, Vanilla Ice Cream, Dear Friend.

Barbara Cook had a personal triumph in the role, and I saw it performed here in Melbourne Oz last year, during a very limited season.

That’s my favourite. Thanks for asking Grok!

Redboss

8

Never seen anything on Broadway (but there’s hope!), only local and tour.

Candide
West Side Story
Sweeney Todd
A Little Night Music
The Wiz
Cabaret
Chicago
Mame

9

Phantom of the Opera
Les Miserables
Jeckyl & Hyde
The King & I
Chicago
How to Succeed in Business…
The Sound of Music
Into the Woods
Guys & Dolls
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Mame

10

I would kill to see Anna Held in “The Parisian Model” (1906), with numbers like “A Gown for Each Hour of the Day,” “I Just Can’t Make My Eyes Behave,” the early rag “La Mattchiche,” and the naughty “Bells” number where the chorus girls had bells attached to their legs and kicked out the tune.

I also love the “Princess” shows of the 'teens, by Wodehouse, Botlon, Kern, Gershwin: “Oh, Kay!,” “Lady, be Good,” “Very Good Eddie,” etc.

11

Inventive music, tongue-in-cheek, politically aware…

Hair

By far my favorite

12

I dig this one, too. I saw a touring production about a year or so ago with, of all people, Lea Thompson as Sally Bowles. And she was great. She did a better British accent than Natasha Richardson did. And she’s SO much cuter than Liza Minelli.

13

Chicago (saw this here in DC with Nana Visitor (Major Kira Nerys from *Star Trek:Deep Space Nine[i/]) and Vicki Lewis (Newsradio, Three Sisters, Robert Urich playing Billy Flynn–FABulous!
Guys and Dolls
Rent
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (coming to a theater near you July 10)
Kiss of the Spider Woman (GREAT Kander and Ebb score)
Pippin
Jekyll and Hyde

14

Sweeney Todd
Chorus Line
A Little Night Music

… and many others too numerous to list, inluding some pretty obscure ones.

(Obnoxious nitpick to follow:

Assassins was not a Broadway musical. It only ran OB.

Hey, I need some excuse to mention that I was one of the privedged few to see the original off-Broadway NY production before it closed.)

15

B’way: Rent, Les Miserables, Gypsy
Off B’way: The Last Session

16

My votes:

Les Miserables (#1)
Fiddler on the Roof (#2)
Into the Woods (#3)

Now, if only I could get tickets to see The Producers before the end of the decade… :sigh:

Zev Steinhardt

17

I haven’t seen either one but I love the music and I’m bound and determined to see them eventually
Les Misérables and Rent

Kitty

18

My first as well… played Sir Evelyn Oakleigh. Had to be onstage in just my boxers, a t-Shirt, socks and garters. AND with shaving cream on my face. Fun show.

Rent? BLEAH! Wouldn’t have lasted a year on B-way if the author hadn’t died right before opening.

Other Faves? Guys & Dolls (another one I’ve been in, played Nicely-Nicely Johnson), 1776, Oklahoma (if only for ‘Poor Jud is Dead’), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Into The Woods, and Jesus Christ Superstar

19

On the Twentieth Century: I’ve never seen it, but judging from the cast album, it must have been one of the funniest musicals ever made. Madeline Kahn doing “Veronique” alone can get a laugh from me. And with John Cullum (sp) playing opposite her…I’d kill for a bootleg video of a performance.

Guys and Dolls: Perhaps the perfect Broadway musical. The songs, story and dancing come together in a perfect, cohesive whole. Loesser’s masterpiece.

Pippin: Ben Verene(sp) is stunning in this musical and steals every scene. Except the one that “Granny” from the Beverly Hillbillies (Irene Ryan) steals)

Blondel: Again, I’m judging from the cast album. From the opening moment when four monks, in perfect barbershop harmony sing “Bu-bu-buh, Bu-Benidictus” (a la the Beach Boy’s “Barbara Ann”) to the song that contains an acrostic in the lyrics, to the “No Rhyme for Richard” song, it’s brilliant. I don’t know why it failed. Funny, good songs, witty…sigh. (Ok, this one’s a West End musical, but I refuse to be America-centric)

West Side Story, Gypsy and The Music Man: A few more perfect musicals where everything just meshes seamlessly.

How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying: If pressed to choose my single favorite musical ever, this would it. Morse’s performance was stunning, Reilly was a perfect foil and there’s something so…charming about it.

and

Eating Raoul: Never been staged AFIK, but it was recorded as a concept album and if I were rich, I’d become an impressaio just so I could fund a stage-version on Broadway. How can anyone not love a musical with lyrics like:
Mary Bland (trying to decide who’s skull to stave in (“bop”) with a cast iron skillet):
It could not last,
It was me who I was foolin’
The time has come
I’ve got to chose my man
Am I gonna bop Paul
Or do I do Raoul in?
My destiny lies in this frying pan!
<snip>
One Bop, one last bop
I can throw away the handcuffs
and the riding crop
One bop, one bop
It’s over.
I may never have sex again
If I bop my sexy Mexican…

< ahem >

Now, if you’ll 'scuse me, I’m gonna go listen to some albums.

Fenris

20

I played Sir Evelyn too! We should start a support group.
:slight_smile: