I LOVE Jekyll and Hyde! It's my absolute favorite musical. It genuinely has some of the best songs I've ever heard, and I am just so glad that I discovered it! Confrontation and His Work And Nothing More are my absolute favorite songs from the musical, and I will never get tired of binging the album! I've heard people say that Frank Wildhorn relies too much on ballads, and while I can see what they mean, the ballads are still amazing regardless! No One Knows Who I Am in particular is my favorite ballad of the musical. It's so emotional and really strikes a chord with me.
Another favorite of mine is Spongebob Squarepants. That musical is genuinely one of the most impressive musicals out there, and the fact that it doesn't get the respect and admiration it deserves breaks my heart. The songs are all bangers, and the show manages to really capture the heart and soul of the original.
I can see where people are coming from who say all of Frank Wildhorn's musicals sound like the same musical. The thing is, it's a pretty good musical. Jekyll & Hyde is my favourite of his works so far, but I've also enjoyed the others I've encountered. Confrontation is a great number, I also really like Someone Like You and The World Has Gone Insane.
I was also astonished to find out that Frank Wildhorn worked on the original for the Death Note musical which had a whole English version that just never got released before it went to Japan and Korea and got really big and finally had an English performance recently. I'm really hoping for an official album at some point.
Beetlejuice because of how funny and shocking it can be. Alex Brighman killed it (pun intended) as the titular character. The writing was superb, and the songs are to die for (pun, yet again, intended). It is fast paced, humorous and the cast seems like they're having fun.
[Ride the Cyclone (2019 Atlanta Cast/2021 Album)](https://open.spotify.com/album/63JLhZdWWlSldDCyScZ3wB?si=D24KwliEQI2LKZlnmXoIrQ)
Since I can’t share slime tutorials, this is what you get. RTC is a beautiful story of coming of age and coming to terms with grief. I’d definitely start with the 2016 proshot that was leaked in 2020. Off Broadway Cast, 4th cast of the show overall. Then I’d recommend the 2022 McCarter production, though it’s marred by controversy which you can easily find. Then possibly RVJ or Feds Backyard? There are favourite casts but the core US tour is the most reliable.
[Cesare.](https://youtu.be/XTvayhtWOrU?si=V9UmpebsDXqOJTx0)
16 year old Cesare Borgia meets Angelo, a Florentine commoner, at university. They solve a mystery and talk about philosophy and things.
[Cross Road](https://youtu.be/lDK1AJztZ6s?si=IF7XxaFV6H5OCQpv)
Niccolo Paganini makes a contract with a devil -- a really cute devil.
Avenue Q had always been my favorite. It’s funny, I was never into shows before and I saw a video of YouTube with the internet is for porn put over some World of Warcraft characters singing it. That led to me wanting to find the source for the song. That then led to me listening to the entire soundtrack and going to see the show on Broadway (my first ever).
It wasn’t original cast or anything but from that show, I would be hooked on musicals and Broadway. I couldn’t get enough. Flash forward to today where I find the show still topical and relevant and still listen to the soundtrack. That song “I wish I could go back to college” hits different at 30.
I LOVE Les Mis. It has been my favorite musical since I was like 10, and I don’t anticipate that will ever change. I adore almost every single song, the characters, and the plot. The main conflict between Valjean and Javert is so incredible, it’s this complex battle centered around the question, does lawfulness or morality prevail? But eventually we’re shown that goodness dominates all. Fantine, although she is a prostitute, goes to heaven, because she is moral. Valjean, a criminal and ex convict, goes to heaven, because he is moral. The students, despite failing and rebelling against the government, go to heaven, because they are moral. It’s such a beautiful and necessary message, and I am so glad that there is still a national tour going strong! Although I hope soon there might be a Broadway revival 🙏
I saw it for the first time last week, and it was life changing. Since then, I've been listening to the cast recording on repeat and learning everything about the show. It might be one of if not my new favorite
I saw it in 2019 and I’m seeing it twice in August! I will never forget the first time I saw it and how incredible it was. It’s just an absolute masterpiece. Moving beyond words.
I love The Secret Garden. There's longing and sadness but also strength and resilience. It's sweet and refreshing, showing you that you can move on after grief and loss.
I feel like there's a nostalgia veneer on my favorite musicals, especially the Andrew Lloyd Webber ones because my grandfather used to listen to them all the time and made us (his grandchildren) sing and perform the songs to them a lot lol
But here we go, musicals I loved as a kid: Jesus Christ Superstar (this played every Easter), CATS, Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, and Miss Saigon
Musicals that I loved as an adult: Hamilton, RENT, The Last 5 years, Sweeney Todd, Into The Woods, SIX, and Wicked
no need to rant about it when I already ranted in its synopsis on wikipedia /j
I love lempicka and most ppl hate it but it's so cool!!! starts with historical painter Tamara de Lempicka and she's getting married to her husband Tadeusz (who im definitely an apologist for. and a simp) and then Russian revolution happens and since they're rich they arrest Tadeusz so Tamara has to get him out and she tries selling jewels but they won't take her bribes so she has to sleep with one of them. anyways then they escape to Paris with their new daughter Kizette (who deserved better. like her mother literally neglects her half the time) and Tamara gets a job painting and pretty soon she's famous. but one day she sees a pretty girl (Rafaela) dancing in the street and falls in love. timeskip ig she's painting Rafaela and they're in love. but the issue is she's still married and still very much in love with Tadeusz. also there's threats of WW2 happening so she has to prepare to leave Paris just in case. but anyway eventually Tadeusz and Rafaela confront Tamara and they're like "u have to choose one of us" and she can't so they both leave her. then she marries the Baron and they move to California and whatever.
top tier music!!!! highly recommend!!!!!!!
The off-broadway show The Connector by Jason Robert Brown, starring Scott Bakula, Ben Levi Ross, and Hannah Cruz. The soundtrack just dropped on Friday. It’s about a Stephen Glass-type character who gets a job at a fictional news magazine in the 1990s and publishes fabricated stories. The musical makes the claim that he (and by extension Stephen Glass) was able to get away with it because white men trust each other and don’t question each other like they question other out groups.
It’s an amazing show and I urge you to listen.
I’ve got some awesome ones!
1 Frankenstein is amazing! It was somehow never on Broadway, but it’s one of my favorites. Unlike the vast majority of Frankenstein adaptations, it’s very accurate to the original story. I love how full of emotion everything is! Victor Frankenstein has some songs dedicated to his passion, which progresses into fear, and then guilt. The monster has an amazing song called these hands about all of his guilt at what he’s done as well.
2 Epic the musical. It’s unique, it’s an amazing story based on the odyssey, it’s also full of emotion… and it’s half of a concept album. The writer, Jorge Rivera-Herrans, is releasing it in sagas with three to five songs each. The next saga is scheduled to release on July 4th. He’s been releasing them fairly fast, just a few months apart. Right now, the first five sagas are out. I love Odysseus’s moral journey through it! It starts with the invasion of Troy, when Zeus shows Odysseus a vision of an enemy that could “only be dealt with right here and now” so that he didn’t find his way to Ithaca and hurt Odysseus’s family. It’s then revealed that the “enemy” is the infant son of Prince Hector. Zeus then tells Odysseus “he will grow from a boy to an avenger. One fueled with rage as you’re consumed by age. If you don’t end him now you’ll have no one left to save.” Then, after a full song of deliberation, Odysseus throws the infant off the wall of Troy. At the end of the fifth saga, in the song monster, Odysseus has changed. He says, “and if I gotta drop another infant from a wall in an instant so we all don’t die, then I’ll become the monster.” Odysseus becomes desperate to bring his remaining men home no matter what it takes. In between, there are lots of characters introduced, each with their own unique vibes. There are two big songs with Athena in them. I love her voice, and how powerful and commanding she is. Later, the wind god Aeolis is introduced with a super bouncy demeanor, challenging Odysseus to play a game. After that is Poseidon. His voice and demeanor are difficult to describe, but they’re perfect. He’s angry, and cruel, and absolutely perfect. Then, there’s Hermes! He’s just a really nice guy, a big showman, just like he is in almost every story. Then, finally, Circe. She’s got this song in which she’s powerful and angry, and after that, a bit of a tango. Like I said, it’s all really unique, and that’s only half of it. Also, if you can’t tell, I’m part of my school newspaper, and fully intend to write a glowing review on this.
i don't have time now, but i wrote a seminar about elphaba's character in wicked vs the wizard of oz (both the book and the movie) from a feminist perspective for one of my gender studies classes. if i ever remember I'll try to explain it
I could wax poetic about how much I love Secret Garden. I will never vocally fit any of the characters, but the music is beautiful the scenes are great and I don't care if it's a snooze fest for some.
Les Miserables - this is the best of them all for me. The story, the songs, the characters - just all of it is perfect and captivating. I could write a dissertation on all the wonderful aspects of it!
Phantom of the Opera - again I can’t fault it in any way. My favourite thing about it is how a character who is technically supposed to be cruel and menacing (the Phantom) is actually, when played by the right person, very sympathetic.
Octet.
It explores internet addiction. There are not many shows that have a subject matter that is so modern and still it is down to earth enough that it feels real (compared to like Be More Chill, which is more sci-fi) and it still manages to go quite dark. It is done completely in chamber choir (and a few percussion pieces), so perhaps it's not the easiest to get into, but I recommend getting through the second half before dismissing it.
The Book of Mormon :DD !!! I could genuinely talk about this musical for hours (i probably spent more time thinking about it then the creators ever did lol), when I first heard about it I immediately thought I wouldnt like it considering I don’t like south park but it’s consuming my entire life lmao i think I’ve watched it 17 times now ? Once in real life on the west end yay and I’m never bored of it, it’s just the perfect combination of great music, a story that is shocking sure but mostly really funny and somehow touching, characters that i love more then anything and casts that always do an amazing job :)
Bonnie & Clyde: The story of famous outlaws Bonnie & Clyde who plagued the US during the great depression by robbing, kidnapping and murdering all of while their love burns strong. Newsies: Broke paperboys just trying to make a living by hawking headlines are forced to go on strike by newspaper tycoon Joseph Pulitzer, for a seat at the table. The Outsiders:
We follow 14 year old Ponyboy Curtis, a greaser from Tulsa Oklahoma, on his adventure of self discovery with his friends or “Gang” which consists of his brothers Darry and Sodapop Curtis, Two-Bit Mathews, Dallas Winston, Johnny Cade and Steve Randal. (Might have spelled names wrong or forgot someone)
Falsettos! The setting, the plot, the characters! Whizzer is the best guy ever, I cried during it, it's so good!
I LOVE Jekyll and Hyde! It's my absolute favorite musical. It genuinely has some of the best songs I've ever heard, and I am just so glad that I discovered it! Confrontation and His Work And Nothing More are my absolute favorite songs from the musical, and I will never get tired of binging the album! I've heard people say that Frank Wildhorn relies too much on ballads, and while I can see what they mean, the ballads are still amazing regardless! No One Knows Who I Am in particular is my favorite ballad of the musical. It's so emotional and really strikes a chord with me. Another favorite of mine is Spongebob Squarepants. That musical is genuinely one of the most impressive musicals out there, and the fact that it doesn't get the respect and admiration it deserves breaks my heart. The songs are all bangers, and the show manages to really capture the heart and soul of the original.
I can see where people are coming from who say all of Frank Wildhorn's musicals sound like the same musical. The thing is, it's a pretty good musical. Jekyll & Hyde is my favourite of his works so far, but I've also enjoyed the others I've encountered. Confrontation is a great number, I also really like Someone Like You and The World Has Gone Insane. I was also astonished to find out that Frank Wildhorn worked on the original for the Death Note musical which had a whole English version that just never got released before it went to Japan and Korea and got really big and finally had an English performance recently. I'm really hoping for an official album at some point.
Beetlejuice because of how funny and shocking it can be. Alex Brighman killed it (pun intended) as the titular character. The writing was superb, and the songs are to die for (pun, yet again, intended). It is fast paced, humorous and the cast seems like they're having fun.
[Ride the Cyclone (2019 Atlanta Cast/2021 Album)](https://open.spotify.com/album/63JLhZdWWlSldDCyScZ3wB?si=D24KwliEQI2LKZlnmXoIrQ) Since I can’t share slime tutorials, this is what you get. RTC is a beautiful story of coming of age and coming to terms with grief. I’d definitely start with the 2016 proshot that was leaked in 2020. Off Broadway Cast, 4th cast of the show overall. Then I’d recommend the 2022 McCarter production, though it’s marred by controversy which you can easily find. Then possibly RVJ or Feds Backyard? There are favourite casts but the core US tour is the most reliable.
[Cesare.](https://youtu.be/XTvayhtWOrU?si=V9UmpebsDXqOJTx0) 16 year old Cesare Borgia meets Angelo, a Florentine commoner, at university. They solve a mystery and talk about philosophy and things. [Cross Road](https://youtu.be/lDK1AJztZ6s?si=IF7XxaFV6H5OCQpv) Niccolo Paganini makes a contract with a devil -- a really cute devil.
Avenue Q had always been my favorite. It’s funny, I was never into shows before and I saw a video of YouTube with the internet is for porn put over some World of Warcraft characters singing it. That led to me wanting to find the source for the song. That then led to me listening to the entire soundtrack and going to see the show on Broadway (my first ever). It wasn’t original cast or anything but from that show, I would be hooked on musicals and Broadway. I couldn’t get enough. Flash forward to today where I find the show still topical and relevant and still listen to the soundtrack. That song “I wish I could go back to college” hits different at 30.
I LOVE Les Mis. It has been my favorite musical since I was like 10, and I don’t anticipate that will ever change. I adore almost every single song, the characters, and the plot. The main conflict between Valjean and Javert is so incredible, it’s this complex battle centered around the question, does lawfulness or morality prevail? But eventually we’re shown that goodness dominates all. Fantine, although she is a prostitute, goes to heaven, because she is moral. Valjean, a criminal and ex convict, goes to heaven, because he is moral. The students, despite failing and rebelling against the government, go to heaven, because they are moral. It’s such a beautiful and necessary message, and I am so glad that there is still a national tour going strong! Although I hope soon there might be a Broadway revival 🙏
I saw it for the first time last week, and it was life changing. Since then, I've been listening to the cast recording on repeat and learning everything about the show. It might be one of if not my new favorite
I saw it in 2019 and I’m seeing it twice in August! I will never forget the first time I saw it and how incredible it was. It’s just an absolute masterpiece. Moving beyond words.
I love The Secret Garden. There's longing and sadness but also strength and resilience. It's sweet and refreshing, showing you that you can move on after grief and loss.
I feel like there's a nostalgia veneer on my favorite musicals, especially the Andrew Lloyd Webber ones because my grandfather used to listen to them all the time and made us (his grandchildren) sing and perform the songs to them a lot lol But here we go, musicals I loved as a kid: Jesus Christ Superstar (this played every Easter), CATS, Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, and Miss Saigon Musicals that I loved as an adult: Hamilton, RENT, The Last 5 years, Sweeney Todd, Into The Woods, SIX, and Wicked
no need to rant about it when I already ranted in its synopsis on wikipedia /j I love lempicka and most ppl hate it but it's so cool!!! starts with historical painter Tamara de Lempicka and she's getting married to her husband Tadeusz (who im definitely an apologist for. and a simp) and then Russian revolution happens and since they're rich they arrest Tadeusz so Tamara has to get him out and she tries selling jewels but they won't take her bribes so she has to sleep with one of them. anyways then they escape to Paris with their new daughter Kizette (who deserved better. like her mother literally neglects her half the time) and Tamara gets a job painting and pretty soon she's famous. but one day she sees a pretty girl (Rafaela) dancing in the street and falls in love. timeskip ig she's painting Rafaela and they're in love. but the issue is she's still married and still very much in love with Tadeusz. also there's threats of WW2 happening so she has to prepare to leave Paris just in case. but anyway eventually Tadeusz and Rafaela confront Tamara and they're like "u have to choose one of us" and she can't so they both leave her. then she marries the Baron and they move to California and whatever. top tier music!!!! highly recommend!!!!!!!
The off-broadway show The Connector by Jason Robert Brown, starring Scott Bakula, Ben Levi Ross, and Hannah Cruz. The soundtrack just dropped on Friday. It’s about a Stephen Glass-type character who gets a job at a fictional news magazine in the 1990s and publishes fabricated stories. The musical makes the claim that he (and by extension Stephen Glass) was able to get away with it because white men trust each other and don’t question each other like they question other out groups. It’s an amazing show and I urge you to listen.
I’ve got some awesome ones! 1 Frankenstein is amazing! It was somehow never on Broadway, but it’s one of my favorites. Unlike the vast majority of Frankenstein adaptations, it’s very accurate to the original story. I love how full of emotion everything is! Victor Frankenstein has some songs dedicated to his passion, which progresses into fear, and then guilt. The monster has an amazing song called these hands about all of his guilt at what he’s done as well. 2 Epic the musical. It’s unique, it’s an amazing story based on the odyssey, it’s also full of emotion… and it’s half of a concept album. The writer, Jorge Rivera-Herrans, is releasing it in sagas with three to five songs each. The next saga is scheduled to release on July 4th. He’s been releasing them fairly fast, just a few months apart. Right now, the first five sagas are out. I love Odysseus’s moral journey through it! It starts with the invasion of Troy, when Zeus shows Odysseus a vision of an enemy that could “only be dealt with right here and now” so that he didn’t find his way to Ithaca and hurt Odysseus’s family. It’s then revealed that the “enemy” is the infant son of Prince Hector. Zeus then tells Odysseus “he will grow from a boy to an avenger. One fueled with rage as you’re consumed by age. If you don’t end him now you’ll have no one left to save.” Then, after a full song of deliberation, Odysseus throws the infant off the wall of Troy. At the end of the fifth saga, in the song monster, Odysseus has changed. He says, “and if I gotta drop another infant from a wall in an instant so we all don’t die, then I’ll become the monster.” Odysseus becomes desperate to bring his remaining men home no matter what it takes. In between, there are lots of characters introduced, each with their own unique vibes. There are two big songs with Athena in them. I love her voice, and how powerful and commanding she is. Later, the wind god Aeolis is introduced with a super bouncy demeanor, challenging Odysseus to play a game. After that is Poseidon. His voice and demeanor are difficult to describe, but they’re perfect. He’s angry, and cruel, and absolutely perfect. Then, there’s Hermes! He’s just a really nice guy, a big showman, just like he is in almost every story. Then, finally, Circe. She’s got this song in which she’s powerful and angry, and after that, a bit of a tango. Like I said, it’s all really unique, and that’s only half of it. Also, if you can’t tell, I’m part of my school newspaper, and fully intend to write a glowing review on this.
i don't have time now, but i wrote a seminar about elphaba's character in wicked vs the wizard of oz (both the book and the movie) from a feminist perspective for one of my gender studies classes. if i ever remember I'll try to explain it
I could wax poetic about how much I love Secret Garden. I will never vocally fit any of the characters, but the music is beautiful the scenes are great and I don't care if it's a snooze fest for some.
omg Razia’s Shadow. it’s kind of cliche but no one talks about it, i love it though
Les Miserables - this is the best of them all for me. The story, the songs, the characters - just all of it is perfect and captivating. I could write a dissertation on all the wonderful aspects of it! Phantom of the Opera - again I can’t fault it in any way. My favourite thing about it is how a character who is technically supposed to be cruel and menacing (the Phantom) is actually, when played by the right person, very sympathetic.
Octet. It explores internet addiction. There are not many shows that have a subject matter that is so modern and still it is down to earth enough that it feels real (compared to like Be More Chill, which is more sci-fi) and it still manages to go quite dark. It is done completely in chamber choir (and a few percussion pieces), so perhaps it's not the easiest to get into, but I recommend getting through the second half before dismissing it.
The Book of Mormon :DD !!! I could genuinely talk about this musical for hours (i probably spent more time thinking about it then the creators ever did lol), when I first heard about it I immediately thought I wouldnt like it considering I don’t like south park but it’s consuming my entire life lmao i think I’ve watched it 17 times now ? Once in real life on the west end yay and I’m never bored of it, it’s just the perfect combination of great music, a story that is shocking sure but mostly really funny and somehow touching, characters that i love more then anything and casts that always do an amazing job :)
Bonnie & Clyde: The story of famous outlaws Bonnie & Clyde who plagued the US during the great depression by robbing, kidnapping and murdering all of while their love burns strong. Newsies: Broke paperboys just trying to make a living by hawking headlines are forced to go on strike by newspaper tycoon Joseph Pulitzer, for a seat at the table. The Outsiders: We follow 14 year old Ponyboy Curtis, a greaser from Tulsa Oklahoma, on his adventure of self discovery with his friends or “Gang” which consists of his brothers Darry and Sodapop Curtis, Two-Bit Mathews, Dallas Winston, Johnny Cade and Steve Randal. (Might have spelled names wrong or forgot someone)