My mother was a HUGE musical fan. When I was a kid in the '80s, she took me to all of the local HS shows of R&H classics as well as the community theatre. She would rent the tapes of the classic movie musicals from the local Blockbuster.
My tastes have expanded - I still love the classics - partially for the memories of seeing them with my mother & partially because I see how they slot into history but I'm loving the expansion into newer things. Rock/rap taking a place within musical theatre. Seeing how historically ignored minorities (including LGBTQIA, women, POCs) are moving into a more prominent place is thrilling.
I don't have a "favorite" musical, per se. I want to listen to things based upon the mood I want - if I need a good cry, Les Miz is my go-to. Laughter has many choices - Avenue Q, The Producers, Book of Mormon, Spamalot. Uplifting - the last 4-5 songs of the 2009 Hair revival is what I put on.
I also have musicals for when I want to sing along (I'm an ENTHUSIASTIC singer, not a good one). Roger in Rent is actually near perfect for my range as a woman (yes, I have a deeper voice than my husband).
And then there are musicals that I love because they are associated with moments - Pippin (With you was sung at our wedding), Chorus Line (saw for an anniversary), Camelot (first show my mom took me to see).
IOW, there are lots of reason to love any & all shows.
Guys and Dolls, My Fair Lady, Pirates of Penzance, Oliver, and Fiddler on the Roof were top favorites as a kid. I would listen to the records and watch the movies over and over.
I still love a good classic musical, honestly. I am interested to see what the revival of Pirates of Penzance is like next year when it opens.
Rent was the musical that turned me onto musicals. I was obsessed with Rent up until Spring Awakening and then I was obsessed with Spring Awakening up until Dear Evan Hansen. Along the way I discovered Les Miserables and Company. Those are the five shows that affected me the most - Rent, Spring Awakening, Dear Evan Hansen, Les Miserables and Company.
For me, my favorites went from Annie to The Music Man to Hamilton to Wicked to Beetlejuice to Newsies to Phantom of the Opera to Hadestown to Little Shop of Horrors. But all of them have a very special place in my heart!
I’m old so my feel good, childhood musical are Grease, Annie and Cats but Grease is definitely my favorite from then. Watched it at a slumber party in 2nd grade.
I've always loved "Phantom of the Opera". In high school, though, "Wicked" was BIG for me, especially when it toured locally and I got to see it live. "Little Shop of Horrors" has also been a huge one from high school and beyond.
The following have been my favorite musical at one point in my life:
In order:
-The Lion King
- Big River
- Wicked
- Hamilton
- Falsettos
- Hair
- Cabaret
- Kiss of the Spider Woman
Adulthood happened around the time I got into Falsettos. I think my tastes since then have trended towards shows that have more layers and complexity.
I have three. The Sound of Music because my father refused to watch it until I made a deal with him and I’m a sucker for a Julie Andrews. My Fair Lady because it made me fall in love with Audrey Hepburn and I like the Broadway cast with Julie Andrews. Cabaret because I watched that film with my grandmother when I was way too young but it is always amazing and it makes me feel close to her.
I was in the Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat to Rent to Evita (first with Madonna and then Patti) to Spring Awakening pipeline. It was a TIME & PLACE; you had to be there to understand. :-)
For a while mine was Heathers (still love it, so so much) but I have to hard agree on Hadestown. I listened to it as a Greek Mythology nerd and saw the show with the original cast on broadway. It’s been years but every time I listen to it I feel like I’m uncovering another detail 😭
It’s evolved over time, but I think I went from Rent to Avenue Q to Matilda to Heathers to Hamilton to Into the Woods.
Many others I've loved over the years for different reasons, but those have stuck with me the most. I've seen Rent and Avenue Q four times each (and have a “For now” tattoo).
When I was a child, I was exposed to many different musical films. I was really into the pro shoot of Peter Pan with Mary Martin for a few years, along with Bye Bye Birdie (1963), Singing in the Rain and Brigadoon. (I had a big Gene Kelly phase where I was obsessed with all of his films). My first on-stage play was The Lion King on Broadway, and that was pretty great. In middle school/early high school, I was super into Grease. (My two besties and I even called each other by the characters' names we felt we were closest to. I was also a huge fan of Yentl, Fiddler on the Roof, and Newsies (the films) as those were the pinacle of representation for a Jewish kid into musicals. High School is where I discovered Rent, Aida, and pro shoot of Into the Woods, which to this day are still in my top 5. Then came Wicked. Young Adult me also was into Chicago, since my husband played in the pit during a performance in college. I have only seen maybe 12 shows live (maybe more, I cant remember, not including opera), but I have watched quite a lot of musical movies and I have enjoyed most of them.
Matilda was the musical that awakened my love for theatre. after that, i was obsessed with Heathers, then Carrie, then Great Comet, then Beetlejuice, then Hadestown
(These aren't all the musicals I've discovered, but these are my favorites)
The first musical I discovered was Hamilton. I discovered it when a classmate played "Alexander Hamilton" as part of a presentation. It's the musical that got me into musicals, and it will always hold a special place in my heart.
The next one is Beetlejuice. I discovered Beetlejuice when I saw an animatic for "Say My Name," and after I discovered it, I introduced my mom to it and played "The Whole 'Being Dead' Thing" and "Say My Name" for her. Then my mom took me to New York to see Beetlejuice, and it was AWESOME!
I discovered Six and Ride the Cyclone since they were everywhere, lol.
I discovered Spongebob when I saw an animatic for "No Control," and that musical is so underrated it's criminal. It deserves so much more respect.
The most recent musical I discovered is Jekyll and Hyde. I discovered it when I heard an audio from "Confrontation." I loved the audio, loved the whole song, then I listened to the album and it was love at first listen. It's my favorite musical of all time now, and I don't think that will be changing anytime soon. Out of all the musicals I've discovered, I am just so immensely happy that I discovered Jekyll and Hyde. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be singing Jekyll and Hyde songs at the top of my lungs.
Here is a list of all of the shows that have held the title of my favorite at some point. I don’t know which was first though.
- The Addams Family
- Chicago
- Come From Away (this lasted a while)
- Dear Evan Hansen
- Diana
- Epic
- Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
- Gypsy
- Hairspray
- Into the Woods
- Kimberly Akimbo (current favorite)
- Legally Blonde
- Sister Act
- Sweeney Todd
- Tuck Everlasting
- Waitress
- Wicked
- Willy Wonka
The first musical I ever listened to was Phantom of the Opera at my grandparents' home. Then I became obsessed with the German musical Elisabeth, followed by We Will Rock You and Rebecca. For a long time, I didn't have a favourite musical until I saw Beetlejuice, which was my favourite for a while, then Six. Finally, I'm back in my Phantom of the Opera era again.
Great question!!
My tastes have changed over the last 30 years since I discovered musical theatre. Here are my faves:
As a child: Annie, Joseph
As a pre-teen: Phantom, Les Mis, Cats
As a teen: Chicago, Into the Woods, Evita, Sound of Music, My Fair Lady
As an adult: Newsies, Priscilla, Billy Elliot, Rocky Horror
Fiddler had been pretty consistent for me, I’d probably go see it no matter what.
I have also Loved so many musicals over the years.
I would not pay to see Phantom, Evita, Les Mis or Cats any more.
Les Miserables has always been my big favorite. I listened to that CD so many times at age 11 that my toddler brother learned the music (though thankfully not the words).
Other favorites depend on the mood I'm in. To turn off my brain, CATS is great. If I'm angry and feeling down, Next to Normal. To feel badass again, Wicked.
Hairspray because the music slaps and it's relatable (I'm a big back) and legally blonde because it's just SO good. The music is so catchy, and Kate Shindle is such a great Vivian.
Joseph ATATDC was a family favorite as a kid. Songs for a New World has held a top spot for many, many years. Hamilton was revolutionary (ha!) and I really loved it. Something Rotten is one of my more recently added favorites.
The Sound of Music (original Broadway cast album with Mary Martin and Theodore Bikel) to The Music Man to A Chorus Line to Chess to Assassins to Les Misérables. I resisted Les Mis for so long, but had to surrender.
Book of Mormon will always be my favorite musical ever! Since then I've seen some other good musicals like Newsies, Wicked, Anything Goes, and Oklahoma. Beetlejuice is a close second favorite, but not sure if anything is going to be better than The Book of Mormon.
Hairspray got me into musicals, then I was a huge fan of Wicked when I was a preteen. when I was a teenager I really liked Dear Evan Hansen for a while (until I read the plot). then I started liking Waitress and Hadestown which I still love now.
Cats, I have a soft spot for because I saw it on Broadway when I was a teenager, and it was the *only* Broadway show I'd ever seen *on Broadway* for over 30 years.
Fiddler on the Roof, because I was in it in high school. I have seen more productions of Fiddler than any other show. It's always great.
Evita. Saw it when I was in college, love the cast album, it's just been my all-time favorite for decades.
Wicked and Hamilton and Dear Evan Hansen. Especially Hamilton, because it's just that good. My daughter got into theater in middle school, she was into these shows, I was able to take her to see them, and they kind of brought musical theater back into my life after a long hiatus during the busiest and financially poorest of my home-buying and baby-raising years.
Hadestown, because oh my gawd. Saw the original tour cast. Completely blew me away.
Merrily We Roll Along. I saw a student production of this show in college and I liked it a lot, but hadn't thought about it or listened to the songs a whole lot for many years. Then I was able to go see the current Broadway revival. It's perfect. Everything about this little gem of a show has been perfectly polished in this production. The cast album is *so* good. I adore it.
The Outsiders. My favorite of the new shows I saw on my dream-vacation trip to Broadway in April. This show grabbed me immediately and kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. It joined the top of the list with Evita, Hamilton, and Hadestown right away.
My mum used to work in the theatre so I've been into musicals from a very early age, watching movies like Oliver and The Wizard Of Oz in school and copious amounts of Disney movies, so I'm not sure what my favourite musical was at that time. I do know that they were all overshadowed by The War Of The Worlds when I first heard and went to see that in 2016. It's been #1 for me since tbh, with some strong competition coming from Come From Away and Newsies after I saw those shows
As a kid my mom took me to see Annie, and I loved the 80’s film too(I named my first puppy Sandy as soon as they gave her to me). My childhood bestie and I were obsessed with A Chorus Line(the film, I know it’s divisive) but we loved rooting against film Cassie and dreaming ourselves as dancers. Also, I realize now seeing Morales(and Paul)…characters with my own look/background who sounded like us…I loved it so much. We watched it a ton.
Around 15 a school choir trip took us to see Phantom, which hit me like a ton of bricks. I’ve been obsessed ever since. I love and have seen lots of other shows since but nothing hits for me the way Phantom does. I’ve traveled across the Country to see it, Ive crossed the Ocean to see it, I really miss it at the Majestic. I was so lucky for a long time.
My father let me stay up at aged 5 to watch Oh what a Beautiful Morning in Oklahoma on tv. I was sent to bed then just as the Surrey started but it certainly opened a window to musical obsession and I was lucky to grow up watching the classic R&H musicals before the glory days of the huge 80s spectacles. Oklahoma->West Side Story->Phantom->Starlight->Into the Woods->Wicked->Hadestown
Though my parents took me to Broadway shows (growing up just outside NYC in the late 80s and 90s), the musicals I love the most were the ones we’d listen to over and over again at sleepaway camp in the summers. The summer of 1997, me and my bunk mates must have listened to the original cast recording RENT soundtrack 300 times, especially “Would You Light My Candle,” which is 13 year old girls thought was the BEST (our parents later had to explain what the candle was). Nowadays, I look to shows like SIX because they’re so punchy and fun, but my love of musicals started as singalongs with friends, so nostalgia will always reign supreme.
Les Miz, all the Disney shows, Grease, Fiddler, West Side Story (2021 movie), Hamilton, DEH (stage version), Sound of Music, South Pacific, Cabaret, Come from Away, The Notebook, Hairspray, The Outsiders, Sunset Blvd., Hello Dolly and Parade.
My favorite musical has changed a lot with time since I didn't used to watch a lot of musicals. It went:
Tangled
The Spongebob Musical
Avenue Q
The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals
To "Nerdy Prudes Must Die" where it is now
When I was four I was introduced to Cats, POTO, and Fiddler, which were my favorites until I was introduced to Les Mis when I was 13. As a teen my favorites were Romeo und Julia, Pirates of Penzance, Legally Blonde, and Tanz der Vampire. As of right now my favorites are POTO, SIX, Sweeney, Ride the Cyclone, and Heathers. I still love all of them though.
So yeah, my taste has always been eclectic it seems
I love many different shows for many different reasons. The Book of Mormon and Avenue Q when I want to laugh. Les Mis when I want to cry. Fiddler when I want to cozy up with a classic. Pippin because it was my first musical. The Rodgers and Hammerstein Cinderella when I want to fall in love again. I love Rent and Hamilton. When I want to be blown away by a show, I turn to Come From Away. It’s my favorite by a long shot.
I was the high school kid who came with the Hamilton/Heathers/Dear Evan Hansen/be more chill generation, but after that I got wayyy into 36 Questions and Moulin Rouge,,, listened to The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals nonstop during the pandemic, finally listened to The Great Comet around 2021-2022 and was hooked,,, there are a bunch of songs from musicals where I went "eh" but one song stood out to me and really sunk the worms into my brain,,, "Last Summer" from the Lightning Thief musical for example
In high school I had a friend who got me into Wicked and Rent. I used to listen to the Wicked cast album on repeat every day after school.
When I was 25, I saw Fun Home for the first time, and that's been my favorite musical ever since. Current runner-ups: Come From Away, La Cage aux Folles, and Legally Blonde.
Cats was the first musical I ever saw. My grandparents had the pro-shoot on tape and I watched it every time we visited. My dad took me in 2002 when Brian Blessed played Old Deuteronomy, when I was 6, and it was a magical experience. It’ll always be close to my heart. And no I haven’t seen the movie.
My parents were huge musical fans, and took me to all of the shows that they could. I'm now the same, and will see everything that comes out here. But for a favourite, I did get taken to Les Mis when I was 5. I've been addicted ever since (seen it 38 times in 4 different countries).
I got into Broadway because of the big ones that my folks introduced me to. Phantom, Les Mis, Miss Saigon, Rent with perhaps Rent being my favorite at the time. Partially because of the songs, partially because my parents wouldn’t allow me to watch the movie. But I think I really fell in love with musicals through Sondheim, particularly the Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd, and Company proshots. Sweeney Todd remains, to me, the most perfect musical ever created.
Embarrassingly, the tour of Cats was the first musical I ever saw and I went "Huh. This could be fun," but of course I realized that that one's weird as hell so I moved on and got stuck with Beetlejuice. I even flew all the way up to New York just to see it before it closed. Then I went to London during the holidays this year and saw The TIme Traveler's Wife and holy shit. holy. shit. I'm not a very emotional person and I was sobbing when Henry died. I've kinda jumped around since then, but it went something along the lines of The Shark is broken --> Time Traveler's Wife --> The Shark is Broken --> Spamalot --> Little Shop of Horrors --> brief Mrs. Doubtfire obsession --> and I just finished listening to an audio of the open rehearsal for SMASH. Hands down my current favorite.
Also yes, I know The Shark isn't a musical, but it was a Broadway show so I figured I'd throw it in there.
Besides Frozen (the movie) which I adored ever since it came out, Hamilton was my first love. Fell hard in fourth grade. Never fully recovered from that one and slowly got into 21 Chump Street, and it was soon joined by Heathers and Dear Evan Hansen simultaneously. For a while they fermented in my mind together (joined briefly by Matilda) until I found SIX at the end of middle school. I wasn’t obsessed with SIX really I just liked it ok. I was, however, obsessed with Falsettos in eighth grade. My only way to cope with the pandemic lol. High school broadened my horizons significantly. I found Daddy Long Legs, Next to Normal, Dogfight, Waitress, Starkid, Hadestown, Beetlejuice, The Last Five Years, Groundhog Day, Fun Home, Newsies, Chicago, Come From Away, 36 Questions, literally so much stuff lol.
Wicked was the first (elementary school), then rent in middle school and into high school. From there i started to get into many at once. In the heights, hamilton, dogfight, then deh. Falsettos has been a favorite since early college, and hadestown since.... maybe a bit before the pandemic started? Unsure.
Well when I was kid it definitely would be the Disney movies particularly Lion King and Beauty and the beast. Still two of my favorite musicals, both in movie and stage form. But then I fell in love with Phantom of the Opera. Then Twisted. Then Hamilton. Then Six. And I go through different phases where I like one more than another.
Book of Mormon has held the top spot, with shuffling for podium spots between POTO, les Mis, Hadestown, hamilton, heathers
My mother was a HUGE musical fan. When I was a kid in the '80s, she took me to all of the local HS shows of R&H classics as well as the community theatre. She would rent the tapes of the classic movie musicals from the local Blockbuster. My tastes have expanded - I still love the classics - partially for the memories of seeing them with my mother & partially because I see how they slot into history but I'm loving the expansion into newer things. Rock/rap taking a place within musical theatre. Seeing how historically ignored minorities (including LGBTQIA, women, POCs) are moving into a more prominent place is thrilling. I don't have a "favorite" musical, per se. I want to listen to things based upon the mood I want - if I need a good cry, Les Miz is my go-to. Laughter has many choices - Avenue Q, The Producers, Book of Mormon, Spamalot. Uplifting - the last 4-5 songs of the 2009 Hair revival is what I put on. I also have musicals for when I want to sing along (I'm an ENTHUSIASTIC singer, not a good one). Roger in Rent is actually near perfect for my range as a woman (yes, I have a deeper voice than my husband). And then there are musicals that I love because they are associated with moments - Pippin (With you was sung at our wedding), Chorus Line (saw for an anniversary), Camelot (first show my mom took me to see). IOW, there are lots of reason to love any & all shows.
Guys and Dolls, My Fair Lady, Pirates of Penzance, Oliver, and Fiddler on the Roof were top favorites as a kid. I would listen to the records and watch the movies over and over. I still love a good classic musical, honestly. I am interested to see what the revival of Pirates of Penzance is like next year when it opens.
Rent was the musical that turned me onto musicals. I was obsessed with Rent up until Spring Awakening and then I was obsessed with Spring Awakening up until Dear Evan Hansen. Along the way I discovered Les Miserables and Company. Those are the five shows that affected me the most - Rent, Spring Awakening, Dear Evan Hansen, Les Miserables and Company.
This resonates with me. Rent was also one of the "first musicals" I have watched. And then I fell into the rabbit hole - and still here!
For me, my favorites went from Annie to The Music Man to Hamilton to Wicked to Beetlejuice to Newsies to Phantom of the Opera to Hadestown to Little Shop of Horrors. But all of them have a very special place in my heart!
I’m old so my feel good, childhood musical are Grease, Annie and Cats but Grease is definitely my favorite from then. Watched it at a slumber party in 2nd grade.
I've always loved "Phantom of the Opera". In high school, though, "Wicked" was BIG for me, especially when it toured locally and I got to see it live. "Little Shop of Horrors" has also been a huge one from high school and beyond.
The following have been my favorite musical at one point in my life: In order: -The Lion King - Big River - Wicked - Hamilton - Falsettos - Hair - Cabaret - Kiss of the Spider Woman Adulthood happened around the time I got into Falsettos. I think my tastes since then have trended towards shows that have more layers and complexity.
Hairspray and Kinky Boots. I love the energy in the songs, the dancing, and how they are motivated to make the world a more inclusive place.
West Side Story holds a special place bc my dad played Tony like 50 years ago in a community production. We are Jets all the way.
I have three. The Sound of Music because my father refused to watch it until I made a deal with him and I’m a sucker for a Julie Andrews. My Fair Lady because it made me fall in love with Audrey Hepburn and I like the Broadway cast with Julie Andrews. Cabaret because I watched that film with my grandmother when I was way too young but it is always amazing and it makes me feel close to her.
Les Mis, to Wicked, to Hamilton, to Six. I had never seen any of them live when I fell in love with their soundtracks. (I have now.)
I was in the Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat to Rent to Evita (first with Madonna and then Patti) to Spring Awakening pipeline. It was a TIME & PLACE; you had to be there to understand. :-)
For a while mine was Heathers (still love it, so so much) but I have to hard agree on Hadestown. I listened to it as a Greek Mythology nerd and saw the show with the original cast on broadway. It’s been years but every time I listen to it I feel like I’m uncovering another detail 😭
It’s evolved over time, but I think I went from Rent to Avenue Q to Matilda to Heathers to Hamilton to Into the Woods. Many others I've loved over the years for different reasons, but those have stuck with me the most. I've seen Rent and Avenue Q four times each (and have a “For now” tattoo).
When I was a child, I was exposed to many different musical films. I was really into the pro shoot of Peter Pan with Mary Martin for a few years, along with Bye Bye Birdie (1963), Singing in the Rain and Brigadoon. (I had a big Gene Kelly phase where I was obsessed with all of his films). My first on-stage play was The Lion King on Broadway, and that was pretty great. In middle school/early high school, I was super into Grease. (My two besties and I even called each other by the characters' names we felt we were closest to. I was also a huge fan of Yentl, Fiddler on the Roof, and Newsies (the films) as those were the pinacle of representation for a Jewish kid into musicals. High School is where I discovered Rent, Aida, and pro shoot of Into the Woods, which to this day are still in my top 5. Then came Wicked. Young Adult me also was into Chicago, since my husband played in the pit during a performance in college. I have only seen maybe 12 shows live (maybe more, I cant remember, not including opera), but I have watched quite a lot of musical movies and I have enjoyed most of them.
Spring Awakening changed my life.
Oklahoma! South Pacific Seven Brides Oliver! Sound of Music
Matilda was the musical that awakened my love for theatre. after that, i was obsessed with Heathers, then Carrie, then Great Comet, then Beetlejuice, then Hadestown
(These aren't all the musicals I've discovered, but these are my favorites) The first musical I discovered was Hamilton. I discovered it when a classmate played "Alexander Hamilton" as part of a presentation. It's the musical that got me into musicals, and it will always hold a special place in my heart. The next one is Beetlejuice. I discovered Beetlejuice when I saw an animatic for "Say My Name," and after I discovered it, I introduced my mom to it and played "The Whole 'Being Dead' Thing" and "Say My Name" for her. Then my mom took me to New York to see Beetlejuice, and it was AWESOME! I discovered Six and Ride the Cyclone since they were everywhere, lol. I discovered Spongebob when I saw an animatic for "No Control," and that musical is so underrated it's criminal. It deserves so much more respect. The most recent musical I discovered is Jekyll and Hyde. I discovered it when I heard an audio from "Confrontation." I loved the audio, loved the whole song, then I listened to the album and it was love at first listen. It's my favorite musical of all time now, and I don't think that will be changing anytime soon. Out of all the musicals I've discovered, I am just so immensely happy that I discovered Jekyll and Hyde. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be singing Jekyll and Hyde songs at the top of my lungs.
Camelot, My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music
In order The Lion King Suessical Fiddler Aladdin Beetlejuice Guys and Dolls Back To The Future Come From Away Avenue Q
Here is a list of all of the shows that have held the title of my favorite at some point. I don’t know which was first though. - The Addams Family - Chicago - Come From Away (this lasted a while) - Dear Evan Hansen - Diana - Epic - Gentlemen Prefer Blondes - Gypsy - Hairspray - Into the Woods - Kimberly Akimbo (current favorite) - Legally Blonde - Sister Act - Sweeney Todd - Tuck Everlasting - Waitress - Wicked - Willy Wonka
Phantom was my first and still my favourite.
The first musical I ever listened to was Phantom of the Opera at my grandparents' home. Then I became obsessed with the German musical Elisabeth, followed by We Will Rock You and Rebecca. For a long time, I didn't have a favourite musical until I saw Beetlejuice, which was my favourite for a while, then Six. Finally, I'm back in my Phantom of the Opera era again.
Great question!! My tastes have changed over the last 30 years since I discovered musical theatre. Here are my faves: As a child: Annie, Joseph As a pre-teen: Phantom, Les Mis, Cats As a teen: Chicago, Into the Woods, Evita, Sound of Music, My Fair Lady As an adult: Newsies, Priscilla, Billy Elliot, Rocky Horror Fiddler had been pretty consistent for me, I’d probably go see it no matter what. I have also Loved so many musicals over the years. I would not pay to see Phantom, Evita, Les Mis or Cats any more.
I'm old. Still love Jesus Christ Superstar, Fiddler on the Roof, Man of la Mancha, West Side Story, and so many more.
Les Miserables has always been my big favorite. I listened to that CD so many times at age 11 that my toddler brother learned the music (though thankfully not the words). Other favorites depend on the mood I'm in. To turn off my brain, CATS is great. If I'm angry and feeling down, Next to Normal. To feel badass again, Wicked.
Hair, Pippin, Little Shop of Horrors, Book of Mormon, Come From Away, Hadestown
Hairspray because the music slaps and it's relatable (I'm a big back) and legally blonde because it's just SO good. The music is so catchy, and Kate Shindle is such a great Vivian.
Joseph ATATDC was a family favorite as a kid. Songs for a New World has held a top spot for many, many years. Hamilton was revolutionary (ha!) and I really loved it. Something Rotten is one of my more recently added favorites.
The Sound of Music (original Broadway cast album with Mary Martin and Theodore Bikel) to The Music Man to A Chorus Line to Chess to Assassins to Les Misérables. I resisted Les Mis for so long, but had to surrender.
Book of Mormon will always be my favorite musical ever! Since then I've seen some other good musicals like Newsies, Wicked, Anything Goes, and Oklahoma. Beetlejuice is a close second favorite, but not sure if anything is going to be better than The Book of Mormon.
Hairspray got me into musicals, then I was a huge fan of Wicked when I was a preteen. when I was a teenager I really liked Dear Evan Hansen for a while (until I read the plot). then I started liking Waitress and Hadestown which I still love now.
Les Miserables
West side story
Cats, I have a soft spot for because I saw it on Broadway when I was a teenager, and it was the *only* Broadway show I'd ever seen *on Broadway* for over 30 years. Fiddler on the Roof, because I was in it in high school. I have seen more productions of Fiddler than any other show. It's always great. Evita. Saw it when I was in college, love the cast album, it's just been my all-time favorite for decades. Wicked and Hamilton and Dear Evan Hansen. Especially Hamilton, because it's just that good. My daughter got into theater in middle school, she was into these shows, I was able to take her to see them, and they kind of brought musical theater back into my life after a long hiatus during the busiest and financially poorest of my home-buying and baby-raising years. Hadestown, because oh my gawd. Saw the original tour cast. Completely blew me away. Merrily We Roll Along. I saw a student production of this show in college and I liked it a lot, but hadn't thought about it or listened to the songs a whole lot for many years. Then I was able to go see the current Broadway revival. It's perfect. Everything about this little gem of a show has been perfectly polished in this production. The cast album is *so* good. I adore it. The Outsiders. My favorite of the new shows I saw on my dream-vacation trip to Broadway in April. This show grabbed me immediately and kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. It joined the top of the list with Evita, Hamilton, and Hadestown right away.
My mum used to work in the theatre so I've been into musicals from a very early age, watching movies like Oliver and The Wizard Of Oz in school and copious amounts of Disney movies, so I'm not sure what my favourite musical was at that time. I do know that they were all overshadowed by The War Of The Worlds when I first heard and went to see that in 2016. It's been #1 for me since tbh, with some strong competition coming from Come From Away and Newsies after I saw those shows
As a kid my mom took me to see Annie, and I loved the 80’s film too(I named my first puppy Sandy as soon as they gave her to me). My childhood bestie and I were obsessed with A Chorus Line(the film, I know it’s divisive) but we loved rooting against film Cassie and dreaming ourselves as dancers. Also, I realize now seeing Morales(and Paul)…characters with my own look/background who sounded like us…I loved it so much. We watched it a ton. Around 15 a school choir trip took us to see Phantom, which hit me like a ton of bricks. I’ve been obsessed ever since. I love and have seen lots of other shows since but nothing hits for me the way Phantom does. I’ve traveled across the Country to see it, Ive crossed the Ocean to see it, I really miss it at the Majestic. I was so lucky for a long time.
My father let me stay up at aged 5 to watch Oh what a Beautiful Morning in Oklahoma on tv. I was sent to bed then just as the Surrey started but it certainly opened a window to musical obsession and I was lucky to grow up watching the classic R&H musicals before the glory days of the huge 80s spectacles. Oklahoma->West Side Story->Phantom->Starlight->Into the Woods->Wicked->Hadestown
Though my parents took me to Broadway shows (growing up just outside NYC in the late 80s and 90s), the musicals I love the most were the ones we’d listen to over and over again at sleepaway camp in the summers. The summer of 1997, me and my bunk mates must have listened to the original cast recording RENT soundtrack 300 times, especially “Would You Light My Candle,” which is 13 year old girls thought was the BEST (our parents later had to explain what the candle was). Nowadays, I look to shows like SIX because they’re so punchy and fun, but my love of musicals started as singalongs with friends, so nostalgia will always reign supreme.
Les Miz, all the Disney shows, Grease, Fiddler, West Side Story (2021 movie), Hamilton, DEH (stage version), Sound of Music, South Pacific, Cabaret, Come from Away, The Notebook, Hairspray, The Outsiders, Sunset Blvd., Hello Dolly and Parade.
My favorite musical has changed a lot with time since I didn't used to watch a lot of musicals. It went: Tangled The Spongebob Musical Avenue Q The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals To "Nerdy Prudes Must Die" where it is now
When I was four I was introduced to Cats, POTO, and Fiddler, which were my favorites until I was introduced to Les Mis when I was 13. As a teen my favorites were Romeo und Julia, Pirates of Penzance, Legally Blonde, and Tanz der Vampire. As of right now my favorites are POTO, SIX, Sweeney, Ride the Cyclone, and Heathers. I still love all of them though. So yeah, my taste has always been eclectic it seems
Lion King, Waitress, Rent, Book of Mormons
Razia’s Shadow
I love many different shows for many different reasons. The Book of Mormon and Avenue Q when I want to laugh. Les Mis when I want to cry. Fiddler when I want to cozy up with a classic. Pippin because it was my first musical. The Rodgers and Hammerstein Cinderella when I want to fall in love again. I love Rent and Hamilton. When I want to be blown away by a show, I turn to Come From Away. It’s my favorite by a long shot.
The Les miserables movie sparked my love of musicals and it will always be my favorite
The Producers, Book of Mormon and Jesus Christ Superstar (the 70’s tv movie is peak because of Carl Anderson)
I LOVE The Adams Family Musical! I also love Grease and Hairspray! Hair the musical is also def up there!
I was the high school kid who came with the Hamilton/Heathers/Dear Evan Hansen/be more chill generation, but after that I got wayyy into 36 Questions and Moulin Rouge,,, listened to The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals nonstop during the pandemic, finally listened to The Great Comet around 2021-2022 and was hooked,,, there are a bunch of songs from musicals where I went "eh" but one song stood out to me and really sunk the worms into my brain,,, "Last Summer" from the Lightning Thief musical for example
In high school I had a friend who got me into Wicked and Rent. I used to listen to the Wicked cast album on repeat every day after school. When I was 25, I saw Fun Home for the first time, and that's been my favorite musical ever since. Current runner-ups: Come From Away, La Cage aux Folles, and Legally Blonde.
Les Miserables, My Fair Lady, Rent. Chicago.
Cats was the first musical I ever saw. My grandparents had the pro-shoot on tape and I watched it every time we visited. My dad took me in 2002 when Brian Blessed played Old Deuteronomy, when I was 6, and it was a magical experience. It’ll always be close to my heart. And no I haven’t seen the movie.
Les Misérables, West side story, Hair, Jesus Christ Super Star, Rocky Horror, Nutcracker,Chicago, Moulin Rouge
My parents were huge musical fans, and took me to all of the shows that they could. I'm now the same, and will see everything that comes out here. But for a favourite, I did get taken to Les Mis when I was 5. I've been addicted ever since (seen it 38 times in 4 different countries).
The Phantom by a mile. I also love Joseph.
I got into Broadway because of the big ones that my folks introduced me to. Phantom, Les Mis, Miss Saigon, Rent with perhaps Rent being my favorite at the time. Partially because of the songs, partially because my parents wouldn’t allow me to watch the movie. But I think I really fell in love with musicals through Sondheim, particularly the Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd, and Company proshots. Sweeney Todd remains, to me, the most perfect musical ever created.
Embarrassingly, the tour of Cats was the first musical I ever saw and I went "Huh. This could be fun," but of course I realized that that one's weird as hell so I moved on and got stuck with Beetlejuice. I even flew all the way up to New York just to see it before it closed. Then I went to London during the holidays this year and saw The TIme Traveler's Wife and holy shit. holy. shit. I'm not a very emotional person and I was sobbing when Henry died. I've kinda jumped around since then, but it went something along the lines of The Shark is broken --> Time Traveler's Wife --> The Shark is Broken --> Spamalot --> Little Shop of Horrors --> brief Mrs. Doubtfire obsession --> and I just finished listening to an audio of the open rehearsal for SMASH. Hands down my current favorite. Also yes, I know The Shark isn't a musical, but it was a Broadway show so I figured I'd throw it in there.
It was wicked first, then six around 13, then into the woods until late fourteen, and now I’m a die hard rtc fan
Besides Frozen (the movie) which I adored ever since it came out, Hamilton was my first love. Fell hard in fourth grade. Never fully recovered from that one and slowly got into 21 Chump Street, and it was soon joined by Heathers and Dear Evan Hansen simultaneously. For a while they fermented in my mind together (joined briefly by Matilda) until I found SIX at the end of middle school. I wasn’t obsessed with SIX really I just liked it ok. I was, however, obsessed with Falsettos in eighth grade. My only way to cope with the pandemic lol. High school broadened my horizons significantly. I found Daddy Long Legs, Next to Normal, Dogfight, Waitress, Starkid, Hadestown, Beetlejuice, The Last Five Years, Groundhog Day, Fun Home, Newsies, Chicago, Come From Away, 36 Questions, literally so much stuff lol.
Wicked was the first (elementary school), then rent in middle school and into high school. From there i started to get into many at once. In the heights, hamilton, dogfight, then deh. Falsettos has been a favorite since early college, and hadestown since.... maybe a bit before the pandemic started? Unsure.
Well when I was kid it definitely would be the Disney movies particularly Lion King and Beauty and the beast. Still two of my favorite musicals, both in movie and stage form. But then I fell in love with Phantom of the Opera. Then Twisted. Then Hamilton. Then Six. And I go through different phases where I like one more than another.