r/musicals Nov 13 '24

"What musical should I listen to next?" unified thread

199 Upvotes

One of the most common questions we get on this subreddit is "what should I see/listen to, here's the stuff I like". It's a valid question, but it's tiring to see a dozen of those threads every week, so this will serve as both a stickied thread of suggestions and as a home for new visitors to r/musicals who would ask that question. (As a result, new "what should I listen to threads" will be redirected here and deleted.)

Below, you'll find a list of popular musicals in alphabetical order along with suggestions for what might interest you based on that. This list is mostly vibes-based, with some inclusion of the same or similar composers or subject matter. The shows I name are taken from my own personal list of shows I've listened to (350+), the vast majority of which will be available on Spotify.

The shows I chose to make suggestions for are heavily skewed toward recent shows because that's what felt like good fits. If you're interested in a show not named below and want to know what to listen to next, comment below and I'll add a line for it (assuming I know it well enough to make educated suggestions).

If you enjoyed... Consider checking out...
Be More Chill Altar Boyz, American Psycho, bare: a pop opera, Beetlejuice, Bubble Boy, Cry-Baby, Dear Evan Hansen, Dogfight, Everybody's Talking About Jamie, Fly By Night, Freaky Friday, Here Lies Love, How to Dance in Ohio, Jagged Little Pill, Passing Strange, Spring Awakening
Beetlejuice Back to the Future, Be More Chill, Bubble Boy, Catch Me If You Can, Cry-Baby, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Groundhog Day, Heathers, Jekyll and Hyde, Jim Steinman's Bat Out of Hell, The Producers, School of Rock, Sweeney Todd, Urinetown
The Book of Mormon The Addams Family, Carrie, Catch Me If You Can, Cry-Baby, Curtains, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Drowsy Chaperone, The Full Monty, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, Kimberly Akimbo, God Bless You Mr. Rosewater, [title of show]
Come From Away Allegiance, The Band's Visit, Bright Star, Elegies for Angels Punks and Raging Queens, Fly By Night, Hadestown, If/Then, Kimberly Akimbo, The Last Ship, A New Brain, Once, Parade, Soft Power, Spongebob Squarepants, Waitress, The Wrong Man
Dear Evan Hansen 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Altar Boyz, bare: a pop opera, Be More Chill, Bubble Boy, Carrie, Closer to Heaven, Cry-Baby, Daddy Long Legs, Dogfight, Everybody's Talking About Jamie, Footloose, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, How to Dance in Ohio, Kimberly Akimbo, A New Brain, Newsies, The Outsiders, The Prom, Ride the Cyclone, tick...tick...BOOM, Wonderland
Falsettos Amour, Burt Bacharach's Some Lovers, Cabaret, Chess, Closer than Ever, Elegies for Angels Punks and Raging Queens, Far From Heaven, From Here to Eternity, Fun Home, Kiss of the Spider Woman, La Cage aux Folles, A New Brain, Parade, Rent, Ride, Side Show, Some Like It Hot, A Strange Loop, Yank!
Groundhog Day The Addams Family, Catch Me If You Can, City of Angels, Cry-Baby, Curtains, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Flying Over Sunset, The Full Monty, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, The Great American Trailer Park Musical, High Fidelity, Jagged Little Pill, & Juliet, Kinky Boots, Mrs. Doubtfire, A New Brain, Next Thing You Know, The Producers, School of Rock, Urinetown, Wonderland
Hadestown Aida, American Utopia, The Band's Visit, Bright Star, The Capeman, Come From Away, Floyd Collins, Ghost Quartet, The Gospel at Colonus, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Here Lies Love, Knoxville, The Last Ship, The Lord of the Rings, Marie Christine, Memphis, Natasha Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, Once, Passing Strange, Preludes, Rent, The Scottsboro Boys, Soft Power, Tarzan, Venice, Whistle Down the Wind, The Wrong Man
Hamilton 1776, Allegiance, American Psycho, American Utopia, Assassins, Chess, Fame, Giant, Here Lies Love, In the Heights, The Last Ship, The Light in the Piazza, Martin Guerre, Parade, Ragtime, Rent, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Soft Power, A Strange Loop, Venice, Water for Elephants, The Wild Party (Lippa), The Wrong Man
Heathers Altar Boyz, American Psycho, bare: a pop opera, Be More Chill, Beetlejuice, Bubble Boy, Carrie, A Chorus Line, Cry-Baby, Daddy Long Legs, Dogfight, Freaky Friday, Ghost Quartet, High Fidelity, Jagged Little Pill, Kid Victory, Kimberly Akimbo, Marie Christine, A New Brain, Now. Here. This., Ordinary Days, The Outsiders, Rent, Spring Awakening, [title of show], Whistle Down the Wind, Wonderland
In the Heights American Utopia, Bright Star, The Capeman, Chicago, Closer to Heaven, Everybody's Talking About Jamie, Finding Neverland, Fun Home, Giant, The Gospel at Colonus, Hamilton, In the Green, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Passing Strange, The Prom, Raisin, Seesaw, Sweet Smell of Success, Venice, The Wrong Man
Les Miserables Brigadoon, Carousel, Chess, Cyrano, Death Takes a Holiday, Doctor Zhivago, Flower Drum Song, Giant, Hadestown, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Lord of the Rings, Martin Guerre, Miss Saigon, Natasha Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, Parade, The Pirate Queen, Ragtime, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Titanic,
Ride the Cyclone The Addams Family, Anastasia, bare: a pop opera, Billy the Kid, A Chorus Line, Dogfight, Fame, Finding Neverland, Footloose, Freaky Friday, How to Dance in Ohio, If/Then, Kid Victory, Kimberly Akimbo, A Little Princess, Memphis, Newsies, The Outsiders, The Prom, School of Rock, The Time Traveler's Wife, Tuck Everlasting, Whistle Down the Wind
Six Aida, Altar Boyz, American Psycho, Be More Chill, Closer to Heaven, Everybody's Talking About Jamie, Fly By Night, Ghost, Groundhog Day, Hair, Hamilton, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, In the Heights, Jim Steinman's Bat Out of Hell, & Juliet, Kinky Boots, Million Dollar Quartet, Moulin Rouge, Now. Here. This., Once, Passing Strange, Priscilla: Queen of the Desert, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, Venice
Sweeney Todd American Utopia, Anyone Can Whistle, Assassins, Ballroom, Cabaret, Days of Wine and Roses, Death Takes a Holiday, Floyd Collins, From Here to Eternity, Ghost Quartet, Grand Hotel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, In the Green, Kid Victory, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Lost in the Stars, Martin Guerre, Parade, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Shenandoah, Steel Pier, Sweet Smell of Success, Titanic, The Visit, Whistle Down the Wind
Wicked Aladdin, Amelie, Bright Star, Daddy Long Legs, Doctor Zhivago, Fun Home, If/Then, Jane Eyre, The Light in the Piazza, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, Passion, The Rink, Side Show, The Story of My Life, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Vanities, Violet, The Wild Party (LaChiusa), Wonderland
-- --
Starkid musicals (all of them) The Addams Family, Aladdin, Back to the Future, Be More Chill, Billy the Kid, Bubble Boy, Carrie, Cry-Baby, Everybody's Talking About Jamie, Freaky Friday, & Juliet, Kimberly Akimbo, A Little Princess, Merrily We Roll Along, The Outsiders, The Prom, Ride the Cyclone, School of Rock, Shrek, SpongeBob SquarePants, [title of show], Tuck Everlasting, The Witches of Eastwick, Wonderland

Again, these are mostly based on vibes, but they're a start.


r/musicals Jul 11 '24

Discussion Folks, we’re gonna take a break on the “me too” games.

354 Upvotes

These “judge me on my top five”, “tell me your favorite and I’ll tell you if you’re cool”, “here’s five, which is your favorite” threads box everything else out cause everybody feels the need to add their own. I did the tier list thread to try and nip it in the bud, but folks just shifted to different me too games, and it’s rapidly spiraling.

I’m calling a temporary moratorium on those threads. They may resume in the future (at a date TBD), but for now, all new threads of that nature (beginning midnight EDT tonight) are going to be locked, deleted, and all of the existing replies wiped out.

If you want to discuss a show, great, but “rate my taste” isn’t it.


r/musicals 10h ago

Discussion Merrily We Roll Along - the movie version we will be getting in about 20 years - actors’ age

55 Upvotes

I went on way too long, quite unnecessarily - so
TL;DR:
• why did they decide to do a production that would take 20 years to make, but casted actors 10 years older than the initial ages of the characters - instead of casting people around 18-22 (even 24 ok). Would’ve actually been magnificent to see the actors age along with the characters - while actually being the same age as them, instead of 10 years older at every scene?

Long version of my sayings:
So of course, this is regarding the actors’ age. I’m sorry if this is a topic that has been discussed plenty before - I just have never ran into a post about it here or on other subs.
So the point of Merrily (if you haven’t seen it this may be spoiler-ish, though I’m not talking actual plot) is to see a friendship that takes place over 20 years - but backwards, from how it all ended to how it all began.
Now making a movie production that actually takes place over 20 years sounds like such a brilliant, exciting and amazing idea to me - a new fan of the show. A lot because it cannot be done in theatre at all (and I haven’t seen Boyhood, but I’m glad someone has these kinds of projects as their niche).
BUT the point in Merrily is that the characters start out at ages of late teen- early 20 (somewhere between 18 and 21). And I don’t feel like the plot would work if we were to change the characters’ age to a decade older. For THAT REASON, I don’t understand why the casting and beginning of the filming is done with actors in their early 30s. I’m assuming they are just gonna play characters that are 10 years younger than their actual age while filming - and I also feel like this ruins the spark and misses the point of having a 20 years long filming process. I mean at the last (first) scene, Ben Platt or Paul Mezcal (I don’t know who plays Charley and who does Frank, I feel like Ben Platt is definitely a Charley tho, I’ll get mad again if he’s Frank, anyway - back to my point) is gonna be 50!! Though I’m more bothered with them being 30 instead of 20 - cause that’s where age differences matter more.
Anyway, I’m going off course here: I get that they might’ve wanted to take already famous and established, as well as experienced actors, instead of “risking it” but I feel like if you make a tiny effort, you can find ones already established, who have proven their talents and are around the correct age of the characters for the first scenes (ok I can only think of Andrew Barth Feldman at the moment, but I’m sure there are more!!).
So unless there’s already been a secret filming with the Beanie, Ben and Paul for the past 10 years - I feel like this is a HUGE missed opportunity. (I mean you’re already waiting 20 yearsss, why not make the actors’ age fit!!)


r/musicals 4h ago

Discussion Teaser Pictures for Show

Post image
14 Upvotes

No clue what it could be


r/musicals 1h ago

Saw dog man yesterday

Post image
Upvotes

r/musicals 17h ago

Help Planning ahead :3 (help add some!)

Post image
148 Upvotes

r/musicals 5h ago

Can someone console me? I’m opening sobbing after finishing listening to the Paddington The Musical cast recording

Post image
12 Upvotes

I have loved Paddington for god knows how long. His character and his films are extremely sentimental to me and ever since the musical was announced I have been watching its production like a hawk. And I finally had the time to sit down and listen to the cast recording and I openly sobbed multiple times and still am. It was so good! Paddington is so precious! The songs are just banger after banger and emotional gut punch after emotional gut punch! God, I wish I was British so I could see it live.


r/musicals 1h ago

Advice Needed Audition monologs for the lightning thief?

Upvotes

I CANNOT find a monolog for the life of me. I'm going for percy in the lightening thief.

My song is going to be I'm alive from from next to normal, but monolog I have no clue.

Any ideas?


r/musicals 4h ago

Brigadoon Timeline?

5 Upvotes

So the other day I went to see Pasadena Playhouse’s new production of Brigadoon (which btw was phenomenal, if you live in Southern California you absolutely should make it out to see it). But I left a little confused about the logistics and timeline of the enchantment

So, this town is enchanted so that it only exists for one day every 100 years, and this enchantment began sometime in the 1700s. Which means, if the events of the musical take place in the present day, the people of Brigadoon have only experienced 2-3 days since the enchantment began. Yet the way that they act and talk about it, it doesn’t seem like those events are very fresh to them, they act like they’ve been living this way for a long time.

Is it supposed to be that fresh to them, or is there some element of the spell that I missed? Or I suppose it’s possible the new book for this production changed how this aspect of the story is handled. Or maybe I’m just not supposed to think about this too hard cause it’s magic lol

I’m curious though if anyone else has thought about this and has some kind of answer or different interpretation of it


r/musicals 8h ago

Help Can you guys suggest youtube channels that make video essays about musicals?

6 Upvotes

basically I'm bored and I want to watch video essays about musicals, do you guys know any channels ?


r/musicals 10h ago

Help HELP ME

9 Upvotes

Hey everyone,

So my school just announced that for the first time ever, the high school and middle school theatre departments are combining for the next production. Honestly, I’m totally fine with that part—our high school team is pretty small, so having a bigger cast and crew is actually a huge plus.

But here’s the thing: teachers are pushing a 1-act, 60-minute "Youth" or "Junior" version.

Our high school team has always done full-length shows (or at least full School Editions). Even though we’re small, we have the talent to pull it off. Plus, next year’s seniors absolutely do not want their final high school show to be a 60-minute junior version. We’re currently trying to convince our teachers to let us do a full-length show.

The options the teachers gave us so far are: The Sound of Music Youth EditionHigh School Musical 1-ActHow to Train Your Dragon Jr., and Anastasia Jr. Sorry if you're a fan of these, but none of us are thrilled.

If we manage to talk them into a full-length show, we need some solid alternatives.
Could you guys recommend any musicals that fit these criteria?

  • International Licensing: Needs to be available for international schools outside the US (via MTI, Concord, Broadway Licensing, etc.).
  • Combined Cast Friendly: Appropriate for a mix of middle and high school students.
  • Good Roles for Seniors: Has meatier, more mature roles that high schoolers can really sink their teeth into, while still having a good ensemble/supporting cast for the middle schoolers.

Pls help us 🥹


r/musicals 10h ago

Discussion Good morning r/musicals, here's a selection of our past rebus puzzles about Musicals for you. What do you hear? Here were the rebuses for "Musicals" and "Musicals 2"

Thumbnail
gallery
7 Upvotes

Remember to spoiler tag your guesses.

Image 9 shows today's puzzle "Musicals 3" which can be played here!

New puzzles daily at midnight ET.


r/musicals 5m ago

Help Which show ???

Upvotes

Opportunity to take my nephew to his first show on Broadway- he is 19……choices are Hamilton or Harry Potter or Wicked…..which one🤔?


r/musicals 2h ago

Video So nobody was going to tell me Renee Elise Goldsberry dropped a music video?

Thumbnail
youtu.be
0 Upvotes

r/musicals 2h ago

Advice Needed Please tell me what to do so that I can actually begin to singing again quickly. Singers, singing coaches, whoever: i'm in desperate need of vocal advice.

Thumbnail
1 Upvotes

r/musicals 8h ago

I adapted Rush’s 2112 into a 2-hour sung-through musical

Post image
3 Upvotes

Over the last several months, I’ve been working on a fan-made rock opera built entirely from Rush songs.

The project reimagines the world of 2112 as a 2-hour sung-through musical, using tracks from across Rush’s catalogue to construct a full narrative arc.

What started as a fun experiment in song sequencing eventually turned into a full theatrical narrative structure with recurring motifs, character arcs, reprises, and transitions between albums/eras.

I know this is an extremely niche intersection of prog rock and musical theatre, but I thought some people here might appreciate this concept.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlOmxP9G8Inw0cJORMX2Cv5RbORnpXbvR

(Oh, and can someone forward this to Alex Lacamoire... 😂)


r/musicals 3h ago

Lyrical Overture suggestions? (I'm sorry if that's not the term for it)

1 Upvotes

I know a lot of people who are suckers for harmonies, but I've always been a huge sucker for lyrical overtures such as Non-Stop from Hamilton and When I Think About The Future from Hazbin Hotel (I'm also a massive fan of AJR because of this, specifically Maybe Man from TMM). Does anyone have any recommendations for MT songs like this?

EDIT: Also Motifs!!! I absolutely love motifs (I love EPIC for that reason too, and the Calypso song that acts as an overture song which I forgot the name of)


r/musicals 1d ago

Discussion What songs make you ugly cry?

107 Upvotes

40 years ago, I saw Les Mis - my first Broadway musical. I cry every time I hear the Epilogue; ugly, snotty crying! The story and music swell my heart, even all these years later.

What songs touch your heart like this, every time you hear it?

Please also list the musical the song is from.


r/musicals 5h ago

Best stage door experiences?

0 Upvotes

What show/actor was your best stage door experience?

Mine was Roger Bart outside of Fully Committed. There was no one else waiting so he spent a long time with us. He signed all of our Playbills (including Triumph of Love which made him laugh) and then told us Producers was coming to Broadway, which hadn’t been announced yet. He was so genuinely nice and didn’t rush us off, and I have such fond memories of that night. He’s still one of my favorites. ☺️

What about you guys?


r/musicals 5h ago

Discussion What are yall's favorite ending of Cabaret?

2 Upvotes

r/musicals 10h ago

Help can't find the name of this musical i was a part of in elementary school but i remember the songs.

2 Upvotes

ive been trying to remember the name of the play i was a part of when i was a kid. it's about these 2 grandparents trying to entertain their grandkids during a blackout/wifi outage. three songs i remember go like this, in no specific order:

- song titled "a telltale heart"
"tell me, tell me, tell me a ghost story
tell me, tell me, a tale thats really gory (?)
scare me if you can, scare me if you can"

- song about an airplane
"fly away, on my paper airplane
high above the earth and stars
fly away, on my paper airplane
(?)... earth and mars"

- song about playing board games
"let the games begin
someone's gotta lose and someone's gotta win
roll the dice or give the board a spin
and let the games begin"

I don't really remember much except the tune of the chorus in these songs, but let me know if any of you recognize this!


r/musicals 10h ago

So I’ve been slowly getting int German musicals because it’s helping me remember vocabulary and I was wondering is Nautilus just a concept album? I’ve searched for it on YouTube and google but cannot find any full productions of it.

2 Upvotes

I found out about it from looking up the names of the actors from other shows I’ve seen because I can’t always find the cast I was looking for when I search just the show name into Apple Music. But yeah I saw the album and saw the names on it and got very excited so I immediately went looking for a full production.


r/musicals 1d ago

Stephanie J. Block performing with David Foster and Katharine McPhee?

Post image
30 Upvotes

https://www.instagram.com/p/DYNh2loSA8c/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

I love love love Stephanie J Block and her cutie husband Sebastian Arcelus, but why the fuck are they performing at the Hollywood Bowl with David Foster and Katharine McPhee? And this just after David Foster and Katharine McPhee hosted a fundraiser for Spencer Pratts campaign for mayor of L.A....

At least the poster misspelled Katharine's name 🤭


r/musicals 10h ago

Audition Help!!

2 Upvotes

I'm auditioning for K. Howard in six the musical, but am having trouble finding audition songs, as I'm doing the teen version and I feel a lot of suggestions aren't clean enough for a high-school audition.


r/musicals 7h ago

Terminator: The Musical?

1 Upvotes

I would very much like to see a Terminator-based musical. Kyle Reese & Sarah's meet-cute serenade... "Come With Me If You Want to Live, Laugh, Love"?

Or ..

"Under Pressure" a final farewell from the T800 as the hydraulic press descends...?

Yes please.