Broadway Poll: Best and Worst Jukebox Musical?

[NewYorkTheater]

Posted: 10/24/23 at 12:55pm

Inspired by "Jukebox: The Musical" last night at Merkin Hall's Broadway Close Up concert series, a poll: Of the 15 they featured, which is the best jukebox musical? Which the worst?

 

Broadway Poll: Best and Worst Jukebox Musical?

 

Updated On: 10/24/23 at 12:55 PM

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 10/24/23 at 1:49pm

Best - Beautiful - The Carole King Musical

Worst - Escape from Margaritaville.

*** Actually, the worst one ever was not listed. That show was "Good Vibrations" (Beach Boys) and it was beyond awful.

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 10/24/23 at 2:00pm

From this list, the best IMO are Beautiful and Jagged Little Pill. I was underwhelmed by ...One More Time, Jersey Boys, and Moulin Rouge!, but both Margaritaville and Beautiful Noise exceeded my low expectations. MJ was okay.

I saw Mamma Mia! in its final weeks and it did not at all feel old and stale. 

I need to give & Juliet a New York revisit sometime, be it on the sooner side or when Timberlake and Clarkson are inevitably stunt-cast as the Shakespeares. It's a bizarre show but the Broadway iteration is the closest it's ever been to comprehensible. 

Updated On: 10/24/23 at 02:00 PM

[verywellthensigh]

Posted: 10/24/23 at 2:00pm

Best: Mamma Mia

Worst:  Baby It's You (and it's not even close)

[ggersten]

Posted: 10/24/23 at 2:16pm

To me, there is a vast difference between a "jukebox" musical and a "bio-musical" even though both use previously existing songs. This leads to an odd selection in this poll. No "Movin' Out"? No revues like "Ain't Misbehavin'"

The worst I've seen is The Bodyguard, which was so bad that it couldn't even play Broadway and went straight to touring. So, it does not qualify for this list.  One of the better ones to not play Broadway is Return to the Forbidden Planet. 

 

[kdogg36]

Posted: 10/24/23 at 5:54pm

From this list, I chose & Juliet as best and Once Upon a One More Time as worst.

I know your list couldn't include everything, but the two best I've seen are American Idiot* and Girl From the North Country. The worst is Baby It's You. 

* This is a borderline case. The songs on the original album were written with a loose storyline in mind, which would argue against labeling it as a jukebox musical, but I think the inclusion of Green Day songs from other sources makes it one. Regardless, it's my favorite musical production of this century.

[JSquared2]

Posted: 10/24/23 at 6:23pm

ggersten said: "To me, there is a vast difference between a "jukebox" musical and a "bio-musical" even though both use previously existing songs. This leads to an odd selection in this poll. No "Movin' Out"? No revues like "Ain't Misbehavin'"

The worst I've seen is The Bodyguard, which was so bad that it couldn't even play Broadway and went straight to touring. So, it does not qualify for this list. One of the better ones to not play Broadway is Return to the Forbidden Planet.

"

Except The Bodyguard isn't really a "jukebox musical" -- it's a movie to stage musical. Granted they did add a couple of WH songs not in the movie, but it's still the movie on stage.

 

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 10/24/23 at 6:51pm

MJ is arguably the worst because of what it leaves out. Hagiography.

Does the Sondheim revue Putting It Together count as jukebox? If so, I'll say that for best.

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 10/24/23 at 10:22pm

I agree that it's not really fair to put biomusicals & jukebox musicals under the same umbrella.

That being said, from the list of the ones I've seen - my favorite is Beautiful and my least favorite is Moulin Rouge.

I think All Shook Up is underrated and Mamma Mia is overrated.

[ggersten]

Posted: 10/24/23 at 10:28pm

JSquared2 said: "ggersten said: "To me, there is a vast difference between a "jukebox" musical and a "bio-musical" even though both use previously existing songs. This leads to an odd selection in this poll. No "Movin' Out"? No revues like "Ain't Misbehavin'"

The worst I've seen is The Bodyguard, which was so bad that it couldn't even play Broadway and went straight to touring. So, it does not qualify for this list. One of the better ones to not play Broadway is Return to the Forbidden Planet.

"

Except The Bodyguard isn't really a "jukebox musical" -- it's a movie to stage musical. Granted they did add a couple of WH songs not in the movie, but it's still the movie on stage.

"

Perhaps, but it felt like a WH jukebox musical! And poorly done at that!