Rank the jukebox musicals from best to worse

[2019planning]

Posted: 11/11/18 at 11:58pm

Only for Broadway Jukebox musicals!

No west end ones

American Idiot (musical)

Ain't Misbehavin'

Ain't Too Proud (musical)

All Shook Up (musical)

Baby It's You!

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical

The Boy from Oz

The Cher Show (musical)

Summer: The Donna Summer Musical

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (musical)

Rock of Ages (musical)

Million Dollar Quartet (musical)

Motown: The Musical

Movin' Out (musical)

Jagged Little Pill (musical)

Jersey Boys

Head Over Heels (musical)

Fela!

 


Rock of Ages (musical)

Million Dollar Quartet (musical)

Motown: The Musical

Movin' Out (musical)

Jagged Little Pill (musical)

Jersey Boys

Head Over Heels (musical)

Fela!

Updated On: 11/12/18 at 11:58 PM

[ggersten]

Posted: 11/12/18 at 1:52am

Oh - now you've edited and added in titles - so I delete my message.

In any event, you've confused bio-musicals with jukebox musicals and left out several.  I don't know where you got your list from.

Updated On: 11/12/18 at 01:52 AM

[UncleCharlie]

Posted: 11/12/18 at 2:00am

I'll rank the jukeboxes instead. Wurlitzer clearly #1.

[Sondheimite]

Posted: 11/12/18 at 2:12am

the musical I'm writing based on the movie Big Momma's House 2 that uses the music of Dusty Springfield is going to be #1 on every list as soon as I get done writing it.  

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 11/12/18 at 8:51am

"Ain't Misbehavin" is  not a jukebox musical. It is a revue, a completely different entity. If you include revues, you would have to add a lot more including: "Sophisticated Ladies", "Smokey Joe's Cafe"  "After midnight"

Updated On: 11/12/18 at 08:51 AM

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 11/12/18 at 11:39am

No including bio-musicals, the list for Broadway jukebox musicals should be something more like:

Five Guys Named Moe
Play On
Saturday Night Fever
Mamma Mia
Movin' Out
Good Vibrations
All Shook Up
Hot Feet
Priscilla Queen of the Desert
Rock of Ages
The Times They Are A-Changin'
Xanadu
Everyday Rapture
Million Dollar Quartet
Disaster
Holler if Ya Hear Me
Escape to Margaritaville
Head Over Heels

Bio-musicals would include:

Leader of the Pack
Buddy
The Boy From Oz
Lennon
Jersey Boys
Fela
Baby It's You
Beautiful
Soul Doctor
Motown
On Your Feet
Summer
The Cher Show

[DMsquared2]

Posted: 11/12/18 at 11:45am

I don't know if I'd put Xanadu in this category. 

[ggersten]

Posted: 11/12/18 at 11:47am

It's almost like a Tony winning bio-musical show starring Joel Grey and featuring Bernadette Peters about a great Broadway writer/director/producer/actor didn't exist - because it never gets mentioned in these lists.  

 

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 11/12/18 at 11:59am

According to Wikipedia: A jukebox musical is a musical film or stage presentation featuring the songs of popular music acts. The term is used to describe films starring famous popular music acts showcasing their own recorded songs, not necessarily as part of a traditional musical score, though they are sometimes augmented with scored background music. Use of the term has also grown to encompass musical films and theatrical presentations that celebrate past or present music acts or personalities, usually played by professional actors singing new renditions of the real artists' previously-recorded songs and other material, done in a manner more akin to a typical Broadway musical, where songs are incorporated into a formal musical score and accompanied by choreography. The songs in jukebox musicals (of both kinds) are often contextualized into a dramatic plot, and particularly in the case of the later kind, a biographical story about the featured performer(s). In some instances plots do not revolve around the musical act(s) making appearances.

So, I’m including bio-musicals in my list. It will be a short list as generally jukebox musicals don’t appeal to me (although I’m starting to gain interest in The Cher Show and hope to see Jagged Little Pill, Tina and Moulin Rouge):

1. American Idiot

2. Mamma Mia

3. Jersey Boys

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 11/12/18 at 12:38pm

That wikipedia definition is just the lazy version that people wanted to use to describe any musical using pre-existing music.  The wikipedia page also includes revues, yet omits Play On.

I don't know if I'd put Xanadu in this category.

The film is considered a musical, I included it because the stage adaptation incorporated more of the songs directly into the book while augmenting the show with additional pop tunes.  It's really more of a jukebox musical than it is a direct adaptation.

[ggersten]

Posted: 11/12/18 at 12:39pm

Well, then, I guess I'll have to go edit that Wikipedia entry.  

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 11/12/18 at 1:25pm

I'm going to snarkily answer the thread question, verbatim.

Best: Beautiful

Worse: All the others, because all others inferior to the best would naturally be "worse."

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 11/12/18 at 1:43pm

Jersey Boys is still the crème de la crème, in my opinion. Followed by Mamma Mia as a guilty pleasure.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 11/12/18 at 2:35pm

It's almost like a Tony winning bio-musical show starring Joel Grey and featuring Bernadette Peters about a great Broadway writer/director/producer/actor didn't exist - because it never gets mentioned in these lists.  

I always forget it existed as well.  I think I listened to the cast recording once and it was all I could stand.

The best jukebox musical I've seen never actually played Broadway: Return to the Forbidden Planet.  Otherwise, I'd probably say Mamma Mia.  I would have said American Idiot is the best (certainly deserved the Tony for Best Musical), except I don't really consider it a jukebox musical since it seemed to follow a "concept album" path similar to Tommy.

As far as bio-musicals, the best is probably Jersey Boys, though I'd consider Buddy and Fela to be very close behind.