Shows you MUST know?

Are there any parameters in terms of dates?

There are many older (pre 1970) shows, fine, interesting, experimental or just enjoyable that are well worth exploring.

I'll skip the operettas and go right to musical comedy:

LADY BE GOOD (1924) Fun Gershwin score and preserved by a great cast on Elektra.

GOOD NEWS (1927) Typical 20s fun. Jay has the 1990s revival cast on CD and its well worth a listen.

OF THEE I SING (1931) Another Gershwin score but this one in comic operetta style and great fun. The 1952 revival cast makes a good case for the show (despite a few lyric updates.)

BABES IN ARMS (1937) Not a great book but a score crammed full of evergreens. New World has a great CD using original orchestrations.

LADY IN THE DARK (1941) Ahead of its time and highly experimental. Jay has the complete score on Cd with Maria Friedman. (There is an older Columbia disc with Rise Stevens also quite good)

ST LOUIS WOMAN (1946) Encores restored this and did a concert version with Vanessa Williams and recorded by Mercury.

KISMET (1953) Encores will be doing this next spring and if you have never heard the original cast with Alfred Drake you are in for a treat! It's in Sony's Columbia Broadway Masterwoks series.

THE MOST HAPPY FELLA (1956) Complete show on a 2 CD set from Sony Broadway. A real gem!

110 IN THE SHADE (1963) Another gem. Great score by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt. The OCR is out-of-print but Jay offers a magnificent 2 CD set of the complete score including additional songs written for later productions.

THE APPLE TREE (1966) - a trilogy of 3 one-act musicals. Great songs by Bock and Harnick. Barbara Harris and Alan Alda are perfectly cast. CD is on Sony Broadway label.

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Start out with "Sweeney Todd" and "Les Miserables". That should keep one busy for 10 good years. (And Goddess knows, You will have something to sing for the rest of your life with just these two!)

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Updated On: 10/14/05 at 05:21 AM

Showboat
Oklahoma
Carousel
South Pacific
King & I
Sound of Music
Brigadoon
My Fair Lady
Camelot
Anything Goes
Kiss me kate
Music Man
West Side Story
Bye bye Birdie
Annie Get Your Gun
Gypsy
Guys and Dolls
Most Happy Fella
Cabaret
Chicago
Fiddler on the Roof
Godspell
Pippin
Company
Follies
A Little Night Music
Sweeney Todd
Into the Woods
Nine
Dreamgirls
Jesus Christ Superstar
Cats
Evita
Phantom of the Opera
Les Miserables
Rent
Wild Party (La Chuisa)
Ragtime
Lion King
Producers
Hairspray
Wicked (I guess)

AND - a general familiarity with the American Popular songbook.
Many others to mention, but I would make sure to know these pretty well first.

There were shows before 1970? I don't believe it.

Hmmm...I'm pretty sure Cats was the first musical.

Hehe, so I dreamt Cats? I've got a sick mind.

bebe de broadway --- I won't overwhelm you. I'll give you my TOP FIVE. Most are considered landmark shows that either helped change the course of musical theatre, or elevated the art form to another level:

SHOW BOAT
I think this is the birth of the modern dramatic American musical. It took a serious, literary subject and pulled it up out of a (then) standard Vaudevillian presentation. Most shows prior to that would have a little plot, then a song or two (sometimes having NOTHING to do with the plot), then another "sketch" or scene, and a big chorus number. They would tell a story eventually, but the material wasn't contained or focused on storytelling. "Show Boat" changed all of that. It was enormously controversial, too. Can you imagine tackling the themes of interracial marriage, alcoholism, compulsive gambling and miscegenation back in 1927? In a splashy show produced by Ziegfeld, for mainstream audience? Extremely daring. After that, you can throw in the classic score by Hammerstein & Kern, which would be reason enough to list this show. I believe they had EIGHT "hit songs" that swept the nation. The only reason it didn't run longer was a little thing called the stock market crash. Ziegfeld was forced to shut it down.

OKLAHOMA!
Considered the father of the modern American musical (although I would give that honor to Show Boat, personally). Hammerstein again, this time teamed with Richard Rodgers on their first effort together. They, along with director Rouben Mamoulian and choreographer Agnes de Mille set the bar for everything to follow. It's classic storytelling from head to toe, and was a monster hit in its day.

GYPSY
This is modern musical theatre at its very best. Probably the best written show ever (book, music & lyrics). It's pretty much a flawless effort. Start with the original Merman version, not one of the many revivals, and you'll see why.

A CHORUS LINE
This is the ultimate concept musical. Not the first, but for me, the very best. It's a brilliant show from start to finish, that evolved in such an organic way---from a group of dancers getting together to tell their stories. And if you're a performer, it will get under your skin and stay with you forever. A pure theatrical experience.

SWEENEY TODD
Sondheim's masterpiece. Not theatrically ground-breaking (as his "Company" was), but this show definitely took the art form to a new and higher level. It will leave you breathless. When I first listened to the OBCR, I played it three times in a row without moving from my spot (and it's not a short show!). I didn't know musical theatre could rise to such heights. A crowning achievement.

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WOW. thanks so much. I'm glad to see so many shows I LOVE listed.

hah I'm a big Sondheim fan, so yeah... lovin' the Sweeney Todd and Assassins and Gypsy (which I'm in right now!).

I'll check out the ones that I don't know.

How about recent shows? I'm familiar with a lot of the older shows and a lot of the REAAALLY old movie musicals (TCM is my friend) but not so much all the new stuff everyone is always talking about.

I'm probably the worst excuse for a Musical Theatre Major ever.

At least I can always get the cd's from my friends. lol

Because they have ALL of them. lol

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heh while I don't know jelly's last jam, I have a song from it because I have the Broadway: The American Musical five cd set. Got it for Christmas last year and almost died. ^_^

I love Ragtime, and have hear Urinetown at least. lol

how about straight plays? I have easy access to lots of musicals, but I REALLY need to know straight plays. Especially some good ones for females. I need to buy a lot of scripts so I have a good monologue resource.

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