When I see shows like FOOTLOOSE listed amongst a list of the "Top 10 Best Musicals ever.." I suspect the person hasn't seen many musicals. (I reviewed the original Broadway production when it opened. Gave it ** out of 5, mainly on the strength of the cast.)
But here are my choices and why....(and yes I have seen all of these):
SHOW BOAT - it opened the door for a more serious story to be told in a song-and-dance formula. It merged techniques of operetta, revue, and musical comedy. It seems old-fashioned now but Hal Prince's 1993 staging proved it can still work for modern audiences.
OKLAHOMA! - among the R&H musicals SOUND OF MUSIC is most popular (thanks to the movie), KING AND I has the best book, CAROUSEL has the best score but OKLAHOMA! has all the elements and it's just so damn entertaining! ALso, if OKLAHOMA! hadn't happened first none of the others would have been possible.
MY FAIR LADY - another sparkling mix of text, score and staging. I have seen many productions and the show always works.
WEST SIDE STORY - this one DOESN'T always work but the score still has power and attracts new fans all the time. Sadly the underlying message is a relevent today as it was in 1957. The staging techniques that were grounbreaking in 1957 are less so now (because they have been re-used) but a new creative director, choreographer and design team could come up with a dazzling new version for the 21st century. (I actually prefer GYPSY to WEST SIDE. It has tight, fast-moving book, believable characters, a star role that is the Lady Macbeth of musicals, and some juicy supporting roles. A great score written in the brassy broadway style but with lyrics that are rich in details of character and story.)
CABARET - the next legical step in the process combining a "plot" musical and a "concept" musical. Maybe not as perfect as some of the others but still a powerful show.
COMPANY - a unique show, a non-linear story told using songs as comments on the action, and with a "contemporary" sound that has not dated the way rock musicals such as HAIR have.
SWEENEY TODD - So many Sondheim shows deserve mention (both ASSASSINS and SUNDAY IN THE PARK deserve to be in this spot as well) but SWEENEY is a towering theatrical achievement. It can be done huge (as with leading opera companys) or small (as in "TEENY TODD") and it always works.
LES MISERABLES - a modern opera, based on a classic novel. Epic themes, a lush score with many accssible tunes, and production that has reached out and touched audiences well beyond the Broadway realm.
GRAND HOTEL - more a triumph of style over substance, this is still for me the best staged musical I have ever encountered. Minimalist theatre: Nothing was there but everything was there. The score is uneven as is the book because of the various people working on both, but I still listen to this OCR more than some of the big hits of the same period. I wish more modern musicals had taken their cue from this show instead of the elaborate specatcles. (TITANIC in particular would have benefitted from this approach.)
RAGTIME - Musical summation of the 20th century drawing elements from many of the above a fusing them into a terrific show with a powerful score. The original production was very lavish and elaborate. A second tour was staged more simply and was just as powerful. Sad to say no show has come along since that has eclipsed it.
I notice one common element: most of these can be staged on a very grand oppulent scale or on a very simple modesnt scale and still work effectively which is a testement to the quality of the writing.
Bubblng under the top 10 in addtion to ones I mentioned above are PORGY AND BESS, GUYS AND DOLLS and MUSIC MAN , 1776, CHICAGO, & CHORUS LINE, DREAMGIRLS, NINE.
As to the bottom of the list (and this is based only on shows I have seen. I never saw some of the big disasters like SHOGUN, CARRIE or THE GIRL FROM NANTUCKET and they left behind no recordings or scripts.)of the musicals I have seen the five worst are...
COPACABANNA - this was in a pre-Broadway try-out that folded on the road. Based on the Barry Manilow song it was the most ineptly put together musical I have ever seen. Watching it I had to wonder if Barry Manilow had ever even seen another musical.
R.S.V.P. BROADWAY - another Broadway boudn musical that died quickly after its premiere in Toronto. Not as inept as COPACABANNA but just as bad.
SUNSET BLVD. - a wonderful screenplay mashed into pulp by ALW who didn't even bother writing an original score for it, choosing instead to recycle a bunch of trunk songs. Terrible lyrics and boring, needless recitative that set the original dialogue to music then stopped dead while the big arias were pluggd in to merely re-state the same idea. Yes the set was dazzling, and the leading ladies were given true diva showcases but given the source this could have been a much better show. The fact it won the 1995 Tony was a disgrace but there were no other new musicals that season!
STARLIGHT EXPRESS - how this even got into the running as a Best Musical of 1987 is beyond me. Horrible book, Horrible score. the only thing it had going for it was the staging which was fun to watch for about 10 minutes, then like most theme park attractions I wanted to move on. I couldn't. I was stuck there for another 2 1/2 hours.
THE ACT - Liza Minnelli had th star power to make the evening worthwhile but the book (by George Furth!) was plodding and full of tired cliches. And the Kander & Ebb score was the low point in their career because the book didn't give them any dramatic moments to amplify, so they were stuck writing a series of nightclub pastiches.
Cast albums are NOT "soundtracks."
Live theatre does not use a "soundtrack." If it did, it wouldn't be live theatre!
I host a weekly one-hour radio program featuring cast album selections as well as songs by cabaret, jazz and theatre artists. The program, FRONT ROW CENTRE is heard Sundays 9 to 10 am and also Saturdays from 8 to 9 am (eastern times) on www.proudfm.com
Into the Woods 
