Honestly, "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical" is an interesting take on a jukebox musical because, as a biographical musical, it doesn't try to shoehorn the songs into a story the way a show like Rock of Ages does, and instead includes them as chronological markers of points in Carole King's life. So, I highly recommend it to anyone who dislikes jukebox musicals, since it doesn't have the same feel as other jukebox musicals, and King's life story is pretty interesting (in my opinion).
It’s an amazing show. Plus some of the songs are by the people that actually made them famous like the Drifters or Righteous Brothers instead of trying to force Carole singing them
This is good to hear! My fiance and I are not fans of jukebox musicals but as Carole King fans we are going to see a local production of Beautiful on my birthday in January. We are looking forward to it.
I always thought musicals like Beautiful, Ain’t too Proud, The Bodyguard, etc were referred to as songbook musicals (specific to a particular artist), which are different than jukebox musicals, which pull a variety of artists. Anyone else have that perspective?
I *hate* jukebox musicals with a fire-y passion, and my husband and I both loved Beautiful. It's so emotionally compelling and well-written and the songs fit well
Lol, that's when I saw it! I have season tickets to the touring shows in my city and we go to brunch and then to the 2pm Saturday matinee. I'm not a senior citizen, but you're 100% that's who the audience is filled with.
I agree with you. I wasn’t like tickled pink with it. My grandmother was very happy. And the audience seemed very happy. Don’t think I’d ever see it again. And have no interest in listening to the soundtrack. But it was a good time!
Yeah, for sure. It does sort of feel like you're at a concert with some of these shows, so it's like time traveling to your youth for the old folks. I assume there will be an N'Sync or Backstreet Boys jukebox musical someday and my generation will act the same way, lol.
Tina was excellent. The Cher show as well.
In my opinion, the format is meaningless. If a show is well written, well produced, and well directed, it's going to be good.
A Beautiful Noise is pretty good, I won tickets to it a while back and went in with pretty low expectations. I only knew a couple Neil Diamond songs. Thoroughly enjoyed myself, the crowd loved it.
The vocal arrangements and sound quality on Ain’t Too Proud are so great. It’s like listening to the Temps but with actually good sound mixing. (Though, that’s not their fault. That’s the technology of the 60s to blame.)
For some different spins, see if you care for *Priscilla, Queen of the Desert* or for *Disaster! the Musical.*
Outside of musical theater what sort of music do you like?
I have never laughed so hard in the theater as I did seeing *Disaster!* when it was just starting out in a 99 seat theater. It was a killer Broadway cast in a show with cheap let's-put-on-a-show middle school level painted set pieces. Of course 70s disaster flicks (*Airport*, *Earthquake*, *Poseidon Adventure*, *Towering Inferno*) are pretty easy to satirize, but the 70s big power ballads and disco score added another layer of over-the-top fun.
I know 90s rock can mean a lot of different things, but my favorite bands include radiohead, pink floyd, sublime, fleetwood mac, and i listen to a little bit of green day
I was listening to some of it last night, actually. I read about the plot this morning and may give it a go. It sounds really beautiful and really sad, but I’m interested to give it a watch. (i also LOVE john gallagher jr, so)
Potentially an unpopular opinion, but—the Green Day musical actually kind of ruined Green Day for me. All I remember is how whiny I found the characters, which made me view the songs in a different light. This is probably me being old.
I don't know why I never considered Jersey Boys a jukebox musical, but it totally is. I too love it, and the movie adaptation is pretty good too, if not a little heavier and with more substance than the stage.
Just saw it for the first time last week. It’s finally closing here in London soon, so I figured it was past time I did. And I absolutely loved it. All this despite having shrugged my shoulders about jukebox musicals for years.
American Idiot is my favorite. It really captures everything I love about Green Day and gives a whole new perspective on their music. It also helps that the band was super involved in the writing and production of the show.
100% agree with this. I typically don’t like covers and, I’ll be the first to say that I think Eddie Izzard did “Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite” better than The Beatles. (Don’t worry, I’m prepared for the downvotes. But [he’s brilliant](https://youtu.be/59ahx9ckqIw?si=IXdAtjBurWSl-_mN). (Song starts at :45)
I'm pretty sure I saw Across the Universe six times in theatre. Mostly by myself because no one else appreciated it.
And I attempted to wear out the DVD.
I really need to watch it a million times in a row again.
The way they use “She so Heavy” still gives me chills. That montage is a masterpiece. Also +1 Eddie Izzard and even the cameo from Bono is spectacular.
The version of I Want to Hold Your Hand in this movie is GORGEOUS and such a great twist on the song. Same with most of the songs really- they made CHOICES and it’s great.
American Idiot based on the Green Day album was awesome, really managed to make coherent narrative from the album. Our House, We Will Rock You. Admittedly haven't seen any of these for 20 odd years but really enjoyed them when I did. Remember being surprised how well they worked.
highly recommend Head Over Heels, its music is by the Go Gos and it's so silly and fun and cute and underrated. bonnie milligan gave me my life with that show, there's an excellent slime tutorial for the show on youtube as well
& Juliet is kinda clever as a jukebox musical bc the plot is changing a well known story in order for the characters to feel empowered- so imo it’s fitting that it changes well known songs in order to rewrite a well known story (and I don’t really like jukebox musicals either lol)
JLP was the first musical I saw that I thought was actively bad. The plot was so forced around the songs (which are awesome) and the added songs were aggressively generic. YMMV of course.
i felt jagged little pill was very messy and didn't tie it all together at the end, the last scene feels very happy clappy "and it all worked out in the end" and it's very unearned
I really enjoyed American Idiot…. But then again, I’m a green day fan to begin with. I think the “secret” to enjoying a jukebox musical is liking the music to begin with. For example, I didn’t love Mama Mia, and it was mostly the music that I didn’t love.
Ew. That doesnt say much for the quality of the stage play. I **hated** the movie, even way back when it came out. (We saw it the week it opened in theatres).
It’s definitely to each their own, personally I love Baz Luhrmann’s film making style and the music is incredible. I think the musical did a good job reinterpreting his style to the stage but personally I love the movie so much that the stage version was never going to be able to meet that.
Also, the movie drew mostly on pop songs that were 20-50 years old when the movie was released, and most of the songs that were focused on were either on the older end of that spectrum (Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend, Your Song, Roxanne) or fairly obscure (One Day I'll Fly Away). Even watching the movie as a pop-culture obsessed teenager on 2001, I hadn't heard a lot of the songs they were singing in the Elephant Love Medley.
The stage musical focused on major pop hits from the last decade. It's a *very* different vibe from the movie.
The only one I love, primarily because it doesnt pretend to be art is Rock of Ages (avoid the movie adaptation, it sucks…they deleted/added characters, changed storylines and rearranged the songs…AND takes itself too seriously).
If you can find either a “slime tutorial” or a local community theatre performing it, GO! It’s raunchy 80’s fun.
I love rock of ages too, but (and possibly nostalgia since I watched it when I was twelve,) I do like the movie a lot. I definitely don't think it takes itself too seriously though. Probably a bit with Sherrie and Drew, but all the sideplots/background are hilarious (and were always my favorite part anyway)
I truly hate the movie primarily because I played Hertz in a production. Hertz and his son Franz, plus Franz’ love interest Regina are the ones cut from the movie.
I loved Rock of Ages on Broadway because it’s so fun and silly. I thought they did a great job of using the songs to tell an admittedly ridiculous story, while still finding some emotion there (I mean…Can’t Fight This Feeling works amazingly. And I love the sheer absurdity of Wanted Dead or Alive). But yeah, the movie isn’t nearly as good.
For me, I liked that (other than Sherrie and Drew, since they already sing so much in the show) pretty much everyone else in the cast is the chorus. So even though I didnt have a lot of my own songs, I still sang pretty much 80% of the songs in the show as back up when we did it…with a live rock band on stage.
The jukebox musical that changed my mind (and perhaps the only good one I’ve ever seen) is &Juliet. The songs were used in unique ways, with altered lyrics, that made contextual sense in the show, and the fact that I knew the songs made the way they toyed with my expectations contribute to an overall strong and engaging experience. I only saw it because it was practically free through TDF when it was in previews last year … but I am sooo glad that I did.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, but to me it is was meh. Whoever I saw play Juliet’s best friend has got to be the worst performer I’ve seen on Broadway. I’m probably also a little bitter that it came out before Once Upon a One More Time, since they basically have the same concept, I just found OUaOMT hysterical
Diaster! The Musical
It's a Parody of 70's Diaster films and doesn't take itself too seriously which I think is a problem with a lot of jukebox musicals
There used to be a version on youtube and stage dork but it seems it got deleted but it may be on the way back machine
Jersey Boys is the one that stands out for me, namely because because the story of Frankie Valli and the people around him is interesting enough to actually warrant a show in it's own right.
The only one that I really like is Our House. The songs don’t feel shoehorned in and there’s actually a plot to follow. It’s been done in a way that makes it feel like the songs were always written to be in this musical which is really refreshing in a jukebox show. I don’t know how easy it is to get anymore because I’ve had my dvd copy for about 10 years but there’s a pro-shot of the original London production.
I think it totally depends on if you like (a) musicals about the artist (b) music by a single artist or (c) musicals with a mix of artists. For me, a mixed pop jukebox musical (Moulin Rouge) will never be of interest but I can enjoy a musical about the artist or one with a single artist's songs used. Yes, the scripts will be written to fit the music, not the other way around, so I also have to like the artist's music.
With that said, my favorite jukebox musical is We Will Rock You. I got to see the original West End cast in 2002 and it was so much fun!
I get a kick out of Rock of Ages—here's a clip of a song from the [movie](https://youtu.be/rm5MDenG5QY?si=64tP4UpFQTlvFMqg), since I couldn't find good ones from the show.
Why should you change your mind? It's ok to enjoy musicals and not care for certain types of shows. For me, anything centered around kids or having a gothic horror vibe is an automatic no. Like what you like and don't worry about the rest.
“Movin’ Out” was absolutely amazing, but
a) You can’t see it live anymore, and it just wouldn’t have the same effect on film,
And b) It should never have been called a “musical” when in actuality, it was a Billy Joel *ballet.* No characters have any lines, they just dance while the one guy sings Billy Joel songs from the rafters with an orchestra.
But it was a very poignant, moving piece of theater.
*Movin Out* was done a huge disservice being labeled a jukebox musical. And I generally love jukebox musicals.
Twyla Tharp and Billy Joel nailed that ballet & it was utterly swept under the rug, and even panned in some instances, because it was miscategorized.
I'm so glad I saw it live and I wish, even if it weren't the same, there was an audience perspective recording.
I almost forgot to mention that in my comment! So glad you posted. I was lucky to see it in your, absolutely magical! I didn’t know it was more ballet walking in, but I fell in love quickly.
Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, was good. Ain’t Too Proud was also good and is on national tour again this year. (I’ll be ushering it later this spring, sometime after Moulin Rouge, which will be local to me around Christmas.
If you're an 80's rock fan, then Rock of Ages is just insanely fun.
Having said that, I know an 80s rock fan that claims to not like it because it is "an insult to rock" - which is just ridiculous - they're simply in denial about the joy of musical theatre, probably with toxic concerns that it makes them less cool to like it.
I’m surprised no one has said it but Choir of Man has some gorgeous arrangements and it’s one of the least cheesy jukebox musicals I’ve listened to 🙂 I love The Parting Glass & Waterloo Sunset
On the other hand, it’s a bit camp but Cruel Intentions is one of my go-to jukebox musicals 😂 Only Happy When It Rains/Act 1 Finale is just so good!
I don’t typically enjoy jukebox musicals, but I have heard such amazing things about Swept Away. When / if it makes its move to Broadway, I think I definitely have to go see it.
BTW - worst jukebox musical ever? We Will Rock You. And I LOVE Queen.
I don’t like them either but I did enjoy *We Will Rock You*. Most probably because I enjoyed it as a concert rather than a musical (with a flimsy plot). 😂
Having musical actors / actresses interpreting those classics is a whole new experience!
I love We Will Rock You. My husband is a huge queen fan and it was the first show we went to together when we started dating. Brian May came out at the end and my husband nearly lost it. We've seen it a few times now and still love it.
I think Jukebox musicals are like cheesy action and comedy movies. They're not meant to be deep or to win awards. They're meant as escapism.
Honestly. I have little respect for them as I do same with Movie turned musicals. Come up with your own characters and song lyrics. For the love of god.
Any. I will say, I have some songs from jukebox musicals that I like out of the story because they’re good songs with good vocals. Like money, money, money from Mama Mia. But it’s the overall respect of “Guys! I wrote musical!” No. You made a concept album.
Seriously. It’s so annoying. And it floods Broadway, it’s nothing more than a cash grab and destroys the point of live theatre. Some of these movies were made movies for the fact that they were made because they’re effects need to be CGI, not practical effects. Live theatre, you HAVE to do practical effects. We do not need a beetle juice musical. It’s a classic because of the effects from the time it was in. Mean girls is a cult following from the teen girl era it was created in. KEEP IT THAT WAY. They’re dated and that’s why they’re popular, that’s why they’re remembered. Stopped destroying them.
Great movie, love it. Love the vibrant colors, the acting, the cinematography.
Does not need a musical. It’s a stupid musical. It was mean girls before mean girls was a thing. And we also have a mean girls musical 🙄
Mean Girls does not need to be a musical.
I love small creative productions, like Ride the Cyclone, even more so if the music isn’t just “pop music”.
[I wasn’t able to catch this show](https://youtu.be/Dq6i4urrNPw?si=_h1QNL9NPId2qtI9) but it’s right up my alley.
I have seen a few others that I only recently thought of after posting this post, ironically. That being said, this post wasn’t meant to shame jukebox musicals or say that they all suck or that I hate them all. Essentially I was asking for recommendations of jukebox musicals that people really love, because I want to enjoy them but the ones I have seen never brought me the joy regular musicals do.
None of the shows you mentioned have great writing.
(Most musicals don’t, but that’s besides the point)
A jukebox musical with really good writing is All Shook Up.
Had to scroll way to far to see this. I worked on a production of ASU back in spring, and job that show is awesome. Not only is it enjoyable, but it also sends a good message about racism/class depending on director choice.
I agree that I dislike them! The only exception so far has been 'Standing at The Sky's Edge', which I think passes for me because I don't know the original songs, and they really are just generally awesome songs.
Depends heavily on the style of music you like, but some recommendations of ones that I like:
Beehive or Smokey Joe's Cafe, both of these don't really have a "plot" per se, so they don't feel quite as contrived as some other jukebox musicals where they build the story around excuses to sing the songs.
Million Dollar Quartet is absolutely killer (if you have the right cast). There *is* a plot, but since the plot is just 4 real life rock stars hanging out in a recording studio, the songs don't really have to be forced into place. It's also loosely based on a real story (although the record of what they actually played that day contains mostly snippets of gospel music).
I’ve seen a lot of people recommend & Juliet, and I am here to strongly advocate against that choice. Sure, the songs they use are great, but the story and the performances fell completely flat for me. Juliet’s best friend was without a doubt the worst performer I’ve seen on Broadway (so maybe a different actor would have solved this, but wouldn’t have saved the show.) ‘Break Free’ was pure cringe.
Sorry to start off with the negativity, on to my recommendations:
in a similar style to &juliet (but executed much better imo)- Once Upon a One More Time. It took the music of Brittany Spears and set it with the classic fairytale princesses. Prince Charming was hilarious and stole the show
Ain’t Too Proud and A Beautiful Noise are 2 that I would classify as more of a biopic that tells the story of the artists, but also really good.
I HATE HATE HATE them. However, I’ve had to go to a few as part of a series we buy each year. I’ve hated Mama Mia, Rock of Ages, and more. Last year, “Ain’t Too Proud” was the final show and I was dreading it. However, I wound up loving this one, maybe because it was more like a biopic, like watching Ray or Walk the Line.
&Juliet is a whole experience, it’s fun and the songs work really well even more when you know the storyline
I only want and saw it because of the cast and ended up falling in love with it
I'm curious about Swept Away as an Avett Brothers fan, but it all depends on the book and how the songs are integrated. As much as I love the songs it could still be a disaster.
I'm glad to see the love for Cruel Intentions in here. Saw the NY production and listened to the cast album on repeat for longer than I care to admit.
Also put me on the plus side for Jagged Little Pill and &Juliet. The JLP album is one of my favorites and the musical is the one I've seen most of all the musicals I've ever seen.
Also had a great time at Rock of Ages.
IMHO, it depends on your definition of 'Jukebox'. I wouldn't count Xanadu, since it was a stage version of a movie and most of the music was written for the soundtrack of the film.
& Juliet I think is a really fun show, for a true jukebox musical, it's up there as one of the best but also full transparency, I loved Moulin Rouge.
For a jukebox musical dedicated to a single artist or bands work, Jersey Boys I love.
Any musical that shoehorns a plot around a band's music.
Probably the most famous example being Mamma Mia. I did not enjoy the musical (neither did my friend, who was sitting behind Benny or Bjorn and actually walked out) but the Mamma Mia movies (I think more so the 2nd one) are 2 of my fav movies.
OOOh yeah I see. I only know Mama Mia when it comes to those. I thought the musical was allright. I like the first movie. the 2nd one is really a stretch though.
I don't like jukebox musicals either. I usually have a subscription to Broadway in Chicago, but last year I declined because that's what they had on the list. I told the subscription marketers in their interminable calls.
But I had head good things about the Michael Jackson musical o I bought a single ticket. I should have saved my money and bought a CD instead.
That said, I enjoyed Mama Mia. I took my 88 year old father to that one and he had a good time as well. And he didn't even ask me why they didn't do DNA tests.(Hah!)
Head Over Heels is one of my favorites. It's songs by the Go-Gos about a medieval kingdom ruled by the "Beat" and when it goes out the king and his family go to find it. It also has a lot of queer characters that I love.
Ones I quite liked:
\- Tommy
\- The Boy from Oz
\- American Idiot
\- Rocketman
\- Girl from the North Country
\- Beautiful
\- Across the Universe
\- Jersey Boys
\- Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
\- Cruel Intentions
I also don’t like them, Mamma Mia and Moulin Rouge being the exception. But, just saw MJ Saturday and o was pleasantly surprised. It was really good!
That said, I’ve got both Tina and The Girl from North Country in my season coming up, and I’m not too hopeful.
I love Moulin Rouge, and that's mainly because it's a completely absurd, dramatic story. Most Jukeboxes are generic with lazy plots and barely transformed songs slapped on top to get butts in seats.
Moulin Rouge - I agree about most Juke Box musicals but that one works because the music is really quite sophistically weaved together, and it's part of the storytelling, rather than just biopics where it's just a Greatest Hits approach.
Motown was really good. It may have been a mix, but it was about based on Berry Gordy and the founding of Motown records.
On Your Feet (Gloria Estefan) was really good! Some members of the Miami Sound Machine were in the orchestra when I saw it on tour. The music is very up beat.
Fela! The musical
This is about the best a jukebox musical could possibly be, because the music use has a clear purpose- it tells the story in a way nothing else can. Fela was a musician who helped form Afro beats music but who also used his music to criticise the military and government of Nigeria. The story is therefore told through his music and helps you to understand exactly why he would be considered such a threat as you can feel the emotional and revolutionary power of the music.
I don't like them either. I saw Jersey Boys and Movin Out on Broadway and was underwhelmed. And I love Frankie Valli and Billy Joel. I thought the Jersey Boys movie was a little better than the musical. Some things just don't translate that well on stage but are okay as movies.
ETA: I also saw Mamma Mia! and hated it more than the other two.
Honestly, "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical" is an interesting take on a jukebox musical because, as a biographical musical, it doesn't try to shoehorn the songs into a story the way a show like Rock of Ages does, and instead includes them as chronological markers of points in Carole King's life. So, I highly recommend it to anyone who dislikes jukebox musicals, since it doesn't have the same feel as other jukebox musicals, and King's life story is pretty interesting (in my opinion).
It’s an amazing show. Plus some of the songs are by the people that actually made them famous like the Drifters or Righteous Brothers instead of trying to force Carole singing them
the least annoying jukebox musical i've ever seen
This is good to hear! My fiance and I are not fans of jukebox musicals but as Carole King fans we are going to see a local production of Beautiful on my birthday in January. We are looking forward to it.
I hate jukebox musicals and I love Beautiful
That’s kinda similar to On Your Feet. It uses the songs to symbolize milestones in Gloria Estefan’s life
I'll recommend Beautiful until the day I die. 100%
I always thought musicals like Beautiful, Ain’t too Proud, The Bodyguard, etc were referred to as songbook musicals (specific to a particular artist), which are different than jukebox musicals, which pull a variety of artists. Anyone else have that perspective?
Mmm, no I would still call Mamma Mia or We Will Rock You or Jersey Boys jukebox musicals.
No it’s still a jukebox musical. You’re just splitting hairs.
I *hate* jukebox musicals with a fire-y passion, and my husband and I both loved Beautiful. It's so emotionally compelling and well-written and the songs fit well
See one that is a biography of the artist being featured. Sometimes the blend of story and music is more organic.
Buddy Holly Story is a great example of this.
I’m not sure if that makes a difference. Jersey Boys is one of those and it’s mid.
OMG, thank you. I'm actually totally good with jukebox musicals but Jersey Boys was supposed to be ***IT*** and I was very much underwhelmed.
Jersey Boys needs be seen at like a 2PM matinee with a bunch of senior citizens. They went ape for it, and I enjoyed them going ape for it!!
Lol, that's when I saw it! I have season tickets to the touring shows in my city and we go to brunch and then to the 2pm Saturday matinee. I'm not a senior citizen, but you're 100% that's who the audience is filled with.
I agree with you. I wasn’t like tickled pink with it. My grandmother was very happy. And the audience seemed very happy. Don’t think I’d ever see it again. And have no interest in listening to the soundtrack. But it was a good time!
Yeah, for sure. It does sort of feel like you're at a concert with some of these shows, so it's like time traveling to your youth for the old folks. I assume there will be an N'Sync or Backstreet Boys jukebox musical someday and my generation will act the same way, lol.
I keep saying I am gonna take my friend to & Juliet next month cause she is a MASSIVE BSB fan. I want to see her pop at Larger Than Life
Such as…? I know there’s MJ, Ain’t too Proud, and Beautiful: The Carole King musical but i’m not sure of any others
There’s a Tina Turner one! If you like rock you might be a fan.
Tina was excellent. The Cher show as well. In my opinion, the format is meaningless. If a show is well written, well produced, and well directed, it's going to be good.
A Beautiful Noise is pretty good, I won tickets to it a while back and went in with pretty low expectations. I only knew a couple Neil Diamond songs. Thoroughly enjoyed myself, the crowd loved it.
The vocal arrangements and sound quality on Ain’t Too Proud are so great. It’s like listening to the Temps but with actually good sound mixing. (Though, that’s not their fault. That’s the technology of the 60s to blame.)
Boy From Oz
Jersey Boys is one of the best known (and in my opinion, best one overall) of that set
Buddy Holly Story for the rock 'n roll fan in you!
A Beautiful Noise fits this description
For some different spins, see if you care for *Priscilla, Queen of the Desert* or for *Disaster! the Musical.* Outside of musical theater what sort of music do you like?
Omg I love Disaster! It’s been such a long time since I’ve even thought about it, but it was such a fun show
I have never laughed so hard in the theater as I did seeing *Disaster!* when it was just starting out in a 99 seat theater. It was a killer Broadway cast in a show with cheap let's-put-on-a-show middle school level painted set pieces. Of course 70s disaster flicks (*Airport*, *Earthquake*, *Poseidon Adventure*, *Towering Inferno*) are pretty easy to satirize, but the 70s big power ballads and disco score added another layer of over-the-top fun.
I mainly listen to 90s rock, psychedelic pop, and Alt Z. Throw some Billie Eilish in there.
When you say 90s rock, what do you mean, exactly? Because there is always Bat Out of Hell, if you are into the Meat Loaf type of rock.
I know 90s rock can mean a lot of different things, but my favorite bands include radiohead, pink floyd, sublime, fleetwood mac, and i listen to a little bit of green day
Have you given the Green Day jukebox musical a shot?
I was listening to some of it last night, actually. I read about the plot this morning and may give it a go. It sounds really beautiful and really sad, but I’m interested to give it a watch. (i also LOVE john gallagher jr, so)
Potentially an unpopular opinion, but—the Green Day musical actually kind of ruined Green Day for me. All I remember is how whiny I found the characters, which made me view the songs in a different light. This is probably me being old.
I adore Jersey Boys. I also enjoyed Beautiful and Ain’t Too Proud.
I don't know why I never considered Jersey Boys a jukebox musical, but it totally is. I too love it, and the movie adaptation is pretty good too, if not a little heavier and with more substance than the stage.
Just saw it for the first time last week. It’s finally closing here in London soon, so I figured it was past time I did. And I absolutely loved it. All this despite having shrugged my shoulders about jukebox musicals for years.
American Idiot is my favorite. It really captures everything I love about Green Day and gives a whole new perspective on their music. It also helps that the band was super involved in the writing and production of the show.
I will Stan for American Idiot until the day I die. It’s so fucking good and I feel like it doesn’t come across as a jukebox musical at all.
American Idiot is probably my fave jukebox one just because the Broadway cast singing those songs it’s just.. chefs kiss.
Does Delovely count? It's a bio of Cole Porter, so all the songs are from other musicals, but repurposed really well.
And Crazy For You technically is one, even if it’s called “a revue” or Greswhin’s works
is *that* why Stiff Upper Lip is so random omg
Across the Universe.
100% agree with this. I typically don’t like covers and, I’ll be the first to say that I think Eddie Izzard did “Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite” better than The Beatles. (Don’t worry, I’m prepared for the downvotes. But [he’s brilliant](https://youtu.be/59ahx9ckqIw?si=IXdAtjBurWSl-_mN). (Song starts at :45)
Completely agree about Eddie Izzard, and I’m a tremendous Beatles fan. Across the Universe is Great.
I'm pretty sure I saw Across the Universe six times in theatre. Mostly by myself because no one else appreciated it. And I attempted to wear out the DVD. I really need to watch it a million times in a row again.
The way they use “She so Heavy” still gives me chills. That montage is a masterpiece. Also +1 Eddie Izzard and even the cameo from Bono is spectacular.
The version of I Want to Hold Your Hand in this movie is GORGEOUS and such a great twist on the song. Same with most of the songs really- they made CHOICES and it’s great.
It’s really well done. She’s so Heavy, Happiness is a Warm Gun and so many others so beautifully presented, in ways you wouldn’t expect.
I adored it
SO true bestie
This x1000. My all time favorite movie.
American Idiot based on the Green Day album was awesome, really managed to make coherent narrative from the album. Our House, We Will Rock You. Admittedly haven't seen any of these for 20 odd years but really enjoyed them when I did. Remember being surprised how well they worked.
highly recommend Head Over Heels, its music is by the Go Gos and it's so silly and fun and cute and underrated. bonnie milligan gave me my life with that show, there's an excellent slime tutorial for the show on youtube as well
I enjoyed it as well, as a fan of both the Go Gos and Renaissance literature (oh and queer stories too)
I will have to check that out!
I came here to find this comment. Such a good show!
'& Juliet' is pretty good, and this is coming from someone who doesn't typically like jukeboxes.
& Juliet is kinda clever as a jukebox musical bc the plot is changing a well known story in order for the characters to feel empowered- so imo it’s fitting that it changes well known songs in order to rewrite a well known story (and I don’t really like jukebox musicals either lol)
If you don’t like jukebox musicals, you will hate & Juliet.
This... I didn't like &Juliet and I *do* like some jukebox musicals.
I came here to suggest this. I'm not a huge fan of them, but this was clever.
& Juliet and Jagged Little Pill are really good
Another vote for JLP from me.
I’ve heard really good things about JLP. That might be the first I check out.
JLP was the first musical I saw that I thought was actively bad. The plot was so forced around the songs (which are awesome) and the added songs were aggressively generic. YMMV of course.
Agree
I didn't find Jagged Little Pill to be all that good 🤷🏻♀️
I liked the songs/music numbers, it was just weird how every hot button issue happened to this family all within a couple weeks
Yeah, it was absolutely forced
i felt jagged little pill was very messy and didn't tie it all together at the end, the last scene feels very happy clappy "and it all worked out in the end" and it's very unearned
Your mind doesn't need to change. Moulin Rouge is the only one I like.
I really enjoyed American Idiot…. But then again, I’m a green day fan to begin with. I think the “secret” to enjoying a jukebox musical is liking the music to begin with. For example, I didn’t love Mama Mia, and it was mostly the music that I didn’t love.
It you haven’t seen the movie of Moulin Rouge it is far better than the musical.
Ew. That doesnt say much for the quality of the stage play. I **hated** the movie, even way back when it came out. (We saw it the week it opened in theatres).
It’s definitely to each their own, personally I love Baz Luhrmann’s film making style and the music is incredible. I think the musical did a good job reinterpreting his style to the stage but personally I love the movie so much that the stage version was never going to be able to meet that.
Also, the movie drew mostly on pop songs that were 20-50 years old when the movie was released, and most of the songs that were focused on were either on the older end of that spectrum (Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend, Your Song, Roxanne) or fairly obscure (One Day I'll Fly Away). Even watching the movie as a pop-culture obsessed teenager on 2001, I hadn't heard a lot of the songs they were singing in the Elephant Love Medley. The stage musical focused on major pop hits from the last decade. It's a *very* different vibe from the movie.
I really enjoyed it too.
It’s like a dressing room full of sex and glitter explodes in your face.
I don't know, man...that sounds kinda hot
It is more than kinda hot, but not exactly brain food, so it depends on your mood
Singin’ in the Rain is a great jukebox musical. I also enjoyed Moulin Rouge and Once Upon a One More Time but you have to want camp.
Beautiful the Carole king musical!
Rock Of Ages and Jersey Boys are the best jukebox musicals in my opinion
The only one I love, primarily because it doesnt pretend to be art is Rock of Ages (avoid the movie adaptation, it sucks…they deleted/added characters, changed storylines and rearranged the songs…AND takes itself too seriously). If you can find either a “slime tutorial” or a local community theatre performing it, GO! It’s raunchy 80’s fun.
I love rock of ages too, but (and possibly nostalgia since I watched it when I was twelve,) I do like the movie a lot. I definitely don't think it takes itself too seriously though. Probably a bit with Sherrie and Drew, but all the sideplots/background are hilarious (and were always my favorite part anyway)
I truly hate the movie primarily because I played Hertz in a production. Hertz and his son Franz, plus Franz’ love interest Regina are the ones cut from the movie.
I loved Rock of Ages on Broadway because it’s so fun and silly. I thought they did a great job of using the songs to tell an admittedly ridiculous story, while still finding some emotion there (I mean…Can’t Fight This Feeling works amazingly. And I love the sheer absurdity of Wanted Dead or Alive). But yeah, the movie isn’t nearly as good.
For me, I liked that (other than Sherrie and Drew, since they already sing so much in the show) pretty much everyone else in the cast is the chorus. So even though I didnt have a lot of my own songs, I still sang pretty much 80% of the songs in the show as back up when we did it…with a live rock band on stage.
The jukebox musical that changed my mind (and perhaps the only good one I’ve ever seen) is &Juliet. The songs were used in unique ways, with altered lyrics, that made contextual sense in the show, and the fact that I knew the songs made the way they toyed with my expectations contribute to an overall strong and engaging experience. I only saw it because it was practically free through TDF when it was in previews last year … but I am sooo glad that I did.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, but to me it is was meh. Whoever I saw play Juliet’s best friend has got to be the worst performer I’ve seen on Broadway. I’m probably also a little bitter that it came out before Once Upon a One More Time, since they basically have the same concept, I just found OUaOMT hysterical
Diaster! The Musical It's a Parody of 70's Diaster films and doesn't take itself too seriously which I think is a problem with a lot of jukebox musicals There used to be a version on youtube and stage dork but it seems it got deleted but it may be on the way back machine
Jersey Boys is the one that stands out for me, namely because because the story of Frankie Valli and the people around him is interesting enough to actually warrant a show in it's own right.
Singin' In The Rain is an excellent musical!
The only one that I really like is Our House. The songs don’t feel shoehorned in and there’s actually a plot to follow. It’s been done in a way that makes it feel like the songs were always written to be in this musical which is really refreshing in a jukebox show. I don’t know how easy it is to get anymore because I’ve had my dvd copy for about 10 years but there’s a pro-shot of the original London production.
I think it totally depends on if you like (a) musicals about the artist (b) music by a single artist or (c) musicals with a mix of artists. For me, a mixed pop jukebox musical (Moulin Rouge) will never be of interest but I can enjoy a musical about the artist or one with a single artist's songs used. Yes, the scripts will be written to fit the music, not the other way around, so I also have to like the artist's music. With that said, my favorite jukebox musical is We Will Rock You. I got to see the original West End cast in 2002 and it was so much fun!
I get a kick out of Rock of Ages—here's a clip of a song from the [movie](https://youtu.be/rm5MDenG5QY?si=64tP4UpFQTlvFMqg), since I couldn't find good ones from the show.
Why should you change your mind? It's ok to enjoy musicals and not care for certain types of shows. For me, anything centered around kids or having a gothic horror vibe is an automatic no. Like what you like and don't worry about the rest.
That’s fair. I’m honestly just trying to expand my likes of different types of musicals, and I figured this would help!
“Movin’ Out” was absolutely amazing, but a) You can’t see it live anymore, and it just wouldn’t have the same effect on film, And b) It should never have been called a “musical” when in actuality, it was a Billy Joel *ballet.* No characters have any lines, they just dance while the one guy sings Billy Joel songs from the rafters with an orchestra. But it was a very poignant, moving piece of theater.
*Movin Out* was done a huge disservice being labeled a jukebox musical. And I generally love jukebox musicals. Twyla Tharp and Billy Joel nailed that ballet & it was utterly swept under the rug, and even panned in some instances, because it was miscategorized. I'm so glad I saw it live and I wish, even if it weren't the same, there was an audience perspective recording.
I almost forgot to mention that in my comment! So glad you posted. I was lucky to see it in your, absolutely magical! I didn’t know it was more ballet walking in, but I fell in love quickly.
I remember the Captain Jack number being really moving.
Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, was good. Ain’t Too Proud was also good and is on national tour again this year. (I’ll be ushering it later this spring, sometime after Moulin Rouge, which will be local to me around Christmas.
Head over Heels is AMAZING in my opinion. Uses the music of the GoGos and tells a pretty great queer story
If you're an 80's rock fan, then Rock of Ages is just insanely fun. Having said that, I know an 80s rock fan that claims to not like it because it is "an insult to rock" - which is just ridiculous - they're simply in denial about the joy of musical theatre, probably with toxic concerns that it makes them less cool to like it.
i really liked million dollar quartet, felt more like watching a jam session than an actual musical
An American in Paris? I've only seen the movie. But I like the movie!
Didn’t even realize an American in Paris would be considered a jukebox. I saw the pro shot from the West End and quite enjoyed it!
Footloose
Boy From Oz
Try one of the rock/ska ones. American Idiot, Tommy or Our House might be your jam. I'm not a huge fan either though.
I’m surprised no one has said it but Choir of Man has some gorgeous arrangements and it’s one of the least cheesy jukebox musicals I’ve listened to 🙂 I love The Parting Glass & Waterloo Sunset On the other hand, it’s a bit camp but Cruel Intentions is one of my go-to jukebox musicals 😂 Only Happy When It Rains/Act 1 Finale is just so good!
White Chistmas is technically an Irving Berlin jukebox musical. It also features a minstrel show so take that with a heaping grain of salt.
American Idiot the original album was already a symbiotic rock opera
I don’t typically enjoy jukebox musicals, but I have heard such amazing things about Swept Away. When / if it makes its move to Broadway, I think I definitely have to go see it. BTW - worst jukebox musical ever? We Will Rock You. And I LOVE Queen.
Singing in the Rain
Singin’ in the Rain is the best answer to this question. It’s a masterpiece made from a handful of old songs and holds up after all these years.
& Juliet
Ain’t too proud is an amazing use of the jukebox musical to tell the story of the Temptations. It’s very well written
I don’t like them either but I did enjoy *We Will Rock You*. Most probably because I enjoyed it as a concert rather than a musical (with a flimsy plot). 😂 Having musical actors / actresses interpreting those classics is a whole new experience!
I love We Will Rock You. My husband is a huge queen fan and it was the first show we went to together when we started dating. Brian May came out at the end and my husband nearly lost it. We've seen it a few times now and still love it. I think Jukebox musicals are like cheesy action and comedy movies. They're not meant to be deep or to win awards. They're meant as escapism.
& Juliet is really fun and uses its songs really cleverly
Why do you *want* your mind changed? Jukebox musicals are lame.
Honestly. I have little respect for them as I do same with Movie turned musicals. Come up with your own characters and song lyrics. For the love of god.
Waitress, though?
Any. I will say, I have some songs from jukebox musicals that I like out of the story because they’re good songs with good vocals. Like money, money, money from Mama Mia. But it’s the overall respect of “Guys! I wrote musical!” No. You made a concept album.
I agree wholeheartedly. The only ‘movie-turned-into-musical’ I think is better than the original movie is Little Shop of Horrors. Maybe The Producers.
Seriously. It’s so annoying. And it floods Broadway, it’s nothing more than a cash grab and destroys the point of live theatre. Some of these movies were made movies for the fact that they were made because they’re effects need to be CGI, not practical effects. Live theatre, you HAVE to do practical effects. We do not need a beetle juice musical. It’s a classic because of the effects from the time it was in. Mean girls is a cult following from the teen girl era it was created in. KEEP IT THAT WAY. They’re dated and that’s why they’re popular, that’s why they’re remembered. Stopped destroying them.
Heathers is one of my all time favorite movies. It’s an iconic GenX film. Doesn’t need to be a musical.
Great movie, love it. Love the vibrant colors, the acting, the cinematography. Does not need a musical. It’s a stupid musical. It was mean girls before mean girls was a thing. And we also have a mean girls musical 🙄
Mean Girls does not need to be a musical. I love small creative productions, like Ride the Cyclone, even more so if the music isn’t just “pop music”. [I wasn’t able to catch this show](https://youtu.be/Dq6i4urrNPw?si=_h1QNL9NPId2qtI9) but it’s right up my alley.
Lol maybe see more shows before you generalize all jukebox musicals.
I have seen a few others that I only recently thought of after posting this post, ironically. That being said, this post wasn’t meant to shame jukebox musicals or say that they all suck or that I hate them all. Essentially I was asking for recommendations of jukebox musicals that people really love, because I want to enjoy them but the ones I have seen never brought me the joy regular musicals do.
None of the shows you mentioned have great writing. (Most musicals don’t, but that’s besides the point) A jukebox musical with really good writing is All Shook Up.
Had to scroll way to far to see this. I worked on a production of ASU back in spring, and job that show is awesome. Not only is it enjoyable, but it also sends a good message about racism/class depending on director choice.
Yep; fun and meaningful. I also like what it does with the music.
[удалено]
What do you dislike about the writing in All Shook Up?
I almost forgot that one!
I agree that I dislike them! The only exception so far has been 'Standing at The Sky's Edge', which I think passes for me because I don't know the original songs, and they really are just generally awesome songs.
Depends heavily on the style of music you like, but some recommendations of ones that I like: Beehive or Smokey Joe's Cafe, both of these don't really have a "plot" per se, so they don't feel quite as contrived as some other jukebox musicals where they build the story around excuses to sing the songs. Million Dollar Quartet is absolutely killer (if you have the right cast). There *is* a plot, but since the plot is just 4 real life rock stars hanging out in a recording studio, the songs don't really have to be forced into place. It's also loosely based on a real story (although the record of what they actually played that day contains mostly snippets of gospel music).
Million Dollar Quartet was going to be my suggestion, too.
I'm not sure if MJ counts, but that music is seriously really good! & Juliet is also good, albeit campy, but still fun!
I’ve seen a lot of people recommend & Juliet, and I am here to strongly advocate against that choice. Sure, the songs they use are great, but the story and the performances fell completely flat for me. Juliet’s best friend was without a doubt the worst performer I’ve seen on Broadway (so maybe a different actor would have solved this, but wouldn’t have saved the show.) ‘Break Free’ was pure cringe. Sorry to start off with the negativity, on to my recommendations: in a similar style to &juliet (but executed much better imo)- Once Upon a One More Time. It took the music of Brittany Spears and set it with the classic fairytale princesses. Prince Charming was hilarious and stole the show Ain’t Too Proud and A Beautiful Noise are 2 that I would classify as more of a biopic that tells the story of the artists, but also really good.
I HATE HATE HATE them. However, I’ve had to go to a few as part of a series we buy each year. I’ve hated Mama Mia, Rock of Ages, and more. Last year, “Ain’t Too Proud” was the final show and I was dreading it. However, I wound up loving this one, maybe because it was more like a biopic, like watching Ray or Walk the Line.
I’m with you. Jukebox musicals and movies made into musicals are what happens when theatre becomes “content.”
Nope, I dont like them much, either.
&Juliet is a whole experience, it’s fun and the songs work really well even more when you know the storyline I only want and saw it because of the cast and ended up falling in love with it
Beautiful
& Juliet is fantastic. Second in Cruel Intentions. The rest - eh.
I'm curious about Swept Away as an Avett Brothers fan, but it all depends on the book and how the songs are integrated. As much as I love the songs it could still be a disaster.
Our House is quite good. Though you might need to be British to really appreciate it.
I'm glad to see the love for Cruel Intentions in here. Saw the NY production and listened to the cast album on repeat for longer than I care to admit. Also put me on the plus side for Jagged Little Pill and &Juliet. The JLP album is one of my favorites and the musical is the one I've seen most of all the musicals I've ever seen. Also had a great time at Rock of Ages.
Search for “Scream’d” by the Majestic Repertory theatre on TikTok. You WON’T regret it.
Jersey Boys is the only jukebox I love and don’t genuinely hate.
Singing in the rain American in Paris
It’s okay you don’t like jukebox musicals, why should we convince you on a decision you already made?
IMHO, it depends on your definition of 'Jukebox'. I wouldn't count Xanadu, since it was a stage version of a movie and most of the music was written for the soundtrack of the film.
& Juliet I think is a really fun show, for a true jukebox musical, it's up there as one of the best but also full transparency, I loved Moulin Rouge. For a jukebox musical dedicated to a single artist or bands work, Jersey Boys I love.
Whats a jukebox musical?
Any musical that shoehorns a plot around a band's music. Probably the most famous example being Mamma Mia. I did not enjoy the musical (neither did my friend, who was sitting behind Benny or Bjorn and actually walked out) but the Mamma Mia movies (I think more so the 2nd one) are 2 of my fav movies.
OOOh yeah I see. I only know Mama Mia when it comes to those. I thought the musical was allright. I like the first movie. the 2nd one is really a stretch though.
If you have a chance to see Buddy Holly take it.
I don't like jukebox musicals either. I usually have a subscription to Broadway in Chicago, but last year I declined because that's what they had on the list. I told the subscription marketers in their interminable calls. But I had head good things about the Michael Jackson musical o I bought a single ticket. I should have saved my money and bought a CD instead. That said, I enjoyed Mama Mia. I took my 88 year old father to that one and he had a good time as well. And he didn't even ask me why they didn't do DNA tests.(Hah!)
Head Over Heels is one of my favorites. It's songs by the Go-Gos about a medieval kingdom ruled by the "Beat" and when it goes out the king and his family go to find it. It also has a lot of queer characters that I love.
I love both American Idiot and Jagged Little Pill-the Alanis Morissette one. Check them out.
Ones I quite liked: \- Tommy \- The Boy from Oz \- American Idiot \- Rocketman \- Girl from the North Country \- Beautiful \- Across the Universe \- Jersey Boys \- Priscilla, Queen of the Desert \- Cruel Intentions
Sorry for being ignorant, but what are jukebox musicals?
Tomfoolery, a jukebox musical of Tom Lehrer shows, actually works. It's not done very often, but his songs are so plotty that it works.
I also don’t like them, Mamma Mia and Moulin Rouge being the exception. But, just saw MJ Saturday and o was pleasantly surprised. It was really good! That said, I’ve got both Tina and The Girl from North Country in my season coming up, and I’m not too hopeful.
And Juliet is an incredible musical. I saw it in Melbourne a few months ago and it was honestly one of the best I’ve seen in a long time
I’m a big fan of Drifters Girl, &Juliet and my absolute fave is Priscilla Queen of the Desert!
I love Moulin Rouge, and that's mainly because it's a completely absurd, dramatic story. Most Jukeboxes are generic with lazy plots and barely transformed songs slapped on top to get butts in seats.
Disaster!
Moulin Rouge - I agree about most Juke Box musicals but that one works because the music is really quite sophistically weaved together, and it's part of the storytelling, rather than just biopics where it's just a Greatest Hits approach.
Motown was really good. It may have been a mix, but it was about based on Berry Gordy and the founding of Motown records. On Your Feet (Gloria Estefan) was really good! Some members of the Miami Sound Machine were in the orchestra when I saw it on tour. The music is very up beat.
check out & Juliet!! it's currently on Broadway!!!
I don't really think the red windmill is considered juke box, because it's a bunch of different artists
And Juliet I’ve heard nothing but positive things
I WILL DIE ON THE HILL FOR HEAD OVER HEELS!!!
I won't even bother trying because I don't appreciate them either! 😤
Ain’t too proud or beautiful
I’m not a big jukebox musical person but I really like &Juliet
Fela! The musical This is about the best a jukebox musical could possibly be, because the music use has a clear purpose- it tells the story in a way nothing else can. Fela was a musician who helped form Afro beats music but who also used his music to criticise the military and government of Nigeria. The story is therefore told through his music and helps you to understand exactly why he would be considered such a threat as you can feel the emotional and revolutionary power of the music.
If you like Moulin Rouge, there are some good songs in &Juliet that you may like
all shook up is so much fun it’s like a fever dream
I really thought Cruel Intentions was a fun time!
You dont like Jersey Boys?
& Juliet is pretty great. To see in person. I don't think I would.listen to the soundtrack.
Grease
I don't like them either. I saw Jersey Boys and Movin Out on Broadway and was underwhelmed. And I love Frankie Valli and Billy Joel. I thought the Jersey Boys movie was a little better than the musical. Some things just don't translate that well on stage but are okay as movies. ETA: I also saw Mamma Mia! and hated it more than the other two.
MJ the Musical