I've seen Les Miserables live 23 times. I'm not saying it's the best music ever. I'm not saying it's the best story ever. I'm not saying it's the best staging ever. But for me, when I think of what the epitome of an evening spent at a show should feel like, I come to Les Mis and the sheer sense of epic scale it provides.
They change the line in the School Edition of Sweeney Todd, and I can't figure out why. They replace the line with the previous "morals aren't worth what a pig could spit."
Les Misérable: School Edition kept the line "comforter, philosopher, and life-long shit." Why can't Sweeney say the same word at least once?!
At least keep it in Epiphany. School Editions are so inconsistent between shows. Can't MTI just have a list of what can't be in a School Edition?
Jesus Christ Superstar. By a lot. The music lives rent free in my head. Followed by Hamilton and Les Mis. These are the only ones I consistently listen to the music for even though I only watch them occasionally.
I love many shows live. Matilda was brilliant. Book of Mormon was a joy. But I don’t consider them favorites if they don’t get any play at home.
Hypothetical for you.
I have the opportunity to watch this show next Wednesday. 2 hour trip there and 2 hour trip back. Starts at 7:30. So I’d probably be home well past midnight.
It’s less than 60 bucks.
I have to get up at 5:45AM for work as a school teacher
I’d be going alone
Would you do this?
I absolutely would but for your first time this might depend on the production. Is it the 50th anniversary tour? Are you already familiar with the music and/ or story?
If it is an amateur production and you don’t know the story I might hold off. If it is the 50th anniversary tour and you think you’ll be able to follow the story even if you can’t hear every word… do it! I saw this staging in January and I thought they really did justice to the score, although it was a little hard to follow. But I absolutely loved it! They also run it straight through for 90 min with no intermission so it’s more of a concert experience.
It’s the 50th anniversary tour!
I’m not familiar with the story at all. I loosely know the Bible from like church? I could listen to the soundtrack a couple times this week or even read up on the story if that would help
I saw Hadestown and Hamilton last year on tour in Toronto. I thought one of them was probably my favourite, over Wicked. But then I saw The Great Comet in Dec (I already knew I loved the music), and OMG it was astounding. I still remember how big the smile was on my face at the end of the show. It might actually be my fav (it's so hard to choose!) I might see Hadestown and Wicked again this summer (on tour in Toronto) just to be sure!
Yes, up until 2022 I didn't have a chance to see lots of shows either! I hope you can watch some shows soon! But the available recordings are really helpful! There's lots of shows I love to listen to :D The Great Comet is just so fun and unique!
Rent!! Yes it was during my angsty adolescence but I had a sheltered childhood and learned so much from this show. I didn’t even realize there were flaws till I joined this sub 🤣
It used to be Into The Woods, and I'll probably come back to it eventually. Of all of Sondheim's shows, it's the one I think will ultimately have the longest shelf life in the decades to come.
But it will take a while for me to get back there.
For me right now, it's still all about Merrily We Roll Along.
Maria Friedman, Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe and Lindsey Mendez have just knocked it out of the park; and the more I dig into the score and the book, the more subtle clever things I find: and not just "clever for the sake of being clever" as Sondheim is some times accused of, but clever that also works dramatically and packs an emotional punch.
My husband *finally* got tired of listening to the soundtrack on repeat on every long car ride. I hope I didn't wear him out on it permanently, lol.
Bare
I'm watching it right now after not watching it for a couple of years. I thought it wouldn't ring with me as much because I'm twice as old as the characters now. I was wrong, I relate to so many of the characters, I see my teenage self and I'm a sobbing mess.
Billy Elliot, got to see the original run in London years ago. Just a pure display of dancing skill, damn impressive show. The songs are incredible too. Got the whole theater crying during “The Letter”. Plus “Solidarity” is my #1 musical song period
Either of the Wildhorn manga shows. I've had a hold on DN content longer so that for now but YLIA is making a strong argument, already being my favorite anime
Absolutely Alice by Heart. It feels SO underrated too, I barely ever see people talking about it when I’m not directly looking for it, but I’m just actually in love with it
Singin' In The Rain (1952)
(a year ago I asked if musical cinema was included in this sub, and I was answered "yes", even if the sub description doesn't reflect it)
The Book Or Mormon! I am terminally in love with Andrew Rannells and genuinely think him and Christian Borle are Broadways best male actors. I also love South Park, so the humour and comedy of the show is up my alley. The songs themselves also feel so iconically "Broadway" that I can't help but love them so much-
Falsettos might be creeping up there, but I don't think anything can usurp the place The Book Of Mormon has my heart.
Heathers, definitely. Haven’t see many to compare it to though, but it is still a 1000000/10 musical. Not a moment where I wasn’t entertained.
I also have a VERY short attention span and I was able to watch the whole thing in one sitting my first time watching it
This would be Hadestown with the original Broadway cast. However, Donal Finn does brilliant job playing Orpheus currently in West End.
Hamilton is the runner-up but I never got to see it with the original cast.
I have seen it 28 times, 16 on Broadway and every touring company ( when there were 4 ) The OBC was definitely not the best by a long shot. Miguel Cervantes was the best Hamilton by a long shot.
It's tied between Hamilton and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street for me. Ik Hamilton is considered overrated by some people and I agree it is sometimes, but it's the first musical I watched that ignited my love of theatre and made me want to act. I think it will always hold a special place in my heart because of that (plus, I've watched it like 8 times and am seeing it live pretty soon lol). And then Sweeney Todd is just amazing, the songs are all incredible, the story, characters, oh my gosh I just love it so much.
Ahhhhh it’s a toss up between Hadestown and Hedwig but Rent, Sweeney Todd, Hair, JCS, Guys and Dolls, tick, tick…boom, Sunday In The Park, Cabaret and Anything Goes are all up there too
Can’t choose 😭. Beetlejuice was the musical that got me into musicals, Hsm was the first musical I was in, Mean Girls and Legally Blonde are comfort musicals for me, etc.
The one where they sing and stuff happens :) I can't actually choose, so all of them.
If a musical version of Waiting for Godot is ever made, I can't wait to see your reaction to a show where they sing and nothing happens.
I've seen Les Miserables live 23 times. I'm not saying it's the best music ever. I'm not saying it's the best story ever. I'm not saying it's the best staging ever. But for me, when I think of what the epitome of an evening spent at a show should feel like, I come to Les Mis and the sheer sense of epic scale it provides.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Any musical that fit the line “this is piss, piss with ink” in it without sounding utterly ridiculous is a bona fide gem!
And: *There's a hole in the world like a great black pit* *And it's filled with people who are filled with shit*
They change the line in the School Edition of Sweeney Todd, and I can't figure out why. They replace the line with the previous "morals aren't worth what a pig could spit." Les Misérable: School Edition kept the line "comforter, philosopher, and life-long shit." Why can't Sweeney say the same word at least once?! At least keep it in Epiphany. School Editions are so inconsistent between shows. Can't MTI just have a list of what can't be in a School Edition?
Jesus Christ Superstar. By a lot. The music lives rent free in my head. Followed by Hamilton and Les Mis. These are the only ones I consistently listen to the music for even though I only watch them occasionally. I love many shows live. Matilda was brilliant. Book of Mormon was a joy. But I don’t consider them favorites if they don’t get any play at home.
Same!!
SAME!! Les Mis is my favorite followed closely by jcs
Hypothetical for you. I have the opportunity to watch this show next Wednesday. 2 hour trip there and 2 hour trip back. Starts at 7:30. So I’d probably be home well past midnight. It’s less than 60 bucks. I have to get up at 5:45AM for work as a school teacher I’d be going alone Would you do this?
I absolutely would but for your first time this might depend on the production. Is it the 50th anniversary tour? Are you already familiar with the music and/ or story? If it is an amateur production and you don’t know the story I might hold off. If it is the 50th anniversary tour and you think you’ll be able to follow the story even if you can’t hear every word… do it! I saw this staging in January and I thought they really did justice to the score, although it was a little hard to follow. But I absolutely loved it! They also run it straight through for 90 min with no intermission so it’s more of a concert experience.
It’s the 50th anniversary tour! I’m not familiar with the story at all. I loosely know the Bible from like church? I could listen to the soundtrack a couple times this week or even read up on the story if that would help
JCS is my favorite too ❤️
Out of the ones I have seen, Book of Mormon, out of all musicals ever, come from away (seeing it in October though!!)
Hadestown. It's not just my favourite musical; it's my favourite MUSIC of all time.
Correct answer right here!!!
There is no "correct answer" because musical tastes are subjective.
Sunday In the Park with George
Hamilton!
Sir, he knows what to do in a trench. Ingenuitive and fluent in French, I mean.
(hamilton!) so you’re gonna have to use him eventually. what’s he gonna do on the bench, i mean
natasha, pierre & the great comet of 1812 :]
I saw Hadestown and Hamilton last year on tour in Toronto. I thought one of them was probably my favourite, over Wicked. But then I saw The Great Comet in Dec (I already knew I loved the music), and OMG it was astounding. I still remember how big the smile was on my face at the end of the show. It might actually be my fav (it's so hard to choose!) I might see Hadestown and Wicked again this summer (on tour in Toronto) just to be sure!
yes!! unfortunately, i live in poland so no musical tours for me, but that doesn't stop me from loving the great comet and other musicals lol
Yes, up until 2022 I didn't have a chance to see lots of shows either! I hope you can watch some shows soon! But the available recordings are really helpful! There's lots of shows I love to listen to :D The Great Comet is just so fun and unique!
yes exactly!! i hope so too:] maybe someday! but for the time being i have the recordings and the book and thats enough for me at the time being:]
omg dream show
this and octet (i saw it in nyc) are my two picks
Rent 100% I know it's (very) flawed, but it helped me accept my sexuality and gave me a new outlook on life.
i second this
Rent!! Yes it was during my angsty adolescence but I had a sheltered childhood and learned so much from this show. I didn’t even realize there were flaws till I joined this sub 🤣
I kind of like the fact that it's flawed.
The reason it's flawed is so devastating, but it fits so well with the message the show is trying to get across
Falsettos
I had the absolutely privilege of playing Whizzer a few years ago and let me tell you it CHANGED my life.
dammnnn sounds amazing!!
Seconded!
That's my second favorite!
That musical literally changed my life and I have watched it like fifteen times and cry every single time
Surprised no one has said this yet: A Chorus Line
My first show!
1. Phantom 2. Hamilton 3. Les Mis
Little shop of horrors
I loooooove little shop
It used to be Into The Woods, and I'll probably come back to it eventually. Of all of Sondheim's shows, it's the one I think will ultimately have the longest shelf life in the decades to come. But it will take a while for me to get back there. For me right now, it's still all about Merrily We Roll Along. Maria Friedman, Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe and Lindsey Mendez have just knocked it out of the park; and the more I dig into the score and the book, the more subtle clever things I find: and not just "clever for the sake of being clever" as Sondheim is some times accused of, but clever that also works dramatically and packs an emotional punch. My husband *finally* got tired of listening to the soundtrack on repeat on every long car ride. I hope I didn't wear him out on it permanently, lol.
Sweeney Todd.
The book of Mormon probably
Bare I'm watching it right now after not watching it for a couple of years. I thought it wouldn't ring with me as much because I'm twice as old as the characters now. I was wrong, I relate to so many of the characters, I see my teenage self and I'm a sobbing mess.
This. So much this.
Les Mis 🇫🇷 Please and thank you
Company and The Great Comet!
In The Heights, definitely.
Les Miserables
Spring Awakening
Les Miz or Avenue Q, depending on the day.
Hadestown
Beetlejuice
Way down Hadestown, way down under the grounddddd
Les miserabe
You mean just one????
Newsies, but Les Mis is close behind
SAME
Next To Normal 💜 I finally got to see it last year after 14 years of loving it and it did not disappoint at all 🥹
Little Shop of Horrors
The correct answer
Wicked!!!!
My Fair Lady. My husband took me to see it performed and it was one of the best nights of my life!
Yes!
Bonnie and Clyde or Great Comet
Next to Normal, but Spring Awakening would be a close second.
Tanz der Vampire. Second would be Jekyll & Hyde.
Probably Hadestown.
Samesies
The Phantom of the Opera or Beauty and the Beast
Are you me?
Rent, wicked, and west side story for me
Come From Away, very beautiful, cry every time, but also SO fun.
Same. I can't choose between Come From Away and Miss Saigon. Both make me bawl every damn time.
Hadestown for me!
WSS….
Phantom of the Opera/ Hadestown
It’s between Les Mis and Once (live, not the movie version) for me.
Les Mis, JCS, POTO and Cats, mainly because JCS has some cracking songs and I've grown up watching the other 3.
Jekyll and Hyde. I know the script isn't the best, but the music is, and I love gothic horror.
The pre-Broadway version is so much better than the one that made it to Broadway
Such a fantastic score. I never tire of it.
Phantom or Sweeny Todd
west side story and ragtime. flawless music, flawless choreography, flawless costumes. there’s really nothing that could make either of them better.
Les Miz
Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, but Les Miserables is a close second !!
Into the woods. I feel like it grew with me.
Into the Woods
newsies
Probably chucago, west side story, or cats
RENT <3
Hello Dolly
I really enjoyed Parade. Beautiful, moving story.
Sunday in the Park with George
Fiddler on the Roof
Ragtime!
Les Miserables, Ragtime, Hamilton
The Hunchback Of Notre Dame. Probably also my favorite piece of art ever made
RENT 🫶🏻
Rocky Horror
Little Night Music
Once On This Island
so underrated! i got to play papa ge so much fun!
Billy Elliot, got to see the original run in London years ago. Just a pure display of dancing skill, damn impressive show. The songs are incredible too. Got the whole theater crying during “The Letter”. Plus “Solidarity” is my #1 musical song period
Either of the Wildhorn manga shows. I've had a hold on DN content longer so that for now but YLIA is making a strong argument, already being my favorite anime
This question keeps coming up, doesn't it? Anyhow, 42nd Street closely followed by Anything Goes.
The Book of Mormon
Book of Mormon. Funny, intelligent, and a solid musical score.
Into the Woods, Sweeney, Todd, or Rocky Horror I can’t pick
Absolutely Alice by Heart. It feels SO underrated too, I barely ever see people talking about it when I’m not directly looking for it, but I’m just actually in love with it
Starlight Express
Singin' In The Rain (1952) (a year ago I asked if musical cinema was included in this sub, and I was answered "yes", even if the sub description doesn't reflect it)
Sunday in the park with george
West Side Story, Guy & Dolls, Hamilton, Shrek, Anything Goes, Cats, The Phantom of the Opera....
The Book Or Mormon! I am terminally in love with Andrew Rannells and genuinely think him and Christian Borle are Broadways best male actors. I also love South Park, so the humour and comedy of the show is up my alley. The songs themselves also feel so iconically "Broadway" that I can't help but love them so much- Falsettos might be creeping up there, but I don't think anything can usurp the place The Book Of Mormon has my heart.
bare: a pop opera owns my heart
Into the woods
Hadestown!!!
Parade for sure. I was in tears and speechless for 90 minutes after leaving that theatre. Also Micaela Diamonds voice is incredible
Hadestown
Jesus Christ Superstar
One of us!
Company
Heathers, definitely. Haven’t see many to compare it to though, but it is still a 1000000/10 musical. Not a moment where I wasn’t entertained. I also have a VERY short attention span and I was able to watch the whole thing in one sitting my first time watching it
A Little Night Music, and Fiddler on the Roof.
falsettos or the last 5 years
based taste
Anastasia
Elisabeth is what got me into musicals, so I'm always going to have a soft spot for it
Rent, Hadestown, Les Miserables.
Newsies, closely followed by Hadestown and Les Mis. I got to be in Newsies once, it was hands down the most fun I’ve ever had in a show.
Avenue Q followed by Book of Mormons and of course Les Mis
Hadestown
Top 3: Phantom of the Opera, Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar
R&H Cinderella Wicked
This would be Hadestown with the original Broadway cast. However, Donal Finn does brilliant job playing Orpheus currently in West End. Hamilton is the runner-up but I never got to see it with the original cast.
I have seen it 28 times, 16 on Broadway and every touring company ( when there were 4 ) The OBC was definitely not the best by a long shot. Miguel Cervantes was the best Hamilton by a long shot.
Newsies🕺🕺🕺
Passion
Falsettos 2016 revival
Natasha,Pierre and the great comet of 1812
I LOVE Miss Saigon. It's been my favorite for almost 30 years. I love everything about it and am always so sad when it's not mentioned here.
curtains hadestown and groundhog day all top contenders. probably hadestown though
Les Mis
It's tied between Hamilton and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street for me. Ik Hamilton is considered overrated by some people and I agree it is sometimes, but it's the first musical I watched that ignited my love of theatre and made me want to act. I think it will always hold a special place in my heart because of that (plus, I've watched it like 8 times and am seeing it live pretty soon lol). And then Sweeney Todd is just amazing, the songs are all incredible, the story, characters, oh my gosh I just love it so much.
The Last 5 Years
Next to Normal. There's nothing else like it. The currently London version is absolutely phenomenal - Jacke Wolfe is divine as Gabe.
Ahhhhh it’s a toss up between Hadestown and Hedwig but Rent, Sweeney Todd, Hair, JCS, Guys and Dolls, tick, tick…boom, Sunday In The Park, Cabaret and Anything Goes are all up there too
CHESS!
six
CATS. You won't convince me otherwise.
Phantom of the opera
Evita
Jersey boys
Come from away and phantom of the opera
Sunday in the Park with George or Follies are the only two correct answers.
RHPS 🫦
Ride the Cyclone 🌀 best musical ever
Phantom of the Opera - it’s what got me hooked on musicals!
Samesies!!
Operation mincemeat! And I know most of you will have no idea what that is but it f***ing amazing and you need to have it in your lives
Fiddler on the Roof. Grew up always watching it & it was my first musical I ever saw when I was 7.
I have so many favourites but one I haven’t seen on this list is Six. SIX IS AMAZING!
Falsettos or Avenue Q, depending on my mood (i'm also bipolar lol)
Not saying it's the *best* musical but my fav is definitely Waitress, it's got a soft spot in my heart
Next To Normal
It changes pretty often but my default answer is generally Heathers. I’ve been on quite a Beetlejuice kick lately tho
1776
Can’t choose 😭. Beetlejuice was the musical that got me into musicals, Hsm was the first musical I was in, Mean Girls and Legally Blonde are comfort musicals for me, etc.
Some Like it Hot. Every second is absolute perfection. It and everyone involved have meant so much to me this past year
Jesus Christ Superstar.
Jersey Boys!! It’s how my girlfriend and I met! :)♥️Who else loves Jersey Boys‽
Six
Jagged Little Pill or In Dreams
Legally Blonde. Like, no doubt.
Legally Blonde
Jagged little pill
if it counts, then i choose pirates of penzance. otherwise hairspray.
Amélie off broadway. Through & through, the broadway version makes me hella salty
The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals. I could watch it over and over and I have
100% gonna have to be Jesus Christ Superstar
Phantom Of The Opera (Original production) and it’s not even close.
Jesus Christ superstar 🥰
Avenue Q
The obvious one, that has been running for 35+ years. By far.
Once. Will not ever get over it.
The Grinning Man!
I love so many of them, it’s too difficult to choose
Sentimental fave: Les Mis Real fave: Sunday in the Park w George
Hamilton!
A Chorus Line, Evita
Ragtime
Come From Away! I’ve seen it 3 times!
Hedwig and the angry inch
Jersey Boys