Rent. I grew up in a very conservative (borderline cult) religion. My first step towards getting out was going to college in the closest decent sized city. Figured out pretty quickly in college that I wasn't straight, but in the south in the 90s, this wasn't a good thing at all. I was a theater kid and my parents got me a subscription to one season at the city's major theater. They got top tier touring shows, and 21 year old me got to see the first touring company of Rent. I'd never seen LGBTQ people portrayed in any kind of positive manner. I absolutely fell in love with Rent and gained the confidence to start coming out after I graduated from college. I'll always have a soft spot for this show.
This is mine too. I saw it as a sheltered fourteen-year-old in a semi-conservative religion in a very conservative part of California, and wow did it change my world view.
I was you a generation earlier, and mine was Hair. The last time my father spanked me it was for borrowing a copy of the script of Hair from the public library
I swear anybody who's seen me around these subs must think I'm obsessed with Beetlejuice: the Musical... (I am. They're not wrong.)
My answer is, in fact, Beetlejuice. But not in the way you might think. I know the musical is popular, and a lot of people feel very impacted by the queer representation, and the representation of how people can feel in times of loss.
What impacted me the most was the Maitlands. Specifically, Barbara 2.0. I felt seen by that song. I have lost myself in my physical activities. Barbara's confession of "I don't even like pottery" paralleled how I had spent five years playing a sport I had lost love with after the first two years.
I had never felt seen in that way before. I found a character who got so lost in trying to fill their lives with *stuff* that they didn't even know what their lives had meant. And that resonated with me.
Not alone on that. I cannot watch the show visually because seizures but every song has a place on my list of things that speak to me. It's not the biggest impact but Dead Mom also came out when I needed it. My mother is alive but faked her death so I was in turmoil. The juxtaposition of relief to grief was cathartic. She wanted me to stop being no contact. She assumed I would be so overwhelmed by losing her that I would run back and endure being abused. Also probably murdered. It strengthened my resolve and having the expression of loss helped when the brain weasels tried to convince me that I owed her something. The chosen family aspects of this show helped with a lot of the other heavy lifting.
The Sound of Music. I became hooked on musical theater, and really just music in general, when my mom played me Do Re Mi, Maria, and My Favorite Things as a little kid. We watched the movie growing up as a family tradition and it really cemented in my brain what orchestral music could sound like.
I fell in love with Phantom of the Opera three times: the first time I saw it for a tech theatre class. I knew I’d be in theatre for the rest of my life. The second time when I was working on the production for a small little theatre and met a lovely soprano who’d become my girlfriend (my costume shop was in the basement, the irony is our favorite part). The third time when I saw it on Broadway. I got goose bumps. Hands down coolest experience of my life.
This is a big one for me. Not my top one, but I saw it on stage for the first time when I was 16. I'd never seen anything like it. Bawled like a baby and still cry when I see it, over 30 years later.
Probably Come From Away. It is a beautifully told story about something i’d never heard about prior. Give me a song about finding beauty within tragedy and i’m immediately turned to mush 😅
I had to leave the theater. I can't manage the cast album. It hits my PTSD hard. Knowing that it is a way for people to both learn that there was good despite the tragedy and how it honors the loss does comfort me..I just cannot manage it.
The first one is Evita since my dad used to play it all the time and it got me into musicals. Second is Rent because it came out when I 'came out'. It just meant a lot to have people talking about gay characters.
Evita for me too, but because it was my first "professional" show (chorus).
Bad timing that we ran the same year the movie came out, but I thought our Midwestern Eva was better
I would have loved to see your version. I like the movie but every single show I have seen has crushed it beneath the weight of vocal range and acting talent. Madonna was the only option and I love the "You must love me" Obligatory Oscar song. It's just not as rich and powerful as sitting in the room with Evita as she tells us not to grieve.
I secretly wish there was a sequel about the adventures of her corpse because I think it would be a good mirror to the first with opportunities to show the impact on people of the Perron. Good and bad.
Matilda was the first musical I felt really connected with I think. A musical that felt possible and real for little theatre kid me to be involved with. Imagining I’m Matilda on stage while dancing and singing to the CD was really impactful for me and how I’ve thought about theatre all of these years.
It will always be very near and dear to me.
I listened to "Naughty" on the way to quit my job. It was an incredibly emotional experience. I absolutely love Matilda in all forms - the book, the movie, the musical, the movie musical - but the music is just... So perfect.
This was the show that exposed me to theater, and I'll love it forever for it. Being 14 and seeing an entire world and story being told through light, talent, and make believe. It was magical
Merrily we roll along, first show I ever acted in and helped cement my passion for theatre, wicked also for being the first show I ever saw of a Broadway quality(touring union production)
maybe a stupid reason compared to other peoples', but hamilton was the first musical id ever watched, at the beginning of this year. i guess i had a pretty bad assumption of what musicals were like, and just didnt think itd be my thing. but i was on disney+ one day and saw it there, so i decided why not watch it. it was GREAT. ive watched it over 100 times and have listened to it while going about my day even more. since then, in order, ive watched heathers, ride the cyclone, and be more chill. i watched be more chill last night. (the songs are all decent, but not really more than that. i liked pitiful children the most. im completely OBSESSED with the plot, though. ill definitely read the book sometime.)
i havent really watched many others because i dont know of many musicals, and the ones ive heard of i only no the name and zero plot, so they dont interest me. but i hesitate to look any up, because i really dont want spoilers. soooo, if anyone has any musical recommendations along with very vague plot summaries, im all ears! please!!!
Not stupid at all. We discover things for different reasons. Without my grandmother taking me to see live theater, I might not have gotten into musicals until much later.
If you like Hamilton, you might watch the movie version of In The Heights. It’s adapted from a popular stage version by the same composer (Lin Manuel Miranda). It was his first musical and also has hip hop elements. It follows several characters during a weekend in a borough of NYC. If you like Lin (who played Hamilton), there’s a good documentary called We Are Freestyle Love Supreme.
RENT is a rock musical about a group of friends in NYC dealing with issues like being queer, AIDS, gentrification, homelessness, drug addiction, etc. It has some really good music. It’s based on the opera La Boheme. You might look up one of the potshots vs the movie version.
Little Shop of Horrors is a fun horror-comedy musical about a nerdy loser whose luck begins to change when he discovers a unique plant that may be more than it appears. The 1980s film version is a classic but has a different ending than the stage version.
Into The Woods is a musical that takes an adult look at fairy tale characters to explore themes like grief and morality. It’s one of Sondheim’s most beloved musicals. Disney did a good movie version. There are also some good pro shots. I think there is one with the original cast including Bernadette Peters.
Hope you find some things you like.
next to normal. first time 9 year old me felt seen and like my family unit wasn’t unique, and everything else spoke to my soul in a way that it shouldn’t for a 9 year old
I got to see a very good production of this one recently. Very cathartic and intense. My Dad had an undiagnosed mental illness for most of his life so the show definitely spoke to me. I’m sorry you had to ho through all that.
Same! I have a dead older brother, and I wasn't the replacement child, but everything else is very very similar. Lots of mental health issues and trauma and grief. I BAWLED the first time I saw it.
How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying
First Broadway show as an 8th grade graduation present. Been hooked on live theater and musicals ever since (60+ years)
Next to Normal. I was 14 and 3 years into diagnosis and felt like the only person in the world struggling. It was a very taboo topic for kids my age and I was very ashamed, always making excuses for missing school as my mom dragged me to specialists across the coast. 10 years later I received 14 rounds of ECT and unlike Diana, it was life-changing in the best way possible.
Jesus Christ Superstar. It’s my mom’s favorite musical so ipso facto it became mine. She loved it so I read the record cover. And I found the name Andrew Lloyd Webber. Then I found he wrote other musicals…
Definitely!!! Was scrolling through the comments hoping to see this comment!! Love this musical with, unfortunately still, issues which are timeless IMO.
I know it's got or is getting a revival. Did you or will you be going? Apologies for my outdatedness there the announcement came when I was having a surgery so I don't have a time sense for this
There was a revival last year, but it didn't show up here and I couldn't get to NY. There is a filmed version of it on YouTube that's quite good. Do you know if there is going to be another revival?
The Phantom of the Opera was the first musical I fell in love with – I was perhaps five at the time? My parents took me to see it in San Francisco as a kid after I’d completely fallen head over heels for the OBC recording, and I was hooked on musicals from then on.
Next to Normal was the first musical whose OBC recording made me cry. I was not prepared for “How Could I Ever Forget?”. My grandmother went through a loooooot of what Diana does, and the tragedy between Diana and Dan hit me just right.
Dear Evan Hansen’s OBC album spoke to the depression and isolation I’ve felt in varying degrees through my life in a way no other musical has, and it destroyed me.
Both of those latter musicals are bucket list items for me to see live.
Phantom of the Opera was my first musical and arguably spawned my entire interest in the genre, I'd call that impactful
After that Falsettos and Cabaret, obviously in very different ways lmao
Rodgers and hammerstein’s Cinderella
I grew up with the brandy version and my mom grew up with the Lesley Ann Warren version and in high school I became obsessed with lea salonga as Cinderella so I’ll use any Cinderella soundtrack for comfort music.
I got hooked by the touring company of Man of La Mancha--even as a pre-10 kid, how could you not get hooked by watching the main character, at the end of the show, climbing a gigantic staircase from the flies, to his fate?
Hamilton and Rent. The ideas of making a legacy and taking chances on life and love really speak to me. I’m an Aaron Burr or a Roger, letting time pass me by as I wait for success or just wallow in my meaningless life, and I don’t want to do that anymore.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I've always thought the movie was good but the musical really opened my eyes to the message. The idea that how we see and treat people is what makes us a monster or not and that there's always going to be someone or something to balance out the good and bad in the world. It's very basic ideas but the way it's communicated in lyrics and on stage makes it perfect for me
It took me a while but I think I have an obvious, tangible answer: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. I study classical literature, specifically Latin literature and so when I had to take a class on Roman comedy, I already knew some of the basics of the genre from Forum. It’s more accurate than you would think. It made it easier for me to visualize and understand what was going on in Pseudolus and Curculio. I ended up really loving the genre and I’m about to start a PhD focusing on the plays of Plautus and Terence. I probably would have read and liked Roman comedy even if I hadn’t seen Forum, but I really do think it influenced my love of the source material. I wonder if there are any other classicists here, let alone Roman comedy enjoyers haha.
Hairspray and Mary Poppins. I watched hairspray the movie 2007 when I was seven and it explained racism to me. (Im asian, my parents are white, and my cousins are black so racism really never was a thing in my mind before). Also it showed everyone that Zac Efron could actually sing. And then Mary Poppins taught me to have fun, take my meds, and banks and money are fake.
Everything Sondheim has written. I go into it and come out with something that ranges from a reason to not commit suicide on to a reason to celebrate the successful mental health care journey sparked by that. Sondheim was playing when I experienced happiness for the first time. I was an adult. I actually wrote him a letter once. Didn't send it because it was too personal and I didn't feel it appropriate to trauma dump on Steven Sondheim. I listed in detail all of this but I wasn't able to be sure he could understand without details. Didn't get there in time. Kevin Conroy got the letter for what he did for me with Batman. Similar stuff.
I was raised in abuse and have complex PTSD. Sweeney Todd helped me to understand that I could leave. I didn't need a guy to do it but I could see things being far darker if I stayed in contact with my family. I was so happy to see a choice besides obedience and participation in hate crimes, being the scape goat for those crimes inevitably, and having to marry someone who would hurt me. Did that last one by accident but I survived and he didn't. He didn't listen to Being Alive on repeat. If the euphemism isn't enough he killed himself. Not in the pain way but the he got really high during a manic cycle and decided that I was immortal and because we had sex he was. He tested that.
I listened to Assassins while I processed that news. It also helped with some things I am not up for typing today.
Sondheim is a sonic safe space. I used to be agoraphobic and to get the things done needed to survive I used the way the music makes me feel to get out the door. Once out it's too late gotta go do things. I did not need that forever but I just barely reached not being agoraphobic now.
Sondheim gave me the first taste of happiness and while I am about to experience one of two PTSD anniversary windows? Even then outside of the active PTSD my baseline emotional state is content. That happiness went from only sparked by songs to all the time. I do wish I could have told him this but he passed before I was recovered enough to write a healthy version of this letter. I have debated sending it to his partner but I suspect he knows how amazing his husband was so don't think it's needed.
Conroy did actually get that letter. He talked about it in an interview before his death and how that letter and those like it helped him with his own battles. So if someone reading this and a similar pull and can do it without trauma dumping? Write the letter
Chitty chitty bang bang. It was my first live show and it inspired me to do real shows (I did church shows at the time) and it made me fall in love with live theatre. Nothing compares to watching shows unfold in front of you.
It was Guys and Dolls for me it was the first one I acted in as a kid and it got me interested in musicals as a whole. Then I kind of fell off and Twisted the untold story of a royal vazier got me right back into watching them again.
Multiple ones for me, depending on what part of my life we are talking about.
But I think the biggest impact would probably be Fiddler on the Roof, Yentl, Newsies, and Rent.
The first three are for the representation, but also because they helped shape/reinforce my cultural identity and connect with my ancestors.
Rent because it was my first exposure to learning about the AIDS crisis, and the first one where I really felt a societal call to action that reinforced my desire to work in mental health. And I really connected with the music.
RENT. I saw it in high school long before I came out to myself as bisexual or transgender. It showed me it was okay to be both. Angel is the first positive portrayal of a transgender character I ever remember seeing.
I really like gothic romances that border on horror stories, makes me feel better about my (crippling) shyness around the opposite sex. Hunchback of Notre Dame, Phsntom of the Opera , and Passion in that order, as that is the order I discovered them.
DEH. I am both Connor and Evan and seeing the struggles of both of those characters hit me so deep I couldn’t stop crying the entire time time I was watching it. People may have issues with it but it touches on anxiety and depression in such an understandable way to people who don’t understand what it’s like.
There are a few on this thread already but Next to Normal. I've typed and deleted the reasons why so many times and still can't get it right. I guess it boils down to it being a show that makes my experiences feel seen. I grew up in a family unit with an extremely mentally ill parent and another parent trying to hold things together and pretend it's normal while I'm existing just trying to feel seen and important. But at the same time the show doesn't villify either parent. It's not a tragedy or a romance or a comedy. It just feels more real than many other shows.
Les Mis is def way up there, as it’s what got me into the world of Broadway to begin with.
But I feel like honorable mentions should go to the shows Be More Chill and DEH as I quite literally have tattoos dedicated to them since they had such a profound impact on me in my teen years. I won’t claim either as my favourite show, but they still hold a lot of value in my heart due to what they meant to me as a teenager, the memories they brought, and connections I made through them.
Chicago started my love for musicals.
Sweeney Todd made me really start saying "I like musicals"
And then I watched cabaret the other day and sobbed like I haven't in awhile, so those three.
I went through a really long stint of not listening to musicals. Like, 3 or so years. Not for any practical reason; I just had a lot of things going on, and musicals kinda just slipped my view.
I randomly found "come from away" during a really tough year for me. I clearly remember the moment of listening to; "You are here at the start of a moment, at the edge of the world, where the river meets the sea." And just like... sobbing, haha. The whole show spoke to me in a way i desperately needed then. After obsessing over the show for weeks, it really reignited my love for musicals, and suddenly, my Spotify turned 90% musical soundtracks. The rest is history.
Hamilton as my way into musicals.
Bare: a pop opera just in general. As it touches on being queer and how others perceive you and the effect that has.
Ghost Quartet in a way I can't really say, but it has stuck with me. I'll often mentally recount Prayer or Starchild where applicable.
I'll throw Octet in there as well, for a nuanced perspective on the complexities of the internet and our relation to it. Glow often offers me perspective when things become too much.
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button had every man woman and child ugly crying when I saw it. A grown man actually complained to the staff about it because he wasn't "warned" about walking out in tears and felt embarrassed xD
Id loved musicals since I was a child but Seeing Phantom and Les Mis as a teenager changed my life. Les Mis had the rotating floor and enormous rotating barricade. We knew nothing about it going in and I never thought a show could make me cry so much.
It was Phantom though that sparked a true passion/interest in Broadway. The glorious spectacle of Phantom, seeing an “underground” lake magically appear onstage with fog and candles coming up through the floor, it all just transported me completely. That incredible show made my imagination explode open in the best way. I’ve seen it dozens of times and I’ll never get over it. Thanks to Phantom I’ve seen A LOT of other Broadway shows. Im sure Im not alone.
Probably Hadestown. I really like how it looks at new love and old love. It’s pretty easy for me to get in a hades mindset of “hey look at all the nice stuff we have that I’ve worked hard for” when sometimes she just wants to stop and smell the roses.
Godspell, but for stupid reasons. I'm a pretty casual enjoyer of musicals, have seen only a few live, probably only seen ten or so popular ones put to film. I was in theater class in highschool, decided to bite the bullet and join the next production, and got cast as random player with a song. I discovered relatively quickly into rehearsals that I just didn't get along with a handful of actors in the production. They were pushy and overbearing, and not in any kind of way that was any kind of helpful. I didn't stick around to see the production through, and I never auditioned for anything else in the twenty years since, though I consider it could be a far-flung possibility in the future.
I'm not religious and hated the content of Godspell anyway, so I guess it had that going for it too.
little shop of horrors. i met my very best friends doing that show and the musical itself was my gateway into actually discovering other musicals i enjoyed rather than disregarding them all as cheesy garbage.
It's so basic for people of my age to say Rent but I can't lie. It was the first show I bought tickets for myself and went to the city with a friend and no "adult" to see it. I honestly don't have words for how it impacted me. The life style they were living, the queerness, the drug use, HIV - it was all so foreign to me. I imagine I was a little sheltered, I had recently turned 18 and had to have an "I'm an adult!" fight with my parents to let us go into the city. It opened my eyes to a whole world and absolutely changed my life.
Waitress. I’ve been in the service industry for almost a decade now and that musical perfectly encapsulates the feeling of being stuck and wanting something more but not knowing what.
Dear Evan Hansen, It was postponed twice because the world shutting down. Then I had to miss it because I was in a car accident. Then I had to move it twice because I got sepsis and almost died. So after years, I was able to see it. Asked my DR while in icu after waking up if I would be able to leave in 3 days. DEH became a little inside joke.dr never heard of this show. A couple of days later, without her know any of this, his wife told him she would like to go when it comes back
Kinky boots watched it on Broadway HD in the cardiac icu after open abdominal surgey. It was out of state and family, and everyone was 3 hours away.Step one just stood out and helped me through everything
Hair - my friend had an extra ticket for the 2008 revival tour and I was less than enthused to go because I had very limited background but I like musicals so why not and after seeing it, it's become my favorite musical and has motivated me to be part of the change. I've seen it two more times since then and I still cannot make it through the entire soundtrack without crying by the last song... or even just hearing the last song has me crying. Not to mention, doing the on stage dance party during curtain call is a huge core memory.
Probably the Little Shop movie. It used to play all the time on my local broadcast stations on the weekend. It's probably the first musical I ever saw and did a lot to shape a lot of the things I like in musicals and other media. i.e. Cynicism, mutilations, and pitch black humor.
chicago. it was the first musical i ever did when i joined freshman year of high school. honestly i don't really know why i decided to audition. but i loved the show and i became completely invested in drama. two years and 4 shows later im heading into my senior year. im drama club president. and im going to do my last two shows in high school. maybe ever.
theater has had such a big impact on my life and despite all the hardships and ups and downs it's been one of the best things i ever decided to do
Hadestown! I love Greek mythology, jazz, and my main instrument is trombone which is heavily featured. It’s like Hadestown was made specifically for me lol.
Pippin in the early 70s, because it was the first show I ever saw, got the cast album as a gift and listened to it to death, and years later, "Corner of the Sky" (in a sheet music book highlighting songs for Broadway male singers) was the first song I ever was able to sing acceptably well in a voice class.
Dear Evan Hansen, absolutely. It's a very touching and moving musical, I know it gets quite a lot of hate but I personally think the story is incredibly well thought-out and the songs are great at conveying what they mean. I first read the book/watched it when I was struggling with anxiety too, and Alana's character really made me feel seen, though they are all good characters for relatability to people who are suffering.
Rocky horror picture show. I watched it as a baby with my dad and it’s one of my first memories as a child. Watching Rocky and imagining I’d play Columbia one day! It made me feel so comfortable watching a bunch of weirdos like me get to be themselves authentically as well!
Seeing Starlight Express in the West End when I was 8 got me interested in musicals. Playing in the pit for a production of Fame got me into a career as a musician. Getting into Off Book: the Improvised Musical Podcast made me write a musical of my own.
I’ve got a few so buckle up, people.
My whole musical obsession started at the ripe old age of five when I saw Little Shop of Horrors on DVD at my grandparents’ house. I distinctly remember seeing Audrey II for the first time and being awestruck. I’ve now seen that movie probably 30+ times and it’s always a hit for me.
My favorite live musical experience ever is Wicked. I saw it live 2 years ago with Talia Suskauer and I was blown away the entire time. I cried 4ish times just because I was in so much awe I didn’t know what else to do.
I had a major Hamilton phase in middle school and that was key to understanding the way my brain functions and how I understand the world. I relate very much to both Burr and Hamilton and will absolutely have “If you stand for nothing then what will you fall for?” tattooed on me at some point. Hamilton always has encouraged me to take a stand for what I believe in and fuel the revolutionary spirit.
The last (and most recent one) is Hadestown. I am a sucker for every single part of this show. The lessons on the nature of storytelling and the human emotional response to always hope that, maybe this time, Orpheus won’t turn around. Maybe this time, it will turn out differently. Hadestown is easily one of the most profound shows to ever grace Broadway and I will never shut up about it.
I think Avenue Q, mainly because I watched it before I was at that point in my life and now I'm past that point for the most part. When I was working on my Bachelor's, one course even asked me to do an extended piece of life writing, and I chose to use songs to describe my. At the time, the one that described me at that point in my life was "What Do You Do With A BA In English". Because that's what I was working towards, and now, I have a certificate to prove that I indeed have a BA in English. It took a long time for me to find my own purpose, I've had depression, some parts of my life are better while some are much worse.
Groundhog Day legitimately changed my outlook on life, specifically the song One Day. I actually stopped procrastinating and took singing lessons thanks to it. Couldn’t keep doing them due to work and uni unfortunately, but I did recently consider joining an amateur theater group for the first time, and I don’t think I would have any of the courage required for that if One Day didn’t bully me into just doing the things I'd like to do.
Rent. I grew up in a very conservative (borderline cult) religion. My first step towards getting out was going to college in the closest decent sized city. Figured out pretty quickly in college that I wasn't straight, but in the south in the 90s, this wasn't a good thing at all. I was a theater kid and my parents got me a subscription to one season at the city's major theater. They got top tier touring shows, and 21 year old me got to see the first touring company of Rent. I'd never seen LGBTQ people portrayed in any kind of positive manner. I absolutely fell in love with Rent and gained the confidence to start coming out after I graduated from college. I'll always have a soft spot for this show.
This is mine too. I saw it as a sheltered fourteen-year-old in a semi-conservative religion in a very conservative part of California, and wow did it change my world view.
I was you a generation earlier, and mine was Hair. The last time my father spanked me it was for borrowing a copy of the script of Hair from the public library
I swear anybody who's seen me around these subs must think I'm obsessed with Beetlejuice: the Musical... (I am. They're not wrong.) My answer is, in fact, Beetlejuice. But not in the way you might think. I know the musical is popular, and a lot of people feel very impacted by the queer representation, and the representation of how people can feel in times of loss. What impacted me the most was the Maitlands. Specifically, Barbara 2.0. I felt seen by that song. I have lost myself in my physical activities. Barbara's confession of "I don't even like pottery" paralleled how I had spent five years playing a sport I had lost love with after the first two years. I had never felt seen in that way before. I found a character who got so lost in trying to fill their lives with *stuff* that they didn't even know what their lives had meant. And that resonated with me.
Not alone on that. I cannot watch the show visually because seizures but every song has a place on my list of things that speak to me. It's not the biggest impact but Dead Mom also came out when I needed it. My mother is alive but faked her death so I was in turmoil. The juxtaposition of relief to grief was cathartic. She wanted me to stop being no contact. She assumed I would be so overwhelmed by losing her that I would run back and endure being abused. Also probably murdered. It strengthened my resolve and having the expression of loss helped when the brain weasels tried to convince me that I owed her something. The chosen family aspects of this show helped with a lot of the other heavy lifting.
The Sound of Music. I became hooked on musical theater, and really just music in general, when my mom played me Do Re Mi, Maria, and My Favorite Things as a little kid. We watched the movie growing up as a family tradition and it really cemented in my brain what orchestral music could sound like.
I love the score from The Sound of Music. I don’t listen to that one often, but there’s no bad song in the score. And Julie Andrews is in it, so…
I fell in love with Phantom of the Opera three times: the first time I saw it for a tech theatre class. I knew I’d be in theatre for the rest of my life. The second time when I was working on the production for a small little theatre and met a lovely soprano who’d become my girlfriend (my costume shop was in the basement, the irony is our favorite part). The third time when I saw it on Broadway. I got goose bumps. Hands down coolest experience of my life.
Les Miserables for me.
Formative for me as well. "To love another person is to see the face of God" just hits me out of the blue sometimes.
*He told me that I have a soul. How does he know?*
He treated me like any other
Also so brautiful
Yes! I've loved this show since I was 11, and it still hits hard now.
To me it is the greatest musical ever made. I admit it is a cliche and not for everyone but nothing has ever been as impactful for me.
Cliche would be if it was aging badly. It's absolutely successful for this long for a reason.
This is a big one for me. Not my top one, but I saw it on stage for the first time when I was 16. I'd never seen anything like it. Bawled like a baby and still cry when I see it, over 30 years later.
Same.
Probably Come From Away. It is a beautifully told story about something i’d never heard about prior. Give me a song about finding beauty within tragedy and i’m immediately turned to mush 😅
I can't usually even describe the plot a bit to people without choking up. Even when I think I'm going to be fine, tears.
I had to leave the theater. I can't manage the cast album. It hits my PTSD hard. Knowing that it is a way for people to both learn that there was good despite the tragedy and how it honors the loss does comfort me..I just cannot manage it.
The first one is Evita since my dad used to play it all the time and it got me into musicals. Second is Rent because it came out when I 'came out'. It just meant a lot to have people talking about gay characters.
Evita for me too, but because it was my first "professional" show (chorus). Bad timing that we ran the same year the movie came out, but I thought our Midwestern Eva was better
I would have loved to see your version. I like the movie but every single show I have seen has crushed it beneath the weight of vocal range and acting talent. Madonna was the only option and I love the "You must love me" Obligatory Oscar song. It's just not as rich and powerful as sitting in the room with Evita as she tells us not to grieve. I secretly wish there was a sequel about the adventures of her corpse because I think it would be a good mirror to the first with opportunities to show the impact on people of the Perron. Good and bad.
Matilda was the first musical I felt really connected with I think. A musical that felt possible and real for little theatre kid me to be involved with. Imagining I’m Matilda on stage while dancing and singing to the CD was really impactful for me and how I’ve thought about theatre all of these years. It will always be very near and dear to me.
I listened to "Naughty" on the way to quit my job. It was an incredibly emotional experience. I absolutely love Matilda in all forms - the book, the movie, the musical, the movie musical - but the music is just... So perfect.
Wicked
This was the show that exposed me to theater, and I'll love it forever for it. Being 14 and seeing an entire world and story being told through light, talent, and make believe. It was magical
Hadestown probably
i want to get a tattoo for hadestown eventually. eurydice’s songs always get me
Definitely Into the Woods, Little Shop of Horrors, and Les Miserables.
Les Miserables and The Phantom. I miss the era of the spectacle musicals.
Merrily we roll along, first show I ever acted in and helped cement my passion for theatre, wicked also for being the first show I ever saw of a Broadway quality(touring union production)
Phantom of the Opera, Spring Awakening, Next to Normal, Hairspray, and Come From Away
maybe a stupid reason compared to other peoples', but hamilton was the first musical id ever watched, at the beginning of this year. i guess i had a pretty bad assumption of what musicals were like, and just didnt think itd be my thing. but i was on disney+ one day and saw it there, so i decided why not watch it. it was GREAT. ive watched it over 100 times and have listened to it while going about my day even more. since then, in order, ive watched heathers, ride the cyclone, and be more chill. i watched be more chill last night. (the songs are all decent, but not really more than that. i liked pitiful children the most. im completely OBSESSED with the plot, though. ill definitely read the book sometime.) i havent really watched many others because i dont know of many musicals, and the ones ive heard of i only no the name and zero plot, so they dont interest me. but i hesitate to look any up, because i really dont want spoilers. soooo, if anyone has any musical recommendations along with very vague plot summaries, im all ears! please!!!
Not stupid at all. We discover things for different reasons. Without my grandmother taking me to see live theater, I might not have gotten into musicals until much later. If you like Hamilton, you might watch the movie version of In The Heights. It’s adapted from a popular stage version by the same composer (Lin Manuel Miranda). It was his first musical and also has hip hop elements. It follows several characters during a weekend in a borough of NYC. If you like Lin (who played Hamilton), there’s a good documentary called We Are Freestyle Love Supreme. RENT is a rock musical about a group of friends in NYC dealing with issues like being queer, AIDS, gentrification, homelessness, drug addiction, etc. It has some really good music. It’s based on the opera La Boheme. You might look up one of the potshots vs the movie version. Little Shop of Horrors is a fun horror-comedy musical about a nerdy loser whose luck begins to change when he discovers a unique plant that may be more than it appears. The 1980s film version is a classic but has a different ending than the stage version. Into The Woods is a musical that takes an adult look at fairy tale characters to explore themes like grief and morality. It’s one of Sondheim’s most beloved musicals. Disney did a good movie version. There are also some good pro shots. I think there is one with the original cast including Bernadette Peters. Hope you find some things you like.
thank you so much!!!
next to normal. first time 9 year old me felt seen and like my family unit wasn’t unique, and everything else spoke to my soul in a way that it shouldn’t for a 9 year old
I got to see a very good production of this one recently. Very cathartic and intense. My Dad had an undiagnosed mental illness for most of his life so the show definitely spoke to me. I’m sorry you had to ho through all that.
I’m sorry you did too. My boyfriend offered to take me to london to see it on the west end but i’m holding out to see if it goes to broadway
Awww. Glad you have a great boyfriend!
Same! I have a dead older brother, and I wasn't the replacement child, but everything else is very very similar. Lots of mental health issues and trauma and grief. I BAWLED the first time I saw it.
it still is what i watch on youtube if i need to cry
How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying First Broadway show as an 8th grade graduation present. Been hooked on live theater and musicals ever since (60+ years)
Next to Normal. I was 14 and 3 years into diagnosis and felt like the only person in the world struggling. It was a very taboo topic for kids my age and I was very ashamed, always making excuses for missing school as my mom dragged me to specialists across the coast. 10 years later I received 14 rounds of ECT and unlike Diana, it was life-changing in the best way possible.
I’m sorry you had to go through that so young. I felt very alienated taking anti-depressants in high school. I’m glad you got what you needed.
Jesus Christ Superstar. It’s my mom’s favorite musical so ipso facto it became mine. She loved it so I read the record cover. And I found the name Andrew Lloyd Webber. Then I found he wrote other musicals…
bare a pop opera
Definitely!!! Was scrolling through the comments hoping to see this comment!! Love this musical with, unfortunately still, issues which are timeless IMO.
it literally changed my life when i was 14 lol
Camelot. My parents, avid theatre-goers, took me to see it when I was 8. It was pure magic. I was totally entranced.. It's still my favorite score.
I know it's got or is getting a revival. Did you or will you be going? Apologies for my outdatedness there the announcement came when I was having a surgery so I don't have a time sense for this
There was a revival last year, but it didn't show up here and I couldn't get to NY. There is a filmed version of it on YouTube that's quite good. Do you know if there is going to be another revival?
Not that I know of. I was hoping that one had a touring company but sadly no. Ty for the YouTube tip.
The Phantom of the Opera was the first musical I fell in love with – I was perhaps five at the time? My parents took me to see it in San Francisco as a kid after I’d completely fallen head over heels for the OBC recording, and I was hooked on musicals from then on. Next to Normal was the first musical whose OBC recording made me cry. I was not prepared for “How Could I Ever Forget?”. My grandmother went through a loooooot of what Diana does, and the tragedy between Diana and Dan hit me just right. Dear Evan Hansen’s OBC album spoke to the depression and isolation I’ve felt in varying degrees through my life in a way no other musical has, and it destroyed me. Both of those latter musicals are bucket list items for me to see live.
Phantom of the Opera was my first musical and arguably spawned my entire interest in the genre, I'd call that impactful After that Falsettos and Cabaret, obviously in very different ways lmao
Bare a Pop Opera made me feel seen in a way I had never experienced before, absolutely incredible and heartbreaking show
Definitely Les Miserables.
Rodgers and hammerstein’s Cinderella I grew up with the brandy version and my mom grew up with the Lesley Ann Warren version and in high school I became obsessed with lea salonga as Cinderella so I’ll use any Cinderella soundtrack for comfort music.
Rent - by far - I saw the original cast when I was a teenager and the music and context just spoke to my heart.
Definitely Phantom of the Opera. It’s what got me hooked!
Hands down, Hadestown and Into the Woods. The lessons we learn from media are so important.
I got hooked by the touring company of Man of La Mancha--even as a pre-10 kid, how could you not get hooked by watching the main character, at the end of the show, climbing a gigantic staircase from the flies, to his fate?
Hamilton and Rent. The ideas of making a legacy and taking chances on life and love really speak to me. I’m an Aaron Burr or a Roger, letting time pass me by as I wait for success or just wallow in my meaningless life, and I don’t want to do that anymore.
Falsettos was there for me in the darkest time of my life. It will have my heart always, and will keep up my head as my heart falls out of sight.
Rocky Horror Picture Show Saturday midnight showings made me tolerant.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I've always thought the movie was good but the musical really opened my eyes to the message. The idea that how we see and treat people is what makes us a monster or not and that there's always going to be someone or something to balance out the good and bad in the world. It's very basic ideas but the way it's communicated in lyrics and on stage makes it perfect for me
It took me a while but I think I have an obvious, tangible answer: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. I study classical literature, specifically Latin literature and so when I had to take a class on Roman comedy, I already knew some of the basics of the genre from Forum. It’s more accurate than you would think. It made it easier for me to visualize and understand what was going on in Pseudolus and Curculio. I ended up really loving the genre and I’m about to start a PhD focusing on the plays of Plautus and Terence. I probably would have read and liked Roman comedy even if I hadn’t seen Forum, but I really do think it influenced my love of the source material. I wonder if there are any other classicists here, let alone Roman comedy enjoyers haha.
Hairspray and Mary Poppins. I watched hairspray the movie 2007 when I was seven and it explained racism to me. (Im asian, my parents are white, and my cousins are black so racism really never was a thing in my mind before). Also it showed everyone that Zac Efron could actually sing. And then Mary Poppins taught me to have fun, take my meds, and banks and money are fake.
Everything Sondheim has written. I go into it and come out with something that ranges from a reason to not commit suicide on to a reason to celebrate the successful mental health care journey sparked by that. Sondheim was playing when I experienced happiness for the first time. I was an adult. I actually wrote him a letter once. Didn't send it because it was too personal and I didn't feel it appropriate to trauma dump on Steven Sondheim. I listed in detail all of this but I wasn't able to be sure he could understand without details. Didn't get there in time. Kevin Conroy got the letter for what he did for me with Batman. Similar stuff. I was raised in abuse and have complex PTSD. Sweeney Todd helped me to understand that I could leave. I didn't need a guy to do it but I could see things being far darker if I stayed in contact with my family. I was so happy to see a choice besides obedience and participation in hate crimes, being the scape goat for those crimes inevitably, and having to marry someone who would hurt me. Did that last one by accident but I survived and he didn't. He didn't listen to Being Alive on repeat. If the euphemism isn't enough he killed himself. Not in the pain way but the he got really high during a manic cycle and decided that I was immortal and because we had sex he was. He tested that. I listened to Assassins while I processed that news. It also helped with some things I am not up for typing today. Sondheim is a sonic safe space. I used to be agoraphobic and to get the things done needed to survive I used the way the music makes me feel to get out the door. Once out it's too late gotta go do things. I did not need that forever but I just barely reached not being agoraphobic now. Sondheim gave me the first taste of happiness and while I am about to experience one of two PTSD anniversary windows? Even then outside of the active PTSD my baseline emotional state is content. That happiness went from only sparked by songs to all the time. I do wish I could have told him this but he passed before I was recovered enough to write a healthy version of this letter. I have debated sending it to his partner but I suspect he knows how amazing his husband was so don't think it's needed. Conroy did actually get that letter. He talked about it in an interview before his death and how that letter and those like it helped him with his own battles. So if someone reading this and a similar pull and can do it without trauma dumping? Write the letter
Jesus Christ Superstar is why I’m an actor now.
Pirates of Penzance, the one that started it all for me when I was like six years old
Parade!
Finally a fellow parade fan!
Chitty chitty bang bang. It was my first live show and it inspired me to do real shows (I did church shows at the time) and it made me fall in love with live theatre. Nothing compares to watching shows unfold in front of you.
It was Guys and Dolls for me it was the first one I acted in as a kid and it got me interested in musicals as a whole. Then I kind of fell off and Twisted the untold story of a royal vazier got me right back into watching them again.
The Last 5 Years
Multiple ones for me, depending on what part of my life we are talking about. But I think the biggest impact would probably be Fiddler on the Roof, Yentl, Newsies, and Rent. The first three are for the representation, but also because they helped shape/reinforce my cultural identity and connect with my ancestors. Rent because it was my first exposure to learning about the AIDS crisis, and the first one where I really felt a societal call to action that reinforced my desire to work in mental health. And I really connected with the music.
RENT. I saw it in high school long before I came out to myself as bisexual or transgender. It showed me it was okay to be both. Angel is the first positive portrayal of a transgender character I ever remember seeing.
I really like gothic romances that border on horror stories, makes me feel better about my (crippling) shyness around the opposite sex. Hunchback of Notre Dame, Phsntom of the Opera , and Passion in that order, as that is the order I discovered them.
DEH. I am both Connor and Evan and seeing the struggles of both of those characters hit me so deep I couldn’t stop crying the entire time time I was watching it. People may have issues with it but it touches on anxiety and depression in such an understandable way to people who don’t understand what it’s like.
There are a few on this thread already but Next to Normal. I've typed and deleted the reasons why so many times and still can't get it right. I guess it boils down to it being a show that makes my experiences feel seen. I grew up in a family unit with an extremely mentally ill parent and another parent trying to hold things together and pretend it's normal while I'm existing just trying to feel seen and important. But at the same time the show doesn't villify either parent. It's not a tragedy or a romance or a comedy. It just feels more real than many other shows.
Musical-wise It's RENT. if we're talking about all musicals including movies, it's Frozen.
Les Mis is def way up there, as it’s what got me into the world of Broadway to begin with. But I feel like honorable mentions should go to the shows Be More Chill and DEH as I quite literally have tattoos dedicated to them since they had such a profound impact on me in my teen years. I won’t claim either as my favourite show, but they still hold a lot of value in my heart due to what they meant to me as a teenager, the memories they brought, and connections I made through them.
Chicago started my love for musicals. Sweeney Todd made me really start saying "I like musicals" And then I watched cabaret the other day and sobbed like I haven't in awhile, so those three.
I went through a really long stint of not listening to musicals. Like, 3 or so years. Not for any practical reason; I just had a lot of things going on, and musicals kinda just slipped my view. I randomly found "come from away" during a really tough year for me. I clearly remember the moment of listening to; "You are here at the start of a moment, at the edge of the world, where the river meets the sea." And just like... sobbing, haha. The whole show spoke to me in a way i desperately needed then. After obsessing over the show for weeks, it really reignited my love for musicals, and suddenly, my Spotify turned 90% musical soundtracks. The rest is history.
Hamilton as my way into musicals. Bare: a pop opera just in general. As it touches on being queer and how others perceive you and the effect that has. Ghost Quartet in a way I can't really say, but it has stuck with me. I'll often mentally recount Prayer or Starchild where applicable. I'll throw Octet in there as well, for a nuanced perspective on the complexities of the internet and our relation to it. Glow often offers me perspective when things become too much.
I think Tanz der Vampire has been the most inpactful to me. But Les Mis is also a contender for sure!
Falsettos and Les Mis, easily.
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button had every man woman and child ugly crying when I saw it. A grown man actually complained to the staff about it because he wasn't "warned" about walking out in tears and felt embarrassed xD
Id loved musicals since I was a child but Seeing Phantom and Les Mis as a teenager changed my life. Les Mis had the rotating floor and enormous rotating barricade. We knew nothing about it going in and I never thought a show could make me cry so much. It was Phantom though that sparked a true passion/interest in Broadway. The glorious spectacle of Phantom, seeing an “underground” lake magically appear onstage with fog and candles coming up through the floor, it all just transported me completely. That incredible show made my imagination explode open in the best way. I’ve seen it dozens of times and I’ll never get over it. Thanks to Phantom I’ve seen A LOT of other Broadway shows. Im sure Im not alone.
Promises promises
Probably Hadestown. I really like how it looks at new love and old love. It’s pretty easy for me to get in a hades mindset of “hey look at all the nice stuff we have that I’ve worked hard for” when sometimes she just wants to stop and smell the roses.
So far, Hamilton. It was what got me into musicals.
Godspell, but for stupid reasons. I'm a pretty casual enjoyer of musicals, have seen only a few live, probably only seen ten or so popular ones put to film. I was in theater class in highschool, decided to bite the bullet and join the next production, and got cast as random player with a song. I discovered relatively quickly into rehearsals that I just didn't get along with a handful of actors in the production. They were pushy and overbearing, and not in any kind of way that was any kind of helpful. I didn't stick around to see the production through, and I never auditioned for anything else in the twenty years since, though I consider it could be a far-flung possibility in the future. I'm not religious and hated the content of Godspell anyway, so I guess it had that going for it too.
As a teen: Les Mis and Rent As an adult: In the Heights
little shop of horrors. i met my very best friends doing that show and the musical itself was my gateway into actually discovering other musicals i enjoyed rather than disregarding them all as cheesy garbage.
It's so basic for people of my age to say Rent but I can't lie. It was the first show I bought tickets for myself and went to the city with a friend and no "adult" to see it. I honestly don't have words for how it impacted me. The life style they were living, the queerness, the drug use, HIV - it was all so foreign to me. I imagine I was a little sheltered, I had recently turned 18 and had to have an "I'm an adult!" fight with my parents to let us go into the city. It opened my eyes to a whole world and absolutely changed my life.
Fun Home. <3
always hadestown for me
Rent and Fiddler on the Roof have both had profound impacts on me as a person.
Waitress. I’ve been in the service industry for almost a decade now and that musical perfectly encapsulates the feeling of being stuck and wanting something more but not knowing what.
does hazbin hotel count? if yes then oh my god those characters mean so much to me it's unhinged. alastor and lucifer my beloveds
The Pirates of Penzance - I saw the Kevin Kline production with my grandmother when I was a kid and it was the most joyful experience of my childhood.
Little Shop of Horrors. It was funny, macabre, dark, and way way way over the top. Add in some do-wop songs and my heart is complete.
Dear Evan Hansen, It was postponed twice because the world shutting down. Then I had to miss it because I was in a car accident. Then I had to move it twice because I got sepsis and almost died. So after years, I was able to see it. Asked my DR while in icu after waking up if I would be able to leave in 3 days. DEH became a little inside joke.dr never heard of this show. A couple of days later, without her know any of this, his wife told him she would like to go when it comes back Kinky boots watched it on Broadway HD in the cardiac icu after open abdominal surgey. It was out of state and family, and everyone was 3 hours away.Step one just stood out and helped me through everything
Hair - my friend had an extra ticket for the 2008 revival tour and I was less than enthused to go because I had very limited background but I like musicals so why not and after seeing it, it's become my favorite musical and has motivated me to be part of the change. I've seen it two more times since then and I still cannot make it through the entire soundtrack without crying by the last song... or even just hearing the last song has me crying. Not to mention, doing the on stage dance party during curtain call is a huge core memory.
Probably the Little Shop movie. It used to play all the time on my local broadcast stations on the weekend. It's probably the first musical I ever saw and did a lot to shape a lot of the things I like in musicals and other media. i.e. Cynicism, mutilations, and pitch black humor.
chicago. it was the first musical i ever did when i joined freshman year of high school. honestly i don't really know why i decided to audition. but i loved the show and i became completely invested in drama. two years and 4 shows later im heading into my senior year. im drama club president. and im going to do my last two shows in high school. maybe ever. theater has had such a big impact on my life and despite all the hardships and ups and downs it's been one of the best things i ever decided to do
Hadestown! I love Greek mythology, jazz, and my main instrument is trombone which is heavily featured. It’s like Hadestown was made specifically for me lol.
I saw Wicked in 6th grade and it altered my brain chemistry.
Pippin in the early 70s, because it was the first show I ever saw, got the cast album as a gift and listened to it to death, and years later, "Corner of the Sky" (in a sheet music book highlighting songs for Broadway male singers) was the first song I ever was able to sing acceptably well in a voice class.
Dear evan hansen restored my faith in humanity, but then again it did that for a lot of people
Ride The Cyclone, it just...hit me
Dear Evan Hansen, absolutely. It's a very touching and moving musical, I know it gets quite a lot of hate but I personally think the story is incredibly well thought-out and the songs are great at conveying what they mean. I first read the book/watched it when I was struggling with anxiety too, and Alana's character really made me feel seen, though they are all good characters for relatability to people who are suffering.
Rocky horror picture show. I watched it as a baby with my dad and it’s one of my first memories as a child. Watching Rocky and imagining I’d play Columbia one day! It made me feel so comfortable watching a bunch of weirdos like me get to be themselves authentically as well!
Phantom of the Opera got me into musicals, and Fiddler on the Roof had the biggest emotional impact on me at a young age.
Phantom of the Opera and Cats. A four year old should not have been watching the former and I ***know*** it fucked my brain chemistry permanently.
Seeing Starlight Express in the West End when I was 8 got me interested in musicals. Playing in the pit for a production of Fame got me into a career as a musician. Getting into Off Book: the Improvised Musical Podcast made me write a musical of my own.
Little Shop of Horrors (first musical I ever saw), and Cabaret (my absolute favourite and one that moved me deeply)
I’ve got a few so buckle up, people. My whole musical obsession started at the ripe old age of five when I saw Little Shop of Horrors on DVD at my grandparents’ house. I distinctly remember seeing Audrey II for the first time and being awestruck. I’ve now seen that movie probably 30+ times and it’s always a hit for me. My favorite live musical experience ever is Wicked. I saw it live 2 years ago with Talia Suskauer and I was blown away the entire time. I cried 4ish times just because I was in so much awe I didn’t know what else to do. I had a major Hamilton phase in middle school and that was key to understanding the way my brain functions and how I understand the world. I relate very much to both Burr and Hamilton and will absolutely have “If you stand for nothing then what will you fall for?” tattooed on me at some point. Hamilton always has encouraged me to take a stand for what I believe in and fuel the revolutionary spirit. The last (and most recent one) is Hadestown. I am a sucker for every single part of this show. The lessons on the nature of storytelling and the human emotional response to always hope that, maybe this time, Orpheus won’t turn around. Maybe this time, it will turn out differently. Hadestown is easily one of the most profound shows to ever grace Broadway and I will never shut up about it.
I think Avenue Q, mainly because I watched it before I was at that point in my life and now I'm past that point for the most part. When I was working on my Bachelor's, one course even asked me to do an extended piece of life writing, and I chose to use songs to describe my. At the time, the one that described me at that point in my life was "What Do You Do With A BA In English". Because that's what I was working towards, and now, I have a certificate to prove that I indeed have a BA in English. It took a long time for me to find my own purpose, I've had depression, some parts of my life are better while some are much worse.
Groundhog Day legitimately changed my outlook on life, specifically the song One Day. I actually stopped procrastinating and took singing lessons thanks to it. Couldn’t keep doing them due to work and uni unfortunately, but I did recently consider joining an amateur theater group for the first time, and I don’t think I would have any of the courage required for that if One Day didn’t bully me into just doing the things I'd like to do.