Top 10 Must-See Broadway Plays and
Musicals and Why
© 2007 BestShowTicketsLasVegas.com
There are many reasons to attend a Broadway
play. One might be a visit to New York, so you
can say you’ve seen the sights. Another might
be a lifetime resident of the city who can go at any
time and who doesn’t because there will always
be time, and the time has come. Another might be a
habitual attendee. It is therefore valuable to see
what offerings are out there to make a more informed
decision.
First up is Tarzan,
a musical about a baby raised by gorillas as he encounters
humans, and Jane, forcing him to choose between his
two heritages. Tarzan is very popular, with many theatergoers
looking forward to seeing the Disney version brought
to stage. A show for all ages, the search for where
one belongs in the world is a weighty subject for
such a deceptively light show. Phil Collins extended
his musical score from the Disney movie into a complete
theatrical score.
Wicked
is a musical taking the witches from the Wizard
of Oz and recasting them to reverse the loyalties
the audience feels in the movie. The play follows
the women from school to their eventual fates. The
emerald skinned Elphaba, studious and misunderstood,
and the beautiful and ambitious Glinda, as they move
from unlikely friends to the classic opponents of
the movie. The magic lies in the witty recasting of
the backstory of the Wizard of Oz, to challenge assumptions
and present a tale of friendship and love.
The
Lion King is a musical about Simba
the lion cub and his journey to adulthood and acceptance
as King. A play for all ages, the story of a youth
growing to accept responsibility and duty is one of
the most enduring themes in fiction. The animal puppetry
is nothing less than brilliant.
A disfigured musical genius haunts a theater and
exerts a mysterious control over a young singer. The
Phantom of the Opera is a modern classic musical,
long-standing show and one of the most well known
Broadway plays of the era. The classic music of the
show is one of the main draws, with more than one
piece from this show recognizable to almost any adult.
This is the longest running play in Broadway history,
and made Andrew Lloyd Webber a household name. Phantom
of the Opera has played in 22 countries, 113 cities
and to a combined audience of 10 million.
Almost everyone recognizes the famous line, “It
was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”
Les
Miserables is a musical based on the classic novel
of the same name, in which the obsessed policeman
Javert pursues the prison escapee Jean Valjean over
decades in Revolutionary France. This is currently
the word’s longest running play. A classic tale
of obsession and redemption, this play investigates
the big questions like right and wrong, vengeance
and justice, and what it takes to achieve redemption,
while putting a human face on the issues. Les Miserable
originally ran on Broadway for sixteen years, and
is back with a fresh cast to renew the magic.
Spamalot
is based on the legendary Monty Python and the Holy
Grail, featuring King Arthur and the Knights of the
Round Table as they face such dangers as the dreaded
bunny rabbit. The occasionally eccentric Monty
Python sense of humor is in full fury in this
tale, with jabs at politics, religion, chivalry, bravery,
intelligence and the French. There are limbless knights,
men in tights and a chorus line of dancing divas.
Spamalot is a favorite of audiences and critics alike,
and won the 2005 Tony for Best Musical.
Chicago
the Musical is yet another famous musical, in
this case about a murder trial. The Fosse choreography
is iconic. While the music isn’t as iconic as
some others, the odds are that most will recognize
several pieces they’ve heard before, such as
“Razzle-Dazzle” and “All that Jazz.”
Chicago returns us to the time of Vaudeville, satirizes
the justice system and shows us what great theater
is all about.
Rags to rock to riches, Jersey
Boys is the musical story of four blue-collar
boys who become the Four Tops. It follows them from
their start in the Hood to their apotheosis as one
of the greatest music groups of all time, with emphasis
on the characters involved.
Mamma
Mia! is a musical built around Abba staples of
the seventies, dealing with a single mother whose
daughter is about to get married on a Greek island.
The daughter invites three of her mother’s old
boyfriends to visit, hoping to find out which one
her father is. The play is built around Abba music,
but is an engaging story in its own right and is advanced
by the music rather than providing an excuse for it.
This is a play where almost everyone attending knows
the music. Mamma Mia! is a high energy sensation.
The
Producers is a musical retelling of the Mel Brooks
movie about a scheme to raise money for a play that
flops, leaving the rest of the money to take, but
the play becomes a hit despite their best efforts.
The most politically incorrect show on Broadway, the
play is funny from start to finish and both well cast
and well choreographed. The Producers has turned the
Broadway musical on its head and become a phenomenon.
Plays are one of the most enduring human entertainments,
and Broadway
is the big leagues in an art form thousands of years
old. Plays speak of where we come from, where we are,
where we would like to be. There are as many reasons
to watch plays as there are attendees, but entertainment
and enlightenment are high on every list, and are
sufficient reason of and in themselves.
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