DISCLAIMER: These are based on MY opinion and should not be taken as fact or the only correct way of thinking. This ranking is based purely on the writing of the Broadway musical and does not take into consideration the performance of any actor or the visuals of any production. This also is only ranking staged Broadway musicals. NO MOVIES. They are also ranked in descending order.
11) Company by Stephen Sondheim
“Why am I here?” “What am I doing with my life?” “How come what I want is happening to my friends?” These are questions that Company takes on with its main character Bobby. The story of a 35 year old man whose friends are all falling in love and getting married but he can’t seem to. With showstoppers such as “Getting Married Today” and “Being Alive”, this show keeps its humor while holding its central theme of desperate, true, love that not everyone shares. An underappreciated masterpiece that has stood the test of time for 50+ years.
10) West Side Story by Lenard Bernstein (score) and Stephen Sondheim (lyrics)
Romeo and Juliet told through music and racial inequality. West Side Story is a cultural phenomenon that continues to inspire musical writing to date. Credited as Sondheim’s first official work, alongside Bernstein’s genius this show had high levels of potential from the beginning. The musical is charming and upholds the beauty of William Shakespeare’s most famous story. With ballads such as “Maria” and group numbers such as “Tonight”, the music is beautifully tender and impactful. A staple in Broadway history.
9) Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim
A masterclass in music theory and writing. Into the Woods is the most intricate musical on this list. Being able to tell 10+ story lines while having them all relate, avoid, and collide with each other throughout a musical is astounding. The music can be dissected for hours and you would never run out of interesting details. Although Sondheim has been dominating my rankings so far, this is by far his best work. With a stunning 14 minute long “Prologue” that establishes characters and their motifs while also setting up the world they all live in, to a powerful “Your Fault” that bashes those melodies against themselves to represent the characters contention. The show is whimsical and thrilling.
8) Wicked by Stephen Schwartz
“Are people born wicked? Or do they have Wickedness thrust upon them?” A shockingly close to home question the Wicked addresses with full force. A musical taking on the culture of judging someone based on their skin color with The Wicked Witch of the West or Elphaba as the show has renamed her. Wicked’s powerful music and ties to real life, make this prequel a life changing experience. It deserves all of the love it has received and should have won best musical in 2004.
7) Beauty and the Beast by Alan Menken
With such an incredible animated movie, Beauty and the Beast was astounding from the beginning. But ever since Menken took this show to the stage, the true magic of what could be done came to life. This show is a breathtaking masterpiece with incredible writing. From soft, tender, heartbreaking, ballads such as “If I Can’t Love Her” to rage-induced, power struggling “Mob Song” you feel enwrapped in the production regardless of how it looks. For a show that started on the screen, it belongs on the stage.
6) Once on This Island by Lynn Ahrens
Probably the least recognized musical on this list, but an incredible one nonetheless. Once on This Island is a caribbean-set (loose) retelling of The Little Mermaid. A girl falls in love with a rich boy and makes a deal with the gods to be with him. The gods in turn, put the girl through a test to see if “love can really conquer death.” “Forever Yours” and “Forever Yours (Reprise)” are centerpoints in this story. The sheer power of ripping away the loving sentimentality of the love interests for a being that literally represents death, makes these songs so impactful. The rest of the show also backs up the story by showing the range of emotions. From “Mama Will Provide” giving us fun and excited energy, to “A Part of Us” that brings out the solid heartbreak of what comes sends chills down your spine every time. A truly immersive story that is shared perfectly.
5) Newsies by Alan Menkin
I would consider this the perfect musical to start with if you’re just getting into musicals. Watching this show makes you FEEL the emotions each character goes through. You FEEL the oppression the boys are fighting. You FEEL every bit of space between them and the top. You FEEL the hopelessness, but they continue to fight. Each group number brings you to tears as you see their pain, but they won’t stop their revolution. The whole story starts over a 10 cent price jack, but it’s so much more than that. It’s about the lives of these children who were never given a chance to be anything other than adults, and you feel every single bit of that. All of this, while still being able to make us laugh and fall in love with the characters.
4) Oliver! by Lionel Bart
One of the most family centered musicals, this show will make you feel privileged to have any amount of one. Following the life of the orphan boy Oliver, this show will have you partying with “You’ve Got To Pick a Pocket Or Two”, weeping with “Where Is Love?”, and will have you begging to know what happens next with “Reviewing the Situation”. From its terrifying villain that no one can seem to avoid, to Oliver’s cunning mentor who can’t seem to know what to do, this show has it all. You will leave any production of this show humming and dancing to the songs stuck in your head. This musical is catchy, impossible to look away from, and all together incredibly entertaining. A must see by any means.
3) The Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Weber
You knew this was going to be up here. One of, if not, the most famous musicals of all time, and rightly so. This show has everything you ever would want from a musical. Action, adventure, love, revenge, big group numbers, powerful solos, twists and turns like no other. The Phantom of the Opera is Broadway’s golden child as it is an example of perfect writing. Webber made no mistake when writing this show and spared no expense to make this show what it fully can be. I truly believe that nothing will come close to the genius of this musical for a very very long time.
2) Rent by Johnathan Larson
Ignoring all of the awards this show received, ignoring all of the lives this musical saved with the awareness it raised, ignoring the fact that this show changed the world…the musical itself is fundamentally genius. Rent is based (loosely) off of the opera “La Boheme” and uses those themes to be its own rock opera that captures a pure sense of bohemian living. What Rent does so well is create this almost personal relationship with each of its characters. Larson based each of his characters off of people in his life that he lost, and in doing so he crafted such developed and understood characters that the audience is able to connect with on a personal level. This show thrives off of how real it is and how closely we can all relate to it. Though Rent is a fictional story, it seems almost like it was ripped right out of our day to day life and put on some fun music. The story is heart wrenching, hilarious, disturbing, beautiful, depressing, and full of joy and happiness like nothing before or after it. Rent is a sermon on love and togetherness and the music is its vehicle to preach.
1) Les Miserables by Claude-Michel Schӧnberg and Alain Boublil
I cannot stress this enough…this musical is perfect. An absolute, hands down, no doubt about it masterpiece. Every second of this show means something. From its clever and powerful music, to its deep and mind bending dialogue, this show will capture all of your heart. No musical in existence does what this show does as well as it does. Characters are represented by more than what they say and do, the score itself tells the story through motifs and character personification using nothing but notes. The characters all feel unique and have their own cause, and the show forces you to grow attached before ripping a vast majority away within a moment. The show can have you belly laughing a single scene before it has you sobbing but most importantly, the story is breathtakingly beautiful. All of this makes the musical one of (if not) the hardest musicals to ever perform, but with that comes the greatest musical ever crafted.
