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]]>Choosing popular musicals for your program’s next productions can be tempting. Sure, top-of-the-charts cast recordings draw new people to the art of musical theatre, and it can be exciting to tap into that energy.
But popular shows aren’t always feasible. You want your program to stand out, and maybe even attract a general audience. That’s made harder by choosing a show that several other schools are performing or have recently staged. And that’s on top of licensing issues: Companies may grant rights to a popular show to only a handful of schools or programs in a region.
When planning your next season, consider these six less-performed (but no less substantial) musicals.
Popular Musicals in their Own Ways
1776 instead of Hamilton
A cultural phenomenon that sparked interest in both civics and theatre alike, Hamilton remains on Broadway and not at a community or school theater near you. But the oft-overlooked 1776 also dramatizes the founding of the United States (and, indeed was referenced in Hamilton’s “The Adams Administration”).
Of note: 1776’s characters are overwhelmingly male and white, in stark contrast to Hamilton’s race-blind approach to casting. But a 2022 all-non-male revival of 1776 paved the way for new ways of staging the show.
Honorable mentions: Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights or Bring It On. Both incorporate styles of nontraditional music and have several roles explicitly for people of color.
Once Upon a Mattress instead of Shrek
Though decades older than everyone’s favorite ogre, Once Upon a Mattress (a comedic take on The Princess and the Pea) is also a send-up of traditional fairy tales. And, like other suggestions on this list, Mattress offers more prominent roles for actresses than its male dominated counterpart, Shrek.
Mattress is a comedy, albeit with a different sense of humor. Shrek’s bawdy potty humor and pop-culture references are swapped for physical comedy and sexual innuendo. Mattress’ title itself is a double entendre, and there’s a whole song in which a father pantomimes “the birds and the bees” to his son.
Popular Musicals from the Good Old Days
All Shook Up instead of Grease
Both of these musicals are set in the 1950s. And both of these two shows are full of leather jackets and poodle skirts. All Shook Up trades Grease’s iconic doo-wop pastiche for Elvis Presley’s iconic songbook. School boards or principals concerned with Grease’s mature content might be much more supportive of the more wholesome All Shook Up.
Another reason to choose All Shook Up is that it benefits from not having a popular film adaptation that audiences will compare it to.
Popular Musicals You’ll Want to Get to Know
Once on This Island instead of The Little Mermaid
Disney’s The Little Mermaid tied for the ninth most-produced full-length musical in the Educational Theatre Association’s 2022 play survey. And for good reason: The show’s songs and characters are instantly recognizable to generations of theater goers, and its large cast allows many actors to get involved.
But Once on This Island is based on the same Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale—and it offers more roles for women (Ariel and Ursula are the only two female characters with significant lines in Mermaid) and people of color. The music is just as catchy, featuring a score from Broadway legends Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens.
Young Frankenstein instead of The Addams Family
The Addams Family, another of EdTA’s top-10 most-produced musicals, is a macabre comedy based on a much-beloved family of characters. Young Frankenstein checks several of the same boxes: a rip-roaring musical based on the popular Mel Brooks film of the same name. Both shows also allow for some audience participation, and don’t require the audience to know the source material to enjoy.
Pippin instead of The Greatest Showman
The Greatest Showman may not be a stage musical (yet), but the 2017 film’s popularity persists. Pippin, the 1972 brainchild of Stephen Schwartz and Bob Fosse, is also set in a kind of circus and features stirring melodies and physical stunts. A 2013 revival starring Patina Miller as the Lead Player (a role historically played by a man) brought new relevance to the show. 
Andrew Koch is a writer and editor from Cincinnati. 1776 is his favorite “unpopular” show.
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]]>You can improve your craft by studying these musicals you must see. Broadway has a long history that goes much deeper than the popularity of newer shows like Hamilton and Waitress would have you believe. The Broadway canon offers a host of resources for modern theatre buffs: inspiration, instruction, entertainment, and even audition monologues and songs. Here are some of our all-time favorite musicals, and our case for why every theatre lover should see them.
We’ve included notes about where online you can watch filmed adaptations of each show as of January 2022. (Streaming services often change their offerings, so they may be different by the time you’re reading this.) All the shows mentioned below also have cast recordings that you can listen to on streaming services like Spotify.
Musicals You Must See #1: Oklahoma!
Music and lyrics by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, book by Oscar Hammerstein II, based on the play Green Grow the Lilacs by Lynn Riggs. Premiered on Broadway in 1943.
A scene from the 2019 revival of “Oklahoma!”
This classic show follows a cast of quirky characters in turn-of-the-20th-century, pre-statehood Oklahoma—where, as the title song says, the “wind comes sweeping down the plain.” Though its plot is somewhat meandering by today’s standards, Oklahoma! (one of the first “book musicals”) is widely credited with pioneering the modern Broadway musical. It combined show-stopping numbers with serious drama, staging songs that were catchy but also tightly woven into the show’s plot and character development. Choreographer Agnes de Mille was lauded for using dance to further the plot of the musical. Famous numbers include “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’,” “Surrey with the Fringe on Top,” “People Will Say We’re in Love,” and (of course) “Oklahoma.”
Legendary duo Rodgers and Hammerstein followed Oklahoma! with a slew of other shows that became classics and typified the “golden age” of Broadway musicals: Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I, a television adaptation of Cinderella, and The Sound of Music.
Where to Watch
Two versions are available: the 1955 film adaptation of (dir. Fred Zinnemann) and the 1999 London production. A 2019 revival is now touring across the United States.
Musicals You Must See #2: West Side Story
Music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by Arthur Laurents, based on the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. Premiered on Broadway in 1957.
An epic retelling of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story follows two teenagers falling in love amidst a turf war between rival street gangs. Its tragic ending is punctuated by soaring love ballads, exciting ensemble numbers, and vibrant costumes. Dancers will love this choreographic tour de force, in particular—the show revolutionized how emotions and action could be portrayed through movement.
Like Oklahoma!, West Side Story was the brainchild of a Broadway great: Stephen Sondheim, who passed away in November 2021. You’re bound to have heard some of this show’s songs: “Tonight,” “Maria,” “I Feel Pretty,” “Somewhere,” and even “Gee, Officer Krupke.”
Where to Watch
Two film versions of the musical are available for viewing: The iconic Academy Award-winning 1961 film adaptation (dir. Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins) and the 2021 film adaptation (dir. Steven Spielberg).
Musicals You Must See #3: Gypsy
Music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by Arthur Laurents, based on the memoir by Gypsy Rose Lee. Premiered on Broadway in 1959.
This character-driven drama is less showy than the other entries on this list, exploring the darker side of show business and pioneering a different kind of Broadway storytelling. The story follows archetypal “stage mother” Rose as she tries to (vicariously) make her daughters star performers. The show’s mature themes and risqué content make it somewhat less likely to be performed by a high school than the other shows mentioned here, but its themes and gravitas make it worth studying.
Another Sondheim-Laurents partnership, this show’s notable songs include “Let Me Entertain You” and “Everything’s Coming Up Roses.” The lead of “Mama Rose” has become a sort of right of passage for actresses, with many of Broadway’s most famous leading ladies playing the role: Ethel Merman, Angela Lansbury, Bernadette Peters, Bette Midler, and Patti LuPone, to name a few.
Where to Watch
Two versions are available: The the 1962 film adaptation (dir. Mervyn LeRoy) and the 1993 made-for-television adaptation (dir. Emile Ardolino) starring Bette Midler as Mama Rose.
Musicals You Must See #4: Phantom of the Opera
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Charles Hart, additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe, book by Richard Stilgoe and Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the novel by Gaston Leroux. Premiered on Broadway in 1988.
You’ve seen it, your drama teacher has seen it, your mom has seen it—it’s hard to escape this blockbuster musical. Phantom has run for a record-shattering 13,500+ shows on Broadway, plus productions that have circled the globe in the 35 years since the show first premiered. The show was a crossover hit that drew new audiences to musical theatre. And, along with Les Misérables (which premiered on Broadway a year earlier), Phantom set the stage for other megahits to follow, including The Lion King, Wicked, The Book of Mormon, and Hamilton.
Phantom lives up to the hype, with an iconic operatic soundtrack (famous songs include “Think of Me,” “Angel of Music,” “The Music of the Night,” and the titular theme “The Phantom of the Opera”), dazzling costumes, and juicy melodrama. The musical is a technical marvel, too, complete with a chandelier that hangs over (and seemingly drops onto) the audience.
Where to Watch
Two versions are available: The the 2004 film adaptation (dir. Joel Schumacher) or the 2011 concert at Royal Albert Hall (dir. Nick Morris and Laurence Connor).
Honorable Mentions
These other popular shows should make your shortlist of to-watch musicals:
● Cabaret
● Cats
● A Chorus Line
● Company
● Fiddler on the Roof
● Hair
● Hamilton
● Jesus Christ Superstar
● Les Misérables
● The Music Man
● The Producers
● Rent
● The Sound of Music
● Wicked
For more recommendations, see this roundup of straight plays everyone should know, as well as the Educational Theatre Association’s annual play survey that logs the most popular musicals and plays among high schools.
Andrew Koch is a writer and editor from Cincinnati. His informal musical theatre history “education” began several years ago when he saw a touring production of The Lion King.
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