A BROADWAY HOLIDAY WISH LIST

With the holidays here, I started thinking about musicals I love but have not seen live yet, and I started looking ahead to the shows I’m excited for in 2020. In this list, you will find a variety of musicals in terms of styles, stories, and music. Here are three musicals already open and two that are upcoming that I want to see. 

Mean Girls

Mean Girls has been out for over a year, and yet I have not seen the show. The movie is a cult classic for my generation, and this was the original reason for wanting to check out the cast recording. The music and the story drew me, and I want to see all those songs I love with the choreography and the set. The music due me to the show because of the song “I’d Rather Be Me.”, this number was performed on a late-night talk show, and I was hooked from the first cord. The story is one I’ve always enjoyed because I believe that teens can relate to, and connect with the work.  Another reason I want to see this musical is Janis and Cady, my favorites from the movie. While a secondary character in the movie, Janis becomes a narrator and gets a show-stopping number! Cady is the female lead, an outsider trying to find herself at her new school, and I have always loved her story. Mean Girls is full of nostalgia for me, and I want to see if the musical holds up.

Hadestown

If you read my piece last January, you know that I love Hadestown. {NB: INSERT LINK FROM Hadestown piece here.} This musical is still going strong with all of the awards, and accolades they received in the 2019 season. Of course, the unique fusion of Indie Music, and New Orleans Jazz, was what drew me to the show at first. While I know the story on the cast recording, I want to see the story live, as a fan of mythology. Hadestown is a piece of theater that needs to be seen live for the full experience, as I gathered watching the preview on the Thanksgiving Day Parade. I feel this musical is on a lot of people’s lists, and based on the sales and positive reviews, Hadestown will be around for years to come, so we have time to experience the show live.

Moulin Rouge

Moulin Rouge is all about the spectacle and the elements working in tandem to make one complete story about finding love. I have seen the movie; however, I believe the musical will be more up my alley (because it has more music) based on what I’ve heard from the cast recording. The music, story, sets, choreography, and lights all combine for one magical live experience. Music is what draws someone to a musical, and the orchestrations of the songs in this jukebox musical, using a wide variety of genres and artists,  are top-notch in my opinion, even weaving two or more tunes into a single number. The story is another draw for fans of musicals, and the story of Moulin Rouge is a fantastic one, taking the audience through a range of emotions. Christian is a writer helping his neighbors, a group of performers finish their show, he meets Satine, who has been promised to be wed to the Duke of Monroth. The plot turns into a love triangle between Chrisitan, Satine, and the Duke of Monroth. Unfortunately, Satine  dies due to tuberculosis; however, not before she and Christian promise their love, and she tells him to write her story.  

Six

If you’ve read my other posts here, you know that I’m a fan of history based musicals, or shows that discuss historical events. Six is the show I’m most looking forward to seeing next season, just based on the premise, the six wives of Henry VII come into our time, and forming a pop girl group,  and the fact that I’ve been listening to the London studio recording for months. The musical takes the six wives of Henry VIII, and gives them their own stories while giving you historical facts about the women. The music in this show is different for every queen, and it really shows in the style and delivery of every show song in the cast recording. Music, story, and my love of history, specifically the Tudor era, are the reasons I want to see Six when it opens on Broadway.

Company 

Every theater fan has their favorite Sondheim musicals, and this is one of mine. The Broadway revival will be a new interpretation because the main character Bobby, a man in the original musical, will be Bobbi, a woman in this revival production. The character of Amy is now changed to a man named Jamie, and I can’t wait to see what these changes bring to the story we know and love.

I hope you enjoyed this list. If you don’t already know the musical, maybe you found the inspiration to look more into these shows. For those familiar with these, I hope you enjoyed reading my reasoning for putting the show on my list. Other shows opening this season are Birthday Candles, Caroline or Change, Diana, The Girl from the North Country, Hangmen, How I Learned to Drive, The Lehman Trilogy, The Minutes, MJ The Musical, Mrs. Doubtfire, The Music Man, My Name is Lucy Barton, Plaza Suite, Take Me Out, and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. 

Photo by Joan Marcus.