My Top Ten Broadway Musicals of All Time

Broadway theater began its rich history of live performances in New York at around the year 1750. As theater and live performance art evolved, the Broadway musical eventually emerged and made audiences laugh, cry, and sing along with the actors. With hundreds of Broadway musicals spanning over two hundred years, it's difficult to determine the top ten out of them.

I have a few guidelines when determining which Broadway musicals make up my top ten. First, I had to have seen it. A classic musical can be revered by fans and critics for over fifty years, but if I have not been able to see it live on a theater, live on a community theater, or a taped recording of a live performance on public television, I can't review it. I do not consider Hollywood adaptations when reviewing a musical. So despite the rave reviews of my peers, musicals like "Rent" and "Little Shop of Horrors" are not eligible on my list simply because I haven't seen either yet.

Second, I'd like to see how accessible it is for the general public. Does the Broadway musical do well enough to warrant a national tour? Is the material accessible enough for a community theater to perform for audiences unable to visit Broadway? Will a community theater be able to deliver the similar emotions and songs despite not being in Broadway? Hollywood adaptations make a Broadway musical more accessible to the masses, but the quality ranges from the great "Chicago" to the awful "Phantom of the Opera." So again, Hollywood adaptations are not considered.

And finally, I have to actually like the musical I'm watching. I have to make my own opinions based on personal observation instead of relying on the opinions of everyone else. Just because almost every critic enjoyed this musical, it doesn't mean that I will. In terms of musicals, I prefer comedies and entertainment over the overly dramatic and romantic. If I wanted to listen to someone sing about his pining for his love for ten minutes, I can call a friend and listen to it for free.

And my personal top 10 Broadway musicals in no particular order:

1: The Phantom Of The Opera
The 1986 original Broadway production of "Phantom of the Opera" by Andrew Lloyd Webber pretty much sets a high bar for the Broadway musical. The story is a blend of romance, mystery, and a nice dash of violence to hold my attention. When the chandelier falls and the pyrotechnics go off, the audience feels like they are actually in the Opera Populaire in Paris during the 1860s. The flair for drama and visually stunning costumes hold my attention throughout the musical.

2: The Lion King
In 1997, Disney's "The Lion King" hits the Broadway stage. Just like the animated film, "The Lion King" tells the story of lion cub Simba's journey from his carefree days as prince of the jungle to his exile as the primary suspect of his father's death to his return to his rightful place as the king of the jungle. "The Lion King" uses a combination of choreographed positioning, costumes, and puppetry to turn the common Broadway actor into realistic and artistic animals. This musical would win six Tony Awards including Best Musical.

I can't think of many children who haven't seen the original cartoon version of "The Lion King." It seems odd for parents to shell out money to watch a live stage version of a film they already own. But "The Lion King" works well in introducing children to Broadway. The plot of this musical is an easier to digest version of Shakespeare's "Hamlet," which will appeal to adults. New songs are added and characters are fleshed out to add depth to the musical. The sheer color of the costumes is a sight to see. The actors and choreographers think outside the stage and bring puppeteers down the aisles to show off their talents. To be able to see "The Lion King" is a visual treat. This musical as well as "Beauty and the Beast" help cement Disney's presence in Broadway and shows their animated films can translate into live theater.

3: West Side Story
1957 marked the premiere of "West Side Story," a tale of two star-crossed lovers who happen to belong to rival gangs. Amid the dancing, romancing, and fighting, a familiar tragic love story is told in a different light.

As best as my memory recalls, "West Side Story" was the first live musical performance that I saw as a child. Yes, the plot is a rehash of Shakespeare's "Romeo & Juliet" and I hated that play with a passion. What puts "West Side Story" in my top ten list besides the nostalgia of being my first musical is that this musical was one of the first musicals that featured and required minorities in the cast. When I began watching musicals, I was under the impression that minorities like me were reduced to ensemble roles or scenery. But upon seeing the minority-based Sharks gang, I could see that the color of my skin would not affect my chances of being in a musical. My lack of skills in group choreography would, but that's a different matter.

4: The Producers
In 1968, Mel Brooks gave movie audiences "The Producers," a film about scheming Broadway producers looking for a Broadway flop. In 2001, Mel Brooks revived the movie by producing the Broadway musical about the same scheming Broadway producers looking for a Broadway flop. With humor ranging from gay stereotypes, ad-libs, and the always appreciated jabs at Adolf Hitler. This musical won a record breaking twelve Tony Awards including Best Musical.

Mel Brooks expands his comedic range from television to movies and now to live theater. The success of "The Producers" helped bring in the Broadway fad of turning campy movies like "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," "Xanadu," and "Legally Blonde" into Broadway musicals. Much creativity is shown by turning clever one-liners from the movie like "Where did we go right?" and "If you've got it, flaunt it" into wonderful songs. And "The Producers" managed to grow better after its initial run. I prefer the Martin Short and Jason Alexander leads, with their perfected chemistry together, over the original Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane. This just shows how great musicals improve with age.

5: Hairspray
Hot on the heels of "The Producers," 2002 gave theater goers "Hairspray," a musical based on the original John Waters movie. At the start of the 1960s, a big girl with bigger dreams gets herself involved in one of the great equal rights movements while grooving to her favorite tunes.

"Hairspray" shares the same effect as "The Producers" of helping bring forth the fad of turning Hollywood films into Broadway musicals. But unlike the pure comedy musings of "The Producers," "Hairspray" manages to bring up a few inspirational messages and pop in some social commentary amid the comedy and music. It shows how physical appearance and the color of one's skin are not reasons to judge people, a couple topics that still plague our society. Though it'll take more than an enjoyable feel-good musical to change the world, at the very least it opens the door for awareness and discussion.

6: Mamma Mia!
Using the hits of the Swedish pop band ABBA, "Mamma Mia!" is a delightful jukebox musical from 1999. Set in Greece, a young bride to be aims to determine who among three men is her father and sets up her mother for a heck of an awkward situation that rivals the good old days of Jerry Springer. Since this is a comedy with toe-tapping ABBA music, everything turns out well and happy for the characters and audience.

Sometimes I simply want to see a Broadway musical only for a guaranteed good time to relieve the stress of the day. "Mamma Mia!" fits the bill perfectly. The music is great to dance to and feels great to sing along to. The stage does an amazing job of making a flat plane into a Greek island. The story is a delightful love story with a happy ending. By the end of the musical, you are guaranteed to leave the theater happy.

7: Wicked
Gregory Maguire's "Wicked" brings a new point of view of the classic "Wizard of Oz." In 2003, Broadway audiences got to see the origins of the Wicked Witch of the West and see that she wasn't as wicked as people made her out to be.

"Wicked" brings forth an imaginative interpretation of the land of Oz that we never saw in the original movie. The musical shows off spectacular sets. Oz is alive for the audience to see and hear. "Wicked" also does a terrific job as a character-driven musical that causes the audience to feel empathy for the soon to be Wicked Witch and that is how it sets itself apart. The imaginative world of "Wicked" is something one must see to believe.

8: Les Miserables
Victor Hugo's classic novel "Les Miserables" is a story that intertwines many characters of different class and psychologies and shows how they interact with each other during crisis as they deal with their inner conflicts through many years. It won a Best Musical Tony Award in 1987 among other awards.

"Les Miserables" is my pick for an ensemble drama. It manages to work with a large cast of essential characters and gives each at least one memorable part and song. It does an effective job of getting the characters to interact with each other and expressing the feelings of love, honor, anger, duty, betrayal, and manipulation. It's a tale of redemption that asks audiences whether a lifetime of good can undo one bad act and vice versa.

9: A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum
In 1962, the comedy of errors "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum" premiered on Broadway. As a bawdy comedy of errors, an ensemble cast manage to cause trouble for each other. But as the introductory song states, it's a comedy tonight.

Despite not knowing his name until recently, I have been a fan of Stephen Sondheim's musicals from "Forum" to "Company" to "Sweeney Todd." Out of those three and his other musicals (like as I've learned as I type this, "West Side Story"), I added "Forum" to this list as an antithesis of "Les Miserables." Both are ensemble pieces with each main character having a profound effect on each other. But unlike "Les Miserables," "Forum" is a comedy and provides a happy ending for all. The choreography in getting the characters to become pawns for some and wrenches thrown in their schemes is complicated but when seen on stage, it's marvelous.

10: Jersey Boys
"Jersey Boys" opened in Broadway in the November of 2005 and retells the story of one of the 1960's rock group the Four Seasons. With lead singer Frankie Valli, the Four Seasons came up with the rock classics "Sherry," "Walk Like A Man," "Big Girls Don't Cry," and many others. Told by the four members in a documentary style, the audience is treated to each member's point of view, personality, and contributions to this classic rock group. "Jersey Boys" would win four Tony Awards in 2006, including Best Musical.

I hate biographies. They often feel more like imitation of an established figure instead of actual acting on something requiring creativity to imagine. But "Jersey Boys" brings a fresh take on the biography. By having four different leads provide four different views of their success, we get a "Rashomon" feel as they try to shed themselves into the most positive light. The story of their origin is interesting involving the development of their unique sound, the struggle to break into the business, the fall of their personal relationships amid their rise to stardom, and even a few mob ties to stir things up. Given that the musical is about a rock group, it's obvious that they use the hits of the Four Seasons for music. This makes "Jersey Boys" a jukebox musical using preexisting hit songs, but the scenes setting up the songs and the choreography work well and fit into the musical instead of feeling thrown in to get cheap applause. "Jersey Boys" gets its spot on the top ten for reintroducing me to the biography genre and making it interesting, entertaining, and educational.

And going the extra mile, here's an off-Broadway musical I recommend:

11: Forbidden Broadway
"Forbidden Broadway" pokes fun at the state of Broadway musicals. They have parody songs based around the musical they are ridiculing. "Forbidden Broadway" is a great way to gauge how well Broadway musicals are currently doing. If "Forbidden Broadway" takes the time to ridicule it, chances are it's a musical worth looking into.