The Top Five Plays to See on Stage

For theater lovers like myself, choosing a play to see or direct can be a challenge. After all, there are so many to choose from. I am here to help you pick the ones that you should see above all others. These are all musicals, not stage plays with just talking. Maybe it is the singing and dancing, but I think most people would enjoy a good musical much more than a music-less stage play. What I have provided here is a list of my five favorite musicals. I firmly believe that everyone should see each of these at least once.

The first musical that everyone should see is The Phantom Of The Opera. I consider this show to be the very epitome of all musicals. Andrew Lloyd Webber tells the haunting story of a disfigured genius living beneath the Opera Populaire who has fallen in love with young soprano Christine. Brimming with music you don't hear in your sweetest dreams, The Phantom Of The Opera is a thrilling tale of romance that explores the darkest corners of the human soul. This show will keep you glued to your seat until the very end,(and perhaps a little while after) and leave you craving for more.

Our second musical is Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street. Stephen Sondheim weaves a chilling tale of a cheated man who becomes obsessed with inflicting revenge upon his wrongdoers, and inflict it he does. Sweeney Todd is our star, a barber turned serial killer whose only wish is to exact his revenge on the evil Judge Turpin. Mrs. Lovett is a kind old pie shop owner who doubles as Todd's partner in crime. This show will make you question your own sanity as you watch Todd unravel into madness.

Little Shop Of Horrors is the strange tale of a "Mean Green Mother From Outer Space", who has come to earth via clueless plant lover Seymour. I first saw it when I was in my first year of High School. Complete with a stellar cast, which includes the shy Seymour, the sweet Audrey, the grouchy Mr. Mushnik, the sadistic dentist Orvin Scrivello, and the incredibly hungry talking plant Audrey II, Little Shop Of Horrors is a comedy that will leave you and those around you in tears.

Hairspray is a comedic story of one little...er... big girls's dream to be famous and the events that make it happen. In a time where anyone "different" was not accepted, Tracy Turnblad had the courage to stand up for what she knew was right, and get famous in the process.Tracy is ready to turn Baltimore upside down in this hilarious show that entertains to no end.

This next show might make you old fashioned theater lovers scoff. I used to be the same way until I saw High School Musical on stage for the first time. I wasn't expecting anything special, I was only there to watch my son participate in the show, (his first musical!) but I was wrong. The energy level in the show was amazing! I felt like singing and dancing myself, and I got that chance at the end where the cast held a sing-along. There was not one person in the entire room who remained seated when it came time for a curtain call.

These are the five best shows that I have ever seen and I truely think that everyone would enjoy at least one of these. Do not bother with the movie verions(all of these have been made into movies) but take a chance and see them on stage. Nothing else will ever hold a candle to them.