First things first, if you’re looking for some zesty beats to accompany this read, I present my ultimate Broadway playlist, where I pull only the finest of Carpool Karaoke and middle-of-the-night imaginary Tony performances from.
Historically, whenever someone has asked me what my favorite Broadway show is, I’ve made a huge dramatic showing of not having an answer “because I love them all.” While that is still true, I have been able to narrow the list down to a “top tier.” However, with every new show that comes out, I always have fresh favorites that come and go, so this list is by no means definitive.
Wicked
I’m not basic I swear. If you know anything about me, you know it really stems from my love of Oz and the complexity of the characters that most people overlook. I’ve been writing the screenplay for the movie in my head for years now. 15/10 could ramble about it for hours.
Hairspray
An intersectional masterpiece that never fails to brighten my mood and inspire me to love and be my best self. I would wear my hair like Tracey every day if I wouldn’t be publicly mocked.
Into the Woods
Once upon a time, I discovered the OBC on Youtube and now I know every word. I've always had an affinity for fairy tales, but this show goes beyond the ever after in ways that let us know to be careful what we wish for.
Waitress
Sugar, butter, flour baby. As a southerner, I felt so seen and seeing Sara Bareilles as Jenna was a religious experience, to say the least. My love for her is unhealthy as the pies that spin on stage.
Moulin Rouge!
I’ve never been a big fan of the film, but this absolute spectacle of a stage show is currently my favorite on Broadway. I’m also super biased for reasons later explained in this post.
The Runner-Ups: Legally Blonde, Dear Evan Hansen, Oklahoma (2019 Revival), Dogfight
I feel like I have to make the distinction that there are some musicals that I absolutely adore as films that may not always quite make the top-tier cut just as stage shows.
The Wiz
I found the DVD at Target in the early 2000s and I’ve never looked back. It’s a better musical than the MGM version and one of the more accurate adaptations of the original Oz story and I could not recommend it more if you’ve never seen it.
The Mamma Mia Cinematic Universe
If you don’t love these films I’m sorry that you’re unable to feel joy. I could discuss the Mia-verse for hours and I have well-researched evidence backed by science that determines Sophie’s paternity.
Cinderella (1997)
Whitney Houston was and is an angel and we didn’t deserve her. Best Rodgers and Hammerstein film adaption hands down. Whenever I need inspiration, "There Is Music In You" always comes through.
The Last Five Years
Retweet if you cry every time. This film walked so Marriage Story could run. More on that later.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
I'm still terrified of the Child Catcher to this day. It's 2.5 hours of nonsense but I love it. This and Herbie are why I thought all cars were alive throughout my childhood.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to love and appreciate the performers within the Broadway industry just as much as the shows they’re apart of. I had to break this down by gender because I could never narrow it down that much. Again, I’d like to state that I love and obsess over so many people that these lists took a long time to make and are not finite.
From Left to Right
Stephanie J. Block: All-time favorite Elphaba that can do no wrong in my book, her body of work is incredible and I cannot express in words how much I adore her
Lindsay Mendez: The woman who introduced me to Broadway vloggers and thus made the world of Broadway more accessible to me and many others
Jasmine Cephas Jones: My Hamilton phase has come and gone, but my love for this woman knows no end. She's severely underrated and deserves all the success in the world.
Laura Osnes: A long time ago little Caroline voted for her to win the part of Sandy in a Grease revival reality show and getting to see her live in Bandstand was a full-circle moment for me, a true princess in every way.
Sierra Boggess: On top of being the first leading lady I saw on stage as well as the spark of my Phantom phase, she never fails to make me laugh while making sure we all know how enough we are.
From Left to Right
Ben Platt: Seeing him in Dear Evan Hansen was literally a life-changing experience, and it’s my dream that we’ll someday start a Judy Garland fan club together
Jonathon Groff: Jesse St. James and Kristoff Bjorgman. That is all. Except not really because I love everything he does.
Gavin Creel: If you’ve ever seen the Eloise cinematic universe, you know this man and you love him. I’m not a Hello Dolly stan by any means but his rendition of “Put On Your Sunday Clothes” never fails to remind me why I love musical theatre.
Darren Criss: This man may have a broken back from carrying the entirety of the last few seasons of Glee on his shoulders, but my love for him is still going strong.
Derek Klena: Just like Lindsay Mendez, I was introduced to this gem of a human through Broadway vlogging in both Wicked and Anastasia and he is sunshine incarnate.
This is the portion of the blog where I oust myself as a crazy stalker fangirl.
In the year of our Lord 2013, I went to see the Les Miserables movie in theaters on Christmas Day, and my life was changed forever.
It began with a search on IMDB… I just had to know the name of the actor that played that Enjolras dude, as I thought I recognized him from something but I just couldn’t put my finger on it.
That man was Aaron Tveit and it’s nearly 7 years later and I may have only briefly made eye contact with him at a stage door once, but he may just be my soulmate.
I fully acknowledge that hardly anyone knows who he is, and I often spend way too much time trying to list things he’s been in that people just might possibly sort of be familiar with, so I’ll let him explain his career in his own words as to protect you from my own babbling.
To give you the gist, he’s the official boyfriend of Broadway, and it’s what he deserves.
He may be talented, he may be handsome, and he may have a very cute labradoodle named Miles, but if you’d like to know the real reason why I love him, I urge you to watch this.
I saw him for the first time in the Boston run of Moulin Rouge!, where my mom and I sat in what is now the Can Can Table Seats a literal inch from the stage. During his show-stopping rendition of “Come What May,” he was singing so passionately that he inadvertently spit on me, and lemme tell you it was an honor.
That’s gross. I know. I don’t care.
You’ll definitely be hearing more about Aaron on this blog so I encourage you to get familiar with his work.
I will be starting my own campaign for a “Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical” nomination and subsequent win for Moulin Rouge! because he’s been robbed far too many times and I will accept it no longer.
Okay, I need to wrap this up because this is running way too long. If you’ve read this far, you’re either as obsessive as I am, or you love me a lot, or you’re just really bored and I appreciate your readership either way.