Let’s be honest, musical theatre is not everyone’s cup of tea. Many will despair at the thought of having to sit through 2 hours of spontaneous singing and dancing, which let’s face it is usually pretty tenuous to the plot. . . if there even is a plot. But there are some musicals that even the die-hard hater of musical theatre will like, and maybe even find themselves singing along to in the shower. Here are the top 5 musicals you should see if you don’t like musical theatre.
Shrek the musical
Everyone loves the film Shrek. So what could be better than having Shrek and all your favourite characters from the film come to life right before your eyes on stage?! The musical has all the great songs you love from the film, and some added extras which are not only hilarious but also relevant to the plot. It’s a musical like no other, you already know the storyline & that the characters are brilliant. And if you don’t find a guy wearing a donkey onesie following a green painted ogre round stage singing songs funny, then I don’t know what you’d find funny.
Wicked
You may have hated the Wizard of Oz but Wicked is not like its parallel musical cousin. With toe-tappingly catchy songs like ‘Popular’ and ‘One Short Day’ and some pretty witty one liners, Wicked is a musical not to be missed. Telling the true story of the Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba, Wicked is a brilliantly written musical that has the hairs on the back of your neck on edge after the first half finale of ‘Defying Gravity’. Even if you really don’t like musicals, the stage effects are worth going to see in themselves – who wouldn’t want to see a dragon flying over the audience?!
Singing In The Rain
Even if you haven’t seen the iconic film, you’ll know the song. And you’ll probably surprise yourself with how many of the other songs in the show you know too. Set in 50’s Hollywood at the beginning of the revolutionary spoken motion picture era, Singing In The Rain is a musical even for those who don’t like musicals. There isn’t much spontaneous breaking into song at all, with most of the numbers fitting into the plot without you sitting their wondering why everyone’s started singing and dancing…again. And the iconic ‘Singing in the rain’ number is a sure crowd pleaser for everyone, as they turn the inside of the theatre into a rainy morning as if by magic.
We Will Rock You
Admittedly one of the worst plot lines of a musical I’ve ever seen. I don’t even think there was a proper plot line. But, what We Will Rock You lacks in plot it most certainly makes up for in songs. Based entirely on the genius lyrics and music of the band Queen, this musical is a must to see. More of a rock concert than a musical, We Will Rock You is a good gateway into the world of musical theatre for those less inclined to dancing and jazz hands.
American Idiot
Rather like We Will Rock You, American Idiot is a musical based on the same titled album by the punk rock band Greenday. Though unlike their Queen counterpart, ‘American Idiot – The Musical’ has managed to form a pretty convincing plotline and transfer the songs to stage without losing their original rock tones. All the cast members double up as the band and play their instruments whilst on performing in character, which is pretty impressive. If you’re a fan of Greenday’s music or were just under the impression that all musical theatre songs are happy clappy jazz hand numbers then this is a musical you must see. It really will change your perception of musicals.
Emma Lawton
