New York is the city that never sleeps, but not only because of the busy lives of its inhabitants. Also for the music and the neon lights of the marquees of the Manhattan theater district: Broadway. The best artists and singers have passed through the stages of those places devoted to dance, song and interpretation: Gene Kelly, Meryl Streep, Julie Andrews, John Travolta, Julia Roberts and a long etcetera. We invite you to discover the best Broadway musicals that you should enjoy if you ever travel to the city that never sleeps.
The best Broadway musicals: the classics
The Phantom of the Opera
This is one of the best Broadway musicals and also the oldest of all. It premiered on January 26, 1988 at the Majestic Theater, where it continues to this day and garnered 7 Tony Awards (highest award for musical comedies) the same year as its premiere. The Phantom of the Opera is a musical by the famous composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and is based on the novel by Gastón Leroux . It tells the story of the aspiring singer of the Paris Opera, Christine Daaé, with whom the mysterious Phantom of the Opera becomes obsessed.
According to Broadway gossips, Lloyd Webber wrote the musical for what would become his second wife and first Christine Daaé in history, soprano Sarah Brightman. You can enjoy Lloyd Webber’s songs through the 2004 film starring Emmy Rossum and Gerard Buttler.
Chicago
Roxie Hart’s dream is to be a great cabaret singer in the windy city. By chance in life, instead of ending up on stage, Roxie ends up in the county jail accused of killing her lover. In prison he meets the famous Velma Kelly, convicted of having murdered her sister and husband for having an affair. The lives of these two killers and great singers intertwine in a crazy tragicomedy, full of jealousy, corruption, rivalries and exquisite musical numbers choreographed in the particular style of the legendary Bob Fosse.
This is the second oldest musical in Broadway history. It premiered in 1975 and was canceled in 1977. Chicago was reborn in 1996 at the Ambassador Theater, the same year it won 6 Tony Awards. If you can’t make it to Broadway, we recommend the movie that was made about this musical starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renée Zellweger and Richard Gere .
The Lion King
On our list of the best Broadway musicals is The Lion King. This musical premiered in 1997 and more than 60 million people around the world have enjoyed the magic of the Disney classic . The musical includes previously unreleased songs that were not seen in the film and by, among others, Elton John and Hans Zimmer. The majesty of this musical is the approach it has towards Africa through the costumes, choreography, scenery and, of course, the music.
The story of The Lion King is well known to all and the musical is quite attached to the movie, although of course it has extra numbers. The success has not only remained on Broadway, as 3 more shows have been created: the first, in the West End theaters in London; the second at the Lope de Vega theater in Madrid, where he has been for 10 seasons; the third staging is that of Mexico City since 2015. The Lion King has been represented in 20 countries throughout the 5 continents.
Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz
Wicked made her Broadway debut in 2003 with Idina Menzel leading the cast. This musical is based on the book and later film The Wizard of Oz (1939), as well as the book Wicked: Memoirs of a Wicked Witch by Gregory Maguire. The musical tells the origins of the witches from the famous land of Oz: Elphaba, the wicked witch of the west and Glinda, the good witch. Wicked is an alternate version of the witches’ involvement after Dorothy’s arrival from Kansas. The musical addresses issues such as racism, discrimination, political corruption and also feminism.
Wicked broke the musical record by making $ 3.2 million in just one week; the only musical so far that has succeeded. As for the income of the production since its premiere to date, they are estimated at 1,300 million dollars, a figure only surpassed by the New York version of The Lion King. As a curious fact, we must add that there is another version of it in Mexico City and starring Danna Paola as the evil Elphaba.
The best Broadway musicals based on movies
Moulin rouge
Who wasn’t thrilled in 2001 by the love story between Parisian courtesan Satine and aspiring songwriter Christian? The film, the product of the amazing Baz Luhrmann, was a milestone for musical films and, how could it be otherwise, has been brought to Broadway theaters since 2018. The musical, based on Luhrmann’s play, which in turn, it was inspired by Alexander Dumas’s The Lady of the Camellias , it includes unpublished songs that were written over the 17 years between the premiere of the film and the musical.
What was it that distinguished this film and made it spectacular and that, of course, makes the musical magical? That he is able to intertwine original songs with songs from pop culture, such as David Bowie’s Heroes; The show must go on, by Queen; Your Song, Elton John; Roxanne from The Police and Material Girl from Madonna.
Bad Girls
A whole generation was marked by Bad Girls in 2004 How to forget that black comedy starring Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams ? 14 years after the film, the musical was released, based, of course, on the film and on a book written by Tina Fey, who in turn was in charge of the script for the original film.
And what does the musical tell us? The same as we see in the acclaimed 2004 movie, but of course with songs. Let us remember that Cadi has just moved from Africa to the United States and enters the dangerous world of American institutes. There he meets Janis and Damian and they become friends. Also to the bad guys of the institute … And a battle begins to destroy these wicked girls or join them.
The best Broadway musicals to watch as a family
Aladdin
Aladdin, based on the Disney movie, premiered in 2014 at the New Amsterdam theater. The plot is the same as the children’s classic: young Aladdin, a rogue and thief, crosses the path of Princess Jasmine, daughter of the Sultan, and falls in love with her.
Unfortunately for the hero of the story, the royal vizier, Jafar, has his eyes set on him, because with sorcery he has discovered that the boy is the one who can lead him to the Cave of Wonders, where an incalculable treasure lies. There begins Aladdin’s odyssey, which is made with a lamp in which a genie lives who will grant him 3 wishes.
To date, Aladdin has more than 2,500 performances on Broadway and just over $ 400 million raised.
Christmas show
Can you imagine spending Christmas in New York? It would be something incredible and full of magic, and to this experience you can add a nice Christmas show. We tell you that the Christmas Spectacular is a show that has been presented at Radio City Music Hall annually since 1933, usually after the Thanksgiving parade and until the first week of January.
In this magnificent musical, with a Christmas theme, about 150 dancers, singers and actors participate. But without a doubt, the jewel in the crown is the Rockettes, a famous precision dance company. The Rockettes have been spreading Christmas cheer for 94 years, non-stop.
Two of the most famous acts of the Christmas Show are the parade of the wooden soldiers and the Nutcracker. In the first, the skilled Rockettes represent wooden soldiers who march with incredible precision and end up slowly falling like dominoes.
For its part, the Nutcracker, is a small adaptation of the Christmas classic by ETA Hoffmann and with the music of the ballet composed by Tchaikovsky.
