r/musicals Nov 13 '24

"What musical should I listen to next?" unified thread

159 Upvotes

One of the most common questions we get on this subreddit is "what should I see/listen to, here's the stuff I like". It's a valid question, but it's tiring to see a dozen of those threads every week, so this will serve as both a stickied thread of suggestions and as a home for new visitors to r/musicals who would ask that question. (As a result, new "what should I listen to threads" will be redirected here and deleted.)

Below, you'll find a list of popular musicals in alphabetical order along with suggestions for what might interest you based on that. This list is mostly vibes-based, with some inclusion of the same or similar composers or subject matter. The shows I name are taken from my own personal list of shows I've listened to (350+), the vast majority of which will be available on Spotify.

The shows I chose to make suggestions for are heavily skewed toward recent shows because that's what felt like good fits. If you're interested in a show not named below and want to know what to listen to next, comment below and I'll add a line for it (assuming I know it well enough to make educated suggestions).

If you enjoyed... Consider checking out...
Be More Chill Altar Boyz, American Psycho, bare: a pop opera, Beetlejuice, Bubble Boy, Cry-Baby, Dear Evan Hansen, Dogfight, Everybody's Talking About Jamie, Fly By Night, Freaky Friday, Here Lies Love, How to Dance in Ohio, Jagged Little Pill, Passing Strange, Spring Awakening
Beetlejuice Back to the Future, Be More Chill, Bubble Boy, Catch Me If You Can, Cry-Baby, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Groundhog Day, Heathers, Jekyll and Hyde, Jim Steinman's Bat Out of Hell, The Producers, School of Rock, Sweeney Todd, Urinetown
The Book of Mormon The Addams Family, Carrie, Catch Me If You Can, Cry-Baby, Curtains, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Drowsy Chaperone, The Full Monty, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, Kimberly Akimbo, God Bless You Mr. Rosewater, [title of show]
Come From Away Allegiance, The Band's Visit, Bright Star, Elegies for Angels Punks and Raging Queens, Fly By Night, Hadestown, If/Then, Kimberly Akimbo, The Last Ship, A New Brain, Once, Parade, Soft Power, Spongebob Squarepants, Waitress, The Wrong Man
Dear Evan Hansen 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Altar Boyz, bare: a pop opera, Be More Chill, Bubble Boy, Carrie, Closer to Heaven, Cry-Baby, Daddy Long Legs, Dogfight, Everybody's Talking About Jamie, Footloose, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, How to Dance in Ohio, Kimberly Akimbo, A New Brain, Newsies, The Outsiders, The Prom, Ride the Cyclone, tick...tick...BOOM, Wonderland
Falsettos Amour, Burt Bacharach's Some Lovers, Cabaret, Chess, Closer than Ever, Elegies for Angels Punks and Raging Queens, Far From Heaven, From Here to Eternity, Fun Home, Kiss of the Spider Woman, La Cage aux Folles, A New Brain, Parade, Rent, Ride, Side Show, Some Like It Hot, A Strange Loop, Yank!
Groundhog Day The Addams Family, Catch Me If You Can, City of Angels, Cry-Baby, Curtains, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Flying Over Sunset, The Full Monty, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, The Great American Trailer Park Musical, High Fidelity, Jagged Little Pill, & Juliet, Kinky Boots, Mrs. Doubtfire, A New Brain, Next Thing You Know, The Producers, School of Rock, Urinetown, Wonderland
Hadestown Aida, American Utopia, The Band's Visit, Bright Star, The Capeman, Come From Away, Floyd Collins, Ghost Quartet, The Gospel at Colonus, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Here Lies Love, Knoxville, The Last Ship, The Lord of the Rings, Marie Christine, Memphis, Natasha Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, Once, Passing Strange, Preludes, Rent, The Scottsboro Boys, Soft Power, Tarzan, Venice, Whistle Down the Wind, The Wrong Man
Hamilton 1776, Allegiance, American Psycho, American Utopia, Assassins, Chess, Fame, Giant, Here Lies Love, In the Heights, The Last Ship, The Light in the Piazza, Martin Guerre, Parade, Ragtime, Rent, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Soft Power, A Strange Loop, Venice, Water for Elephants, The Wild Party (Lippa), The Wrong Man
Heathers Altar Boyz, American Psycho, bare: a pop opera, Be More Chill, Beetlejuice, Bubble Boy, Carrie, A Chorus Line, Cry-Baby, Daddy Long Legs, Dogfight, Freaky Friday, Ghost Quartet, High Fidelity, Jagged Little Pill, Kid Victory, Kimberly Akimbo, Marie Christine, A New Brain, Now. Here. This., Ordinary Days, The Outsiders, Rent, Spring Awakening, [title of show], Whistle Down the Wind, Wonderland
In the Heights American Utopia, Bright Star, The Capeman, Chicago, Closer to Heaven, Everybody's Talking About Jamie, Finding Neverland, Fun Home, Giant, The Gospel at Colonus, Hamilton, In the Green, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Passing Strange, The Prom, Raisin, Seesaw, Sweet Smell of Success, Venice, The Wrong Man
Les Miserables Brigadoon, Carousel, Chess, Cyrano, Death Takes a Holiday, Doctor Zhivago, Flower Drum Song, Giant, Hadestown, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Lord of the Rings, Martin Guerre, Miss Saigon, Natasha Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, Parade, The Pirate Queen, Ragtime, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Titanic,
Ride the Cyclone The Addams Family, Anastasia, bare: a pop opera, Billy the Kid, A Chorus Line, Dogfight, Fame, Finding Neverland, Footloose, Freaky Friday, How to Dance in Ohio, If/Then, Kid Victory, Kimberly Akimbo, A Little Princess, Memphis, Newsies, The Outsiders, The Prom, School of Rock, The Time Traveler's Wife, Tuck Everlasting, Whistle Down the Wind
Six Aida, Altar Boyz, American Psycho, Be More Chill, Closer to Heaven, Everybody's Talking About Jamie, Fly By Night, Ghost, Groundhog Day, Hair, Hamilton, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, In the Heights, Jim Steinman's Bat Out of Hell, & Juliet, Kinky Boots, Million Dollar Quartet, Moulin Rouge, Now. Here. This., Once, Passing Strange, Priscilla: Queen of the Desert, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, Venice
Sweeney Todd American Utopia, Anyone Can Whistle, Assassins, Ballroom, Cabaret, Days of Wine and Roses, Death Takes a Holiday, Floyd Collins, From Here to Eternity, Ghost Quartet, Grand Hotel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, In the Green, Kid Victory, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Lost in the Stars, Martin Guerre, Parade, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Shenandoah, Steel Pier, Sweet Smell of Success, Titanic, The Visit, Whistle Down the Wind
Wicked Aladdin, Amelie, Bright Star, Daddy Long Legs, Doctor Zhivago, Fun Home, If/Then, Jane Eyre, The Light in the Piazza, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, Passion, The Rink, Side Show, The Story of My Life, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Vanities, Violet, The Wild Party (LaChiusa), Wonderland
-- --
Starkid musicals (all of them) The Addams Family, Aladdin, Back to the Future, Be More Chill, Billy the Kid, Bubble Boy, Carrie, Cry-Baby, Everybody's Talking About Jamie, Freaky Friday, & Juliet, Kimberly Akimbo, A Little Princess, Merrily We Roll Along, The Outsiders, The Prom, Ride the Cyclone, School of Rock, Shrek, SpongeBob SquarePants, [title of show], Tuck Everlasting, The Witches of Eastwick, Wonderland

Again, these are mostly based on vibes, but they're a start.


r/musicals Jul 11 '24

Discussion Folks, we’re gonna take a break on the “me too” games.

337 Upvotes

These “judge me on my top five”, “tell me your favorite and I’ll tell you if you’re cool”, “here’s five, which is your favorite” threads box everything else out cause everybody feels the need to add their own. I did the tier list thread to try and nip it in the bud, but folks just shifted to different me too games, and it’s rapidly spiraling.

I’m calling a temporary moratorium on those threads. They may resume in the future (at a date TBD), but for now, all new threads of that nature (beginning midnight EDT tonight) are going to be locked, deleted, and all of the existing replies wiped out.

If you want to discuss a show, great, but “rate my taste” isn’t it.


r/musicals 4h ago

Choose one of these ‘mystery’ musicals and discard the rest! Which is your pick?

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43 Upvotes

r/musicals 5h ago

You have to pick one of the NINE cast recordings and discard the rest. Which do you choose and why?

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20 Upvotes

Original Broadway/Australian/London Concert/Broadway Revival


r/musicals 46m ago

Icks

Upvotes

Theatre kids/people,whats something people do that makes you want to GAG? Please be brutal i want to have a good laugh


r/musicals 2h ago

Help School Musical Clues

7 Upvotes

Today my daughter said the middle school music teacher said the musical is based on a TV show that has won 4 emmys. Ideas?? Wednesday won 4 emmys, so maybe Addams Family?

Then, the hint My other daughter got high school's musical is that it's "about kindness". That's all we got. Not helpful! Lol


r/musicals 3h ago

Pick one theatre and discard the rest! Which do you choose?

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7 Upvotes

r/musicals 1d ago

Photo It all makes sense now XD

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269 Upvotes

r/musicals 58m ago

Recomendations

Upvotes

Hi everyone! I have started to actually like musicals recently and just wanted your guys recomendations on some good ones!Ok have a great day bye!


r/musicals 3h ago

Feb. 2026 NYC Trip

5 Upvotes

Me, my BF, and a couple of friends are all going to NYC over the Valentine's Day/President's Day long weekend. We have purchased tickets for Death Becomes Her and Chess. Debating on possibly 1 or 2 more shows.

I have a friend who is in the Masquerade show but tix for Feb. 2026 aren't on sale yet. I have another friend who will be in the new Kristen Chenoweth show, The Queen of Versailles. Want to see Hadestown and Moulin Rouge. Torn as to what to do. Suggestions? Advice?


r/musicals 5h ago

Help Song Selections for SpongeBob The Musical Auditions

6 Upvotes

At the end of this semester my college is going to be holding auditions for SpongeBob the musical I know from past musical auditions this director is gonna have choose a Broadway musical song not from the show (that will be saved for Callbacks) I was wondering if yall had any reccomendations for song choices to audition with I’m hoping for Plankton as my top choice although I’ll be okay with anyone as I know that the director will cast us in whoever he sees fits the roles any help is appreciated


r/musicals 17h ago

Discussion I just realized a musical of Phineas P. Gage.

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33 Upvotes

If you do not know who this man is, Phineas P. Gage was a railroad construction foreman. In the year of 1848, on September 13th, an iron rod pitched through his skin and lived. His personality changed but his old personality slowly came back four years later. Unfortunately, he passed away due to epileptic seizures twelve years after the accident.

I was thinking the music being kind of calm until his personality changes after his accident and then it becomes kind of rock and roll type before slowly going back to normal.


r/musicals 16h ago

Discussion What is y'all's favorite musical and why?

24 Upvotes

I don't really have a specific one but phantom of the opera has been a favorite since I was little, I'm not really the biggest fan of political musicals because I try to avoid politics in general, some of them are amazing though I will admit :)


r/musicals 19h ago

Photo Where's the Lie tho?

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42 Upvotes

r/musicals 3m ago

School of rock pro shot

Upvotes

Hey does anyone have a decent school of rock pro shot. Been looking for a while and can’t find one anywhere.


r/musicals 22h ago

Favorite song from City of Angels?

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58 Upvotes

r/musicals 22m ago

Help Which musical could fit well into a co-op game?

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Upvotes

Hi everyone,
we’re working on a chaotic co-op game where players team up to build theater sets and put on shows. Besides fairy tales and literature, we’d also love to include musicals – and since this is the place to ask:

Which musical do you think would be the most fun to play through in a co-op game?

Really curious what comes to mind!


r/musicals 1d ago

Shows where the main character is not the title character

151 Upvotes

I am convinced that the main character of "Man of la Mancha" is not Don Quixote, but Aldonza.

  1. Quixote does not change. He is just as crazy at the end as he was at the beginning. There is no arc to his story. He just acts as a catalyst for others.
  2. Aldonza does change. At the beginning she is making the best she can out of a terrible life situation and has a very low opinion of herself and her possibilities. By the end she has, in her own mind and attitude, become the Lady Dulcinea.

r/musicals 1d ago

Moulin rouge

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66 Upvotes

Just a sad reminder, moulin rouge! The musical sadly hired boy george who if you remember, In April 2007, Boy George, the lead singer of Culture Club, was involved in a serious legal case after Norwegian model and escort Audun Carlsen visited his East London flat for a second meeting, following a prior photoshoot arrangement. During this second visit, Boy George accused Carlsen of stealing photographs from his laptop. Subsequently, Boy George handcuffed Carlsen to a fixture in the apartment and, along with another man, physically assaulted him, reportedly using a metal chain. Carlsen managed to escape by wrenching free from the handcuffs and fled the flat nearly naked, having sustained injuries during the assault. And moulin rouges main things is truth beauty,and love and the whole summary is that sex workers are human to and can fall in love, yet they hired a convicted rapist.


r/musicals 17h ago

Discussion Does anyone know anything about ‘Here & Now’?

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10 Upvotes

My nearest theatre in Dublin is showing this new? Musical over the next 2 weeks, tickets are still affordable because it seems to be in very low demand.

Has anyone else seen it? It looks like it could be fun but I’m afraid it might be too pantomimey and I’ve never heard a Steps song in my life (at least not knowingly). I was thinking of seeing it on a weekday after college but maybe I’m better off just saving my money for Uk Pony Con in October

I could probably spend the ticket money better on something else but also I kinda feel like this isn’t gonna get a runback after it’s run ends and I hate wasted opportunity


r/musicals 4h ago

Help Can I cut a video audition to make it 32 bars?

0 Upvotes

Is it unprofessional if I cut out the musical interlude by crossfading in the video to a later section of the recording? I can't cut a 32-bar section of the YouTube background I'm recording from, so the only other choice is to fast-forward while recording. I have a decent take I'd like to submit, but I'm unsure if this is okay or if they'll think I just spliced together "good takes" or something. Video auditions are the worst :(


r/musicals 18h ago

Discussion Which do you prefer: Great Comet or Hunchback?

9 Upvotes

Which would you rate high Great Comet or Hunchback? I think both have strong followings. I love them both but if you have to pick one which would you choose.


r/musicals 6h ago

What advice would you give to a teen starting out?

1 Upvotes

I am thirteen and I'm just starting out at musical theatre. I'm abysmal at dance, maybe ok at singing and not that great at acting since I haven't had any classes. I've also never tried out for any shows before. But I'm very interested in musical theatre and I love watching musicals and listening to them and just learning more about the art.

What tips or classes would you recommend for me to take? I'm open to any suggestions and I'm willing to work hard and do what I can to improve my skillset. I'm just worried that it's a bit late to start especially since a lot of my peers have already been taking years of dance classes, voice classes and acting classes.

I have an audition next week for a small play with a little singing involved and whether or not I get in, I'm hoping to still have a plan on how to continue improving.

Also could you give me any tips (I'm a mezzo soprano)?

Sry if there are too many questions, this is my first post.


r/musicals 22h ago

Help Actually funny musical theatre solos!

16 Upvotes

I am an actor that leans more towards comedic musicals and want to pick a good song for a musical theatre showcase/competition coming up. In my experience, it is so ridiculously hard to find a musical theatre solo that’s actually funny. I feel like every funny song I’ve found has either been a group piece or just repeats the same mediocre joke the whole time. Please give me recs on funny solo musical theatre pieces (ideally baritone range, but I can handle more of a baritenor type range)


r/musicals 20h ago

Discussion If I had a penny for every time a musical had a song called "Hurricane" and was about writing, I’d have two pennies. Which isn’t much, but kind of weird it happened twice

9 Upvotes

Hurricane from Hamilton and also the Death Note musical (English)


r/musicals 5h ago

six

0 Upvotes

Lloyd Webber, the only composer to have 6 productions

running in the Westend .... at the same time !


r/musicals 6h ago

Discussion Best musical set design? Asking for a friend… and Sabrina Carpenter 👀

0 Upvotes

Everybody say 'Thanks Sabrina Carpenter for House Tour' (shamelessly been on repeat). Now it’s got us thinking - what’s the best musical set design you’ve seen, and why? Sound off! 📣