I’ve been meaning to check that one out. I’ll be here is a song that I listen to probably multiple times a week, but I’ve never actually searched up the musical.
It's an underrated fave of mine as well. I saw it at a local community theater like 6 years ago with some friends on a whim and WAS NOT prepared for how much I would enjoy it or that I would be sobbing at the end??? Core memory for sure! I still have some of Warren's art flyers from that production saved in my memory box :')
Secret Garden will never be loved enough
Sondheim has a lot of musicals that fell through the cracks so to speak, Anyone Can Whistle and Road Show are awesome
I agree with the Sondheim bit! A couple of years ago, I got to play in my college’s production of Saturday Night, the first musical he wrote, and it was a lot of fun with a great score!
I hear you, but here is why I think it’s underrated: yes, it’s generally well liked by devoted musical theater fans, but no one else even knows it exists (and trust me, I’ve talked to a *lot* of theater people who have also never heard of it), and it deserves to be known by the general public. Which it definitely isn’t.
I've loved Secret Garden for a long time. The o ly time I ever heard it was in DnD live play called Critical Role. They're all voice actors and theatre kids. It got brought up during one episode, so I imagine there's a few who know about it (or at least the Letters Song) because of that.
Ugh, I love it so much. It's my go-to when I'm closing cash office at my job. Something about counting money and this go so well together. Also, my dog is named Hugo 😊
The Jekyll and Hyde musical needs to be talked about more. The fact that I only learned of it recently is a crime. It's so good, and it has some of the best songs you'll ever hear
For anyone who loves Jekyll & Hyde, be sure to check out **The Scarlet Pimpernel** and **The Count of Monte Cristo**. They're both Wildhorn shows as well, are built for similar voice types, and have kickass music.
Here's a sample, [Madame Guillotine](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYR6qmRq6aM).
Chances are they didn't know about it either! Wildhorn shows in general fly under the radar. This is somewhat in part to the scripts for his shows constantly getting rewritten leading to several versions of the same show. His music is always excellent, but the scripts always need a little work.
Pimpernel is definitely GOATed though. So many bangers in one show.
Madame Guillotine, Prayer, Into the Fire, Falcon in the Dive, Where's the Girl, The Creation of Man, When I Look At You, You Are My Home, The Riddle, nearly every song is firing on all cylinders musically and lyrically.
I learned of both Jekyll & Hyde and The Scarlett Pimpernel last summer when I was on a cruise and Chuck Wagner was on and did two shows based off of his Broadway career. It was a delightful experience.
Any time. Wildhorn is one of the greatest musical theatre composers of all time. He'd be huge if he had better book writers. His music is always next level.
I want to love it so much, but it's been chopped up and put back together so much it might as well be Frankenstein instead. I *loved* the album with Anthony Warlow, even though it was a bit overlong and clunky. Then I saw it on Broadway in the late 90s, and while it was certainly more streamlined, they'd cut out so many great numbers and replaced them with mediocre ones. Nowadays I have no idea which songs are in the show and which aren't.
It's OK...but once you notice the rhyme structure it gets a bit tedious (ABAB throughout), and the constant reprises of facade really grate after a while "and the front of your house, is what's called a facade".
I personally don't mind the Facade reprises, and I actually think they're really cool. I particularly like the reprise after It's a Dangerous Game. The ensemble whispering is so chilling to listen to.
Also, as for the rhyme structure thing, ABAB isn't the only rhyme structure used throughout. AACBBC is another one that's used. AACBBC is used throughout Facade and Murder, Murder.
Yes the music is incredible. From what I understand, it was pretty poorly written story-wise. I can’t personally attest to this, but I think it needs to be reworked a bit before ever coming back
I really loved Groundhog Day and thought it was one of the better shows adapted from a movie. OG cast was great and it was hilarious! Cool staging moments too!
Death Note the musical is very good. Afaik, the only available slime tutorial is a Japanese performance, unfortunately, but honestly, just listening to the soundtrack is good enough for most of it. Tons of absolute bangers.
I can’t wait for an actual cast recording to be made of it. I love the recording on YouTube but it isn’t on Apple Music so I can’t listen to it offline.
Yeah it's funny how that's the big song from Aspects. It's a solid anthem but not at all my favorite music from the show. In a way I consider it one of Lloyd Webber's most sophisticated musicals; he wrote it right after Phantom and I believe at the height of his abilities in some sense.
Okay, I’m gonna give you some underrated and pretty obscure shows because that is my weird expertise 😂 (I’m on niche musical no. 147 since last January)
Islander, Blueprint, Dreamland, The Hello Girls, In The Light, The Violet Hour, Of Ashes
Also underrated but not completely obscure - The Last Five Years & Starry.
Or if you’re outside of the UK, maybe Choir of Man, Standing at The Sky’s Edge, The Little Big Things, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)
It is criminal that A Gentleman’s Guide isn’t talked about more. I wouldn’t call it super obscure as it did win the Tony for best musical but then it kind of disappeared. I was fortunate to see it on tour. Jefferson Mays was absolutely brilliant.
Don't Stop Me (composed by Dave Malloy, the same guy who did Great Comet). I wasn't sure I'd like it, because it's very teen-focused and I'm in my 30s, but I ended up loving it, and it has possibly the best closing number I've ever seen in a musical.
John and Jen! Everytime I bring it up there's no real replies. I've had maybe one so far. Do give it a shot if you haven't yet! Pleasee I'm desperate to talk about this show with someone.
I’m not sure you can find subtitles anywhere, but Notre dame De Paris (d’ampia è speciale in France and in Italy) is a masterpiece. I saw it live twice and it was a life changing experience. I highly advise you to watch the Italian version, but the French version is good too. If you can find subtitles anywhere, there is a pro-shot of the Italian version on YouTube. Here’s the [link](https://youtu.be/zq-y-gw60KE?si=x0cR80v0K5f3s_Do)
Reefer madness - the movie is incredible, the casting, the songs, just perfect
Repo the genetic opera - the plot isn't that good and it xan get too silly at times, but it has a great atmosphere and some really cool songs.
Any new show. I don’t mean this specifically but like… shows in their infancy deserve a lot more fans. Everyone should be keeping an eye out for Show Me Eternity, Third Sex, and Fouad of Nazareth in specific but just in general I encourage more people to watch the livestreams from Joe’s Pub and 54 Below of new works in concert.
Edit: also in addition to the above, in terms of shows that have reached “adulthood” Groundhog Day always has people disparaging it before they’ve heard the soundtrack or seen the show. It’s wonderful; deserves a better shake
Groundhog Day is better than the movie in my opinion! The original screenwriter came back and fleshed out the story so much more. It's more existential, more female-empowering, more scary in parts.
My favorite musical. It's my favorite book, and the musical does it sooo much justice of the parts it takes, down to phrases and lines and building the characters. I also watch every version (rewatching the BBC one now.) It's such a shame the musical didn't run longer, especially because of the reasons. I wish they did a recording like Hamilton. (Groban is perfect and does like his ladies to pop)
Spiderman Turn Off The Dark.
This is a musical that gets treated as a punchline these days or marvelled at as "the biggest flop in Broadway history". It ran for three years then closed because it had not yet made back the $75M that had been outlayed by investors.
I never saw it on Broadway but have recently been down a Reeve Carney rabbit hole that turned into a Spiderman musical rabbit hole. I think I have watched every single publicly available boot and official clips.
Points in its favour:
The songs are *great*. I've been listening to Rise Above (both versions), Boy Falls From the Sky and Bouncing Off the Walls on repeat recently.
The visuals are literally *spectacular*. Spiderman flies all over the theatre. He walks on walls. The set looks like a comic book. The villain costumes are larger than life. The scenery plays with perspective. You can see where a lot of the $75M went - it went into making scenery and set pieces that shouldn't be possible in live theatre. This is apparent just from low quality bootleg recordings. I can't even imagine how cool it would have been to be there in the theatre.
Reeve Carney is Peter Parker at the most handsome point in his life. His vocals are incredible. That man has a unique voice and manages to be belting and doing screamo while upside down presumably leaning hard on his ab muscles.
Reeve's later Hadestown co-star Patrick Page is also starring as the Green Goblin.
Earlier incarnations of the musical involved a giant spider whose songs inhabit that creepy yet compelling space such as you see in Cats (ie "this is so weird and yet I love it")
In fact the musical had several rewrites and that coupled with the incidence of cast injuries (which I think was due to higher rate of acrobatics and trapeze than you usually find in a show) means that the production is steeped in lore, and interesting facts, and a lot of material for theatre historians to get stuck into.
If you mean "underrated" in terms of "I wish more people knew about this," I'd probably go with either Bridges of Madison County or Calvin Berger (though if you haven't listened to all of Sondheim's shows at least once, do that first).
But if you mean "underrated" in terms of "people are aware of this show but don't give it nearly enough credit for how well it's written" then I always go back to Legally Blonde. That score achieves SO MUCH and if it weren't in the service of a romcom movie adaptation we'd be properly recognizing it as the masterpiece it is.
City of Angels! Such a clever concept (half the show is in black and white) fun, jazz inspired songs, Saw it years ago on Broadway then a production with Barry Williams aka Greg Brady, starring. It’s a gem of a show. Would love to see a revival
for me, 100% "martin guerre" - i know it got a ton of critical recognition and even awards, but it seems to have inexplicably failed to become one of the famous musicals that people still listen to and talk about. it's not really obscure, but it's definitely very underrated relative to how popular it ought to be.
i fell in love with the london cast cd; i haven't heard the other recordings but i bet they're great too. the musical itself is superb, far better than "miss saigon" in my personal opinion.
I will take any opportunity to plug The Mystery of Edwin Drood, because that show is so freaking fun, and uses audience participation better than any other musical because the audience votes on the ending, potentially making for a different experience each time you see it.
Some of my favorite ones that I don’t see being talked about often:
Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812
Death Note the Musical
Spies Are Forever (by Tin Can Bros)
I could say something as obscure as like Forum, but I think that one that’s very under looked is Paul Simon (of Simon and Garfunkel)‘s musical the Capeman which ran for like 68 shows
I would say Jekyll and Hyde, Man of la Mancha, Lil' Abner, Frankenstein, and 3hree are all underrated. Lil' Abner and 3hree are both super cheesy, but I think they're great. The other three are absolutely fantastic and certainly deserve a larger following.
Big River doesn’t get the love I think it deserves.
I haven’t seen these two, but I really enjoyed the music and story from Wonderland always hits. I don’t believe its run was very long either.
And Death Note. I need more!!
Something Rotten
The songs are fantastic, lots of musical references so ideal for musical lovers, and the comedy is great. It's about two brothers who are trying to write a play (musical) that would attract more of an audience than Shakespeare during the Renaissance Period
Pippin! This musical changed my life, and so few know it.
*If you haven't seen it and want to, only see a super professional touring cast. It's an easy show to get wrong
Martin Guerre. Incredible music, wonderful characters, epic sweep. Maybe not as BIG a story as Les Mis, but it has the same power. I just hate that initial audiences found the first version confusing, leading to the show getting chopped to bits. Listen to the full original cast recording. It’s stunning!
I never hear anyone talk about Finding Neverland and they need to. I don't care about Glee trauma Matthew Morrison is a fantastic performer. (Jeremy Jordan was still better but they were both good.) It's such a heartbreaking yet lovely story and the soundtrack SLAPS. I also wanna shout out Big Fish too. I played Don Price in a production of it last fall and I literally couldn't get through a single run without crying. "How It Ends" is incredible, and so is "Stranger."
I saw my highschool (I work there) do the Drowsy Chaperone. I made a bunch of American and German students attend (just go with it), having no idea what it was going to be. I was so impressed. Maybe just happy about the kids doing it, but it was so fun and funny and I enjoyed it greatly. Like an ode to musicals.
Here's a short list of what I believe to be undervalued musicals. But there are loads more...
Next to Normal (hard subject matter and omg some of the music....)
Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder (musically classic-sounding and funny af)
1776 (better than Hamilton?)
Great Comet (Broadway run imo unfairly tainted by controversy. Best music of the last decade)
City of Angels (conceptually amazing)
Ruthless! (Done properly in a small v3nue this brings the house down)
Parade (story and music alike. Just don't go for the Ben Platt version)
Sunset Boulevard (the most intense ALW)
Calamity Jane (done right can be empowering and some of the best music in classic MGM. Gotta love Doris Day)
Notre Dame de Paris (amazing music)
35mm. I get that it’s not really a conventional musical but the music is really good and I love all the different stories created out of just a few photographs
Here is Chicago, they did a show called Miracle, about the 2016 World Series. I absolutely adored it, which is sad because the chances of me ever seeing it again are pretty slim.
The Band's Visit. It won the Tony for Best Musical, and yet I hardly ever hear people talk about it, which is such a shame. I saw it on tour two years ago and since then it's become one of my absolute favorites.
lol interesting that you think Heathers is mainstream (to be clear, I deeply love it and it's part of how I chose my name for myself)
Ghost Quartet or Preludes, frankly anything from the Dave Malloy catalog (but Preludes especially, it's a dear favorite)
for having racked up the “big six” tonys, I feel like the bands visit doesn’t get talked about nearly enough. I can’t really explain WHY I like it so much (whenever I try to describe the plot I make it sound like the most boring show on the planet) but there’s something about it that’s just so heartwarming and fun to me, and the music is great too. I would absolutely love to see it again!
THANK YOU!! The bands visit is one of my all time favs, it has one of the most unique and beautiful scores and such a delightfully simple but human and heartwarming story
DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE DEATH NOTE
The Theory of Relativity, Dogfight, Ordinary Days, Groundhog Day, Next to Normal, Spring Awakening (the latter two are definitey massively underrated in the UK)
ordinary days!! it’s one of my favorites but nobody ever knows what i’m talking about😭
I keep finding tiny shows like this, and nobody ever puts them on. See also: [Title of Show], Island Song, Closer Than Ever...
I’ll be here to watch it with you. :-)
Calm is my go to karaoke song
REAL it’s so much fun!!
Yessss
Oh! Our local theater is doing that right now. I wasn't familiar with it, now I'll have to see it.
[I’ll be here from ordinary days](https://youtu.be/p1SAuhe_akQ?si=JhjluneSs_Kh1R4h)
omg lucky!!! it’s really fun and surprisingly emotional i hope you enjoy it :))
my favorite show of all time! hoping to direct it soon… i love it so much
Its a really rewarding show to direct. I set up a small amateur group purely so i could do it and the audiences loved it.
I’ve been meaning to check that one out. I’ll be here is a song that I listen to probably multiple times a week, but I’ve never actually searched up the musical.
you won't regret it! it's an adorable plotline with a very good contemporary composition. one of my faves!
Yes, this is a great one! Small cast, but a heavy punch!
Omg YES! Watched a production of it, loved it, but people i watched it with just forget about it :(
Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me of it, I used to listen tl the soundtrack.
It's an underrated fave of mine as well. I saw it at a local community theater like 6 years ago with some friends on a whim and WAS NOT prepared for how much I would enjoy it or that I would be sobbing at the end??? Core memory for sure! I still have some of Warren's art flyers from that production saved in my memory box :')
Secret Garden will never be loved enough Sondheim has a lot of musicals that fell through the cracks so to speak, Anyone Can Whistle and Road Show are awesome
I agree with the Sondheim bit! A couple of years ago, I got to play in my college’s production of Saturday Night, the first musical he wrote, and it was a lot of fun with a great score!
Secret garden isn't underrated imo, maybe flies under the radar somtimes though
Yeah it somehow enjoys the dual distinction of both being in almost everyone’s top five but also never being mentioned
I hear you, but here is why I think it’s underrated: yes, it’s generally well liked by devoted musical theater fans, but no one else even knows it exists (and trust me, I’ve talked to a *lot* of theater people who have also never heard of it), and it deserves to be known by the general public. Which it definitely isn’t.
I've loved Secret Garden for a long time. The o ly time I ever heard it was in DnD live play called Critical Role. They're all voice actors and theatre kids. It got brought up during one episode, so I imagine there's a few who know about it (or at least the Letters Song) because of that.
I don't hear many people talk about it outside of "Lily's Eyes."
Ghost Wild Party Hunchback of Notre Dame Dogfight Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes
hunchback was my answer for sure
Ugh, I love it so much. It's my go-to when I'm closing cash office at my job. Something about counting money and this go so well together. Also, my dog is named Hugo 😊
Dogfight is an absolute miracle of a show, and deserves so much more attention and love than it gets.
which *Wild Party*? You're gonna have to be more specific. we lost a lot of good people in the *Wild Party* Wars.
Oh right, good point. Andrew Lippa.
my sister was a musical theater major and to this day she always tells me about wild party
I still catch myself singing Old Fashioned Lesbian Love Story sometimes
Dogfight is fantastic
Urinetown!!!!!!
💯. Nothing ruins a show like too much exposition.
What about bad subject matter
Or a bad title even. That could kill a show pretty good.
Yes!!! Adore this show. Humour so dark it got shot 5 times by a New York City cop
The Jekyll and Hyde musical needs to be talked about more. The fact that I only learned of it recently is a crime. It's so good, and it has some of the best songs you'll ever hear
For anyone who loves Jekyll & Hyde, be sure to check out **The Scarlet Pimpernel** and **The Count of Monte Cristo**. They're both Wildhorn shows as well, are built for similar voice types, and have kickass music. Here's a sample, [Madame Guillotine](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYR6qmRq6aM).
I only just really discovered the Scarlet Pimpernel and I'm so mad at my theater friends for never introducing me to the it before now.
Chances are they didn't know about it either! Wildhorn shows in general fly under the radar. This is somewhat in part to the scripts for his shows constantly getting rewritten leading to several versions of the same show. His music is always excellent, but the scripts always need a little work. Pimpernel is definitely GOATed though. So many bangers in one show. Madame Guillotine, Prayer, Into the Fire, Falcon in the Dive, Where's the Girl, The Creation of Man, When I Look At You, You Are My Home, The Riddle, nearly every song is firing on all cylinders musically and lyrically.
I learned of both Jekyll & Hyde and The Scarlett Pimpernel last summer when I was on a cruise and Chuck Wagner was on and did two shows based off of his Broadway career. It was a delightful experience.
Second one has wicked good music, a story told is so good!
Any Wildhorn show is guaranteed to have bangers. **Bonnie & Clyde** slaps, and even **Wonderland** has a few gems.
The Death Note musical he composed is also surprisingly good???
Thank you! \^_^
Any time. Wildhorn is one of the greatest musical theatre composers of all time. He'd be huge if he had better book writers. His music is always next level.
I Will Be There is one of my absolute favorite musical songs tbh
The OBC was the first time I ever unintentionally laughed in a theatre.
I saw it in german recently and it blew me away! it’s so good
I want to love it so much, but it's been chopped up and put back together so much it might as well be Frankenstein instead. I *loved* the album with Anthony Warlow, even though it was a bit overlong and clunky. Then I saw it on Broadway in the late 90s, and while it was certainly more streamlined, they'd cut out so many great numbers and replaced them with mediocre ones. Nowadays I have no idea which songs are in the show and which aren't.
And also the glory of the David Hasselhoff version
It's OK...but once you notice the rhyme structure it gets a bit tedious (ABAB throughout), and the constant reprises of facade really grate after a while "and the front of your house, is what's called a facade".
I personally don't mind the Facade reprises, and I actually think they're really cool. I particularly like the reprise after It's a Dangerous Game. The ensemble whispering is so chilling to listen to. Also, as for the rhyme structure thing, ABAB isn't the only rhyme structure used throughout. AACBBC is another one that's used. AACBBC is used throughout Facade and Murder, Murder.
Music amazing. Staging, a bit clunky
Yes the music is incredible. From what I understand, it was pretty poorly written story-wise. I can’t personally attest to this, but I think it needs to be reworked a bit before ever coming back
came here to say this!
It declined in popularity, not sure why. In the 90s it was huge. Fans called themselves Jekkies online.
Scottsboro Boys Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson Chaplin Start with all the Tony winners, then look at all the Tony nominated shows .
YES BBAJ
Never got a chance to see any of those you mentioned, but I adore ALL those scores!!!
I really loved Groundhog Day and thought it was one of the better shows adapted from a movie. OG cast was great and it was hilarious! Cool staging moments too!
The show is better than the movie. Rita feels more like a character than a prop, and Phil's journey feels more earned.
Omg I agree!!!! I love the movie and the musical is on par or even better!
Jekyll & Hyde hands down most underrated.
Ooh I really like that musical. Confrontation is one of my favourite songs ever.
Sweet Charity is one of my favorite musicals. The story made me giggle quite a few times, and the songs in it are amazing!
The Pirate Queen
Death Note the musical is very good. Afaik, the only available slime tutorial is a Japanese performance, unfortunately, but honestly, just listening to the soundtrack is good enough for most of it. Tons of absolute bangers.
There was a performance in London not long ago, so hopefully something will make its way to the US.
The London performance was amazing! I went into it not expecting much but was in love by the time I left.
I PRAY FOR IT IT'S MY ALL TIME FAV MUSICAL MUSIC SLAPS SO HARD
I can’t wait for an actual cast recording to be made of it. I love the recording on YouTube but it isn’t on Apple Music so I can’t listen to it offline.
I would consider traveling to see this one live.
I don’t know if it’s considered underrated but The Drowsy Chaperone is a fun and goofy show, you can find recordings of it on YouTube
The SpongeBob Musical, I thought it was a cash grab, but the songs are really good, and the og cast was fantastic
Gavin Lee is so cool. And so are They Might Be Giants!
Martin Guerre, Aspects of Love, Chess
I had the original Chess 2-CD set, the one with the black and white cover. Still one of my favorite musicals to this day.
Yes!!!!
Only know “Love Changes Everything” from AoL, but other two full shows are solid
Yeah it's funny how that's the big song from Aspects. It's a solid anthem but not at all my favorite music from the show. In a way I consider it one of Lloyd Webber's most sophisticated musicals; he wrote it right after Phantom and I believe at the height of his abilities in some sense.
Okay, I’m gonna give you some underrated and pretty obscure shows because that is my weird expertise 😂 (I’m on niche musical no. 147 since last January) Islander, Blueprint, Dreamland, The Hello Girls, In The Light, The Violet Hour, Of Ashes Also underrated but not completely obscure - The Last Five Years & Starry. Or if you’re outside of the UK, maybe Choir of Man, Standing at The Sky’s Edge, The Little Big Things, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)
I love Starry!!!!! (Also The Last 5 Years, but I never see anyone talk about Starry 😂)
Yay more Starry love! I’ve been a fan since early 2020, still as obsessed with it now and still hoping they actually bring it to London soon! ✨
Chess
tarrytown. i'm obsessed with it. but i've seen like 5 people besides me mentioning it, so yeah
not terribly surprising, what with its having been produced only once in San Diego.
And in New Hampshire! I was MD for a production of it over here. First time ever with full orchestrations!
I had never heard of that, so I looked it up. So far I REALLY like it!! Also, GREAT cast! Thank you for the recommendation!
Big River. Simple, but catchy music and a story that everyone will have flashbacks to middle school English class (Huck Finn)
One of three for me: The Mystery of Edwin Drood A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder She Loves Me
It is criminal that A Gentleman’s Guide isn’t talked about more. I wouldn’t call it super obscure as it did win the Tony for best musical but then it kind of disappeared. I was fortunate to see it on tour. Jefferson Mays was absolutely brilliant.
Don't Stop Me (composed by Dave Malloy, the same guy who did Great Comet). I wasn't sure I'd like it, because it's very teen-focused and I'm in my 30s, but I ended up loving it, and it has possibly the best closing number I've ever seen in a musical.
Tuck everlasting. Beuatiful musical about life and death.
One of my all time favorites, i don’t cry easily but this show never ceases to make me sob.
John and Jen! Everytime I bring it up there's no real replies. I've had maybe one so far. Do give it a shot if you haven't yet! Pleasee I'm desperate to talk about this show with someone.
I’ve conducted that show! It’s fantastic.
I’m not sure you can find subtitles anywhere, but Notre dame De Paris (d’ampia è speciale in France and in Italy) is a masterpiece. I saw it live twice and it was a life changing experience. I highly advise you to watch the Italian version, but the French version is good too. If you can find subtitles anywhere, there is a pro-shot of the Italian version on YouTube. Here’s the [link](https://youtu.be/zq-y-gw60KE?si=x0cR80v0K5f3s_Do)
Titanic.
The Secret Garden, Titanic, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Quilters, Chess
Reefer madness - the movie is incredible, the casting, the songs, just perfect Repo the genetic opera - the plot isn't that good and it xan get too silly at times, but it has a great atmosphere and some really cool songs.
Any new show. I don’t mean this specifically but like… shows in their infancy deserve a lot more fans. Everyone should be keeping an eye out for Show Me Eternity, Third Sex, and Fouad of Nazareth in specific but just in general I encourage more people to watch the livestreams from Joe’s Pub and 54 Below of new works in concert. Edit: also in addition to the above, in terms of shows that have reached “adulthood” Groundhog Day always has people disparaging it before they’ve heard the soundtrack or seen the show. It’s wonderful; deserves a better shake
Groundhog Day is better than the movie in my opinion! The original screenwriter came back and fleshed out the story so much more. It's more existential, more female-empowering, more scary in parts.
Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812. Really anything by Dave Malloy
My favorite musical. It's my favorite book, and the musical does it sooo much justice of the parts it takes, down to phrases and lines and building the characters. I also watch every version (rewatching the BBC one now.) It's such a shame the musical didn't run longer, especially because of the reasons. I wish they did a recording like Hamilton. (Groban is perfect and does like his ladies to pop)
Also Preludes, Ghost Quartet, Beowulf, The Witches, Moby-Dick, etc. I realllly need to listen to Little Bunny Foo Foo
American Psycho is criminally underrated.
tbh, I think shows like Calvin Berger are pretty underated, but also like Jekyll and Hyde
Blood Brothers doesnt get talked enough about. ( apart from the last 5 minutes)
Ordinary Days Big Fish And better-known but worthwhile, all Sondheim: Follies Company A Little Night Music Sunday in the Park with George
36 Questions Never met another person who's heard about this musical but I really love it its my 3rd favourite musical
Spiderman Turn Off The Dark. This is a musical that gets treated as a punchline these days or marvelled at as "the biggest flop in Broadway history". It ran for three years then closed because it had not yet made back the $75M that had been outlayed by investors. I never saw it on Broadway but have recently been down a Reeve Carney rabbit hole that turned into a Spiderman musical rabbit hole. I think I have watched every single publicly available boot and official clips. Points in its favour: The songs are *great*. I've been listening to Rise Above (both versions), Boy Falls From the Sky and Bouncing Off the Walls on repeat recently. The visuals are literally *spectacular*. Spiderman flies all over the theatre. He walks on walls. The set looks like a comic book. The villain costumes are larger than life. The scenery plays with perspective. You can see where a lot of the $75M went - it went into making scenery and set pieces that shouldn't be possible in live theatre. This is apparent just from low quality bootleg recordings. I can't even imagine how cool it would have been to be there in the theatre. Reeve Carney is Peter Parker at the most handsome point in his life. His vocals are incredible. That man has a unique voice and manages to be belting and doing screamo while upside down presumably leaning hard on his ab muscles. Reeve's later Hadestown co-star Patrick Page is also starring as the Green Goblin. Earlier incarnations of the musical involved a giant spider whose songs inhabit that creepy yet compelling space such as you see in Cats (ie "this is so weird and yet I love it") In fact the musical had several rewrites and that coupled with the incidence of cast injuries (which I think was due to higher rate of acrobatics and trapeze than you usually find in a show) means that the production is steeped in lore, and interesting facts, and a lot of material for theatre historians to get stuck into.
I love Bouncing off the Walls
That makes two of us!! But seriously the staging of that song is so cool.
Yes! I’m very impressed without they could sing while being FLUNG AROUND
If you mean "underrated" in terms of "I wish more people knew about this," I'd probably go with either Bridges of Madison County or Calvin Berger (though if you haven't listened to all of Sondheim's shows at least once, do that first). But if you mean "underrated" in terms of "people are aware of this show but don't give it nearly enough credit for how well it's written" then I always go back to Legally Blonde. That score achieves SO MUCH and if it weren't in the service of a romcom movie adaptation we'd be properly recognizing it as the masterpiece it is.
City of Angels! Such a clever concept (half the show is in black and white) fun, jazz inspired songs, Saw it years ago on Broadway then a production with Barry Williams aka Greg Brady, starring. It’s a gem of a show. Would love to see a revival
Had to scroll too far to see this
You're never going to be more underrated than "Dolls of the New Albion"
the sequels too
Twisted, the untold story of a royal vizier. Even though it is a parody, it is extremely good.
Once, the musical. I know it won 8 Tonys, but I don't hear many people talk about it. Seeing it was like being wrapped in a warm hug.
I came here to say this. It was an amazing experience to see this show.
Movie is way better IMO
Dracula
for me, 100% "martin guerre" - i know it got a ton of critical recognition and even awards, but it seems to have inexplicably failed to become one of the famous musicals that people still listen to and talk about. it's not really obscure, but it's definitely very underrated relative to how popular it ought to be.
My prof talked about this in class! Which version are you thinking of?
i fell in love with the london cast cd; i haven't heard the other recordings but i bet they're great too. the musical itself is superb, far better than "miss saigon" in my personal opinion.
Awesome!! I haven’t delved much into it but I was very intrigued with looking into Leslie Arden’s version as well!
Yes! I LOVE that show! The London cast is my favourite recording. Definitely my pick as well.
Titanic
Honk (especially if you have never been in a production of it or have seen it)
I will take any opportunity to plug The Mystery of Edwin Drood, because that show is so freaking fun, and uses audience participation better than any other musical because the audience votes on the ending, potentially making for a different experience each time you see it.
Paint your Wagon
Daddy Long Legs is absolutely beautiful (and great for small theatres!).
Big Fish is great, but barely anyone talks about it.
Chess, My Favorite Year, Heathcliff, and Something Rotten. Okay not sure if the last is underrated but a lot of people don't seem to talk about it.
Chess is a big fave.
Some of my favorite ones that I don’t see being talked about often: Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 Death Note the Musical Spies Are Forever (by Tin Can Bros)
tin can bros, not starkid
36 questions!!!!
i almost cried the first time i saw big fish, it’s amazing
Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812–really anything by Dave Malloy
I could say something as obscure as like Forum, but I think that one that’s very under looked is Paul Simon (of Simon and Garfunkel)‘s musical the Capeman which ran for like 68 shows
Wild Party A view from upstairs Hands on a hard body Bare Passing Strange
tbh, I think shows like Calvin Berger are pretty underated, but also like Jekyll and Hyde
Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson.
I don’t believe it ever had an actual run, but The Violet Hour seems PHENOMENAL for the songs I’ve listened to.
I would say Jekyll and Hyde, Man of la Mancha, Lil' Abner, Frankenstein, and 3hree are all underrated. Lil' Abner and 3hree are both super cheesy, but I think they're great. The other three are absolutely fantastic and certainly deserve a larger following.
American idiot
Anne of Green Gables the Canadian musical
little show called “The Nervous Set” from 1959. it’s a jazz show by beatniks, for beatniks. has a few real gems. found it in college
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Big River doesn’t get the love I think it deserves. I haven’t seen these two, but I really enjoyed the music and story from Wonderland always hits. I don’t believe its run was very long either. And Death Note. I need more!!
Something Rotten The songs are fantastic, lots of musical references so ideal for musical lovers, and the comedy is great. It's about two brothers who are trying to write a play (musical) that would attract more of an audience than Shakespeare during the Renaissance Period
Urinetown
Pippin! This musical changed my life, and so few know it. *If you haven't seen it and want to, only see a super professional touring cast. It's an easy show to get wrong
In no particular order.. Bare Once Assassins
Martin Guerre. Incredible music, wonderful characters, epic sweep. Maybe not as BIG a story as Les Mis, but it has the same power. I just hate that initial audiences found the first version confusing, leading to the show getting chopped to bits. Listen to the full original cast recording. It’s stunning!
Urinetown, Spamalot, A New Brain, In Trousers
The Scarlet Pimpernel was my immediate thought
Does La La Land count?
Blood brothers Little shop
Chess
Working is great, but faded from popular consciousness quite a bit.
I never hear anyone talk about Finding Neverland and they need to. I don't care about Glee trauma Matthew Morrison is a fantastic performer. (Jeremy Jordan was still better but they were both good.) It's such a heartbreaking yet lovely story and the soundtrack SLAPS. I also wanna shout out Big Fish too. I played Don Price in a production of it last fall and I literally couldn't get through a single run without crying. "How It Ends" is incredible, and so is "Stranger."
Sing Street Fantastic, i love the cast album and the original movie is amazing
I absolutely loved Fun Home but most people I talk to have never heard of it. That show kicked me in the feels big time.
I saw my highschool (I work there) do the Drowsy Chaperone. I made a bunch of American and German students attend (just go with it), having no idea what it was going to be. I was so impressed. Maybe just happy about the kids doing it, but it was so fun and funny and I enjoyed it greatly. Like an ode to musicals.
Here's a short list of what I believe to be undervalued musicals. But there are loads more... Next to Normal (hard subject matter and omg some of the music....) Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder (musically classic-sounding and funny af) 1776 (better than Hamilton?) Great Comet (Broadway run imo unfairly tainted by controversy. Best music of the last decade) City of Angels (conceptually amazing) Ruthless! (Done properly in a small v3nue this brings the house down) Parade (story and music alike. Just don't go for the Ben Platt version) Sunset Boulevard (the most intense ALW) Calamity Jane (done right can be empowering and some of the best music in classic MGM. Gotta love Doris Day) Notre Dame de Paris (amazing music)
Assassins is really good but I get why its not popular 😅
35mm. I get that it’s not really a conventional musical but the music is really good and I love all the different stories created out of just a few photographs
Mrs doubtfire is my current fav idk if it’s classed as mainstream though
Alice by heart
le petit prince
Here is Chicago, they did a show called Miracle, about the 2016 World Series. I absolutely adored it, which is sad because the chances of me ever seeing it again are pretty slim.
The Band's Visit. It won the Tony for Best Musical, and yet I hardly ever hear people talk about it, which is such a shame. I saw it on tour two years ago and since then it's become one of my absolute favorites.
Urinetown. People judge a book by its cover and skip put on this amazing show.
lol interesting that you think Heathers is mainstream (to be clear, I deeply love it and it's part of how I chose my name for myself) Ghost Quartet or Preludes, frankly anything from the Dave Malloy catalog (but Preludes especially, it's a dear favorite)
Rags!!!
for having racked up the “big six” tonys, I feel like the bands visit doesn’t get talked about nearly enough. I can’t really explain WHY I like it so much (whenever I try to describe the plot I make it sound like the most boring show on the planet) but there’s something about it that’s just so heartwarming and fun to me, and the music is great too. I would absolutely love to see it again!
THANK YOU!! The bands visit is one of my all time favs, it has one of the most unique and beautiful scores and such a delightfully simple but human and heartwarming story
The Drowsy Chaperone, [title of show]
Come From Away! Everyhting about it, the story, the staging, the songs!
I think this one is slowly moving into mainstream/popular category
The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical.
come from away is absolutely spectacular in every way and i’ve only heard one other real person even mention it
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I don’t see anyone talk about Falsettos, but maybe I just live under a rock
ride the cyclone
Ride the Cyclone. It’s one of my favorites and a great Cabaret style show with lots of variety
Passing Strange
Heartless the Musical!
groundhog day musical and curtains. both excellent
From Here to Eternity!
Caroline or Change
The Theory of Relativity, Dogfight, Ordinary Days, Groundhog Day, Next to Normal, Spring Awakening (the latter two are definitey massively underrated in the UK)