It’s a common problem for musical theatre fans – you get hooked on a few musicals and listen to them on repeat, and never manage to find anything new. I’ve struggled many times with finding different musicals to listen to, so I thought I would share with you my list of 5 lesser known or newer musicals to listen to this summer. Have a read, then sit back and have a listen:
1. Little Women
You’ve probably heard of Little Women, there’s a book, a film starring Christian Bale, and it was famously put in the freezer by Joey Tribiani in Friends. I absolutely love the story of Little Women, and so when I discovered the musical I just had to listen to it. It’s a beautiful story about 4 sisters dealing with love, loss and sisterhood during the American Civil War. If you like the story, or just like musicals set within history, I would really recommend. It’s definitely my favourite musical.
Songs I’m Loving: ‘Astonishing’, ‘Some Things Are Meant to Be’ and ‘Five Forever’.
2. Six
If you’ve been following the musical theatre world in any way you’ve probably heard of Six. It’s exploded onto the scene and is everywhere. It’s a musical based on the 6 wives of Henry VIII but set as a group of women within a pop group. It’s hard to explain, and my historical side is slightly bothered by how it’s chosen to portray some of the women but it’s well worth a listen.
Songs I’m Loving: ‘Ex-wives’, 'Six' and ‘Don’t Lose Your Head’.
3. The Drowsy Chaperone
If you like musicals that break the fourth wall then this is a show for you. It’s very simplistic, and the characters are mostly one-dimensional, but it’s a fun listen.
The show is about the wedding of a glamorous star to her wealthy fiancee and all the catastrophes that ensue. There’s some really nice songs in it and some fun characters to play and it’s just a nice, happy, ridiculous musical.
Songs I’m Loving: ‘As we Stumble Along’, ‘Toledo Surprise’ and ‘I Do, I Do in the Sky’.
4. Next to Normal
We’ve seen a lot more acknowledgement of mental health recently, and Dear Evan Hansen has taken the musical world by storm, receiving a lot of praise for its acknowledgement of mental illness within young people. Another musical that I’ve been loving lately, which also tackles mental illness is Next to Normal. It’s a musical about a ‘normal’ family, that isn’t (partly because there’s no such thing as a ‘normal’ family but that’s beside the point). I don’t want to spoil anything but if you’re interested in musicals that tackle mental illness this is definitely one to try.
Songs I’m Loving: ‘I Miss the Mountains’, ‘So Anyway’, and ‘Aftershocks’
5. If / Then
This musical is a bit of an Idina Menzel show but I love the premise. It’s based on the idea that one decision can cause your life to go in drastically different ways. Elizabeth – Beth/ Liz – has to decide whether to go with one friend or another on a simple day at the park, and it creates two different storylines that run in tandem with one another. It’s a bit convoluted but it has some really nice songs and I love the way that some of the songs are both storylines combined.
Songs I’m Loving: ‘What If?’, ‘Ain’t No Man Manhattan’ and ‘Always Starting Over’.
I hope that this list has given you some new ideas to try. Check out this Youtube video for a few more ideas (I’ll admit, it was this video that introduced me to Six).
Hwyl am nawr,
J x