Hello! If you’re reading this you’ve decided that you love musicals so much that you want to go back and read the old Musicals Threads. That’s great! Feel free to comment and join us each Tuesday to discuss all things musical!

It’s Week Four of the Musicals Thread! Hooray! The purpose of this thread is to talk about all things related to the wonderful world of musical theatre. Each week (more or less) I will post a thread with a topic/question for everyone to respond to. This is also a great place to mention any new musicals you’ve discovered and/or general recommendations for other musical fans.

I’m a little behind schedule today, so this week’s prompt won’t have much of a write-up from me. Lately I’ve been thinking about The Phantom of the Opera for various reasons, which led me to this question: What musical(s) served as your gateway into the world of musical theatre?

For me, it was The Phantom of the Opera. Before I discovered that show I thought I didn’t like musicals. I thought they were silly and boring, especially the music. I discovered The Phantom of the Opera because I read the book and loved it. So, I figured I would at least check out this famous musical I was always hearing about. While it’s very different from the book, I was hooked immediately by the spookiness and romance of the show. After that I checked out as many musicals as I could (and I mean that literally—I would check out the cast recordings from the library), and the rest is history! If I have time later I’ll elaborate on my feelings about this particular musical, but for now I’d like to hear from you all. What was the first musical you enjoyed?