Welcome! The purpose of this thread is to talk about all things related to the wonderful world of musical theatre. Each week 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. Heard/seen any good shows lately? Have any theatre news to share? Tell us about it!
Following up on last week’s discussion, I’d like to discuss the new musical I listened to during my travels. With that in mind, this week’s question is: when’s the last time you listened to a new musical? By new, I just mean new to you. Basically, I’m interested in hearing about any new shows you’ve discovered recently.
Last week I listened to Urinetown for the first time, and I loved it! I can’t remember which one of you discussed this musical, but after reading about your enthusiasm for it I put it on my list of musicals to listen to. I figured it would be a good musical to listen to on my road trip last week because I knew it was a comedy. This means that my husband was probably going to like it, and I also figured it would be easy to understand. And it was! We started listening to it without knowing anything about the plot and quickly discovered that there was a helpful amount of exposition in the beginning to explain what was happening. I was a little confused during some moments in Act II, but I was still able to follow the basic plot throughout (I have since read a plot summary to fill in the gaps). The music was really fun and catchy, so I definitely know I’ll be listening to it more in the future. And it was such a happy surprise to hear Hunter Foster! I’m sure the show is funnier on stage, but I still found myself laughing several times as I listened. Overall, listening to Urinetown really made me regret not seeing the show when my community theatre was performing it last year. Oh well, now I know better! If you haven’t heard this show, I highly recommend it. Here’s the Tony Awards performance if you’re interested:
Full disclosure: my husband fell asleep after Act I. I think he liked what he heard, but he gets sleepy in cars. I took the opportunity to listen to Thoroughly Modern Millie (which I haven’t listened to in years). He woke up at the start of Act II and seemed to be enjoying the music. So, all in all, it was a successful road trip!
Have you listened to anything new recently? What did you think?
