Welcome to the Musicals Thread, the Avocado’s space for anything and everything related to musical theatre! Every month I’ll post a discussion prompt, but please feel free to comment on other topics, from new discoveries to old favorites. If you have ideas for future prompts or would like to write a feature for the thread, let me know!
“The world will never be the same…”
– Company (Hamilton, lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda)
Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration…but maybe not. A hip hop (and rap, and jazz, and pop…) account of the life of Alexander Hamilton, Hamilton (2015) broke out of theatre circles and dominated the culture in a way I have never seen any other musical do in my lifetime (closest was Wicked, but I was also very much in the target demographic for that one), with everyone from high school students to the President and First Lady of the United States singing its praises. Even if not a direct artistic influence, it’s difficult to argue that the show’s success didn’t pave the way for that of subsequent (mostly-)sung-through shows integrating multiple musical styles and/or narratives based in historical or classical material, like Six (2017), Hadestown (2016), or Suffs (2022).
Meanwhile, Congress is fighting over where to put the capital – er, I mean, shows like American Idiot (2010) also expanded the styles of music heard from the stage, the likes of Dear Evan Hansen (2015) and Be More Chill (2015) also found viral popularity among young audiences, and adaptations like Matilda (2010) also put new spins on familiar stories.
What are your favorite/the most memorable examples of musical theatre from the 2010’s? If you’re not very familiar with this period, are you interested in changing that? Why or why not?
A 10’s show I love is Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 (2013), and one I’d love to check out is another winter story, Groundhog Day (2016). From what I’ve heard, the unified small town community and the repetition inherent to the time loop lend themselves particularly well to musical expression.
Best Musical Tony winners (listed with the years of their original productions):
2011 – The Book of Mormon
2011 – Once
2012 – Kinky Boots
2012 – A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder
2013 – Fun Home
2015 – Hamilton
2015 – Dear Evan Hansen
2016 – The Band’s Visit
2016 – Hadestown
2018 – Moulin Rouge! The Musical
2019 – A Strange Loop
2016 – Maybe Happy Ending