My Seven Favourite Musical Theatre Shows (and more)

Last weekend I went to see A Chorus Line at the Birmingham Hippodrome and it was a great night. I’ve decided to write about all the musical theatre shows I’ve seen.

Chicago

This was very special as I took my daughter to London’s West End to see Chicago. We stayed overnight in a hotel and it was really lovely birthday treat for her. (This was before I was sick and in a wheelchair.)

Chicago is a jazz spectacular set in the roaring 20s. It’s quite a harrowing story with murder and prison, but it also has some fantastic moments and memorable musical numbers like, ‘All That jazz’ and ‘Razzle Dazzle’

It was a long time ago but I remember it being a fantastic show and I’d love to see it again sometime.

Joseph and His Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat

I can remember taking part in the school production of Joseph when I was in Secondary school. When it came to a local theatre I really wanted to go and ended up going with an old school friend who’d also been in the school production.

There have been many famous people play Joseph, I really wanted to see Jason Donovan and Lee Mead got the part after winning the television singing competition. When we went it was Jaymi Hensley from the band Union J.

I remembered most of the words to most of the songs and loved the singalong medley they did at the end of the show. It’s a classic musical and I will see it again soon. I hear that Jason Donovan is now playing Pharoah rather than Joseph now.

Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat follows the bible story of Jacob and his 12 sons, the youngest, Joseph is his favourite. The other brothers are jealous and plot to get rid of him. Joseph goes through a series of good and bad fortune but it’s his ability to interpret dreams that gets him his fame and fortune and the choice of whether to punish his brothers or help them.

Singing in the Rain

This has to be up there as one of my all time favourites. I love the old film and the musical is amazing. The songs and dancing just mesmerising and I wouldn’t really care who was playing the parts.

It so happens that when I went to see Singing in the Rain with my Sister-in-law back in 2022, we saw a lot of the cast of the soap Doctors, and it wasn’t until we got inside that I realised that nurse Luca from the show (Ross McClaren) was playing Sid.

I just love this feel good show with so many songs that may be old but they sure old gold! Definitely on my list of seeing again.

Singing in the rain is set in the 1920s when the movies were moving from silent to having sound. The main star had an awful voice so they set up to have a girl behind a screen to do the voice for her. It’s quite funny in parts, but it’s mostly a love story.

My Fair Lady

The next musical I went to see was My Fair Lady. When we went to see it there were some great familiar faces on stage such as Adam Woodyatt (Ian from Eastenders) and the soprano Lesley Garrett.

The thing I enjoyed most about this musical was the stunning scenery changes. It really was like a movie on stage.

My Fair Lady is based on Pygmalion and transformation. A linguist attempts to turn a girl from a London street into a socialite. They fall in love but won’t admit it, she also has another suitor who sings outside her door. When she decides to go back to her roots she finds she no longer fits in. So she has to find her place in the world.

Six

My girls wanted to go and see Six in 2020 but the theatre closed due to Covid restrictions. We had to wait four years until we got to see it in 2024.

I had to admit, I didn’t find the idea of a musical about the six wives of Henry VIII very appealing but it really is an amazing show.

With an all female cast we have the six wives each singing their way into our hearts and getting us to choose who had the roughest deal. But there is a twist at the end and the whole show is very inspiring.

It was mostly singing with a live band and felt more like a rock concert than a musical. I would go and see it again, and I know my girls would, they loved every moment.

Blood Brothers

Blood Brothers is a heart breaking story with some amazing songs. The story begins with two men killing each other but then it goes into the past where we see how they are real brothers. A poor woman is having twins and already trying to bring up her brood alone after her husband has run off. She reluctantly gives one of her twins to a rich lady who can’t have children of her own.

The twins meet up again later, but despite their respective families trying to keep them apart they keep getting drawn together. They eventually end up in a love triangle which ends tragically.

Les Miserables

I was surprised when Boo said she wanted to go and see Les Miserables. I wasn’t sure it was her type of musical at all, but I took her and I’m so glad I did. This is another on my list to see again.

You can’t really get much more epic than Les Miserables, starts in 1815 and ends with the beginning of the rebellion in Paris in 1832. Jean Valjean is in prison after stealing food. When he is released from prison he goes on to make a name for himself in building factories.

It’s a very long and complex but it has some amazing songs that are really moving at times.

If you’re looking at the title and counting, then please note I put more, because I was bound to have missed something and I did.

The Drifter’s Girl

This was a big favourite as I loved the Drifter’s but I learnt a lot by watching this that I never knew before. The musical was about the woman who managed the original Drifter’s (there were many!) and her story which was really interesting. But there was also so many of the Drifter’s songs and I knew them all thanks to a cassette I had when I was a little girl and I used to play it over and over.

I have never been to a musical theatre show before when so many of the audience were dancing in their seats, honestly, it’s hard to keep still to The Drifter’s. At the end they had everyone on there feet dancing to a medley. It was fabulous. I’m going again…definitely!

Children’s Musical Theatre

Over the years I’ve taken my children to see some good musical theatre too. They were big fans of Julia Donaldson and we’ve seen, Room on the Broom, What the Ladybird Heard and The Gruffalo’s Child

We also got to see Treasure Island which was a real fun adventurous musical aimed at children. We even got to meet the cast afterwards which was nice. The kids got to ask them questions and Boo asked if the sky was really blue, while Star had them giggling with her question of whether the dead man at the beginning was really dead!

A real showstopper but much less of a musical and more of a play was the fabulous Hetty Feather. It was a long play and full of emotion. Hetty Feather is based on the book by Jacqueline Wilson.

I took the Little Man to see a Youth Theatre production of Animal Farm which was really good and the Little Man enjoyed it too.

We also went to see another Youth Theatre production about a witch and feeling like an outsider. I took the girls too and we all enjoyed watching Unbound.

I really love musical theatre but I have seen a few really good plays too, Guards, Guards, An Inspector Calls, Dead Again and The Lovely Bones. I may enjoy my television and books, but I also love to see live performances.

Do you have a favourite musical theatre show?