Musical theater is my happy place. The bright lights of Broadway is my Xanadu. I often think life would be way more fun if we all just broke out in to some song and dance number for no apparent reason.
Coming out of the 1980s, musical theater was on fire following the huge success of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s productions of CATS and The Phantom of the Opera. In early 1996, a musical came along that turned the Broadway world on its head. Jonathan Larson’s adaptation of Puccini’s La Boheme named RENT helped bring a new audience to the Great White Way.
RENT, along with the introduction of Disney as a musical powerhouse, helped changed the way Broadway was seen outside of the theater world. The last 30 years has been a booming time for musical theater.
In 2015, a musical about one of the Founding Fathers of the United States exploded when it debuted and became the hottest ticket in the history of Broadway. Hamilton won 11 of the record setting 16 Tony awards it was nominated for.
This playlist represents the best of the last 30 years of musicals to light up a stage on Broadway. Household names like Wicked and Mamma Mia are represented as well as lesser known shows like Bat Boy the Musical and Bright Star.
Put on your best suit or dress, call the sitter, make dinner reservations and join me for a night at the theater.
QUARANTINE JAMS ARCHIVES
Volume 1: New Wave
Volume 2: 90s Movie Soundtrack
Volume 3: Favorite Cover Songs
Volume 4: Gotta Have Faith
Volume 5: What Day Is It?
Volume 6: This One’s For The Kids
Volume 7: Let’s All Go Down To The Chuckle Hut
Volume 8: Straight Outta The ’80s
Volume 9: Don’t Rock The Covid
Volume 10: Music To Clean The House And Your Ass To
Volume 11: Hit Me Baby One Time
Volume 12: Grown And Sexy Playlist
Volume 13: I Can’t Believe It’s Original
Volume 14: ’80s Soundtracks
Volume 15: Aqua Net And Fishnets
Volume 16: Let Your Soul Glow
Volume 17: I’m No Superman
Steven McCash is the Music Columnist for SoBros Network. He is the pioneer of New Music Friday, highlighting each week’s new releases in the world of music, in addition to the occasional live show review. Follow on Twitter: @MC_Cash75
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Image courtesy of Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash!
