My top five favorite musicals
(Photo taken from Google Images via Creative Commons License)
Sara Bareilles belting out her song, “She Used to Be Mine.”
March 20, 2022
This week I needed an idea for my next article for the Royal Reporter. My creative juices have been a little dry lately.
A couple days ago, I was cleaning my room and pressed play on my musical theater playlist on Spotify. I went from folding laundry to belting out “She Used to be Mine” from Waitress.
BOOM. Article idea.
So here it is. Here are my top five favorite musicals. For my musical theater nerds reading this, these might not be the best, most outstanding, Lin Manuel Miranda-esque written shows ever, but they are uniquely special because of the memories I have with them.
- “Annie”
A classic story about an orphan named Annie. This musical was the first musical I ever saw on stage. I even wore a red dress that day. I remember the exhilarating feeling of the lights being dimmed right before the show was about to start. “It’s a Hard Knock Life” started to play. Seeing girls my age on stage made me realize that the theater is something I was going to love.
- “Fiddler on the Roof”
This is a story about a Jewish father and his daughters. It is important to me because it reminds me of my mom. She was the one who first introduced me to the world of musical theater. Did you know that Gwen Stefani’s song “If I Were a Rich Girl” is actually based on the song from this musical, “If I Were a Rich Man?” It’s true!
- “Waitress”
The story is about three waitresses living their lives. This musical was originally written by the one and only Sara Bareilles. My dad, unlike my mom, is not a fan of theater at all. But the only song he will ever listen to from a musical is “She Used to be Mine.” In my opinion, “She Used to be Mine” is one of the most emotionally moving songs in modern musical history. And there are a ton of great songs in this musical too. When the tune of “Opening Up” starts to play, I immediately start to sing along.
- “The Addams Family”
A story about an unusual and kooky family dealing with real world problems, “The Addams Family” musical might not be an original, but it holds a special place in my heart. When I was in sixth grade, my class went on a trip to go see “The Addams Family” put on by Fullerton High School. I had no idea that high school theater was a thing. Seeing this show is one of the reasons that I am in Trinitas today. Watching this show put on by high schoolers made me realize that this was something that I wanted to do. Songs like “When You’re an Adams” and “Pulled” truly pull out the inner musical theater kid in me.
- “The Sound of Music”
Based on a true story, this is a tale of a young nun being sent to be the governess of 7 children. I used to watch “The Sound of Music” so much with my mom that the DVD case needed to be taped together. I miss those DVDs. And now, present day, I get the opportunity to be a part of the cast of “The Sound of Music” put on by Trinitas Arts Conservatory. This musical ranking goes out to all of my senior friends in theater. They were the people who influenced me to continue doing what I love.
I know, I know, I left out the best one, “Shrek the Musical,” but that’s not the point here. All of these musicals are held close to my heart because of my childhood, making new friendships, and finding my love for theater.
Making this list definitely brought back some really good memories of my childhood. These memories are what make me, me.
What better way to end this article than with an iconic line from “The Sound of Music”: “So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, goodbye. I leave and heave a sigh and say goodbye — Goodbye!”
