Musicals Set in North America

As musical theatre fans, the two most common continents (as in setting) for musicals belong to Europe and North America. For the longest time, I ALWAYS thought the US was the only setting of North America, but eventually I discovered a musical set in another North America. So, what are some of my favorite North America musicals?

The US- most common musical setting

1. Annie
2. Newsies
3. Rent
4. West Side Story
5. Greatest Showman
6. High School Musical
7. White Christmas
8. Oklahoma
9. Music Man
10. Grease

Canada

1. Come From Away- only Canadian musical I know of

*Yes, thinking of musicals for North America is tricky. After all, a LOT of musicals take place in the US meaning it makes it easy to not include them. So, at least this gives you a general idea*

Musicals Set in Europe

One of the BEST things about musicals belongs to the wide variety of settings- ranging from time periods to setting. Europe is one of the most common continents for them. So, what musicals do I love that take place there?

England

1. Something Rotten
2. Oliver
3. My Fair Lady

Austria

1. Sound of Favorite- favorite Rodgers and Hammerstein

Spain

1. Man of La Mancha

Norway (a fictional place)

1. Frozen

Greece

1. Mamma Mia

France

1. Anastasia- only partly takes there
2. Beauty and the Beast- fictional town
3. Phantom of the Opera
4. Les Mis

*Just to let you know, these are the ones I can think of for now. So, there is a chance I left some off, but it gives you an idea. So Europe is a pretty common continent for musicals to take place during*

Nonfiction Books I Love or TBR

One of my least favorite genres is nonfiction. However, it isn’t a genre I fully dislike. That is a result of falling in love with some of the books. For the most part, I tend to fall in love with inspirational nonfiction books. So, what nonfiction books do I love and are still on my TBR?

ONES I LOVE

1. One Hundred Story Home
2. Same Kind of Different as Me
3. I am Malala
4. Yellow-Lighted Bookshop
5. Pour Your Heart Into It- good for coffee lovers and those wanting to start a business
6. Man Who Invented Christmas
7. Dewey
8. The Day the World Came to Town- perfect for Come From Away fans
9. The Movie Musical
10. Bolton and Wodehouse and Kern
11. 150 Years of Musical Theatre

*At the moment, I am reading “Something Wonderful”, which is about Rodgers and Hammerstein*

TBR

1. Singular Sensation
2. Working on a Song
3. Defying Gravity

Come From Away- Community Cue

With Club Blume, Blumenthal’s Young Adult Club, I have done informances for some musicals. An informance is an event that has something connected to the show- food (ex: Middle Eastern for Aladdin), and the talk usually gives you more insight into the show. A Community Cue is very similar to an informances- the main difference is that it reaches out to a wider audience (not just limited to young adults).

Come From Away

Everyone knows about 9/11, but not everyone knows what happened in Gander, Newfoundland, Canada. When 38 planes suddenly had to land, Gander offered up lots of generosity, warmth, and kindness. I saw “Come From Away” in 2020- it truly is a heartwarming story (“The Day the World Came to Town” is the book it is based off of)

The Community Cue was a talk with one of the plane people and one of the islanders. So, my mom and I got the inside scoop. Everything that happened in the musical is 100% real- from characters to events. It is just the nature of Gander to show compassion- it is just who they are.

Women’s History Month- Musicals

As many are aware, March is Women’s History Month. That makes me wonder are there any musicals that celebrate women. As a matter of fact, there are- at the moment, I can’t think of many. So, what musicals do celebrate women?

Frozen

This musical centers on Elsa and Anna, two sisters born into royalty. They both are strong and brave women. Elsa was born with snow and ice powers, and the eldest. She doesn’t know how to control them, and hopes to protects Anna. Elsa grew up ashamed of her powers and was labeled to be a “monster”. Despite that, she still was a strong woman.

Anna, on the other hand, wants to be closer to be sister as in having a stronger bond. She trusts her sister. Anna was the one to go after her sister, and that is how she came across Kristoff, the only one who can help her get through the mountains. She is full of life, outgoing, and impulsive ). She was pretty brave considering she never left the castle.

Wicked

Well, this is yet another musical centering on two female characters. The sisterhood in Frozen is very similar to the friendship in Wicked. I see parallels between Elsa and Elphaba (both born with powers they don’t know how to control and are misunderstood), and even Glinda and Anna are similar (the outgoing nature).

Elphaba and Glinda have a powerful and strong bond, as shown in “For Good”. Both girls are brave, strong, and complex. Their friendship really strengthens thanks to the love triangle- it is a way to test their loyalty.