The Musicals I Never Saw on Tour

As musical theatre fans, we see musicals in different ways. I am specifically referring to the times we see them in person- either on Broadway, in the West End, on tour, at a school, or a local theater. So, what are the musicals I never saw on tour- only will include those I remember seeing?

Godspell

This was the first biblical musical I saw. I actually saw this at Pease Auditorium at Central Piedmont Community College. What convinced me to see it was the composer/lyricist—–after all, it was a Stephen Schwartz musical. So, it would be my 2nd musical of his I saw in person. Fun costumes and catchy and exciting songs.

Little did I know I would seeing some of those actors again in future musicals.

Music Man

First musical of 2015 and was seen at Gardner Webb. I already was enjoying the songs and was required to see it. Love the light-hearted nature of it.

Little Shop of Horrors

I don’t love this musical, but still enjoyed watching it. I actually was house manager for this musical. I actually can understand why others love it. I love some of its songs, but not all of them.

https://megsmagicalmusings.wordpress.com/2017/02/26/little-shop-of-horrors-review/

Oklahoma

Well, two of my Godspell actors were in this musical- the Laurey and Will Parker were in Godspell. I already fell in love with Oklahoma—-so loved being able to watch the stage show. Back at CPCC, but this time was watching at Halton Theater. If its a musical at CPCC, I expect a well-done production.

https://megsmagicalmusings.wordpress.com/2018/06/07/oklahoma-review/

Grease

I saw Grease at CPCC the same summer as Oklahoma—-I spent time with my sister and one of our friends. Discovering new songs- I had gotten so used to the movie that I didn’t know some of the extra songs from the stage show.

https://megsmagicalmusings.wordpress.com/2018/06/18/summer-nights/

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcot

The 2nd biblical musical I saw in person—-one of my many memories of the musical was singing the songs when I was part of the children’s choir at church. So, it took quite a long time till I finally saw the stage show. Latest CPCC musical I saw- they cast an incredible narrator and Joesph. “Close Every Door” drove me to tears (wasn’t expecting that reaction)—–even the brother’s ensemble was incredible.

https://megsmagicalmusings.wordpress.com/2021/07/26/joseph-and-the-amazing-technicolor-dreamcoat-review/

Conclusion

Musicals you Know you will Love ahead of Time

All musical theater fanatics will come across musicals in a certain. Here are some ways: film, stage, and songs. However, how do you know you love a musical before seeing it? I will try to explain below- only applies to stage shows. So musicals I fell in love by the movie or by a filmed stage production doesn’t count.

Newsies

This was the latest Disney musical I fell in love with. Yes, I only enjoyed the songs before seeing the stage show. Do you know what really made me know I will love Newsies? It was coming from the fact that Newsies won a Tony for best choreography. I was right about loving Newsies- the dance made me love the songs even more. Along with the relationship found between Jack/Crutchie and the entire Newsies relationship.

Pippin

Just to let you know, this musical almost didn’t enter my life. I first got interested in Pippin due to loving “Corner of the Sky”. When mom got tickets for Pippin, there was only one day left with seats together. Pippin was the final inexperience musical of 2015: when I mean inexperienced, it is referring to shows where you didn’t much about the musical ahead of time. It was seeing a preview where I knew I would love the musical even more. Another factor that played in this is based on the fact that it is a Stephen Schwartz musical- after all, Wicked sparked my love for musicals.

Godspell

When Godspell was playing at Central Piedmont Community College, my dad or family told me I would love it. That was based on my love for Stephen Schwartz. When it comes to CPCC, their shows feel professional. Godspell actually was the first musical I fell in love with during the college years.

Music Man

This musical started the 2015 musicals. It was the most light-hearted out of all them. I already heard some of the songs- from that alone, I knew I would love Music Man. I already knew some facts about the characters- in particular Harold Hill.

Anastasia

Yes, I am using a musical that I haven’t seen live. Anastasia was coming to Charlotte in April of this year, but got postponed. I already have a feeling I would love it due to already falling in love with five songs. I have no idea how I was able to figure out who was singing some of the songs: I know some facts about Anya and a little about Dimitri. So far, Anastasia hasn’t been rescheduled.

Conclusion

It is interesting how we know ahead of time that we love a musical. It can be based on composer, choreography, or already enjoying some songs from the show.

What about you, how do you know you will love a musical ahead of time?

Three Sections I Can Divide Musicals In

Well, I can easily separate meaningful musicals into three categories. Those are my childhood musicals, Fletcher musicals, and college musicals. These are all self-explanatory meaning you can easily describe all three. Let me put this into more perspective.

My childhood musicals were ALL musicals that entered my life before I started middle school. Beauty and the Beast, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Wizard of OZ, Aladdin, Lion King, Grease, Sound of Music, and Annie fit under this category.

What about the Fletcher musicals? Well, I call these Fletcher musicals because they entered my life when I was still a student at Fletcher. I went to that school from 6th -12th grade. That school was a small K-12 school. Most of the musicals I saw in this time frame were movie musicals. These musicals were Wicked, Mamma Mia, Enchanted, and The High School Musical series. So this set of musicals were the smallest.

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College Musicals- I went to two colleges. Central Piedmont Community College and Gardner Webb University were the ones I went to. There were a lot of musicals I fell in love. They were Rent, Godspell, Les Mis, South Pacific, Oklahoma, Newsies, Phantom of the Opera, Frozen, Man of La Mancha, White Christmas, Music Man, Pippin, Singing in the Rain, My Fair Lady, Greatest Showman, and Fiddler on the Roof. This time frame was where my passion for musicals came from- thanks to Les Mis, which challenged everything. That is why there is a lot. What was amazing about CPCC is just how professional they feel: I literally called their production of “Les Mis” phenomenal. CPCC is where I started to get more into theatre: I ushered twice for Les Mis and once for Some Enchanted Evening.

Ya Got Trouble

The next musical I love is actually hitting a milestone this year. It is Music Man and this year marks five years since falling in love with it. That’s right: I fell in love with it in Spring of 2015 by Gardner Webb University’s production. It is truly a classic musical. Why do I love Music Man?

For one thing, I love how light-hearted and happy it is. You need those sort of musicals to help balance things out. I think due to the light-heartedness, it needed the romance between Marian and Harold Hill. Their romance gives Music Man some emotion.

Another reason belongs to the characters. While Harold Hill, our main character, is a conman there is something about him that makes him lovable. I even love Winthrop. At first, Marian can seem a bit annoying, but as the musical goes on, she does really develop and I think that is due to her relationship with Harold Hill.

The songs: this is the most important part. I love the songs- from “Ya Got Trouble” to “Till There Was You” to Gary Indiana”- you easily can fall in love with them.

Favorite song: 76 Trombones

Non-Tour Musicals I Saw

True, I have seen mostly musicals on tour. However, there have been a select amount of musicals I have seen either through school, local, or through Broadway/West End. This post will bring up those musicals and will try to be in order.

1. Wicked- 2006
2. Oliver- 2007 (don’t remember seeing)
3. Godspell- 2012
4. Les Mis-2013
5. Les Mis-2013 (as an usher)
6. Les Mis-2013 (as an usher)
7. Scrooge-2014
8. Music Man- 2015
9. Les Mis-2015
10. Little Shop of Horrors- 2017
11. Oklahoma- 2018
12. Grease-2018
13. Newsies-2018

This is a combo of Barter Theater, Pease Auditorium (which no longer exists), Halton Theater, Dover Theater, Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, Gershwin Theater and Queen’s Theater. Of that list- the only musical I have no memory of seeing is Oliver at Barter Theater. The rest are musicals I remember seeing.