Top 3... Musicals

Happy Wednesday!

Today I'll be mini-reviewing my favourite three underrated musicals. My favourite musical of all time has to be Les Miserables, but that's so well-known that I won't bother reviewing it today. Let me know if you want to hear my thoughts on it.

In no particular order;

Love Never Dies (Phantom of the Opera sequel)
Written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Ben Elton, with music by Webber and lyrics by Glenn Slater and Charles Hart, this musical is a masterpiece. I watch the DVD of the Australian cast so much, and I was lucky enough to see Anna O'Byrne (who plays Christine) in a different musical last year. Ben Lewis' performance as the Phantom is truly a spectacle. The plot continues the original Phantom 10 years on, and is so emotional and thought-provoking. Christine and Raoul have a 10 year old child, and Christine is reunited with the Phantom to sing for him one last time. Highly recommended.

Matilda the Musical
This adaptation of Roald Dahl's classic novel is written by Dennis Kelly, with music and lyrics by comic genius Tim Minchin. The story is heartwarming and funny, yet sad and slightly harrowing at points. My favourite songs from it are My House, Loud, Quiet, Telly, and This Little Girl. The young cast are always exceptional and make you feel bad about being older than them and yet far less talented. The School Song scene and the gym scene are so well put together and the entire stage is beautiful aesthetically.

Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon was an instant classic, written by Alan Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg. It deals with the issues faced by American soldiers and Vietnamese women during the Vietnam War. Kim, a 17 year old Vietnamese peasant, is left with nothing when her parents are killed, and so has to become a prostitute, catering to American soldiers in Vietnam. On her first day, she attracts the attention of Chris, an American GI. They fall in love and plan to be together forever, but the strains and circumstance tear them apart. What will happen when they are reunited 3 years later? The musical is filled with heart reaching songs such as Why God Why?, Movie In My Mind, I Still Believe, and The American Dream, among others. At the end of every single show, there isn't a dry eye in the room, and even for the thousandth time watching it, I still cry before the interval. An incredible show, second only to Les Miserables.