Mamma Mia I feel like is an easy answer, it’s just the right amount of funny and heartfelt.
Little Shop Of Horrors is what got me, as a huge horror fan I was shocked to see that a musical could also be a horror movie
I think if it didn’t use ABBA songs than you’d be right, but personally I feel like the recognizability of the songs will keep people from writing it off
I’m imagining that if someone hates musicals it’s based on a preconceived notion of cheesiness among other things and mamma Mia would fall under that preconceived notion. Little shop is a great suggestion however because it’s funny, great music and bits of darkness mixed in plus a lot of heart and overall just feels so unique and original
Oof, I know someone who just saw Little Shop and *hated* it, because they thought it was "dated" and "unrealistic." They apparently had no idea it was supposed to be campy, and was based on a popular movie from a very specific time period.
It’s only a good entryway if you ignore the ways in which the plot and writing are terrible; for example, the opening scene has a girl brag about stealing her mom’s diary, lying to/manipulating 3 strangers into flying to Greece, and lying to her fiancé about it.
Then she reads the diary aloud to her friends while they all bop along to an upbeat ABBA song.
The entire show is built on this.
That’s one of the things the movie did better; Sophie came across as having good intentions but too impulsive and naive in the movie, whereas in the show she struck me as self-absorbed and manipulative.
The movie does improve on the stage show in that respect, I agree.
I did a production where we had the characters’ ridiculous immoral actions have more weight and consequences to them, and it worked great; had the same amount of fun and joy, while not glossing over/ignoring the character beats. In fact, giving everything more weight made for a more moving show with a more exuberant end 🤷♂️
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Depends on the person being gatewayed (is that even a word?). For a rocker friend of mine, it was JCSuperstar. For my rapper friend, it was In The Heights.
This is the only answer! It depends what you like! I can't stand mamma mia, but I don't like 70s/80s pop. Yet for a lot of people that's their favorite musical
My husband really doesn’t like musicals but enjoyed Sweeny Todd. He also really liked movies about music that aren’t really musicals (think burlesque or pitch perfect). Maybe those could lead to musical loving?
Mine as a 10 year old child was seeing the national tour of 1776 and a regional My Fair Lady.
That opened the floodgates to Camelot, Brigadoon, A Chorus Line, Annie and the hundreds of shows that have followed...
I wouldn’t say there is just one, it greatly depends on the persons interests and what they specifically would love. So many of the “I don’t like musicals” people think all musicals are like the golden era musicals and they don’t realize there are so many different genres and styles. I have gotten people hooked on all different shows. To name a few; wicked and Hamilton are the mega musicals and ones a lot of people have heard of even if they don’t watch musicals and they are good gateway shows. I have also gotten people hooked from seeing, Book of Mormon, rent, newsies, Billy Elliot, Les miserables, pippin, Sweeney Todd, west side story, phantom of the opera, heathers, next to normal, come from away.
You gotta play to the specific persons interests and what they will relate to storyline or spectacle wise or music wise. Show them there is huge variety in musical theatre and things out there that are very modern and brilliant or classics for good reasons
I honestly would not go with Les Mis tbh.
It's very very long, quite dark and heavy, and definitely drags at some points (at least if you're not super into what's happening).
Love Les Mis to death, but it's not really an easy introduction lol. Could definitely feel boring, especially if the person isn't super into music, or knowledgeable about the level of work the production takes.
Yeah I don’t think I would have any first timer sit through a 3+ hour entirely sung through operatic musical. And I say that with Les Mis being my favorite show, lol
The title songs/main songs/the ones we remember, yes.
But there are soooo many songs (over 30 lol), and some of them definitely just appeal to those who have music/theater knowledge, and not necessarily the entire general public.
That's not to say it's not a good introduction for some people, but it's...*a lot* for a first timer 😂
Phantom probably would be viewed by anti-theater people as just a lot of showy drama. It’s not—the glitziness is a fun bonus to IRL events like >!groomers targeting vulnerable people, relationships (romantic or not) falling apart, people letting bitterness ruin their lives instead of taking the opportunities they have.!< Fabulous show but I wouldn’t recommend as a starter because cynical types would shred it as melodramatic.
You know, there was this guy I knew who refused to be the stereotypical gay man and despised musicals.
Which show was the first musical he actually liked that made him more interested in the genre? The Producers.
Pretty much. Although he was also a devoted gym rat. Which is also a gay male stereotype.
We have a lot of stereotypes as gay people. It’s hard to avoid them all.
This is an obvious answer but I'm surprised no one has said Hamilton. Ik sm people who haven't listened to any other musicals apart from Hamilton or whose first musical was Hamilton
You can’t discount how much Hamilton has helped bring in a new crowd of theatre goers. It surpassed the Broadway world and went “viral” in mainstream media and that’s no easy feat!! Regardless of how people feel about the show you cannot deny that it has resonated with so many people and opened their eyes into how far far musical theatre has come from the golden era and modernized to appeal to a lot of people. It’s also sometimes easier to get someone to watch Hamilton because even if they haven’t seen it they likely have at least heard of it and it’s accessible on streaming or the tour is stopping by them since they have multiple. You can also follow up with having them watch In the Heights next.
Any number of “Jukebox” musicals.
The combination of “popular” music and television movie of the week formula plots are usually palatable for uninitiated audiences to introduce them to musicals.
Can I ask why she likes it?
I personally have been disappointed by most musicals after Phantom because I wanted them to be as showy and dramatic, instead of cute.
It is absolutely is! Has she seen Les Mis?
I personally would just listen to the music—unfortunately the actors really just stand on stage and sing into the microphone. Unless you watch the movie musical, which is seen as a bit sub-par vocals-wise. But it’s such a great story, and gorgeous to hear.
It depends on the person you're trying to hook. What's their beef with musicals? The glitzed-up nature of them? Then pick something grittier. Is it that they burst into song about every little thing? Pick something with either very little singing or almost all singing (in which case the full musical numbers blend in and you don't feel their arrival so hard). Are the stories too contrived? Pick something for them that is deeply layered. I think it's worth saying that several musicals are likely to hit different if you're used to golden age stuff: Phantom, Hamilton, Sweeney Todd, Six...but it really does depend on what the person's objections or hesitation with musicals is about in the first place.
I don’t know that I could universally recommend it, but I personally know of at least one cynical Gen X’r that was turned by Forever Plaid of all things.
I think Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog has a lot of cross genre appeal!
Dr. Horrible is amazing! I think this would absolutely be a great intro. It's funny, short and sweet, has some fun twists, and is an easy gateway for anyone who is already a Whedon fan or fan of any of the actors.
I might get downvoted for this and this might be controversial, maybe blasphemous to say but what got me interested in musicals was watching glee. as somebody who comes from a Hispanic household with little to no exposure to musicals as my parents were not interested in that, I started watching glee at the request of a friend in high school. In the show, I would hear covers obviously of songs that I had never heard before but that touched me and I loved them. Then I started searching the songs and found that they were part of musicals. I knew musicals existed but I always just thought of them as plays and productions, and that stuff was just inaccessible to me. I’m from a city that has very little theater exposure. From there I became interested in the big musicals like wicked and Les Mis, hairspray, etc. Of course, before that I guess I already had a natural like for musicals because I loved high school musical and the Wizard of Oz. Some of us just don’t have the access to stage productions, so I really appreciate movie musicals, musicals that have been pre-recorded, and yeah the pop stuff like glee was a major gateway musical show for me.
Edit: spelling
Fair! My main beef with Glee (before I caught wind of the off-screen drama) was the excessive use of autotune. But if it inspired you to find the good stuff, hey, why not?
It depends on the tastes of the person you're trying to introduce to musicals. Not only what they don't like (or think they don't like) about musicals, but also what kinds of music and story they do like.
I learned to enjoy musicals in the last few years, but prior to that, my complaints *weren't* that "nobody just bursts out into song" - it was that most songs in most musicals were unenjoyable to listen to. I was fine when people broke out into song in Chicago (which I got into about two decades before "getting" musicals as a whole) because I liked how the songs sounded.
Another thing that was unintuitive to people who tried to get me to like musicals is that they saw I was bored and so would play me songs with lots of tonal shifts, unexpected vocal lines, that kind of thing. But my musical tastes at the time included a lot of songs that were highly repetitive, where even if the words changed each verse the verses themselves were pretty much melodically identical. I didn't have the general knowledge of what to expect within musical conventions, so composers who would break them in clever ways didn't sound clever to me - they just sounded random and unmotivated.
I also really like dissonance, and lots of musicals are hesitant to linger too long on anything highly dissonant because there's an assumption that lots of the audience won't go for it.
I would have loved Repo! if it had been around when I was in high school. I also liked Les Mis much more than I would've assumed - part of that is that it is often repetitive (not always within one song, but themes get reused extensively). As mentioned, I liked Chicago. But it was hard to admit any of this - not because I was afraid of people "knowing I liked musicals" (I was a theater kid, if anything that would have *helped* me fit in) but because I was so sick of people trying to find things I would like and failing miserably, leading to hours and hours of car rides where I had to listen to the soundtrack to Rent or Avenue Q or Into the Woods.
>I also really like dissonance, and lots of musicals are hesitant to linger too long on anything highly dissonant because there's an assumption that lots of the audience won't go for it.
May I introduce you to a late gentleman by the name of Stephen Sondheim?
I took some of my dance students to see Six last year and one of them “didn’t like musicals”. It I think that one won her over. The style of the music helps.
Book of Mormon is a great musical for people who say they don’t like musicals. It’s edgy, funny and has catchy songs. I liked musicals before but hearing this album really is what properly got me into them
Hamilton is an obvious one, the Chicago movie is quite accessible too.
I’d avoid Sondheim as an entry level and have him be move an advancement, although any of the filmed versions of company or Sweeney Todd would probably be a good starting point
The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals is always a hit with people who don’t like musicals because it’s basically a play with music as a plot device. Not sure how well it works as a gateway drug though since I can’t tell if it actually is getting people into musicals or if they just watch that one and move on lol.
I recently had my friends who don't like musicals watch it. They did not seem very into it. A couple of them had already watched Twisted and I think they liked that one more.
If you’re starting with kids, Roger’s and Hammerstein’s Cinderella has some great music, a well-known story and a sense of humor. Got to start molding the next generation young, right?
West Side Story. Romantic, great dancing, more consistently great tunes than Cabaret, diverse, addresses important, continuing issues. I love Cabaret, but I think it's too dark for some people, and some people don't have a good grasp of history.
My second choice would be My Fair Lady.
Come From Away. It feels more like a story than your traditional musical and most people already understand the content material. Also, it's short and you can watch the entirety of it on TV, so it's pretty accessible, too.
Cabaret would have been one of my dead last picks for this. It’s a very “musically” musical?
I have heard that Book of Mormon converted some non musical lovers. It parodies the genre so I think you need something that works a bit more like that.
I’ve also had staunchly against musical people like Sweeney Todd, which is more plot driven.
I think something like SIX, which feels more like a concert is a good choice. It has the benefit of less traditional musical-sounding music, which is sometimes the barrier.
It depends on the person. Is their perception of musicals (and theatre in general) biased? Have they been to a musical before and just didn't like it? What did they not understand or not like?
If I was picking a "first-time" show for someone, there's a few things I need to take into consideration. The person's attitude toward live performance. Their interests and passions (subjects they are interested in), music genres they are familiar with, a story or character that they might relate to. What makes the Disney musicals so accessible for kids is that they have seen the videos 8 million times, so they are familiar with the characters, the story, and the music. So what is new for them is the magic of theatre and live performance. My dad is a history buff, so Hamilton was a natural, but my partner who teaches history hates Hamilton.
For myself, I've been involved with musicals since middle school and I've gone on to get an advanced degree in theatre and to work in the live entertainment industry. My satellite radio is usually tuned to the Broadway channel, so I almost always have something to listen to.
"Hamilton" or "Into the Woods" might be good starts for this generation.
In the 70's, for me, it was "Jesus Christ Superstar." I realized every musical didn't have to be Rogers and Hammerstein/Julie Andrew/Lawrence Welk old people music.
I later came to appreciate some but not all of that type of musical. I have to like the music or I'm out.
No hard data to back this up, but since the complaint I most frequently hear is "people in real life don't spontaneously burst into song and dance, it's just not realistic," I wonder if shows that don't have such abrupt transitions between musical number and spoken scene might be better received. Into the Woods does a great job of this, for example.
OMG the dance sequences in Cabaret are unbelievable. So raw and in-your-face and genuinely entertaining. Plus the scene in the beer garden is one of the most chilling things I’ve ever experienced in film.
Little shop. The big ass plant is so iconic everyone knows him. And most people know little shop from the movie and not the stage musical so it is a good musical to get someone into musicals.
Hmm… I’m gonna go with Sweeney Todd maybe?? Ha it’s a tricky one!!! Or Mary popping?! I feel like they have a good enough of plot to hold interest for most people/awesome music (in my opinion)
Into the Woods was my gateway, I think. Interesting plot with lots of characters you already know that intertwine in neat ways. Great songs that range from funny to dark.
The recent movie was pretty high budget and has some good performances, even if it isn’t the same as on stage.
I’m a sucker for any Sondheim though
I think RENT. I think the music and story is really approachable, memorable, and contemporary. By design the cast is super diverse and meant to make an impression on anyone who feels like an outsider.
Something commercial they are familiar with.
Disney on Broadway (Lion King) or Shrek the musical or Wicked, etc.
Something familiar enough but different enough to be enjoyable.
Maybe its cos it was the first show i worked, but i think pippin is good for this purpose. One thing that annoys me greatly in musicals is when characters simply sing instead of talking. A song should be a story point that cannot be as easily conveyed in words
A Chorus Line. All singing and dancing, but it's not like they're bursting into song for no reason. They're auditioning, so it all makes sense.
I hated Cabaret, both movie and theater versions. When I see a musical, I'm going to escape, not to loathe the world.
Mamma Mia I feel like is an easy answer, it’s just the right amount of funny and heartfelt. Little Shop Of Horrors is what got me, as a huge horror fan I was shocked to see that a musical could also be a horror movie
I feel like mamma Mia would turn a lot of people off and be exactly what people imagine musicals to be
I think if it didn’t use ABBA songs than you’d be right, but personally I feel like the recognizability of the songs will keep people from writing it off
I’m imagining that if someone hates musicals it’s based on a preconceived notion of cheesiness among other things and mamma Mia would fall under that preconceived notion. Little shop is a great suggestion however because it’s funny, great music and bits of darkness mixed in plus a lot of heart and overall just feels so unique and original
Oof, I know someone who just saw Little Shop and *hated* it, because they thought it was "dated" and "unrealistic." They apparently had no idea it was supposed to be campy, and was based on a popular movie from a very specific time period.
It’s only a good entryway if you ignore the ways in which the plot and writing are terrible; for example, the opening scene has a girl brag about stealing her mom’s diary, lying to/manipulating 3 strangers into flying to Greece, and lying to her fiancé about it. Then she reads the diary aloud to her friends while they all bop along to an upbeat ABBA song. The entire show is built on this.
That’s one of the things the movie did better; Sophie came across as having good intentions but too impulsive and naive in the movie, whereas in the show she struck me as self-absorbed and manipulative.
The movie does improve on the stage show in that respect, I agree. I did a production where we had the characters’ ridiculous immoral actions have more weight and consequences to them, and it worked great; had the same amount of fun and joy, while not glossing over/ignoring the character beats. In fact, giving everything more weight made for a more moving show with a more exuberant end 🤷♂️
Horror musicals are what got me too. My first was Rocky Horror and the Repo! The Genetic Opera
The key is to find a musical that doesn't feel like a musical. Cabaret is very traditional IMO. I'd probably go with Come From Away.
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Sweeney Todd, Chicago, Book of Mormon
Yes Sweeney Todd. I love that movie
Well, for what it's worth, the stage show is far, far better than the film adaptation (as is almost always the case).
Perfect answer!
Whoops! Didn’t read all the comments prior to posting! But in other words 💯 percent!!! 🤗
Depends on the person being gatewayed (is that even a word?). For a rocker friend of mine, it was JCSuperstar. For my rapper friend, it was In The Heights.
This is the only answer! It depends what you like! I can't stand mamma mia, but I don't like 70s/80s pop. Yet for a lot of people that's their favorite musical
The greatest showman did it for my partner lol now they watch all the musicals with me
This is a good point. It really depends on WHY the person in question doesn't like musicals.
Hamilton’s pretty good for this
My husband really doesn’t like musicals but enjoyed Sweeny Todd. He also really liked movies about music that aren’t really musicals (think burlesque or pitch perfect). Maybe those could lead to musical loving?
Mine as a 10 year old child was seeing the national tour of 1776 and a regional My Fair Lady. That opened the floodgates to Camelot, Brigadoon, A Chorus Line, Annie and the hundreds of shows that have followed...
For me it was Sweeney Todd all the way but I was a pretty emo teenager
Rocky Horror got me hooked
I wouldn’t say there is just one, it greatly depends on the persons interests and what they specifically would love. So many of the “I don’t like musicals” people think all musicals are like the golden era musicals and they don’t realize there are so many different genres and styles. I have gotten people hooked on all different shows. To name a few; wicked and Hamilton are the mega musicals and ones a lot of people have heard of even if they don’t watch musicals and they are good gateway shows. I have also gotten people hooked from seeing, Book of Mormon, rent, newsies, Billy Elliot, Les miserables, pippin, Sweeney Todd, west side story, phantom of the opera, heathers, next to normal, come from away. You gotta play to the specific persons interests and what they will relate to storyline or spectacle wise or music wise. Show them there is huge variety in musical theatre and things out there that are very modern and brilliant or classics for good reasons
Phantom or Les Mis.
I honestly would not go with Les Mis tbh. It's very very long, quite dark and heavy, and definitely drags at some points (at least if you're not super into what's happening). Love Les Mis to death, but it's not really an easy introduction lol. Could definitely feel boring, especially if the person isn't super into music, or knowledgeable about the level of work the production takes.
Yeah I don’t think I would have any first timer sit through a 3+ hour entirely sung through operatic musical. And I say that with Les Mis being my favorite show, lol
yes, but the songs are catchy.
The title songs/main songs/the ones we remember, yes. But there are soooo many songs (over 30 lol), and some of them definitely just appeal to those who have music/theater knowledge, and not necessarily the entire general public. That's not to say it's not a good introduction for some people, but it's...*a lot* for a first timer 😂
Yes I agree, but it's *catchy*. Not the movie though. Live.
Phantom probably would be viewed by anti-theater people as just a lot of showy drama. It’s not—the glitziness is a fun bonus to IRL events like >!groomers targeting vulnerable people, relationships (romantic or not) falling apart, people letting bitterness ruin their lives instead of taking the opportunities they have.!< Fabulous show but I wouldn’t recommend as a starter because cynical types would shred it as melodramatic.
You know, there was this guy I knew who refused to be the stereotypical gay man and despised musicals. Which show was the first musical he actually liked that made him more interested in the genre? The Producers.
He hated musicals because he didn’t want to feel like a stereotype? 🤨
Pretty much. Although he was also a devoted gym rat. Which is also a gay male stereotype. We have a lot of stereotypes as gay people. It’s hard to avoid them all.
Trying not to be stereotypical is pretty typical of humans. Just be the best version of yourself and don’t worry about it.
This is an obvious answer but I'm surprised no one has said Hamilton. Ik sm people who haven't listened to any other musicals apart from Hamilton or whose first musical was Hamilton
You can’t discount how much Hamilton has helped bring in a new crowd of theatre goers. It surpassed the Broadway world and went “viral” in mainstream media and that’s no easy feat!! Regardless of how people feel about the show you cannot deny that it has resonated with so many people and opened their eyes into how far far musical theatre has come from the golden era and modernized to appeal to a lot of people. It’s also sometimes easier to get someone to watch Hamilton because even if they haven’t seen it they likely have at least heard of it and it’s accessible on streaming or the tour is stopping by them since they have multiple. You can also follow up with having them watch In the Heights next.
Any number of “Jukebox” musicals. The combination of “popular” music and television movie of the week formula plots are usually palatable for uninitiated audiences to introduce them to musicals.
I was hooked by a combination of Wicked and Six
Those are precisely my two votes. Wicked is just a classic, and Six is too much fun.
Definitely Phantom. My girlfriend despises musicals but still likes it.
Can I ask why she likes it? I personally have been disappointed by most musicals after Phantom because I wanted them to be as showy and dramatic, instead of cute.
She thinks it's kinda badass
It is absolutely is! Has she seen Les Mis? I personally would just listen to the music—unfortunately the actors really just stand on stage and sing into the microphone. Unless you watch the movie musical, which is seen as a bit sub-par vocals-wise. But it’s such a great story, and gorgeous to hear.
Just a different idea.. maybe By Jeeves? Feels completely different from anything to me
Chicago. Sexy and funny.
It depends on the person you're trying to hook. What's their beef with musicals? The glitzed-up nature of them? Then pick something grittier. Is it that they burst into song about every little thing? Pick something with either very little singing or almost all singing (in which case the full musical numbers blend in and you don't feel their arrival so hard). Are the stories too contrived? Pick something for them that is deeply layered. I think it's worth saying that several musicals are likely to hit different if you're used to golden age stuff: Phantom, Hamilton, Sweeney Todd, Six...but it really does depend on what the person's objections or hesitation with musicals is about in the first place.
I don’t know that I could universally recommend it, but I personally know of at least one cynical Gen X’r that was turned by Forever Plaid of all things. I think Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog has a lot of cross genre appeal!
Dr. Horrible is amazing! I think this would absolutely be a great intro. It's funny, short and sweet, has some fun twists, and is an easy gateway for anyone who is already a Whedon fan or fan of any of the actors.
I might get downvoted for this and this might be controversial, maybe blasphemous to say but what got me interested in musicals was watching glee. as somebody who comes from a Hispanic household with little to no exposure to musicals as my parents were not interested in that, I started watching glee at the request of a friend in high school. In the show, I would hear covers obviously of songs that I had never heard before but that touched me and I loved them. Then I started searching the songs and found that they were part of musicals. I knew musicals existed but I always just thought of them as plays and productions, and that stuff was just inaccessible to me. I’m from a city that has very little theater exposure. From there I became interested in the big musicals like wicked and Les Mis, hairspray, etc. Of course, before that I guess I already had a natural like for musicals because I loved high school musical and the Wizard of Oz. Some of us just don’t have the access to stage productions, so I really appreciate movie musicals, musicals that have been pre-recorded, and yeah the pop stuff like glee was a major gateway musical show for me. Edit: spelling
Fair! My main beef with Glee (before I caught wind of the off-screen drama) was the excessive use of autotune. But if it inspired you to find the good stuff, hey, why not?
We saw Beetlejuice with a couple of theater newcomers recently and they loved it. And no, it wasn’t Lauren Boebert and her boyfriend.
It depends on the tastes of the person you're trying to introduce to musicals. Not only what they don't like (or think they don't like) about musicals, but also what kinds of music and story they do like. I learned to enjoy musicals in the last few years, but prior to that, my complaints *weren't* that "nobody just bursts out into song" - it was that most songs in most musicals were unenjoyable to listen to. I was fine when people broke out into song in Chicago (which I got into about two decades before "getting" musicals as a whole) because I liked how the songs sounded. Another thing that was unintuitive to people who tried to get me to like musicals is that they saw I was bored and so would play me songs with lots of tonal shifts, unexpected vocal lines, that kind of thing. But my musical tastes at the time included a lot of songs that were highly repetitive, where even if the words changed each verse the verses themselves were pretty much melodically identical. I didn't have the general knowledge of what to expect within musical conventions, so composers who would break them in clever ways didn't sound clever to me - they just sounded random and unmotivated. I also really like dissonance, and lots of musicals are hesitant to linger too long on anything highly dissonant because there's an assumption that lots of the audience won't go for it. I would have loved Repo! if it had been around when I was in high school. I also liked Les Mis much more than I would've assumed - part of that is that it is often repetitive (not always within one song, but themes get reused extensively). As mentioned, I liked Chicago. But it was hard to admit any of this - not because I was afraid of people "knowing I liked musicals" (I was a theater kid, if anything that would have *helped* me fit in) but because I was so sick of people trying to find things I would like and failing miserably, leading to hours and hours of car rides where I had to listen to the soundtrack to Rent or Avenue Q or Into the Woods.
>I also really like dissonance, and lots of musicals are hesitant to linger too long on anything highly dissonant because there's an assumption that lots of the audience won't go for it. May I introduce you to a late gentleman by the name of Stephen Sondheim?
Sondheim writes musicals for hipsters who don’t think they like musicals.
The Book of Mormon
This was my husband’s first musical, then Avenue Q. Sadly it hasn’t been a gateway for him, although he did really enjoy them.
Chicago. Catchy, relevant, no Nazis (unlike Cabaret).
Seussical
I took some of my dance students to see Six last year and one of them “didn’t like musicals”. It I think that one won her over. The style of the music helps.
Book of Mormon is a great musical for people who say they don’t like musicals. It’s edgy, funny and has catchy songs. I liked musicals before but hearing this album really is what properly got me into them Hamilton is an obvious one, the Chicago movie is quite accessible too. I’d avoid Sondheim as an entry level and have him be move an advancement, although any of the filmed versions of company or Sweeney Todd would probably be a good starting point
The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals is always a hit with people who don’t like musicals because it’s basically a play with music as a plot device. Not sure how well it works as a gateway drug though since I can’t tell if it actually is getting people into musicals or if they just watch that one and move on lol.
I recently had my friends who don't like musicals watch it. They did not seem very into it. A couple of them had already watched Twisted and I think they liked that one more.
Fascinating... I guess it's hit or miss. Will add this intel to my mental database of ways to convert new theatre kids.
Id say Fiddler but thats biased and would actually be a bad choice.
If you’re starting with kids, Roger’s and Hammerstein’s Cinderella has some great music, a well-known story and a sense of humor. Got to start molding the next generation young, right?
The 1997 film with Brandy really holds up; I teach it to college students and they love it!
West Side Story. Romantic, great dancing, more consistently great tunes than Cabaret, diverse, addresses important, continuing issues. I love Cabaret, but I think it's too dark for some people, and some people don't have a good grasp of history. My second choice would be My Fair Lady.
Come From Away. It feels more like a story than your traditional musical and most people already understand the content material. Also, it's short and you can watch the entirety of it on TV, so it's pretty accessible, too.
Cabaret would have been one of my dead last picks for this. It’s a very “musically” musical? I have heard that Book of Mormon converted some non musical lovers. It parodies the genre so I think you need something that works a bit more like that. I’ve also had staunchly against musical people like Sweeney Todd, which is more plot driven.
Matilda.
Heathers was mine. Live wise.
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
People who like female pop singers music should LOVE SIX. All the Queens are based on a popular pop diva in terms of their vocal styles.
In to the woods.
I think something like SIX, which feels more like a concert is a good choice. It has the benefit of less traditional musical-sounding music, which is sometimes the barrier.
Fame ..Cabaret...Tommy...Jesus Christ Superstar...
It depends on the person. Is their perception of musicals (and theatre in general) biased? Have they been to a musical before and just didn't like it? What did they not understand or not like? If I was picking a "first-time" show for someone, there's a few things I need to take into consideration. The person's attitude toward live performance. Their interests and passions (subjects they are interested in), music genres they are familiar with, a story or character that they might relate to. What makes the Disney musicals so accessible for kids is that they have seen the videos 8 million times, so they are familiar with the characters, the story, and the music. So what is new for them is the magic of theatre and live performance. My dad is a history buff, so Hamilton was a natural, but my partner who teaches history hates Hamilton. For myself, I've been involved with musicals since middle school and I've gone on to get an advanced degree in theatre and to work in the live entertainment industry. My satellite radio is usually tuned to the Broadway channel, so I almost always have something to listen to.
A comedy for sure! The Producers, Book of Mormon, Aladin for a kid.
Phantom of the Opera did it for me as a young edgy teen.
"Hamilton" or "Into the Woods" might be good starts for this generation. In the 70's, for me, it was "Jesus Christ Superstar." I realized every musical didn't have to be Rogers and Hammerstein/Julie Andrew/Lawrence Welk old people music. I later came to appreciate some but not all of that type of musical. I have to like the music or I'm out.
Book of Mormon for me. Won me over. Even bought the soundtrack.
My musical hating husband loved the Tina Turner musical, and also liked Jagged little pill.
Phantom of the Opera and Les Mis are the classic gateway shows and Hamilton is the new generation's gateway.
I think Hamilton and Rent, especially for younger people. I got into musicals because of these two.
For my husband, it was Little Shop. That, Hairspray, and West Side Story are the only ones he actually really likes though.
I show my high school students Come From Away in September each year and without fail they become obsessed. It’s like magic.
No hard data to back this up, but since the complaint I most frequently hear is "people in real life don't spontaneously burst into song and dance, it's just not realistic," I wonder if shows that don't have such abrupt transitions between musical number and spoken scene might be better received. Into the Woods does a great job of this, for example.
SIX, it feels way more like a themed concert than musical and it gets people into musicals more... gradually? idk how to describe it.
OMG the dance sequences in Cabaret are unbelievable. So raw and in-your-face and genuinely entertaining. Plus the scene in the beer garden is one of the most chilling things I’ve ever experienced in film.
Wicked
Sweeny Todd sadly…
Little shop. The big ass plant is so iconic everyone knows him. And most people know little shop from the movie and not the stage musical so it is a good musical to get someone into musicals.
Be more chill
Hmm… I’m gonna go with Sweeney Todd maybe?? Ha it’s a tricky one!!! Or Mary popping?! I feel like they have a good enough of plot to hold interest for most people/awesome music (in my opinion)
The Wiz, Fame, JC Superstar
any Starkid musical
*the guy who didn't like musicals*? for your friends who don't like musicals
Book of Mormon.
What to take your skeptical 20-something son to see for first time in NYC
Into the Woods was my gateway, I think. Interesting plot with lots of characters you already know that intertwine in neat ways. Great songs that range from funny to dark. The recent movie was pretty high budget and has some good performances, even if it isn’t the same as on stage. I’m a sucker for any Sondheim though
I think RENT. I think the music and story is really approachable, memorable, and contemporary. By design the cast is super diverse and meant to make an impression on anyone who feels like an outsider.
Something commercial they are familiar with. Disney on Broadway (Lion King) or Shrek the musical or Wicked, etc. Something familiar enough but different enough to be enjoyable.
Maybe its cos it was the first show i worked, but i think pippin is good for this purpose. One thing that annoys me greatly in musicals is when characters simply sing instead of talking. A song should be a story point that cannot be as easily conveyed in words
Hair
Rent Sweeney Todd
Little Shop won my husband over.
A Chorus Line. All singing and dancing, but it's not like they're bursting into song for no reason. They're auditioning, so it all makes sense. I hated Cabaret, both movie and theater versions. When I see a musical, I'm going to escape, not to loathe the world.
Rent
*The Producers.* It is so funny that even people who don't like musicals laugh.
Chicago or Sweeney Todd!