The Bestest Musical Ever - Fall 2008

As regular readers -- and, indeed, my past students -- will recall, every semester I start my first Boston Conservatory class by asking my students to write down the three best musicals of all time. We then tally the votes on the board, and use the list to spark a discussion of what characteristics, if any, these shows might share. This helps establish one of the themes of my course: what defines a quality musical? At the end of the course, we repeat the exercise, to see how things may have changed.

Well, I had my first class last week, and here's this semester's list of the best musicals ever, along with the number of votes that particular show received:

15 Les Misérables
7 Sweeney Todd
6 Ragtime
5 Gypsy
4 A Chorus Line
4 Rent
3 Company
3 Into the Woods
3 West Side Story
2 42nd Street
2 Hair
2 Little Shop of Horrors
2 Parade
2 Spring Awakening
2 Sunday in the Park With George

The following shows received one vote each: Once on This Island, Miss Saigon, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Legally Blonde, Bernarda Alba, Hairspray, Cinderella, A Class Act, Floyd Collins, You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Kismet, Kiss Me Kate, Passion, La Cage aux Folles, Hello Dolly, Grey Gardens, The Light in the Piazza, Fame, The Producers, The Phantom of the Opera, Reefer Madness, Man of La Mancha, The Wild Party (Lippa), A New Brain, In the Heights, Billy Elliot, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Chess, Jekyll & Hyde, Carousel, Jersey Boys, Assassins, A Little Night Music.

There's much more variability in the list than in recent years. This is probably because, this year, rather than have students announce their choices, I asked them to write them down and pass in the papers. In previous years, students changed their choices based on what other people said, so I think this year's list is a more accurate reflection of what the students instinctively like.

So, is Les Misérables really the best musical ever? Well, it's certainly the best of the big British blockbusters, although that's not really saying much. I rank Les Miz #53 on my list of the 100 Best Musicals of All Time. It's an enjoyable show, if a trifle long, and it's unquestionably very popular. Also, it's interesting to note that three of the shows that the students list in their top 15 aren't even in my top 100: Spring Awakening, Parade, and Hair, although I list all three on my list of the 100 Next-Best Musicals. I am considering moving Hair up to my top 100 based on seeing the recent Public Theater production in Central Park.

Every year, it seems, Jekyll & Hyde rears its ugly, derivative head. In the past, I've let it slide, hoping that by the end of the course students will come to recognize why it's an unmitigated pile of donkey dung. But last year, I added a unit at the end of the course in which I address why bad shows are bad, specifically focusing on Jekyll & Hyde, Victor/Victoria, and Carrie. In the end, of course, it's not really about what I think, but I do want students to start thinking more critically about exactly why they enjoy certain shows, and why others suck monkey wang.

But this year, the student who voted for Jekyll & Hyde was not only unapologetic, he also openly ridiculed me for loving Grey Gardens. Let me repeat that: someone who thinks that Jekyll & Hyde is one of the best musicals ever derided my affection for Grey Gardens. Out loud. In front of the rest of the class. Without irony.

I guess I have my work cut out for me.

Comments

[Justin]

I find it interesting that theres a lot of contemporary pieces up there and yet MY FAIR LADY did not snag one vote?? ALAS dont worry Legally Blonde is up there.

and my my my, Chris you certainly have strong feelings towards J&H!

[Steve]

Well, Justin, you beat to me to it -- too bad that My Fair Lady isn't on the list.

I'm surprised it hasn't reemerged, given the recent and, I think, quite successful revival.

[Vance]

That's an interesting list, and most of my top 10 are probably there. My old Top 3 was Rent, Ragtime and Company but in recent years I've rejigged it with Spring Awakening, A Chorus Line and Hair but Parade, and Into the Woods comes close too (I've never actually seen WWS live so I can't count it yet). Basically, I've realised there are a lot of good shows out there still! (and a lot of bad ones too as you noted)

As for My Fair Lady, I saw the revival tour and it did nothing for me except make me think I really prefer contemporary stuff (in general) a bit more.

[Kathy]

I could easily give a defense for their top 9 or 10 choices. Unfortunately there are always plays like Bernarda Alba or Dessa Rose, which need mention, though they may not be anyone top 10 choices. The importand part for you, Chris, is to open their eyes and ears, so their ending lists may have undergone change. I'm listening to Nine on the Sirius station now, and that is a show I came to just a few years ago, and love now. You never know.

[Esther]

Well, Les Miserables is one of my favorites, so I think it's an excellent choice. And I can kind of understand it. The show is quite a spectacle and I'm also guessing maybe it was one of the first musicals your students saw on stage, as opposed to tv or the movies, and it simply had a lasting impact. I know that was part of it for me.

I'd love to see Ragtime. I liked the book and the movie and I'm really interested in the musical version. Maybe I'll just break down and buy the cast recording!

[Katie G.]

Les Mis is one of my favorites, mainly because it's the show that got me into theatre in the first place.

I also see a lot of Sondheim, which I love, but I'm surprised that not a lot of Rogers and Hammerstein musicals were on the list.

[Margo]

I would love to take that class!! I think my top 3 are: Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George and Les Miserables. LOL at your student - would have loved to have heard the conversation.

[Amy]

I give the student who voted for Assassins props.

But, I'm interested to hear - Why do you hate Jekyll and Hyde so much?

[Chris Caggiano]

Amy: What's not to hate? The show is irredeemably awful. The songs are interchangeable: the most well known songs have very little to do with the plot, and could easily be placed in nearly any other show. And the not-so-well known songs are just wretched. Wildhorn's music is passable, but Leslie Bricusse's lyrics are an embarrassment. The sentiments are cliched, and the rhymes are forced. Sample:

Murder, murder -
Once there's one done -
Murder, murder -
Can't be undone!
Murder, murder -
Lives in London!

Ew.

I know Jekyll and Hyde has its adherents, and I wish them well. But, from where I stand, it is a show completely without merit as musical drama. And, yes, I actually saw it on Broadway. Never let it be said that I dismiss shows without at least giving them a chance.

Except for the recent revival of Grease. I simply couldn't be bothered.

[Tay]

Coming to this discussion late: Chris, I was wondering if you require that the students have to have *seen* a production of a given musical (not just heard a cast album or cd) before it can be considered. Thanks.

[ccaggiano]

Tay, good question. For this exercise, I don't set any ground rules. I ask the students to take out a piece of paper and write down the three best musicals ever. Someone usually asks what criteria they should use, and I just say, "Yours." Then we list the shows on the board and discuss what the shows might have in common, and it sparks a discussion about what makes a show good. That's one of the key themes of my course: what elements make a show good? And how did those characteristics evolve over time?

So, although it would be ideal for the students to have seen the shows in question, in doesn't really matter for this exercise. Later, when they write their papers about the most "overrated" and "underrated" musicals, it becomes more important that they have a working knowledges of the shows in question.