3 Broadway Shows You Must See In Your Lifetime
Nothing quite beats Broadway. The beating heart of the nation’s theater scene, it attracted more than 13.2 million people last year – raking in $1.45 billion at the box office.
While new shows are springing up all the time, there are some classics that you absolutely must get round to seeing. These shows capture the essence of Broadway – the sights, sounds, colors and craft that it is famous for. If nothing else, this is the trio you must put on your hit list…
Cats
Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s iconic musical has been given a new lease of life in Broadway – with a stunning revival which began in 2016. The show’s original production first came to New York in 1982 and ran for almost 7,500 performances across 18 years.
Now back by popular demand – with tickets selling well – this captures all of the essence of the original run with a few tweaks. It all makes for a spectacle that rewards repeat theatergoers and people discovering the magic for the very first time.
The story is based on T. S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats and tells the intrepid tale of a team of feline friends on the night of the Jellicle Ball. The characters are great fun and the songs will stick in your head forever more.
As Charles Isherwood’s review in the New York Times put it: “Mr. Lloyd Webber is a musical magpie who can compose soaring pseudo-classical music as smoothly as he can jaunty music-hall-style jingles or jazz-inflected rock songs. His dexterity as a composer has never been more vividly showcased as it was, and is, in Cats.”
Hamilton
Is the hype around Hamilton justified? It sure is. Barack Obama loves it, Beyonce and Jay Z love it, JJ Abrams loves it, the critics love it – YOU will love it.
The show follows the life and times of Alexander Hamilton – one of the founding fathers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury. If that sounds too, dry don’t worry – it’s anything but. This fast-paced revolutionary story is told through a fantastic (and non-Caucasian) cast using witty rap and hip-hop and it doesn’t take much to see why this has grown to be the biggest Broadway smash-hit of the new Millennium.
The story offers a refreshing new look at American values – something which empowered the cast to deliver a clear and powerful message to the watching VP Mike Pence at the end of last year.
The show’s album has become the highest selling cast recording for 50 years and you’re bound to be sucked in by Lin-Manuel Miranda’s music and lyrics as well as the punch-the-air-with-delight plot.
The Lion King
Thinking of taking the kids along for the ride? It can be tough to keep the little ones happy and entertained – especially during the holidays – so something as good as this is an opportunity not to be missed. The Lion King is not just an ideal first Broadway show for your children though – it’s an action-packed production that will blow the adults away too.
The Minskoff Theater is totally transformed into the Serengeti for this award-winning show – which offers a fantastic feast of swooping birds, strutting giraffes and leaping gazelles as the colorful backdrop to the famous Disney story of Simba and his quest to take his rightful place as King of Pride Rock.
The magnificent music – by Elton John and Tim Rice – is among the best ever performed on stage.
The Lion King, which won the Tony Award for Best Musical, is the highest grossing Broadway show of all time and it’s easy to see why. As visual spectacles go, nothing can beat this.