Saturday, July 7, 2018

10 Years and Counting


Because I only realized that today was my 10th blog anniversary at, like, 9 p.m. after a long day of craziness, I had to think quickly to put something together. But I definitely didn't want to let the 10-year marker pass me by, so to celebrate, I'm sharing a list of my top 10 favorite Broadway musicals (along with my favorite song from each)!

1. "Hamilton" - "Non Stop"
2. "Les Misérables" - "One Day More"
3. "Dear Evan Hansen" - "Waving Through a Window"
4. "Rent" - "One Song Glory"
5. "Beauty and the Beast" - "Belle"
6. "Waitress" - "Never Ever Getting Rid of Me"
7. "Something Rotten" - "A Musical"
8. "Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812" - "Charming"
9. "Fun Home" - "Changing My Major"
10. "The Greatest Showman" - "A Million Dreams"

Honorable Mentions:

1. "Anastasia" - "In a Crowd of Thousands"
2. "The Secret Garden" - "Lily's Eyes"
3. "Dr. Horrible's Singalong Blog" - "So They Say"
4. "Shrek: The Musical" - "What's Up, Duloc?"
5. "Mean Girls" - "Meet the Plastics"

Your turn! What are your top Broadway songs and musicals? Leave a comment!

10 comments:

Boquinha said...

I don't even know where to begin to choose a favorite Hamilton song, though of course I love HERCULES MULLIGAN!! :)

You and I have several of the same favorites on that list - definitely that's my favorite Rent song and of course that's my favorite Something Rotten song.

I have a few that differ, though - for Waitress, it's "You Matter To Me." For Fun Home, it's "Telephone Wire." For The Greatest Showman, it's "Tightrope," though it's hard to choose since I love the ENTIRE soundtrack of that one.

Definitely love "Lily's Eyes" from The Secret Garden! Oh! And Phantom - ha, just kidding.

Dr. Mark said...

Great list! Coming up with my own is so tough because there are SO many good musicals. Also, we've seen so many recently that I have to really think about whether or not they are my actual favorites, or my recent favorites. So, here's my list, and many of them might get great rankings because of who I got to see them with.

1. "Les Miserables" - "Stars"
2. "Hamilton" - "Wait for It" (Mixtape favorites: "History Has Its Eyes on You" and "Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story." Love me some John Legend, Common, and The Roots.)
3. "Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812" - "Pierre and Natasha"
4. "Waitress" - "You Matter to Me"
5. "Something Rotten" - "A Musical"
6. "Rent" - "Seasons of Love"
7. "Fun Home" - can't pick a favorite on this one. I really tried, though.
8. "My Fair Lady" - "Wouldn't It Be Loverly"
9. "Fiddler on the Roof" - "To Life"
10ish. "Shrek" - I don't know that there is one that stands out. Anything Donkey is great.

Eagerly anticipating: "Dear Evan Hansen" - "For Forever"
Love it, but it's not on stage: "The Greatest Showman" - "Tightrope"
I think I would really love it, but I've been burned before: "Avenue Q" - "Schadenfreude"
Greatest live performance I saw on TV: "Jesus Christ Superstar" - "Gethsemane: I Only Want to Say"
Love this jazz take on the musical" Dave Brubeck plays "West Side Story" - "Somewhere"

Rebeccah @ The Pixie Chronicles said...

Oh wow, 10 years?? Congrats!! That's awesome! Definitely something to celebrate :)

Can't say I know TOO much about musicals, though I do enjoy watching them when I have the chance! Sadly, my answers are all the super basic musicals like Wicked, Hairspray and Les Mis haha.

Anyway, congratulations again!

Unknown said...

I've never been to a musical. The closest I have come is the movie,"Fiddler on the Roof" which I have seen several times. Favorite songs: all of them, but especially "If I Were a Rich Man."

I haven't been a fan quite ten years, but most of them. I hope to God, many more, because you no doubt will will be a great contributor to mankind (already are!).

Unknown said...

Congrats on your blog-anniversary! 10 years is a big deal!

Sadly, I haven't seen most of the musicals you listed - clearly I need to get out more. :-P Two of my favorite musicals are oldies-but-goodies: Cats, and Wicked. ;-)

CG @ Paper Fury said...

AHHHH HAPPY BLOGVERSARY!! Also 10 years is absolutely amazing?!? I'm so happy for you to have reached this incredible milestone. 🎉🍰 CAKE ALL ROUND.

And I confess I don't really do a lot of Broadway 😂 I am so so shameful. But I like some songs from The Greatest Showman! I haven't even seen the movie yet haha.

Jimmy said...

Congratulations on ten years of blogging! I worry that I still respond to you as the young girl you were when I first started reading your blog, but lately your writing has caused me to realize how much you've grown. Weird how that happens. I mean how everyone else grows older and I'm perpetually somewhere between 17 and 35 mentally at any given moment.

Anyway, you've seen more of the newer Broadway musicals than I have, so a list of 10 from me might seem archaic. But I would encourage you try the music from Big River. "Worlds Apart" is a favorite of mine and I think the entire musical is a little underappreciated. It should be as recognizable as Les Mis in my opinion.

And few people appreciate it as much as I do, but I really like the music from Evita. "High Flying, Adored" and "Another Suitcase in Another Hall" are two of my favorites.

Finally, Cats. What is it even about? I never got it. But "Memory" is a great song.





The Magic Violinist said...

@Boquinha

Hercules Mulligan is one of those names you get the urge to type in all caps, no matter the situation.

I'm not sure how anyone else could choose a different favorite song from "Something Rotten!"

The "Fun Home" and "Greatest Showman" picks were really hard to choose. I almost did "Ring of Keys" and "Tightrope" instead. My favorites might change day to day.

@Dr. Mark

Ooh, true, "recent favorites" can definitely influence a list like this. Those are really good "Hamilton" song choices. And "Pierre and Natasha" was definitely a song that caught my attention when I first listened to it, just because it was so much quieter than the rest of the soundtrack. It was even better live. I can't wait for "Dear Evan Hansen!" "Avenue Q" is one I need to give a try. I was going to listen to it but decided not to for a while since I was disappointed by some of "The Book of Mormon."

@Rebeccah

Thank you!! I find it hard to believe myself that I've been blogging for over 50% of my life. :)

Sometimes basic is the way to go. "Les Mis" is a classic! I need to listen to "Hairspray" still. I liked the "Wicked" soundtrack, but I'm sure it's spectacular live.

@Jesse Porter

"Fiddler" is such a fun musical. My brother and I watched the movie a couple years ago and really enjoyed it. If you ever the get chance to see it live, I highly recommend it!

Many more years of blogging is definitely in my future. Thank you for sticking around! I'm glad you enjoy it.

@Grace

Thank you!! :)

Ha ha, I know seeing musicals can be quite the trick, especially if you don't live close to any, but I would definitely recommend listening to any of the soundtracks I listed. All I know from "Cats" is "Memory," but I do like "Wicked."

@Cait

Ahhhh, thanks, Cait!! It's a little surreal!

It's never to late to listen to something new. ;) "The Greatest Showman" is wonderful. You have to see the movie when you get a break from your crazy busy author life!

@Jimmy

I don't always notice my writing "maturing" until I go back and read old blog posts of mine. While some things have stayed the same around here, lots has definitely changed! I'm glad you've stuck around. It's always fun to see comments from you!

I've seen many on my list, but not all of them! There are some on there I would like to see if I ever got the chance, though. "Big River" is a show I've seen mentioned a lot recently but hadn't ever heard of before. Maybe it'll be my next listen.

My mom loves "Evita." I saw the movie, but it's been a long time. The music is really good!

I honestly have no idea what the plot of "Cats" is." I like "Memory" as a song on its own, but if you were to ask my to name any other songs from the show, I wouldn't be able to.

Anna said...

Yay! New musical songs to try out! I appreciate the share:) And congrats! 10 years blogging is a LONG time and it's so impressive you've kept up with a blog for that long!

The Magic Violinist said...

@Anna

I hope you enjoy them! There are lots to discover. You never know what'll be your new favorite. Thank you! :)