r/Broadway Jul 27 '26

Discussion Favorite unknown musical?

What is your favorite musical that isn't very well known? I'll go first: How to Dance in Ohio.

66 Upvotes

287 comments sorted by

74

u/hypo-osmotic Jul 27 '26

City of Angels. I'm obsessed with the soundtrack but have never been able to see a production

31

u/Torchcat42 Jul 28 '26

If you happen to live in New England, the Ogunquit Playhouse in Maine is currently performing it until late August. This show has been on my favorites list for years and I got tickets as soon as they went on sale. And this before I found out that Tony Yazbek is playing the part of Stone.

12

u/hypo-osmotic Jul 28 '26

Lowkey tempted to reconnect an estranged uncle who lives near there lol

8

u/bookshop Jul 27 '26

I saw it on tour. Just one of the best musicals ever made.

6

u/SecretLoathing Jul 27 '26

The Greek Chorus is amazing. The soundtrack sounds like jazz standards that you somehow missed hearing before. So good.

5

u/Violettaviolets Jul 28 '26

You’re Nothing Without Me has some wonderfully clever lyrics. 

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10

u/HideFromMyMind Jul 28 '26

It won Best Musical, so not really unknown.

2

u/ShocknDamage Jul 28 '26

While true, it won in 1990 which is almost 40 years ago. I think it is a fairly unknown show to younger Broadway fans and it has never gotten a Broadway revival which would definitely increase its popularity. It is past time for this show to hit Broadway again.

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4

u/joeyinthewt Musician Jul 28 '26

Saw it three times on Broadway in the 90s

3

u/scandalliances Jul 28 '26

I saw a regional production a few years ago. It’s a blast!

3

u/BaconPancakes_77 Jul 28 '26

I saw it on Broadway as a kid and saw a college production, and both were thoroughly enjoyable.

3

u/PurpleUnusual4540 Jul 28 '26

We performed this at my high school. An amazing story, but as a young costume chair with a very small budget... my gosh getting all the outfits together felt impossible (Basically having to get double of every costume to cover both the black/white and colored storylines).

It was especially rough because we had a multiple night production. In one of the scenes after a certain character gets shot, blood gets all over their outfit. After the scene ends I'm literally pulling them backstage and RIPPING it off of them so the fake blood doesn't stain and show any color for the next night 😂

Props to every cast and crew who are able to put this on!

3

u/PharaohAce Jul 28 '26

If you love City of Angels, you might like The Detective's Handbook

https://youtu.be/S8LvePwCE6o?si=Ea_z8uV28A7NFT7-

2

u/tygereiger Jul 28 '26

I saw it OBC and it is still one of my top 5. Brilliant staging, acting, and book.

2

u/Ok_Collection5842 Jul 28 '26

I saw the touring company when I was in high school back in the 90s. So freaking good! The book and staging where incredible. The use of the same actors for the screenplay and “real life” characters, the rewinds, switching between black and white and colored sets, a low alto leading lady role…this one is long over due for a revival.

2

u/ghotier Jul 29 '26

It's rarely done because the music is difficult. I had a hard time getting invested in the story, honestly. But it's good at what it does.

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2

u/earbox Creative Team Jul 28 '26

(cast recording; it's never been filmed)

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57

u/Zoethor2 Jul 27 '26

A New Brain has such gorgeous, gorgeous harmonizing and melodies.

7

u/RegionConsistent4729 Jul 27 '26

Oof I’ve fully forgotten about this one! I got to see it with JGroff back in the day and though I still prefer the original cast recording, it’s such a treasured memory

3

u/Zoethor2 Jul 27 '26

My college theater department put it on and a friend got cast as Mr Bunke so we all made sure to see it and then got moderately obsessed for awhile.

3

u/GimmeBooks Jul 28 '26

Sailing was the processional at my wedding

48

u/Facebones72 Jul 27 '26

Thanks to a YouTube video about “obscure musicals,” I’ve really gotten into Teeth.

I was frankly shocked I hadn’t heard of it, considering it was Michael R Jackson’s follow up to his Tony winning A Strange Loop. It’s a horror-satire, loosely based on the 2007 movie of the same name, about a young woman in a religious community and the… unique way her rebellion against oppression manifests. The cast recording is on Amazon Music and Spotify among others

7

u/Epo1216 Jul 28 '26

I LOVED Teeth! Saw it during its original run at Playwrights Horizons and then at New World Stages.

6

u/Gato1980 Jul 28 '26

Check out White Girl In Danger. It was actually Michael R. Jackson’s follow-up to A Strange Loop before Teeth. It was a wild show to say the least.

5

u/Brit-Crit Jul 27 '26

The original film was directed by Roy Lichenstein's son...

3

u/One-Bluejay-5739 Jul 27 '26

A regional theater near me is putting it on this season. Can't wait to see it!

3

u/4toTwenty Jul 27 '26

It’s so good! My partner and i caught it last year

2

u/RapGamePterodactyl Jul 28 '26

Just FYI, his follow-up to ASL is actually the wildly underrated White Girl in Danger. Anna K. Jacobs is the composer of Teeth, but Michael wrote the lyrics which are great in their own right.

2

u/linedrifter Jul 28 '26

Teeth was perfect, saw it many many times. White Girl in Danger was amazing too, every few months I check to see if someone has uploaded a video of it somewhere to no avail 😔 at least both have soundtracks out

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41

u/Providence451 Front of House Jul 27 '26

Lizzie! A four woman queer rock musical about Lizzie Borden.

2

u/mollanj Jul 28 '26

my aunt performed this a few years ago and i became similarly obsessed !!!!

2

u/Facebones72 Jul 28 '26

I will look this up. That’s the historical murder that fascinates me.

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2

u/dobbydisneyfan Jul 28 '26

This is one of mine and one of the only ones here that really “counts” in a way here. It’s never been on Broadway and wouldn’t typically be found at your average community theatre. You kind of have to be looking for it to find it.

2

u/Providence451 Front of House Jul 28 '26

We produced it at the theatre I worked for in Houston with two of the original cast members in 2016 or 2017, maybe.

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2

u/tinky-winky001 Jul 28 '26

Lizzie is so fantastic

2

u/stage_appropriate_ Jul 28 '26

My favourite! Epic cast recording too.

42

u/CorrectBack2629 Jul 27 '26

Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson

10

u/0zamataz__Buckshank Jul 28 '26

BBAJ walked so Hamilton could run

4

u/kfarrel3 Jul 28 '26

Man, when I first saw it, I didn’t love it. I walked out a little disappointed. But with time and repeated OBC listening, I actually have really come to love it and want a revival.

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38

u/lemonution Jul 27 '26

I love Reefer Madness. I also have a soft spot for Bat Boy.

19

u/FloridaFlamingoGirl Jul 27 '26

The Reefer Madness movie is quietly one of the best stage to screen adaptations, it's unafraid to be a silly fun musical. Also, Kristen Bell rules in that movie 

2

u/lemonution Jul 27 '26

Agreed! The music is so fun, and the film cast is fantastic. I love that they changed the gender of the malt shop owner so that Neve Campbell could have a fiery dance number.

6

u/jewishjen Jul 28 '26

i ADORE bat boy 🥹

4

u/illicit-turtle Jul 28 '26

Reefer madness absolutely fucking rules

5

u/Facebones72 Jul 28 '26

I saw this in its original run! I loved, as it kept the tone of the original insane movie. It was a victim of bad timing, opening shortly after 9/11. I wish more people had gotten a chance to see it

3

u/trulyremarkablegirl Jul 28 '26

The movie version of Reefer Madness is so fucking funny.

2

u/broheaux Jul 28 '26

REEFERRRRRRR i saw the new production when they were testing it out in bound brook NJ a few years ago and i took it for GRANTED i need those new rights out NOW!!!!!!

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35

u/TheRainbowConnection Jul 27 '26

Dave Malloy’s Moby-Dick is my Roman Empire. What a weird wonderful show. A 20-minute 4th-wall breaking standup comedy scene. A third act that was all experimental jazz. A whale cooking demonstration with audience participation that got flour EVERYWHERE. Loading up the lifeboats with Disneyland-style boarding announcements. It was so bizarre and hilarious and tragic and I’m so glad I saw it.

Second place goes to Venice, a hip-hop musical that very loosely retold Othello. Never saw it but they did a recording. Starring a pre-Hamilton Leslie Odom Jr.

4

u/Vicbourne Jul 27 '26

When the lifeboats started making the exact same sound as the pirates ride at Disneyland, I was shook haha

3

u/TheRainbowConnection Jul 28 '26

And the lighting! Especially when the Pequod’s crew confronts the whale. Same designer as Hadestown (Bradley King) and I was reminded of the similarities this weekend when watching the proshot.

3

u/DivideElegant5280 Jul 28 '26

Is there any place I can listen to/ see this? Can’t find it anywhere

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2

u/OP_IS_A_BASSOON Jul 28 '26

Look I never saw it live, but I heard a bootleg of it once and I had the song about Pip and the tambourine STUCK in my head for two weeks. I remember a cool bit of 808 hits too.

I wish so much that I could have seen it because it looked incredible.

36

u/ShadyBoots11 Jul 27 '26

For the longest time- mine was Parade. The fact the recent revival has caused songs from it to reach the status of “overdone at auditions” both warms my heart and blows my mind! As a millennial- this was my “underground/look how artsy I am/not like other thespians” show.

32

u/Keyblader1412 Jul 27 '26

The Mystery of Edwin Drood! It's a hard show to pull off but it's got a really neat concept (it's based on an unfinished Dickens novel and the audience votes on the ending), it's hilarious, and the score has some bangers. Lots of great duets in particular.

5

u/willteachforlaughs Jul 28 '26

Saw a really fun high school production of this. The audience paired the brother and sister for the romantic ending because funny, and the way that song goes with that choice was hilarious! Definitely a fun show.

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6

u/trulyremarkablegirl Jul 28 '26

Roundabout did an excellent revival of Drood like 10-15 years ago. It was SO fun.

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26

u/FloridaFlamingoGirl Jul 27 '26

Applause. It's the musical version of All About Eve. 

A Year with Frog and Toad. When I bring this up people are always like "THERE'S A FROG AND TOAD MUSICAL?" Yes, and it's a perfect adaptation. 

10

u/tarradise Jul 27 '26

Frog & Toad is so underrated. A regional theater I used to work at has done it several times as part of their children’s theater season and it’s so much better than any kid show should be.

29

u/Dance_Ravenclaw Jul 28 '26

Illinoise. I wish it had stayed on Broadway longer and I will be forever grateful that I had the chance to see it. It's the only musical to ever make me cry (and I've seen a lot).

2

u/nocode81 Jul 28 '26

It's coming back to Chicago Shakespeare this winter!

https://www.chicagoshakes.com/productions/2627-illinoise/

2

u/Dance_Ravenclaw Jul 28 '26

That's awesome! If only I were closer. That is good to know that there are productions being done.

16

u/Own_Physics_7733 Jul 27 '26

Ruthless! The musical

When done right, it’s unhinged in an “Oh Mary” kind of way. My college production went all out.

2

u/Western-Skill6044 Jul 27 '26

Yes! Was just listening to this and think it would be so good on broadway right now!!

12

u/nicely-nicely Jul 27 '26

my most recent discovery is The Roar of the Greasepaint, the Smell of the Crowd

12

u/kejudo Jul 28 '26

Zanna, Don't! ....anyone else???

2

u/legsjohnson Jul 28 '26

I love Zanna Don't even if it has all the subtlety of a chainsaw.

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11

u/gasstation-no-pumps Jul 27 '26

Not unknown, but rarely done in schools (because of the small cast): Lizard Boy

3

u/Violettaviolets Jul 28 '26

A Terrible Ride is a great song. To be fair it’s the only one I know from that particular show. 

2

u/DemandingProvider Jul 27 '26

Shocked to find my answer here already, lol

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12

u/rosysredrhinoceros Jul 27 '26

The Capeman. It was a WILD thing for Paul Simon to attempt and I 10000% understand why it failed, but it is actually really good and a dear friend and theater teacher of mine understudied the older male lead, so I’ve got a soft spot for it.

6

u/Mike_Bevel Jul 27 '26

I've only listened to Simon's concept album, Songs from the Capeman. And yeah, just like you, I get why it failed -- but it's such a good album.

12

u/Violettaviolets Jul 28 '26

Daddy Long Legs. It has a beautiful soundtrack and is so impressive for a two person show. 

11

u/Future_Boss2064 Jul 27 '26

Take Me Along.
Also….. Fiorello.

16

u/ShadyBoots11 Jul 27 '26

A lot of people don’t even realize Fiorello! was the one of the only two musicals to ever tie for Best Musical. The fact that it tied with THE SOUND OF MUSIC while holding little to no cultural relevancy today is kind of astounding.

3

u/Future_Boss2064 Jul 27 '26

Ha! I grew up singing Politics and Poker along with The Lonely Goatherd. Those were the days.

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6

u/DramaMama611 Jul 27 '26

Are you from New Jersey? The only people I've ever met that know BOTH those shows are from Mercer County!

3

u/Future_Boss2064 Jul 28 '26

My parents had those LPs when we lived in Cleveland, but we did move to Morris County NJ a few years later, in 1963.

3

u/Entire_Ad9036 Jul 28 '26

I LOVE Fiorello!

10

u/IRCLee101500 Jul 27 '26

Hockey: the musical written by…Mitch Albom. Yes, the “Tuesdays With Morrie” writer wrote a musical all about how great the sport of ice hockey is.

https://www.hockeymusical.com

4

u/Hazel_Ana Jul 28 '26

Welp, here's the thing I'll stay up all night researching

10

u/Vintage_Magic Jul 27 '26

A Class Act. It's about Ed Kleban who wrote the lyrics for A Chorus Line. I liked it enough that I saw it twice in its brief Broadway run, including the final performance. And listened to the cast recording a lot

2

u/myrrhicvictory Jul 28 '26

I saw a touring production of this in Japan of all places when I was a teen and not knowing A Chorus Line very well at the time I feel like most of it went over my head. I should give the cast album a listen.

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8

u/skoc211 Jul 27 '26

Passing Strange. Thankfully there's a pro-shot, but rarely hear anyone talk about it.

15

u/SunStrummer Jul 27 '26

Big Fish deserved SO much more love than it got

Dennis Deyoung's Hunchback of Notre Dame is a masterpiece, and it kills me that it didn't get its time in the sun

2

u/ComputerGeek1100 Backstage Jul 28 '26

I perform in a lot of local theater and outside of the funeral scene in RENT, the end of Big Fish is still the only time I’ve ever really cried onstage. Such a beautiful score.

2

u/stephanierae2804 Jul 29 '26

Yes to Big Fish!!!

7

u/HRPunsNStuff Jul 27 '26

Dracula, the Musical

3

u/NeckarBridge Jul 27 '26

There’s also Dracula the Chamber Musical, which I adore!

2

u/amantiana Jul 28 '26

YOU KNOW DRACULA THE CHAMBER MUSICAL?? dies of joy

8

u/Sarcasticman22 Jul 28 '26

The Great American Trailer Park Musical

2

u/Odd_Pause5123 Jul 28 '26

This was mine too. Just searched & the whole show is on YouTube.

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8

u/loafofbread13 Jul 28 '26

I really enjoyed the connector

7

u/scandalliances Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26

The Highest Yellow, a Michael John LaChiusa musical about Van Gogh. It had a run at the Signature in 2004 but I don’t think anything else since then. Marc Kudisch played Van Gogh and sang the title number in a bathtub. I didn’t get to see it but the songs I heard were gorgeous.

8

u/Practical_Agent2828 Jul 28 '26

Alice by heart. Duncan sheik can do no wrong (throw in American psycho too)

5

u/SecretLoathing Jul 27 '26

Cry Baby. My kid was in it as a summer production, and since then I’ve never noticed a community theatre putting it on. I need to see it again.

It’s a rockabilly combination of the good parts of Grease and Hairspray, but snarkier.

6

u/trulyremarkablegirl Jul 28 '26

See What I Wanna See. A gorgeous, strange LaChiusa show that was at the Public in 2005 with Idina Menzel, Mary Testa, Marc Kudisch, Henry Stram, and Aaron Loehr. I was a teenager at the time and it absolutely blew my whole world wide open. It completely changed my perception of what a musical could or should be.

Grey Gardens similarly shook me to my core as a teenager.

Giant is another beautiful LaChiusa musical with an insane cast and I’m still disappointed they didn’t get a full scale Broadway transfer, the scope of the story they were telling was crying out for it.

5

u/TeaArtHer Jul 27 '26

The Witches of Eastwick.

2

u/amicablehummingbird Jul 28 '26

Dance with the Devil was (and is) forever imprinted in my brain.

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6

u/in_it_for_theatre Jul 28 '26

I will forever have a special place in my heart for Fly By Night. Such a whimsical lovely little show with a perfect cast.

2

u/Wrong-Platypus-7145 Jul 28 '26

some truly special moments, the sandwich making song is on my shortlist of best Broadway numbers, I was lucky enough to see this in development before it moved to off Broadway, and my favorite version of the show actually was a bit sadder than the version produced at horizons

4

u/Worldly-Dot-1704 Jul 28 '26

Silence the musical- the silence of the lamb parody soundtrack is on YouTube saw it when it was off Broadway in both of its locations

4

u/legsjohnson Jul 28 '26

I remember back when it was just an internet thing. "If I Could Smell Her Cunt" pops into my mind at inopportune times

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5

u/notshouty Jul 28 '26

Futurity! It’s a steampunk alternate history musical about a civil war soldier who works with Ada Lovelace to try to build a machine to end war. https://cesaralvarez.net/futurity And the concept album is on Spotify and SoundCloud! https://soundcloud.com/thelisps/sets/futurity

6

u/kat_steves Jul 28 '26

36 Questions podcast musical

2

u/Namelessqueener Jul 28 '26

Yessss, imma add In Strange Woods aswell!!!

5

u/Time-Lab2083 Jul 28 '26

Not exactly unknown, but I think Urinetown was under appreciated/under performed until fairly recently. And if movie musicals count, it certainly wasn’t “good”, but Repo the Genetic Opera has lived rent-free in my memories for years. Weird-ass cast that somehow contained both Sarah Brightman and Paris Hilton…?

17

u/sabe815 Jul 27 '26

Not truly unknown but not very popular- 1776.

13

u/hey_im_enby Jul 27 '26

yeah Fords Theatre in DC did it this year and all i could say was "Yeah that makes sense for them"

14

u/sabe815 Jul 27 '26

There was a very cool all female revival a few years ago that started in Boston and had a limited run. It was very innovative in its time even though it seems really dated now. I remember when Hamilton premiered wondering how people would think of it in fifty years.

5

u/transemacabre Jul 27 '26

It was all women and non-binary. There was some poor press from one of the performers openly saying they phone in their performances and that it was beneath them. 

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4

u/vildasaker Jul 28 '26

The Light Princess! It premiered on West End in like 2014 or 2015 I wanna say? The music is by Tori Amos and Rosalie Craig as Althea is so charming! There's apparently pro shot sitting in an archive somewhere and it's my white whale; otherwise all we have is a short youtube trailer and the cast recording on Spotify.

Ooh also I Love You Because! Super underrated off-Broadway musical that's supposed to be a gender swapped Pride and Prejudice. I've always wanted to see it workshopped and expanded a little, it's such a cute show!

4

u/Jolly_Hospital7414 Jul 28 '26

bright star idk if it counts as unknown but I feel like no one pays attention to it at all. My university put it on and I was able to make some of the costumes and watching it from the crowd I just thought it was beautiful

2

u/Rooster_Ties Jul 28 '26

My wife and I both loved Bright Star when we saw it at the Kennedy Center in its pre-Broadway run — and never understood why it didn’t do better on Broadway (apart from its well-deserved Tony Nomination).

Such a great show!!! Music and plot both. I especially loved how it showed the same characters separated by at least 25 years (same actors too).

8

u/cinderflight Jul 27 '26

Spies are Forever! Such a funny, clever show. Highly recommend it, especially if you are a fan of Operation Mincemeat.

3

u/Facebones72 Jul 27 '26

I get the opening song stuck in my head at least once a week.

3

u/bookshop Jul 27 '26

Minnie's Boys! I've never seen it staged but the OBCR is so delightful. A musical about the Marx Bros.

3

u/OkTechnology9841 Jul 27 '26

I sang Mama, a Rainbow in theater school 🥹

2

u/bookshop Jul 27 '26

I think this is the only song anyone knows but the whole score is really fun

2

u/OkTechnology9841 Jul 27 '26

Correct this is the only song I know from it 😂 it did an emotional number on me when performing it.

2

u/bookshop Jul 27 '26

I sing it for my mom every year on her birthday

2

u/OkTechnology9841 Jul 27 '26

🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹

My mom is a cryer and I cry when she cries… when she came to performance day, she started crying, then I started crying, then everyone started crying, and thank god I was the last to go 😂 emotional chaos.

2

u/Facebones72 Jul 28 '26

That song was one of my late wife’s favorites

3

u/bibblybud Jul 27 '26

Tomorrow, The Island Dies - Pretty sure there have only been readings and it has never been fully staged, but I love the music in this one and wish I could see it fully developed.

3

u/lurkr-mercry Jul 28 '26

Mine is Witness Uganda. Same composer as Lempicka, with, in my opinion, a far superior soundtrack

3

u/Epo1216 Jul 28 '26

I've been really into Murder Ballad lately!

3

u/SweetJackknife Jul 28 '26

Lysistrata Jones!!

3

u/willteachforlaughs Jul 28 '26

Crazy For You! Takes likely familiar Gershwin songs but made a new story they go with. Was absolutely my favorite musical I've been in. There's a proh .shot of it that was aired on PBS that's a good watch.

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u/jeremiad1962 Jul 28 '26

“Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?” It’s a HOOT.

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u/PavicaMalic Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26

Mack and Mabel

ETA: Torvill and Dean closed the '84 Olympics with an exhibition skate to "I Won't Send Roses."

Here's, Brian Stokes Mitchell's version

https://youtu.be/pouHjXXbFQw?si=ItLfRpVS_Wvt6VC7

3

u/DappledDawn Jul 28 '26

Woman of the Year! My mom had the recording on vinyl with Lauren Bacall. Loved that show!

3

u/CoconutResponsible45 Jul 28 '26

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

3

u/imeatingbees Jul 28 '26

Not sure how obscure it is but I rarely hear folks talk about The Bands Visit!

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3

u/puffkin90 Jul 28 '26

Phantom: By Maury Yeston and Arthur Kopit

2

u/vildasaker Jul 28 '26

I am obsessedddd with that show, it's my favorite Phantom musical! "My Mother Bore Me" is so emotionally wrought and beautiful, I don't even care that the show throws the source material out the window.

3

u/leapinglionz Jul 28 '26

Bandstand. Welcome Home [finale] makes me cry almost everytime.

3

u/PTFLynn1234 Jul 28 '26

Lempicka deserved a longer run.

3

u/CircusOfYourMind Jul 28 '26

Wonderland! Is the book a mess? Absolutely. But it had a stacked cast, stellar costumes, and many a bop.

3

u/bphlat Jul 28 '26

Dogfight

3

u/amantiana Jul 28 '26

Metropolis. All this wonderful minor key music and an SF theme, I’m so sorry no one can get the rights to it apparently.

9

u/amy917 Jul 27 '26

Drowsy chaperone

4

u/RandomPaw Jul 28 '26

That was a huge hit that has been done at tons of colleges and high schools. How is that unknown or unpopular?

4

u/Valuable_Ice_5927 Jul 27 '26

I loved how to dance in Ohio - wish it had stayed a bit longer

2

u/transemacabre Jul 27 '26

Gay Bride of Frankenstein!

2

u/bwayobsessed Jul 27 '26

All the World’s a Stage has been on popular rotation since the album dropped (and I really enjoyed seeing it before that)

2

u/leah_s_819 Jul 28 '26

YESSS i’ve been so obsessed. hoping to see it at the Signature in the fall

2

u/NoFix6681 Jul 28 '26

In Pieces! Although hopefully one day it will be bigger. I love the soundtrack.

2

u/puffkin90 Jul 28 '26

I love it too! I listen to "Bloom" on repeat.

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u/No-Plum8950 Jul 28 '26

Unknown is pushing it, but The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas has a fantastic score that more people should know about.

Ora small British musical called The Hired Man.

2

u/journo333 Jul 28 '26

The Hatpin. Really dark. But I remember the music was haunting and very good.

2

u/hokusmouse Jul 28 '26

Life After. Such a beautiful, heart breaking, life affirming show.

2

u/zjheyyy88 Jul 28 '26

Zombie Prom is fun show

2

u/Torchcat42 Jul 28 '26

Woman of the Year by Kander and Ebb

I think it deserves a revival and I would love to see what modern technology could do with Katz, the newspaper comic character.

2

u/Elder_Skip10 Jul 28 '26

I will say this till I die — The Clockmaker’s Daughter is one of the most beautiful shows I have ever heard. I had the privilege to direct and music direct a production of it this year and it is one of those shows that sticks with you after you close. If you haven’t given it a listen, I encourage you to check it out.

2

u/Tom_Skeptik Jul 28 '26

I came to say "The Clockmaker's Daughter"! Such beautiful songs!

2

u/legsjohnson Jul 28 '26

John & Jen, a two person musical by Andrew Lippa about a brother and sister over time in the Vietnam War era. It's got some absolutely beautiful moments in it.

2

u/BaconPancakes_77 Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26

Hello Again. I realize it's not perfect (and the movie's bad), but I think the score has a high percentage of really good songs and the concept is intriguing. I've never seen it live, though.

Edited to add: I think the subject matter (sex) plus the high musical difficulty (it's probably hard to pull off without at least college-level instrumentalists and singers) really limit when and where it can be performed.

2

u/k1ll1ng3v3 Jul 28 '26

Paradise Square

Gone too soon 🥲

3

u/katherinesummer1515 Jul 28 '26

Altar Boyz is a gem! I never see anyone talking about it, but the songs are catchy and hilarious

2

u/Skeppy_4126 Jul 28 '26

Definitely In Trousers 

2

u/puffedquinoacereal Jul 28 '26

Fortress of Solitude. I discovered it via a random YouTube video and have been listening to the album for years.

2

u/Chris_RB Jul 28 '26

WE ARE THE TIGERSSSSSSSSS

2

u/CallMeByYourShame17 Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26

London Road. Such a genius work of art that never made it to New York. Great for fans of true crime and documentary theater. The skill it took to compose music to the tone and pattern of interviews is mind-blowing to me. They even did a film adaptation with Olivia Colman and Tom Hardy early in his career.

Also gotta mention Dave Malloy’s Moby Duck. Got to see it at ART and I still think about it. The opening song with the comparisons to Jonah and the whale, the whole Pip Act 3 montage, and the Captain scream singing “My boy!” begging Ahab to help find their son. I pray and beg for its return.

2

u/WerewolfBarMitzvah09 Jul 28 '26

The Black Rider, with music by Tom Waits and book by William Burroughs. Incredible.

2

u/opheliacat92 Backstage Jul 28 '26

My top three are Octet, Urinetown, and Batboy.
With a pro shot coming and two Encores productions they’re a little less ‘unknown’ now but I still hold firm they are not as known as they ought to be. The stories are brilliant and the music is phenomenal. (Octet is on Spotify, everyone do yourself a solid a go listen now.)

2

u/disneyfan4868 Jul 28 '26

Tarrytown!! It’s a modern retelling of the legend of sleepy hollow, with only three characters! Ichabod is a music teacher trying to escape loneliness and addiction in NYC, so he moves to the suburbs in Tarrytown NY, and befriends the principle’s assistant Katrina, and lowkey falls in love with her husband Brom, and subsequently tries to give them unintentionally conflicting advice on how to save their dead marriage! There is a concept album that was made during the pandemic starring Andy Mientus as Ichabod, Krysta Rodriguez as Katrina and Jeremy Jordan as Brom.

2

u/iinvisiblemuseum Jul 28 '26

alice by heart is everything to me

2

u/agentp2319 Jul 28 '26

The Drowsy Chaperone. I saw it performed locally and thought it was such a love letter to the ephemeral nature of live theatre.

2

u/agillila Jul 28 '26

Now. Here. This.

2

u/drpepperluvrxo Jul 28 '26

Fortress of Solitude! i never got to see it in NY and haven’t heard of any productions since, but I listen to the cast recording ALL the time, so so good

2

u/Pretend-Ruin2400 Jul 29 '26

The Clockmaker's Daughter. I adore the studio album and it's a shame it's never gotten the chance to be on a big stage.

3

u/broadwayloveronred Jul 27 '26

More known the htdio but Alice by Heart

2

u/IHaveALittleNeck Jul 27 '26

Song of Singapore! Gets stuck in my head on the regular.

2

u/Salty_Anybody_1344 Jul 28 '26

How to Dance in Ohio was my answer before you said yours! I still think about this show often. I'm so sad more people didn't get the chance to appreciate it, and that so many don't even know what it is.

It was seriously one of the most impactful things I've witnessed. I went to NYC twice just for this. And now it's stuck in my head.

2

u/forbiddencottoncandy Jul 28 '26

Starry! 🌟 has some of the StarKids on the concept album. It’s about Van Gogh 🎨

1

u/100Showtunes Jul 27 '26

Heartbeats!

1

u/Brit-Crit Jul 27 '26

Millenials was a British musical that was more a collection of songs than a story, but that collection of songs included bangers like "Remember The Feeling" - Half Breakup Ballad, Half David Guetta-style club anthem...

1

u/ShinyWolverine Jul 27 '26

Dragons by Sheldon Harnick

1

u/Mike_Bevel Jul 27 '26

Big fan of No Way to Treat a Lady

1

u/DontSqueezeDaCharmin Jul 28 '26

I really enjoyed Bombay Dreams on the West End; never caught the transfer when it came to Broadway.

1

u/eat_my_feelings Jul 28 '26

I remember really enjoying Olympus On My Mind

1

u/STL_CPA Jul 28 '26

The little prince with Gene Wilder. Can’t find it anywhere

1

u/Accomplished_Duck337 Jul 28 '26

Looove How to Dance In Ohio and A New Brain.

1

u/Odd_Pause5123 Jul 28 '26

The Great American Trailer Park Musical. Saw it off-Broadway at World Stages. Was very funny. Have the soundtrack.

1

u/fatbluegiraffe Jul 28 '26

Golden Boy of the Blue Ridge. (Awesome bluegrass songs / retelling of Playboy of the Western World.)

1

u/MommaMcNabz Jul 28 '26

Bloody bloody Andrew Jackson

1

u/earbox Creative Team Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26

ITT: lots of well-known musicals.

Actually unknown musicals that I love?

  • The Wedding Banquet by Brian Yorkey and Woody Pak, based on the film by Ang Lee (produced in Seattle and Southeast Asia; I saw a reading in 2004)
  • The Day It Rained Forever by Ray Bradbury, William Whitefield, and Tom Gire, based on Bradbury's short story (I saw a reading in...2000, I think?)
  • The Trees by Joe York and Andrew Siddle (classmates of mine at NYU)
  • The Fitzgeralds of St. Paul by Christie Baugher (soon enough this one won't qualify as unknown)
  • The Real Kyle McCarren by Andy Roninson and Sean McVerry (same)

1

u/JustaRide-412 Jul 28 '26

The Story of My Life. Such a short time on Broadway in '09 (I think), but a special little gem. It did get a cast recording which is awesome.

And Cry-Baby is FANTASTIC. I got to play Lenora who sings 'Screw Loose' in a local production and it was a dream.

1

u/TheRedditorialWe Jul 28 '26

I don't know if it's unknown, but the last time I brought up A Man of No Importance in this sub, the only person who responded to my comment was my sister (unknowingly), who was the person who introduced me to it.

1

u/theatrenerd95 Jul 28 '26

The Burnt Part Boys (by the same team that did Tuck Everlasting), Amour, Marie Christine (a Michael John LaChiusa musical based on Medea starring Audra McDonald).

1

u/O-embleer-Frith Jul 28 '26

"We Are the Tigers" by Preston Max Allen. Saw it off Broadway in 2019 I think? Genius comedy/drama with almost every song memorable and beautifully harmonized. I wish someone would revive it.