Favourite Musical Theatre Songs 🎼

Hey Internet!

I hope you are doing well today 🌏

Today's post will be very different to my last one. Thanks to anyone who read that, I needed to get some stuff off my chest and at this point, I don't regret posting it at all.

But this is the present, and I have a fun little music related post for you today.

I believe that more people need to get on the musical theatre obsession train, so please enjoy me raving about some of my faves....

I’ve consumed a shit tonne of music over the last 7 months. That isn’t a new thing for me, but I feel like I’ve turned my music discovery sense up a gear in 2018. I was going over what I could write in terms of musical countdowns and quickly realised that there was an Everest-sized mountain of songs that I could gush to the Internet about.

While it’s all well and good to outline which artists made me dance, cry or feel empowered for the last few months, I’ve been feeling something even cooler in 2018.... Musical theatre soundtracks!

One of the things people should know about me is that I am a proud musical theatre enthusiast. I LOVE and adore everything about musicals, and I have so much respect and praise for those talented thespians among us who bring these diverse stories to life in theatres around the world.

I have been OBSESSED with musicals since I was little, and I’ve always loved chucking songs from musicals into my playlists. Just to spice things up, keep things interesting for my eardrums. Classics like Wicked, The Lion King, Les Misérables and even Phantom of the Opera have been known to pop up on my queue from time to time.  Honestly, there are times when I’ve enjoyed musical songs more than my usual Top 40/mainstream songs.

So, to truly show my love and appreciation for musicals – here are a bunch of songs and shows that I’ve been obsessed with recently:

Burn/First Burn (from Hamilton)

‘First Burn’ was the first draft that maestro Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote for the song that would eventually become Eliza Hamilton’s solo ‘Burn’. If you look at the lyrical differences between the two versions, it is clear that ‘First Burn’ was more impulsive, angry and reactive than the more reserved final version. Although I loved Philippa Soo’s delivery of ‘Burn’ on the original soundtrack, something about the more urban instrumental flavour and crazy layered harmonies on ‘First Burn’ packs more of a punch. The 5 vocalists, who have played Eliza on stage at some point, (Arianna Afsar, Julia Harriman, Lexi Lawson, Rachelle Ann Go and Shoba Narayan) showed why they were amazing fits for the role. Their version is guaranteed to give you goosebumps.

Candy Store (from Heathers: the Musical)

Despite the fact that Heathers is a bit of a cult classic, I had never heard of it until one of my YouTube faves Carrie Hope Fletcher was cast in the lead role for the UK production. Through a Google search, I read about the show and loved the themes of empowerment, vulnerability and social politics in high school. I particularly love ‘Candy Store’ because it’s sassy and embodied the cruel power that the 3 Heather’s held as the ‘it girls’ of Westerberg High. Their harmonies are seamless, and there’s this retro diner vibe in the beat that I love a lot as well.

Dangerous to Dream (from Frozen: the Broadway Musical)

Arguably the more measured song of Elsa’s 3 ballads in the show, ‘Dangerous to Dream’ is still packed with plenty of emotional drive and lyrical genius. You can feel the ache in Elsa throughout, as she wants to be able to confide and connect with her sister Anna but can’t because of her powers and duty as queen. I love the wordplay, and Caissie Levy does a phenomenal job of conveying the nervous vulnerability that makes this song so special and important to Elsa’s journey. It’s just so damn beautiful!

I’d Rather Be Me (from Mean Girls: the Musical)

It’s difficult for me to put into words just how much I bloody love this song. It’s such a great moment for the rebellious Janis in Act 2 when Ms Norberry is getting the girls to talk about how they should be treating one another. But I also think this song stands on its own really well as an awesome ode to empowerment, individuality and choosing to be above petty drama. Barrett Wilbert Weed’s voice is perfection for Janis and adding that extra bit of edge and grit. The instrumentation also has this edgy, rockstar power energy to it and perfectly compliments everything else that is going on. 10/10 would recommend you crank this one up!

In A Crowd of Thousands (from Anastasia)

Simple, yet beautiful and strong. ‘In A Crowd of Thousands’ was a turning point in Act 2 where Anya starts to remember who she really is – the lost Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia. The connection between Anya and Dmitry vocally and emotionally is so seamless, and it’s just a genuinely wholesome and sweet duet. Christy Altomare and Derek Klena work wonderfully together on the original Broadway version, and it shows that a song doesn’t need to have a lot of bells and whistles to be powerful.

Mama I’m A Big Girl Now (from Hairspray)

This one makes me smile. I think it does a good job of encompassing the frustrations that teenage girls feel in the growing up process. They’re very relatable feelings, paired with a bright and catchy instrumentation. I love this show, and the 2007 film version was one of my favourite musical films when I was in middle school. But I didn’t find out about this song until now because it was left out of that version. My favourite performance is from NBC’s Hairspray Live; featuring Maddie Baillio, Dove Cameron and Ariana Grande. The 3 girls are so sweet, and the whole vibe is just so fun and exciting that it’s infectious – you’ll want to sing and dance along!

Monster (from Frozen: the Broadway Musical)

Can you tell that I’m slightly obsessed with all of Elsa’s songs from Frozen? This song was the first one I heard after reading about the creation of a stage show around the smash hit 2013 animated film.  Long story short, I was sold after about 2 seconds. While ‘Let It Go’ was an excellent exploration of Elsa’s transition in attitude to her icy powers, ‘Monster’ takes the empowered ballad to another level. Sung in Act 2 when Elsa is contemplating how to end the storm and whether her death will end the winter. It’s lyrically darker and more complex than what you would typically expect from Disney, and I love me some good character development.

Seventeen (from Heathers: the Musical)

In stark contrast to the mood of ‘Candy Store’, ‘Seventeen’ is a heartbreaking ballad between Veronica and her tortured boyfriend J.D. There’s something beautifully vulnerable and intensely relatable about the message of wanting to be normal kids in love and not growing up too fast. The intensity of their connection at this point is powerful, and the soaring melody is really lovely to listen to. Barrett Wilbert Weed and Ryan McCartan do a great job on the original recording, but Carrie Hope Fletcher and Jamie Muscato’s version from the UK production is absolutely breathtaking.

She Used to be Mine (from Waitress)

Although ‘Waitress’ premiered on Broadway 2 years ago, this song has been a very recent discovery for me. But the minute I heard it, I knew it was going to be one of my all-time favourite character ballads. With music and lyrics by the fantastic Sara Bareilles, it perfectly captured the heartbreaking lack of self-assurance that pregnant protagonist Jenna Hunterson was feeling towards the end of Act 2. Sung by Jenna, this sentimental ballad lamented on the struggle of self-doubt and trying to adapt to big changes in life. There’s raw and sincere characterisation embedded in the deeply relatable lyrics, and the strength of Jessie Mueller’s delivery on the original soundtrack takes that poignant sentimentality to the next level.

Waving Through A Window (from Dear Evan Hansen)

Everyone and their dog has heard of this show and its beautiful message about young people and mental health. Ben Platt was an absolute rockstar as troubled protagonist Evan, and this song served to be his power anthem about struggling to fit into society while marching to the beat of a different drum. It’s clever, emotional and achingly relatable for so many teenagers who are living with these kinds of feelings all the time. Songwriting powerhouse Pasek and Paul know how to create magical musical theatre moments, and this is certainly a jewel in their crown.

You Matter to Me (from Waitress)

An emotional moment between pregnant protagonist Jenna and her love interest Dr Pomatter. Although at this point in the show they’re pondering whether their affair was a mistake, I love the message behind the lyrics. It’s important in life to remember how much you matter to the people that love and care for you in your life. Jessie Mueller and Drew Gehling recorded the original Broadway version, but my favourite is actually a version by Carrie Hope Fletcher and Oliver Ormson. Off her album ‘When the Curtain Falls’, their voices complement each other so beautifully and I love the harmonies at the end.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

There we go! I hope you enjoyed that long journey through the depths of my musical theatre picks. I could talk about musicals forever, they are so cool 😍

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Thanks for reading,

Love and entr'actes, Emily xx 🎭