<p>So, whether I end up pursuing formal MT training or whether I keep it as a community-theater hobby, I was wondering what others thought are musicals that every MT student should see. Obviously you have all the classics, like Sound of Music, The King and I, Les Miserables. But what about newer shows? Or ones that are less popular but still important repertoire?</p>
<p>In my opinion, anything and everything by Stephen Sondheim. In addition to the “classics”, I would add anything that won the Tony for its respective year. Whether it should have won or not, knowing Tony winners is always impressive. Also the nominees. That would be a good place to start with more “mainstream” pieces.</p>
<p>You may want to read a good survey work such as:</p>
<p>“No Legs, No Jokes, No Chance” by Sheldon Patinkin
“Strike Up the Band” by Scott Miller
“Broadway, the American Musical” by Kantor and Maslon</p>
<p>Scott Miller also wrote three interesting books that analyze some well-known and some lesser-known shows:</p>
<p>“From Assassins to West Side Story”
“Rebels With Applause”
“Deconstructing Harold Hill”</p>
<p>The PBS Series, “Broadway, the American Musical” (you can get this on DVD) lists the following as among the most important and influentiual of all musicals:</p>
<p>Showboat
Porgy and Bess
Oklahoma
Kiss Me Kate
Guys and Dolls
West Side Story
Cabaret
Hair
Company
A Chorus Line
42nd Street
Cats
La Cage Aux Folles
The Lion King
The Producers</p>
<p>Some other shows that are generally regarded as ground-breaking:</p>
<p>South Pacific
Pal Joey
Threepenny Opera
The Most Happy Fella
The Fantasticks
Sweeny Todd</p>
<p>“Rebels with Applause” notes the following additional shows as ground-breaking musicals:</p>
<p>The Cradle Will Rock
Anyone Can Whistle
Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris
The Ballad of Little Mikey
Songs for a New World
Floyd Collins
Rent</p>
<p>Some of Miller’s other favorite, lesser-known or (fairly) modern shows include:
Assassins
March of the Falsettos
Merrily We Roll Along
Passion
Rent
Sunday in the Park with George</p>
<p>As the previous post mentions, “anything by Sondheim.”</p>
<p>In addition to looking at Tony winners, look at the nominees. Many of them are more highly-regarded than the winners.</p>
<p>My personal recommendations would be:</p>
<p>1776
Caroline, or Change
Light in the Piazza
In the Heights
Parade/Ragtime/Titannic (I am a sucker for Copland-esque scores)</p>
<p>The lists are really endless, there are so many great shows. I would just dive in and see and read and hear everything that you can.</p>
<p>Beautiful list!</p>
<p>I’m going to take a slightly different point of view here and suggest that students who are interested in pursuing theatre should see as many shows as they possibly can, and not narrow them down according to any particular list of most influential, most popular, award winning, etc. Seeing theatre, all kinds of theatre, is valuable to any actor. It’s why even working actors are some of the most fervent theatre-goers I know. I’ll also add that you shouldn’t be limiting yourself to musicals but should also be spending tie attending and viewing straight theatre as well. High school theatre, college theatre, community theatre, regional theatre, national tours, and all that is available in a city like NY, all will make you a more informed actor. It’s sometimes as valuable to see a bad production as it is to see a good one! 
Most theatre majors will have a long list of shows they’ve seen by the time they start college. It’s an important part of any actor’s education, in my opinion, a valuable component of your training.</p>
<p>I agree with alwaysamom - get out and see as many musicals and as wide a variety as possible. Lists are always tough, anyone can take exceptions or pot shots. Just go see a show! A note, if a show is still being produced 30, 40, or 60 years after it came out - there must be a reason - it is probably an OK show to see! Note two, and I hope I do not offend anyone - Sondheim is a major figure in MT - but if you have already seen West Side Story, A Funny Thing Happened, Company, Sunday in the Park with George, Assassins and Sweeney Todd - it is probably OK to see a Fiddler on the Roof, Man of LaMancha, or Book of Mormon - rather than yet another Sondheim. Go see a show!</p>
<p>We just saw the play War Horse and loved it! Such a beautifully done piece!!</p>
<p>This may not be completely germane to the OP, but movie musicals can be a great way to get exposure to the Broadway canon, great stars of the past, and/or some great choreography. Some of them are poorly done, but there are some good ones. They are, of course, not a substitute for a live performance.</p>
<p>To see some great choreography and some great performances, Daniel Cohen and Michael Perilstein recommend watching the following movies in “The Complete Professional Audition:”</p>
<p>Singin’ in the Rain
Brigadoon
West Side Story
Summer Stock
Sweet Charity</p>
<p>Some of my favorites are:</p>
<p>Showboat (Marge and Gower Champion)
Oklahoma, Kiss Me Kate (look for a very young Bob Fosse)
Pajama Game (for the “Steam Heat” number)
Damn Yankees
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (ok, I admit it, I like Fosse)</p>
<p>Caveats: there are, of course, many more to see, this is by no means meant to be an all-inclusive list, I don’t mean that you should use these as a substitute for a live performance, there are revivals done for many of these both on Broadway and in regional theatres that would be great to see, lists have inherent limits which may inhibit their usefulness or provoke disagreement, I am no expert, and, of course, you should see as many movies and shows as you can…</p>
<p>Oh, and watch anything with Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly in it. And anything on DVD by Sondheim :)</p>
<p>I would add White Christmas and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers to the movie musical list - both have iconic choreography/staging (“Sisters”, anyone? :)) The barn dance in Seven Brides is some of the most excitingly athletic MT choreography ever. In addition, White Christmas had four very famous leads, all of whom do what they do wonderfully well in that film.</p>
<p>Going off with what Alwaysamom said: don’t limit yourself to just musicals either! Go to concerts, see an opera, comedies, ancient Greek drama, Shakespeare, sit in on a Commedia performance!</p>
<p>Just wanted to mention, just saw In The Heights live on national tour (which EmsDad recommended) and it was absolutely fantastic! That kind of musical, with such progressive music and dance and such an energetic cast, reminds me why I’m so excited about musical theater.</p>
<p>^^
Sigh, my D made 3 (or 4… I forget) callbacks for In The Heights tour but didn’t quite make it!</p>
<p>Congrats to her on all the callbacks – that’s an achievement in itself!</p>
<p>onstage is right, snoggie, that’s quite an achievement. And it wouldn’t be surprising if they call her back in the future. That happens frequently with people that they obviously like.</p>
<p>I would second 7 Brides for the movies. And also for stage musicals, Chicago and Bye Bye Birdie. Although they are very well known and most if not all MT’s would probably have seen or know about them, I still think they are must sees.</p>
<p>Agreed, onstage! I doubt I’ll ever be in the position to even be prepared to audition for a show of that caliber…</p>
<p>kerrigan and lowdermilk! they are new composers that are really popular at a lot of colleges.</p>