| To see a Broadway play or musical is to step into | | | | classic tale of obsession and redemption, this play |
| a world that envelops you with an experience you | | | | investigates the big questions like right and wrong, |
| cannot find anywhere else. Theatre has been | | | | vengeance and justice, and what it takes to |
| around since ancient times and for good reason. | | | | achieve redemption, while putting a human face |
| There is absolutely nothing like watching the | | | | on the issues. Les Miserable originally ran on |
| actors, hearing the live musical scores and going | | | | Broadway for sixteen years, and is back with a |
| on a journey with fellow theatre-goers. It makes | | | | fresh cast to renew the magic. |
| movies seem like flimsy comic books in | | | | Spamalot is based on the legendary Monty Python |
| comparison. | | | | and the Holy Grail, featuring King Arthur and the |
| Fortunately, there are many excellent shows on | | | | Knights of the Round Table as they face such |
| Broadway and in major cities across North | | | | dangers as the dreaded bunny rabbit. The |
| America today. The following list is the top ten | | | | occasionally eccentric Monty Python sense of |
| plays you might consider attending with a date or | | | | humor is in full fury in this tale, with jabs at |
| a friend. Each one of these delivers an experience | | | | politics, religion, chivalry, bravery, intelligence and |
| you won't soon forget. | | | | the French. There are limbless knights, men in |
| One of the most popular mega-hits of Broadway | | | | tights and a chorus line of dancing divas. Spamalot |
| is Wicked. Wicked is a musical taking the witches | | | | is a favorite of audiences and critics alike, and |
| from the Wizard of Oz and recasting them to | | | | won the 2005 Tony for Best Musical. If you liked |
| reverse the loyalties the audience feels in the | | | | the Monty Python's TV show and movies, then |
| movie. The play follows the women from school | | | | this musical will sure to please. |
| to their eventual fates. The emerald skinned | | | | Chicago the Musical is another famous musical, in |
| Elphaba, studious and misunderstood, and the | | | | this case about a murder trial. The Fosse |
| beautiful and ambitious Glinda, as they move from | | | | choreography is iconic. While the music isn't as |
| unlikely friends to the classic opponents of the | | | | iconic as some others, the odds are that most will |
| movie. The magic lies in the witty recasting of the | | | | recognize several pieces they've heard before, |
| backstory of the Wizard of Oz, to challenge | | | | such as "Razzle-Dazzle" and "All that Jazz." Chicago |
| assumptions and present a tale of friendship and | | | | returns us to the time of Vaudeville, satirizes the |
| love. And now Wicked is touring the U.S., so | | | | justice system and shows us what great theater |
| there's a good chance it's showing in a city near | | | | is all about. Definitely check this show out of you |
| you. | | | | liked the movie starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, |
| A relatively new show called Tarzan, is a musical | | | | Renee Zellweger and Richard Gere. |
| about a baby raised by gorillas as he encounters | | | | Rags to rock to riches, Jersey Boys is the musical |
| humans, and Jane, forcing him to choose between | | | | story of four blue-collar boys who become the |
| his two heritages. Tarzan is very popular, with | | | | Four Tops. It follows them from their start in the |
| many theatergoers looking forward to seeing the | | | | Hood to their apotheosis as one of the greatest |
| Disney version brought to stage. A show for all | | | | music groups of all time, with emphasis on the |
| ages, the search for where one belongs in the | | | | characters involved. This show has really taken |
| world is a weighty subject for such a deceptively | | | | off and become unexpectedly popular on |
| light show. Phil Collins extended his musical score | | | | Broadway. Now the Jersey Boys is touring |
| from the Disney movie into a complete theatrical | | | | America. |
| score. | | | | Mamma Mia! is a musical built around Abba staples |
| The Lion King is a musical about Simba the lion | | | | of the seventies, dealing with a single mother |
| cub and his journey to adulthood and acceptance | | | | whose daughter is about to get married on a |
| as King. A play for all ages, the story of a youth | | | | Greek island. The daughter invites three of her |
| growing to accept responsibility and duty is one of | | | | mother's old boyfriends to visit, hoping to find out |
| the most enduring themes in fiction. The animal | | | | which one her father is. The play is built around |
| puppetry is nothing less than brilliant. If you're | | | | Abba music, but is an engaging story in its own |
| looking to instill a little culture in your child, this | | | | right and is advanced by the music rather than |
| may be just the ticket. And again, The Lion King | | | | providing an excuse for it. This is a play where |
| is showing in many cities. | | | | almost everyone attending knows the music. |
| A disfigured musical genius haunts a theatre and | | | | Rent is a musical that explores poverty, disease, |
| exerts a mysterious control over a young singer. | | | | and drugs in New York City. It's a modern rock |
| The Phantom of the Opera is a modern classic | | | | version of the 19th century Italian opera "La |
| musical, long-standing show and one of the most | | | | Boheme," and is set in New York City's East |
| well known Broadway plays of the era. The | | | | Village. It is a moving musical where young people |
| classic music of the show is one of the main | | | | strive to make it in a difficult world. |
| draws, with more than one piece from this show | | | | Plays are one of the most enduring human |
| recognizable to almost any adult. This is the | | | | entertainments, and Broadway is the big leagues |
| longest running play in Broadway history, and | | | | in an art form thousands of years old. Plays |
| made Andrew Lloyd Webber a household name. | | | | speak of where we come from, where we are, |
| Phantom of the Opera has played in 22 countries, | | | | and where we would like to be. If you want to do |
| 113 cities and to a combined audience of 10 million. | | | | something different and you value culture, |
| Les Miserables is a musical based on the classic | | | | entertainment and enlightenment, going to a |
| novel of the same name, in which the obsessed | | | | Broadway play is something you may want to |
| policeman Javert pursues the prison escapee Jean | | | | experience soon. |
| Valjean over decades in Revolutionary France. A | | | | |