I’ve been on a bit of a roll lately as far as seeing musicals is concerned. I mean not every week or anything (I wish), but I’ve seen several lately and they have been excellent.
Heathers: a black comedy based on the movie of the same name, this one starts with a long and brilliant opening number sung mostly by the Veronica character as she introduces us to everything going on at her school and the main conflicts of the play. One of the weird highlights? Two fathers singing about how they’ve each belatedly discovered that they love “My Dead Gay Son.” Yeah, it’s that kind of show.
Fun Home: another dark comedy, from the pen of Allison Bechdel (famous for the Bechdel Test in movies). It’s set in the museum-like home in which she grew up with her closeted homosexual father, who ran a local funeral home out of the back (which is the “Fun Home” of the title, as maintaining the outer home for visitors was decidedly not fun for little Allison and her siblings). It’s a story of how she came to understand her gayness while her dad never could confront his own, and it’s brilliant.
Big Fish: A really fun take on the movie, which is a much improved take on the book, about an adult son’s attempt to come to grips with his tall tale telling father’s life before he passes away. The musical does the movie justice, and that is a real compliment.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch: If you’ve seen the movie, you owe it to yourself to try to see the musical on which it was based if only to discover that the character of Yitzhak has a much larger role than you will expect. If you’ve never seen the movie, why the heck not? The current traveling version is simply wonderful.
Hamilton: Yeah, it’s this little musical you’ve probably never heard about. No…seriously…if it is at all possible for you to see this show, see it. You will NOT be sorry. It is that entertaining. And the fact that it has rewritten all of the rules for musicals is a pretty good reason too.
I’m sure I’ve seen more, but I’m blanking. I’ll put them in as I remember them. 
What have you guys seen?
