What is the best west end musical?
Posted by Impossible-Guest-171@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 44 comments
Having a weekend in London in a few weeks and my wife mentioned in passing that a musical would be nice. So I'm going to buy tickets as a surprise but have no clue which one. Any recommendations? Stick with a well-known one like Wicked? For reference the last she saw was &Juliet and loved all the pop songs. Cheers
johnlooksscared@reddit
Book of Mormon is a good call...but take your broadmind.
Laurence-UK@reddit
Is great but not for the easily offended
johnlooksscared@reddit
Wonder if it ever played Utah?
Itchy_Harlot58008@reddit
I heard they were going to tour around Sal Tla Ka Siti, but they had a rubbish tour manager called Joseph Smitt American Moses who couldn’t find it.
johnlooksscared@reddit
Should have written it all down
InterestingLie2121@reddit
The content is a bit heavy, but Cabaret is one of the best shows I’ve ever seen, highly recommend. It’s a little more pricey than other shows but so worth it. There’s not a bad seat in the house due to the layout and size of the theatre so I reckon you’d have an amazing view even from the back of the upper circle. The prologue/pre-show entertainment is a great experience with the cast playing live music, so I’d recommend arriving early to take it all in.
domsp79@reddit
I'll always give a shout out for Matilda.
LittleSadRufus@reddit
Hands down the most fun I ever had in the theatre.
domsp79@reddit
We were really lucky that we saw the first run in Stratford at the RSC, with Paul Kaye playing Mr Wormwood. Just an absolute joy throughout.
That_Northern_bloke@reddit
Wicked, Les Mis, Phantom, the usual stuff. also Six.
My personal out of field favourites- Back to the Future or Hadestown. Both amazing
Shadocvao@reddit
Hadestown is quality, and I'm looking forward to seeing Six next month for my wife's birthday
That_Northern_bloke@reddit
Just be aware for Six that there's no interval.
LPodmore@reddit
That's because it's shorter than the first half of most musicals is. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but i do wish it was a bit longer myself.
ComprehensiveAd8815@reddit
Cabaret is hands down the best show in town at the moment. The majority of the others are tired dinosaurs that should have closed decades ago. Probably not the show for a feel good night out with the missus though!
The Producers will open soon at the Chocolate Factory and their stuff is always top notch and a bit different from the disneyfied barns in the west end. A pal has just seen the new Starlight Express and enjoyed that very much.
Rhino_35@reddit
Tina Turner is a great matinee and also Book of mormon
NotAProperAccount3@reddit
My top three are Matilda (so much going on with the production and the coreography and Tim Minchen is a brilliant writter), Hamilton (something more contemporary, smaller cast), Les Mis (something classic, big ensemble, the actual singing is top notch).
Matilda literally ruined Wicked for my wife who saw it before and after we saw Matilda (I only saw it after Matilda) and it was just boring by comparison, why are there just two people singing at each other and barely anything else happening! Matilda is like, what happens if you take all the advancements in each element of a musical and put them into one show.
811545b2-4ff7-4041@reddit
"Best" is obviously subjective. I'd say Les Mis. I now people who hate it because it's 'too heavy'.
Lots more.. https://www.todaytix.com/london/category/musical-shows
Glittering-Round7082@reddit
Les Miserables.
Just nothing else like it and I have seen a few.
NoVermicelli3192@reddit
Ask her. She might be just as excited to see her favourite as she would with a surprise to see another one.
Outrageous_Shirt_737@reddit
Les Mis is amazing!
Crab-Turbulent@reddit
I really liked Hadestown, I would recommend it.
ukbot-nicolabot@reddit
OP or a mod marked this as the best answer, given by /u/TheDettiEskimo.
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TheDettiEskimo@reddit
Wicked is amazing. It's what I saw first time in London. Less Miserables is fantastic but I didn't appreciate at the time.
Book of Mormon is a masterpiece (you need have a sense of humour)
Lion King and Mamma Mia are not worth it.
Impossible-Guest-171@reddit (OP)
!answer
ASY_Freddy@reddit
Les Mis IMO has the best consistency for songs, the other big names have 2-3 really great songs but let down by the others.
bishibashi@reddit
Operation mincemeat if you want something a little different, or guys and dolls at the bridge theatre also excellent
PandaBear1882@reddit
+1 for Guys and Dolls. I was in the ‘immersive experience’ part on the floor and that was really fun!
Ismays@reddit
Guys and Dolls was amazing from the seated area. Personally, I wouldn’t want to stand up all the time in the immersive area, but it did look fun!
Ismays@reddit
Also voting Wicked or Matilda.
I absolutely love Book of Mormon and Hamilton (and Les Mis) and have seen all of them multiple times, but Wicked and Matilda have the broadest appeal and feel good factor. Plus it doesn’t matter where you sit, whereas Lion King is best in the stalls.
BackgroundGate3@reddit
Is Kiss Me Kate still on at the Barbican? I saw it in the summer and it was excellent, a proper, old school musical.
Fingerhut89@reddit
If she liked &Juliet, she might enjoy Moulin Rouge and/or Six. She might also like Chicago.
Wicked is always a solid choice.
Lion King is nice, but I'd recommend trying to get good seats as I think the costume / makeup is a big part of it.
Phantom of the Opera is fantastic, particularly if you can get good seats. I think the beginning part with the chandelier sets the tone.
I like Abba so Mamma Mia was fun but nothing special. If she likes Abba then I'd say Abba Voyage is probably a better choice of entertainment.
Book of Mormon is super fun (from the same writers as South Park) but I feel like you need a bit of context for this.
I love Hamilton but, again...you need context before going.
I haven't been but have heard really positive reviews about Matilda.
Impossible-Guest-171@reddit (OP)
Thanks for the detailed response
gandyg@reddit
Les Mis, Matilda or Operation Mincemeat (if you can get tickets, it's very popular)
geeered@reddit
If you want an 'experience' Cabaret is a very good night with more of an immersive feel added to the musical (though no pop songs). Particularly not-cheap.
If on a budget, or as a bonus could also look at Rush tickets on todaytix, but you've got to be quick at 10am and can't be sure you'll get tickets for the shows you want.
AntonioCampanello@reddit
Lion King is great!
Ecstatic_Success_815@reddit
if you like the film, mrs doubtfire was really good when saw it last year
Old_Pomegranate_822@reddit
Six is great, but it's a 1 act show about an hour long, and it's currently touring, so you might be able to squeeze it in after work at home - https://sixthemusical.com/uk-tour/tickets/ - so for London I'd go for something unlikely to tour, like Wicked or Les Mis.
Operation Mincemeat is really good if you like musical farce around World War 2.
Ginger_Chris@reddit
Hamilton is truly fantastic.
Might also want to try Six (so much better than I thought it was going to be when my wife took me), Book of Mormon (if you have that sort of sense of humour), Wicked (safe choice, very solid).
knight-under-stars@reddit
Wicked is utterly fantastic.
Crafty-Warthog-1493@reddit
I love a musical, my partner isn't always convinced. We both loved:
https://tinathemusical.com/uk/landing-play-audience/
songbirds_and_snakes@reddit
Moulin rouge is a good one. Especially if she likes the modern songs vibe.
instrumental30@reddit
Les mis
Accurate_Prompt_8800@reddit
Wicked or Mamma Mia
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