17 most-evaluated musicals in Broadway history since 1927

4 أبريل، 2025

With a new stage from John Kander, Fred Ebb, and Joe Masteroff’s Cabaret Now officially Broadway-boundwe look at which musicals Broadway Marquees enjoyed the most. The often produced musical was recently revived on the main stem in 2014, which has greatly marveled or Cabaret is Broadway’s most popular show. Find out below.

A few warnings: If we looked at the entire Broadway history, the list would be overwhelmingly dominated by the works of Gilbert and Sullivan, many of whom enjoyed several simultaneous productions during the early Broadway history when copyright law did not exist and “bootleg” productions were unique. As a result, we started our list with the show that created for many modern musical theater: Show boot. Tone only that appeared on or after December 27, 1927 on or after December 27, 1927 Show boot Opened on Broadway – was considered for this list.

Also important to realize is that the city center during the fifties (now home to the Encores! Concert Series) has offered a number of short summer repetitions of popular musicals, which, although not large revivals, were nevertheless considered Broadway productions. These productions are included in this list.

Read: The most trained plays since 1945

Without looking further, look at the most trained musicals in Broadway history over the past 90 years and learn more below.

Musicals with four Broadway -Reports, in alphabetical order:

17. BrigadoneMusic by Frederick Loewe, Book and Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner
Promoted in 1947
Reviews in 1950, 1957, 1963 and 1980

16. Cabaret, Music by John Kander, Lyrics by Fred Ebb, Book by Joe Masteroff
Premiere in 1966
Reviews in 1987, 1998, 2014 and 2024

15. GypsyMusic by Jule Styns, Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Book by Arthur Laurents
In 1959 promoted
Reviews in 1974, 1989, 2003 and 2008

14. Hello, Dolly!music and lyrics by Jerry Herman, Book by Michael Stewart
Premiere in 1964
Reviews in 1975, 1978, 1995 and 2017

13. The king and IMusic by Richard Rodgers, Book and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
In 1951 promoted
Reviews in 1977, 1985, 1996 and 2015

12. Man of La ManchaMusic by Mitch Leigh, Lyrics by Joe Darion, Book by Dale Wasserman
Promoted in 1965
Reviews in 1972, 1977, 1992 and 2002

11. My fair ladyMusic by Frederick Loewe, Book and Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner
In 1956 promoted
Reviews in 1976, 1981, 1993 and 2018

10. Pal JoeyMusic by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart, book by John O’hara
Promoted in 1940
Reviews in 1952, 1963, 1976 and 2008

Musicals with five Broadway -Reports, in alphabetical order:
9. Carousel, Music by Richard Rodgers, Book and Lyrics by Oscar Hammersstein II
Promoted in 1945
Reviews in 1949, 1954, 1957, 1994 and 2018

8. Fiddler on the roofMusic by Jerry Bock, Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, Book by Joseph Stein
Premiere in 1964
Reviews in 1976, 1981, 1990, 2004 and 2015

7. Guys and dollsmusic and lyrics by Frank Loeser, book by Abe Burrows and Jo Swerling
In 1950 came to the forefront
Reviews in 1955, 1965, 1976, 1992 and 2009

6. Okaa Oklahoma!Music by Richard Rodgers, Book and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Promoted in 1943
Reviews in 1951, 1953, 1979, 2002 and 2019

5. Peter panMusic by Mark Charlap and Joue Styns, lyrics by Carolyn Leigh, Betty Comden and Adolph Green
In 1954 promoted
Reviews in 1979, 1990, 1991, 1998 and 1999

4. West Side StoryMusic by Leonard Bernstein, Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Book by Arthur Laurents
In 1957 promoted
Reviews in 1960, 1964, 1980, 2009 and 2020

Musicals with six Broadway -Reports, in alphabetical order:

3. Show bootMusic by Jerome Kern, Book and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Promoted in 1927
Reviews in 1932, 1946, 1948, 1954, 1983 and 1994

Although Okaa Oklahoma! changed everything for the genre of musical theater, the show built on work Oscar Hammersstein began when he wrote Show boot. Based on the Edna Ferber -Roman of the same name, Show boot The forms of musical comedy and operetta combined to create the first true dramatic piece of musical theater. It also contains one of the wonderful classic scores, which contains songs like ‘Make Believer’, ‘Ol’ Man River ‘,’ can’t help to help the man ‘,’ you are love ‘,’ Why do I love you? ‘ And ‘Bill.’ Show bootThe first revival came in 1936, a mount of the original production that interpreted much of the original Broadway role distribution. A 1946 revival offered a new production with slight revisions to better suit the way musicals were produced by that time. The city center offered two short revivals in 1948 and 1954, after which Show boot was first seen in Broadway in 1983. The original orchestral books and scores to Show boot was lost for decades until they were discovered in a Queens warehouse in the early 1980s. This discovery enabled Houston Grand Opera to make a version of Show boot It returned to more of the original 1927 version. After playing Houston and Washington, DC, this production came to Broadway in 1983. A little over ten years later, Hal Prince made his own review of the show, with elements from almost every version of Show boot—Plus some material cut from the original production. Prince’s Revival, which opened in 1994, remains Show bootthe most successful revival to date; It won six 1995 Tony Awards, including the best revival of a musical and for 947 performances.

Read: If you ever wanted to rewrite Show bootNow is your chance

Alan Cumming and Cyndi Lauper in *The threepenny opera*.John Marcus

2. The Threepenny operaMusic by Kurt Weill, Book and Lyrics by Bertolt Brecht
Promoted in 1933
Reviews in 1954, 1955, 1966, 1976, 1989 and 2006

Adapted from John Gay’s 1728 The beggar’s opera, The threepenny opera in Germany promoted as The triad opera In 1928, the career of Kurt Weill’s wife, Lotte Lenya. The work has become a success all over Europe; when Threepenny opera It was promoted on Broadway and was already translated into 18 languages. The work first came to America as a film, which opened in 1931. An English translation of the play was opened in Broadway in 1933, but only offered for 12 performances. The show achieved success in 1954, when composer and lyricist Marc Blitzstein (The cradle will rock) Write his own adjustment of the show. The new version opened off-broadway in the Lucille Lurtel Theater, with a cast that includes Bea Arthur, Lotte Lenya, Jerry Orbach, Ed Asner and Charlotte Rae. This production was so successful that it moved to Broadway a few months later, where it played 96 performances and then returned from Broadway. The same production returned to Broadway again In 1955, where it remained for more than six years. Blitzstein’s translations of “The Ballad of Mack the Mes Threepenny opera‘s place in the history of musical theater. More than a decade later, another new version of the text of the program was made by Ralph Manheim and John Willett for a turn outdoors Delacorte Theater in Central Park. This production, who plays Ellen Greene and Raúl Julia, was later transferred to the Vivian Beaumont Theater on Broadway, where it presented for 307 performances. The show returned to Broadway in 1989 this time it was billed 3 Penny Operawith another new translation by Michael Feingold. This production plays sting, along with Georgia Brown, Maureen McGovern and Kim Criswell. Roundabout Theater Company produced Broadway’s most recent Threepenny In 2006. Actor and playwright Wallace Shawn (probably the best known as The Voice of Rex in the Toy story Films) provided the adjustment for this round, with a cast involving Alan Cumming, Nellie McKay, Cyndi Lauper, Jim Dale and Ana Guesteyer.

And the winner, with seven Broadway -Revisions:

Audra McDonald and Norm Lewis in *The gershwins’ pgy and besh*2012

1. Pgy and BessMusic by George Gershwin, Lyrics by Ira Gershwin and Dubose Heyward, Book by Heyward
Promoted in 1935
Reviews in 1942, 1943, 1944, 1953, 1976, 1983 and 2012

Based on Dubose Heyward’s novel and Play Porgie About a disabled black beggar living in the fictional South Carolina Slum Catfish Row, Gershwin’s Pgy and Bess was originally considered a folk opera. The writing style was a room for the Gershwins, which was mostly known at Broadway for their more traditional musical comedies. Despite the operative pursuit of the work, they decided to open Pgy and Bess On Broadway, where it played a short run in 1935. Although some of the points were immediately popular – especially ‘summer’ – it did not seem to have been tackled with early audiences. A drastically cut version of the work, produced by Cheryl Crawford, played New Jersey Summer Stock in 1942 and later transferred to Broadway where it played the best part of a year. This production returned for two short Broadway runs in 1943 and 1944. A 1952 production that toured most of the material Crawford in Europe in 1952 played in Broadway in 1953. The piece entered a sleeping period, which was not a major stage in the Canon’s landmark. The first major production produced by an opera business has restored the full original score, including material cut from the first Broadway production. The piece is definitely presented as opera, such as Gershwin’s original vision. The production of Houston Grand Opera dramatically influenced the public perception and opinion of the work, which has now become a true American classic. This production, directed by Jack O’Brien, came to Broadway in 1976, where it offered for 122 performances and won the Tony Award of 1977 for the most innovative production of a revival. A new production that was again directed by Jack O’Brien, but also played new choreography by George Faishon with Radio City Music Hall for 45 performances in 1983, a production that was considered Tony and received two 1983 Tony Awards. A 2011 production with a new book adjustment by Suzan-Lori Parks has famously tried a version of Pgy and Bess It can be fully at home on the musical theater stage. Spoken dialogue has replaced the original recitative of the work, and new orchestrations were made by William David Brohn and Christopher Jahnke to replace Gershwin’s originals. The Pr Oduction’s All-Star Role Division has Audra McDonald as Bess, Norm Lewis as Porgy and David Alan Grier as a sports life included. The production won the best revival of a musical at the Tony Awards in 2012, and Audra McDonald won the best performance by an actress in a starring role in a musical.

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17 most-evaluated musicals in Broadway history since 1927

Role of *Brigadone*.

Vandamm Studio / The New York Public Library

Ethel Merman in *Gypsy*

Friedman-Abeles/© NYPL for the Performing Arts

Yul Brynner and Patricia Morison in *The king and I*

Richard Kiley in Man of La Mancha