So it’s been just about a year since Hamilton: An American Musical really, absolutely blew up. The rap musical by the gifted Lin-Manuel Miranda tells the story of one of the American Founding Fathers, Alexander Hamilton. The show is celebrated for its diverse cast, phenomenal music, and Jonathan Groff (you might remember him from the Glee days as Jesse, Rachel’s bad boy with the great hair). But now, slowly but surely, Hamilton’s tracks are migrating out of your Top 25 Most Played playlist and the days where you dutifully only played that album are becoming a thing of the past. How do you fill the Lin-Manuel shaped hole in your heart? These shows might do the trick:
In the Heights
Surprise! More Lin! In the Heights was Lin’s very first show on Broadway and is notable in its own right. The music is complex and beautiful, and the story he weaves is as masterful as ever. (Psst! Lin wrote a 15-minute musical for the popular podcast This American Life entitled 21 Chump Street. Coming in at only 15 minutes, it’s worth playing the whole thing in one shot!)
Suggested listening: “Breathe”, “Blackout”, “Champagne”
Heathers
Think Mean Girls with murder. This musical, based off of the 80s cult classic of the same name, has driving, rock-based numbers with amazing harmonies. If you liked Hamilton mostly for the way that Lin blended voices like he was painting through sound, you’ll love this show.
Suggested listening: “Beautiful”, “Fight for Me”, “Dead Girl Walking”
The Last Five Years
Hamilton makes a sly reference to this show in the song “Say No To This”. The story is told beautifully both end-to-beginning (from the female lead, Cathy’s, perspective) and beginning-to-end (from the male lead, Jamie’s, perspective). It’s an emotional investment but it’s worth the payoff.
Suggested listening: “See, I’m Smiling”, “If I Didn’t Believe in You”, “Nobody Needs to Know”
Something Rotten
For all the Shakespeare fans out there: this show imagines a darker side to what Billy Shakes was actually like. Using humour and wit, time travel, and the magnificent Christian Borle (Emmett from Legally Blonde: The Musical), you’ll be humming along in no time.
Suggested listening: “God, I Hate Shakespeare”, “A Musical”, “Will Power”
The Classics
It would be remiss of me to not mention the classics: Wicked, The Music Man, Phantom of the Opera, Rent, Singing in the Rain… Shows you might’ve heard before but never actually given a listen to. Now is as good a time as any! Many of these shows helped to pave the way for the musicals that we have now, and some of their peppier songs may soothe your feels-saturated soul.
Suggested listening: “Take Me or Leave Me” from Rent, “Goodnight My Someone” from The Music Man, “Dancing Through Life” from Wicked
Picture Credits: Cover Photo, Picture 1, Picture 2, Picture 3, Picture 4, Picture 5