Broadway Is Back!
With both Broadway and the West End finally re-opening their doors after a 17-month hiatus, we wanted to take the opportunity to highlight some of the best songs from modern musicals to play and sing.
The last few years has seen the opening of a number of celebrated new shows from Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton, to Pasek & Paul's Dear Evan Hansen, to Anaïs Mitchell's Hadestown. We've picked out our favorites from these and other hot new musicals.
What are some of your favorite modern Broadway songs? Let us and the Sheet Music Direct community know over on Facebook and Twitter.
All I've Ever Known (from Hadestown)
Anaïs Mitchell
Taking two of Greek mythology's most famous tales and setting them to a fascinating mix of jazz, rock, gospel, and folk styles, Anaïs Mitchell's Hadestown is a delight. The show opened in 2019 to critical acclaim and won an impressive eight Tony Awards later that year, including Best Musical and Best Original Score. Among many musical highlights, the beautiful "All I've Ever Known" – where Eurydice begins to truly fall in love with Orpheus – might just be the pick of the bunch.
You Will Be Found (from Dear Evan Hansen)
Pasek & Paul
Pasek & Paul's musical Dear Evan Hansen has proved to be something of a sensation. It opened on Broadway in 2016 (for which it won six Tony Awards); it made its West End debut in 2019; and a movie adaptation of the show will be released later this month! Pasek & Paul are masters when it comes to producing songs that are catchy, uplifting, and poignant all at the same time, and "You Will Be Found" is maybe the finest example of this.
Burn (from Hamilton)
Lin-Manuel Miranda
Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton is arguably the most groundbreaking musical of the 21st century, taking the life of a US Founding Father and setting it to a rap and hip-hop infused sountrack. Miranda is no stranger to an emotive ballad, and "Burn" – sung by the wife of Hamilton after she finds out about his extramarital affair – is as pleasing to play as it is to listen to.
I Know I Have a Heart (from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cinderella)
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Having just opened in London's West End, musical royalty Andrew Lloyd Webber has produced another must-see musical in Cinderella. While the name is obviously very familiar, the show is a total 21st century reimagination of the classic fairytale. "I Know I Have a Heart" – sung by Cinderella herself – is the show's big power ballad moment, and the song you'll want to play as soon as you hear it.
Elephant Love Medley (from Moulin Rouge! The Musical)
Moulin Rouge! The Musical Cast
For a musical movie as iconic as Moulin Rouge, it's maybe a little surprising that it took 17 years for a stage version to get off the ground, but the result is undeniably worth the wait. The highlight has to be the "Elephant Love Medley" – a mega mashup of twenty pop songs from the likes of Phil Collins, U2, and Whitney Houston.
Heart of Stone (from Six: The Musical)
Toby Marlow & Lucy Moss
A modern retelling of the lives of the six wives of Henry VIII presented as a pop concert, Six: The Musical opened in London's West End in 2019 to rave reviews, and will make its official Broadway opening in October. The only ballad in the show, "Heart of Stone" could easily be confused with an Adele song, and it's every bit as memorable as one. Sit down at the piano and enjoy this one!
She Used to Be Mine (from Waitress The Musical)
Sara Bareilles
When Sara Bareilles' musical Waitress opened on Broadway in 2016, it made history as the first Broadway musical with an all-female creative team, and the show has since become a hit both sides of the Atlantic. "She Used to Be Mine" is powerful, evocative, and beautiful in equal measure and tells the story of a young waitress with an abusive husband wondering how she got so disconnected from who she used to be.
You Learn (from Jagged Little Pill The Musical)
Alanis Morissette
Inspired by Alanis Morissette's 1995 five-time Grammy Award winning album of the same name Jagged Little Pill The Musical opened on Broadway in December 2019, and is among the very best jukebox musicals of recent years. Comprising all Morissette's best-loved early hits such as "Ironic," "You Oughta Know," and "Hand in My Pocket," there's no shortage of singalong moments. The real standout song from the show, however, which translates so well to a stage chorus, is the rousing "You Learn." Take note, choir directors!
Me and the Sky (from Come From Away)
Irene Sankoff & David Hein
A success both on Broadway and in the West End, Come From Away tells the incredible true story of 7,000 passengers who were on their way to different parts of America on 9/11. If there's one song you'll be itching to play after seeing the musical, it's "Me and the Sky" – a moving ballad which tells the story of female pilot Beverley Bass who was ordered to land in the remote town of Gander, Newfoundland during the tragedy.
When You Believe (from The Prince Of Egypt: A New Musical)
Stephen Schwartz
Having opened in London's West End just before the pandemic, Stephen Schwartz's new musical The Prince of Egypt is based on the 1998 Biblical animated film of the same name. The show features 10 brand-new songs by Stephen Schwartz, but nothing can top the soaring ballad "When You Believe" – best known as a hit duet by Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston, but very much at home in a stage setting.
Monster (from Frozen: The Broadway Musical)
Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez
When you have a movie musical as iconic as Frozen, the creation of a stage adaptation is virtually a necessity. However, musically, it helps if you can throw in one or two new songs to keep things fresh, and Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez went even further than that and wrote 12 brand-new songs for the stage version! Our pick of the bunch to play is the haunting "Monster" – a piano-driven song of desperation, fear and anxiety.
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