In a recent essay, The New York Times critic Maya Phillips confessed that she discovered musicals “in a way theater die-hards might find gauche — via the widely panned film adaptation of ‘Rent.’”
Yes, that “Rent.” The 2005 flop, which everyone agreed was a pale comparison to the 1996 Broadway hit. No matter, Phillips wrote. “That movie eventually led me to the real deal onstage.”
So we asked readers: What was your gateway musical — the show that turned you onto Broadway and the smaller, weirder corners of the theater world?
You named classics like “The Sound of Music” and “The Music Man.” Many of you cited Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Phantom of the Opera,” with one reader sheepishly admitting her love for “Starlight Express.” And, in the ’70s, a lot of you were really, really into “Pippin.”
More moving were the many ways you discovered these shows — not just onstage but also through V.H.S., vinyl, YouTube. As plays migrate to Zoom these days, it’s a heartening reminder that technology has long let theater reach audiences beyond Broadway.
Below are a few more of your answers, lightly edited and condensed.
‘Sweeney Todd’
It was 1979, and I was 11, going to a sleep-away camp. Every night after lights out, a counselor played the Len Cariou-Angela Lansbury album and would explain what was going on in the show, like one character’s hair going white overnight. It is a powerful show made then more powerful by our imaginations.
Adam Herbst, New Jersey
‘In the Heights’
I had always loved musical theater, but it always seemed like a completely different world, like a dream. But for the first time, while watching the 2008 Tony Awards, I saw myself. I saw my people. I listened to the cast album and was able to see all these characters within my barrio and myself. That’s when I realized that musical theater wasn’t just dreams. It’s our lives put on display in one of the most beautiful ways it can: through song.
Tamara Fuentes, North Bergen, N.J.
‘Wicked’
In the summer of 2007, a girl at summer camp told me to go home and look up “Defying Gravity” on YouTube. I was a bookish, introverted 12 year old in Miami, and I had never seen anything more captivating in my entire life. I watched dozens and dozens of videos and kept a ranked, ever-changing list of my favorite Elphabas.
Ali Sousa, New York City
‘Carousel’
The 1953 performance of “Carousel,” one of a Starlight Opera series at an outdoor venue in San Diego’s magnificent Balboa Park, hit me like a thunderbolt. I went with my mother and her best friend at the end of summer when I was 11. It was a rare treat for me — my mother didn’t drive, and my family did not spend money on movies, much less these kinds of shows. As a feminist, I struggle seriously with the line that someone can “hit you — hit you hard — and not hurt at all.” Yet I console myself that the role of women has changed considerably, and the music still soars.
Daryl Ann Glenney, Berryville, Va.
‘Les Miserables’
I was 9 years old when my best friend played “Do You Hear The People Sing?” for me on her record player. I was immediately hooked. I had no idea what a prostitute was or why Javert spent his whole life pursuing Valjean. But I knew that after school, with snacks in hand, I could march out to my backyard and shout-sing “Les Miz” at the top of my lungs and feel proud and strong.
Alysson Caine, Queens, N.Y.
‘Jesus Christ Superstar’
At first, I only knew the music from the scratched vinyl my parents bought at a library sale and blared on the Radio Shack record player in the kitchen. A few years later, my family purchased a VCR, and I finally saw the 1973 film. My brother and I acted it out with our stuffed animals — Kermit was always Jesus.
Josh Flynn, Kokomo, Ind.
‘The Fantasticks’
Christmas break, 1965. College buddies and I were traveling from Providence to New York City and had heard of a little show down in Greenwich Village — at that time (in our minds, at least) a fabled, bohemian and seductively exotic part of town. We wrangled up $4.50 apiece, fumbled our way to snow-covered Sullivan Street, and meandered into “The Fantasticks.”
It was then (and is now) beautifully constructed and intimate, with a gorgeous score, and it’s both genuinely funny and unabashedly romantic. At college age, I saw myself in the callow young hero, Matt; in my 20s, fancied myself the dashing El Gallo; in my 40s, identified with the barely coping dads; and these days I’m a dead ringer for Henry, the befuddled old actor.
Charlie Fontana, Washington, D.C.
‘Annie’
I saw a community theater production in my hometown, Lynnfield, Mass., and it changed the game for me. I thought “Tomorrow” was the most magical thing I’d ever seen. The girl playing Annie slid across the floor with such confidence, ease and hope. And there was a REAL dog!
Paige McNamara, New York City
‘Company’
I grew up in China, so there wasn’t and still isn’t a culture of musicals. Came across stuff like “Cats” or “Phantom,” but besides finding the music lovely, I didn’t have much feeling about it. That changed after I saw the PBS recording of the 2006 revival of Sondheim’s “Company” with Raúl Esparza. That production blew me out of my mind. I realized that music in theater doesn’t have to do a “narrative” job, but can exist as a kind of comment and have a space of its own.
Peilin, Germany
‘A Chorus Line’
The year after kindergarten, I was in a show at day camp. I can’t imagine we actually did the full musical — maybe a revue of some sort — but I definitely sang “One” in a chorus wearing a glittery gold top hat. My parents bought me the cassette of it, and I knew all the words.
Clearly, I didn’t really understand much of what the show was about until I was older — I just liked the idea of a show about putting on a show. But like many things, something about its queerness must have been legible to me even then. I’ve since performed drag numbers to its songs, and a couple of years ago I got to see it staged again at the Hollywood Bowl. I cried.
Lil Miss Hot Mess, Los Angeles
‘Starlight Express’
I’m embarrassed to admit this. I was taken to see “Starlight Express,” the Andrew Lloyd Webber shocker about loved-up trains with a cast entirely on roller skates. It spoke to my 7-year-old soul.
Nat Whalley, London
‘Pal Joey’
In the spring of 1952, a revival of Rodgers and Hart’s “Pal Joey” was at Manhattan’s Broadhurst Theater on West 44th Street. I was a junior at Weequahic High School in Newark, N.J., and was seeing my first Broadway show. My date and I sat in the mezzanine. The overture began, and I wasn’t in the real world any longer.
Ron Bruguiere, Los Angeles
Source: Theater - nytimes.com
