[musicaltheatrefan]

What shows do you think sum up 21st century shows?

I'd say "Spring Awakening", "Mary Poppins", "Jersey Boys", "Spamalot", "Avenue Q", "Wicked", "Hairspray", and "Mamma Mia!".

[MunkustrapQC]

Wicked!!
My favorite of the list

[ConverseSneaker]

I think Spring Awakening and Avenue Q, MAYBE Wicked, but I'm cringing to admit it.

Hairspray takes place during the sixties and deals with issues that are not the same depth of the problem today. Mamma Mia, just no, just no. I know nothing about Jersey Boys, so I can't decide on that one. Mary Poppins is simply disney, just like the Lion King and Beauty and the Beast are not the musicals of the 90's like Rent was. They do not capture the soul and ideas of that decade. Same goes for Spamalot and Wicked.

Spring Awakening and Avenue Q are like Rent, SA more so. They are the ones that capture people's thoughts and brought attention to things, like AIDS in the 90's with Rent and Teen Pregnancy and the problems of not knowing and being educated now with SA.

[ActingDude17]

Wicked, RENT, and anything Disney.

[ilovebway]

How come Legally Blonde hasn't been mentioned?

[tortallcit]

as for which shows sum up the 21st century, I'm inclined to go with Avenue Q, for the brash acknowledgment of everything different. The show that sums up 21st century musicals? I'd probably say wicked, because it mainstreams and brings into the light (fangirls) our somewhat shoved away subculture, while staying fairly true to the normal show goers.

[jackissensational]

Easily "Rent." It needs no explanation. It's pretty obvious.

[Megziid]

[Trevor reincarnate]

"At the end of the millenium", anyone?
Unless the show takes place in 2093...?

Hmmmm...

Glory Days, Streetlights, In the Heights.

[wtfchuck]

Hairspray
Wicked
Spamalot
The Producers
Avenue Q

I think these are all 21st Century. not sure about the producers because the "straight" version was made waay back in the 60s but the musical is quite recent.

[Trevor reincarnate]

GUYS! We're not talking about what shows were MADE in the 21st century.
We're discussing which shows DEFINE the 21st century.

Which shows have changed the face of musical theatre and broken loose from the showstopping dance number stereotype of musical theatre?

[Salome]

If you are truleyinterested on a level of what shows artistically represent 21st century musical thetr at its best there are very few...

Grey Gardens
Ave Q
The producers
and possibly
Hairspray

[musikal_geek]

[Anno_Domini]

We're only 8 years into the 21st Century, it's pretty early to decide which show(s) define(s) it.

However, what about [title of show], which certainly redefines what a musical is supposed to be about.

Or The Last Five Years, which abandons things like an ensemble, dance numbers, and even tradtional dialogue (for the most part), in exchange for a simple, but beautifully told story that illustrates something that is all too common in the 21st century: divorce, and how utterly fleeting some marriages have become

[mastachen]

The music to The Last Five Years is just beautiful.

[Monsieur D'Arque]

Shows of the twenty-first century can be broken into three very distinct categories.

1. Pop Shows- shows designed for mass consumption that appeal beyond the theater boundaries. These include jukebox musicals, "pop operas" like Wicked, movie-based musicals, and Avenue Q.

Wicked
Hairspray
Avenue Q
BKLYN
Spamalot
Legally Blonde
The Wedding Singer

2. Neo-Vaudeville- shows that intentionally hearken back to the Golden Age and traditions of vaudeville.

The Producers
The Drowsy Chaperone
Curtains
Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me

3. Avant-Garde- Shows designed for the purpose of being intellectual, nontraditional entertainment in a high-art setting.

Grey Gardens
The Light In The Piazza
The Last Five Years
The Pirate Queen
Lovemusik

While certain genres are more respected than others, it is important to note that these judgements do not always effect every show in the genre. For instance, Avenue Q, Spamalot and The Wedding Singer are fairly well-respected shows, while The Pirate Queen is widely hated.

[blue wind]

i'm not going to get hugely into the conversation, but i just have to say i agree with whoever said "in the heights"

[Mungojerrie_rt]

Although I haven't seen it, I'd say We Will Rock You. It deals with globalisation and the need to be independant and not follow the 'fasion', as it were.

[~GertrudeMcFuzz~]

I would say Avenue Q, In the Heights (maybe), Grey Gardens, The Last 5 Years, the Light in the Piazza, Wicked, and Legally Blonde. Those are all very different from one another, but they have different traits that define 21st century musicals.