As we enter the back half of this project, we’re gong to take a look at songs from…
What Makes a Show a Mega Hit?
This playlist will focus on some of Broadway’s most successful, popular, and ubiquitous musicals (and perhaps a few twists to keep you awake). Most of the songs are themselves popular, but for this playlist, the theme applies to the show. These shows are successful to inspire people to invest huge sums of money into commercial productions. They achieve the objective markers of a smash—long runs, awards, tours, movies, etc. They also become fixtures on the cultural landscape and calling cards for Broadway itself, which makes them easy targets to dismiss as low brow or “easy” entertainment. Popularity is not a meritocracy, and sometimes it feels like the “wrong” show is popular at the expense of one that is “more deserving.” But the goal of any musical is to find an appreciative audience, and each of the 12 shows tap into something that connects with people at a large scale.
Previously Mentioned Mega Hits
As you will see over the coming weeks, my definition of what is or is not a mega hit is a little bit fuzzy. And I’m okay with that. Here are the previously mentioned shows I would consider Mega Hits.
A Chorus Line (“At the Ballet”)
Annie (“Tomorrow”)
Cats (“Memory”)
Fiddler on the Roof (“If I Were a Rich Man”)
Hello, Dolly! (”Hello, Dolly!”)
Les Misérables (“One Day More”)
The Lion King (“He Lives in You (Reprise)”)
My Fair Lady (“I Could Have Danced All Night”)
Oklahoma! (“Oklahoma!”)
Rent (“Seasons of Love”)
The Sound of Music (“My Favorite Things”)
Wicked (“Defying Gravity”)
In the Wings
Song No. 53, the first Mega Hit, will drop in about 3 weeks. What do you think it will be?
Catch up with all the songs to date!
To listen to my 0% AI narrations of these posts as a podcast, you can search “100 Showtunes” on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or add this voiceover RSS feed to your preferred player: https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/4189121.rss