Skip to main content Skip to footer site map

Page: 1

 E-Mail
 Subscribe


Most Famous Broadway Show?

Steel Pier Fan
Profile
Featured Actor
joined:4/11/11
Featured Actor
joined:
4/11/11
Most Famous Broadway Show?#1
Posted: 5/1/11 at 6:03pm
Most famous past show and most famous show on broadway.
I'd say its a threeway tie for A Chorus Line, Les Mis and Phantom so Phantom would be most famous still on I'd say but Wicked is getting up there.
bwaylvsong
Profile
Broadway Legend
joined:7/28/05
Broadway Legend
joined:
7/28/05
Most Famous Broadway Show?#2
Posted: 5/1/11 at 6:10pm
If you define famous as "everyone's heard of it," I'd say Phantom and Rent.
ClapYo'Hands Profile Photo
ClapYo'Hands
Profile
Broadway Legend
joined:11/29/09
Broadway Legend
joined:
11/29/09
Most Famous Broadway Show?#2
Posted: 5/1/11 at 6:14pm
Most famous by name - The Phantom of the Opera

Most famous by music - The Sound of Music
BwayTday Profile Photo
BwayTday
Profile
Broadway Legend
joined:6/2/09
Broadway Legend
joined:
6/2/09
Most Famous Broadway Show?#3
Posted: 5/1/11 at 6:43pm
Cats.
qolbinau Profile Photo
qolbinau
Profile
Broadway Legend
joined:6/29/08
Broadway Legend
joined:
6/29/08
Most Famous Broadway Show?#4
Posted: 5/1/11 at 6:53pm
I agree with CalpYo'Hands.
"Rose in Gypsy was like going through therapy for me. Playing Rose helped me put a lot of emotions to bed. There was so much lacking in Rose and that's why she had to prove herself through her children. [interviewer]In ways that reminded you of your mom?[/interviewer]. Let's just say the role was very interesting for me. That one was the most interesting [I've ever played]" - Bernadette Peters (2018)
best12bars Profile Photo
best12bars
Profile
Broadway Legend
joined:6/29/05
Broadway Legend
joined:
6/29/05
Most Famous Broadway Show?#5
Posted: 5/1/11 at 6:57pm
West Side Story
The Sound of Music

... and Spider-Man
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
Updated On: 5/1/11 at 06:57 PM
Jordan Catalano Profile Photo
Jordan Catalano
Profile
Broadway Legend
joined:10/9/05
Broadway Legend
joined:
10/9/05
Most Famous Broadway Show?#6
Posted: 5/1/11 at 7:09pm
Oklahoma

madbrian Profile Photo
madbrian
Profile
Broadway Legend
joined:6/1/06
Broadway Legend
joined:
6/1/06
Most Famous Broadway Show?#7
Posted: 5/1/11 at 7:18pm
Based on the success of the movie, I'd go with The Sound Of Music, with Grease in the running as well.
"It does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are 20 gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg." -- Thomas Jefferson
broadwaybabe1234 Profile Photo
broadwaybabe1234
Stand-by
joined:5/3/09
Stand-by
joined:
5/3/09
Most Famous Broadway Show?#8
Posted: 5/1/11 at 7:40pm
I think Rent and Wicked. Seems that people who don't even know Musical Theater are making references to the two of them all the time....
[believe]
nomdeplume
Broadway Legend
joined:6/20/05
Broadway Legend
joined:
6/20/05
Most Famous Broadway Show?#9
Posted: 5/1/11 at 11:42pm
Annie Get Your Gun (because of Ethel Merman)
Updated On: 5/1/11 at 11:42 PM
CapnHook Profile Photo
CapnHook
Profile
Broadway Legend
joined:5/12/03
Broadway Legend
joined:
5/12/03
Most Famous Broadway Show?#10
Posted: 5/1/11 at 11:53pm
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA's title is not the most famous. The identity of that show is: the guy with the half-mask. Most people who are ignorant of theatre call it "that phantom show." So I would say that it is not the "most famous."

CATS is the most famous Broadway show. Almost *everyone* has heard of it.

If you would of asked what the most famous musical is, THE SOUND OF MUSIC would have won. But because you said "Broadway show" then the answer is CATS. More people know of THE SOUND OF MUSIC as a show rather than its Broadway incarnation.
"The Spectacle has, indeed, an emotional attraction of its own, but, of all the parts, it is the least artistic, and connected least with the art of poetry. For the power of Tragedy, we may be sure, is felt even apart from representation and actors. Besides, the production of spectacular effects depends more on the art of the stage machinist than on that of the poet."
--Aristotle
Dollypop
Broadway Legend
joined:5/15/03
Broadway Legend
joined:
5/15/03
Most Famous Broadway Show?#11
Posted: 5/1/11 at 11:56pm
HELLO, DOLLY! because Carol Channing is the Universe.
"Long live God!" (GODSPELL)
bwaylvsong
Profile
Broadway Legend
joined:7/28/05
Broadway Legend
joined:
7/28/05
Most Famous Broadway Show?#12
Posted: 5/2/11 at 12:45am
At some point, Dolly and Oklahoma probably were the most famous shows, but definitely not now.
AGYG was never the most famous show.
I'll agree with Capn about TSoM being the most famous movie musical but not show, but I'll disagree about Cats- it's been closed a good 10 years so the younger generation isn't really familiar with it, and on a similar note Wicked, which the older generation isn't really familiar with.
littlegreen2 Profile Photo
littlegreen2
Profile
Leading Actor
joined:1/29/11
Leading Actor
joined:
1/29/11
Most Famous Broadway Show?#13
Posted: 5/2/11 at 1:13am
I would say Cats, even if it has been closed for a long time.
"I will not cease from mental fight, nor shall my sword sleep in my hand: Till we have built Jerusalem in England's green and pleasant land."
sergio_27 Profile Photo
sergio_27
Profile
Understudy
joined:12/18/10
Understudy
joined:
12/18/10
Most Famous Broadway Show?#14
Posted: 5/2/11 at 1:42am
I'm in my mid-twenties and I see that I have a very different perspective than most of you.

I would give extra points to Phantom because most people know it is a Broadway show but they also could describe the plot ("dude in a mask obsessed with a singer"). I'm not sure that's the case anymore for Cats or The Sound of Music.

Also, I think worldwide those two shows are not as well known as Phantom. I can't speak of the U.S. or England but I feel that in other countries most people would think on the film version of West Side Story and not on the Broadway musical.

I would add Chicago to the list. The film version was very successful and I think people do know it is a Broadway show.
ClapYo'Hands Profile Photo
ClapYo'Hands
Profile
Broadway Legend
joined:11/29/09
Broadway Legend
joined:
11/29/09
Most Famous Broadway Show?#15
Posted: 5/2/11 at 3:10am
I'm cheating a bit - my answer I think is a representation of the answer of a British person.
Jim3 Profile Photo
Jim3
Profile
Understudy
joined:3/4/08
Understudy
joined:
3/4/08
Most Famous Broadway Show?#16
Posted: 5/2/11 at 8:10pm
Oklahoma
My Fair Lady
A Chorus Line
in that order
TimesSquareRegular Profile Photo
TimesSquareRegular
Profile
Broadway Legend
joined:12/16/04
Broadway Legend
joined:
12/16/04
Most Famous Broadway Show?#17
Posted: 5/2/11 at 11:19pm
One possible way to measure .... the number of recordings the show has received, which would reflect international albums:

from castalbums.org:

•My Fair Lady (135)
•Grease (127)
•Jesus Christ Superstar (112)
•The Sound Of Music (103)
•South Pacific (93)
•Hair (90)
•West Side Story (8Most Famous Broadway Show?
•Porgy and Bess (87)
•Fiddler on the Roof (74)
•The King and I (6Most Famous Broadway Show?
•Les Misérables (65)
•Evita (61)
•Oklahoma! (56)
•Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (56)
•The Rocky Horror Show (53)
•Godspell (53)
•Annie (52)
•Elisabeth (52)
•The Phantom Of The Opera (49)





2016 These Paper Bullets (1/02) Our Mother's Brief Affair (1/06), Dragon Boat Racing (1/08), Howard - reading (1/28), Shear Madness (2/10), Fun Home (2/17), Women Without Men (2/18), Trip Of Love (2/21), The First Gentleman -reading (2/22), Southern Comfort (2/23), The Robber Bridegroom (2/24), She Loves Me (3/11), Shuffle Along (4/12), Shear Madness (4/14), Dear Evan Hansen (4/16), American Psycho (4/23), Tuck Everlasting (5/10), Indian Summer (5/15), Peer Gynt (5/18), Broadway's Rising Stars (7/11), Trip of Love (7/27), CATS (7/31), The Layover (8/17), An Act Of God (8/31), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (8/24), Heisenberg (10/12), Fiddler On The Roof (11/02), Othello (11/23), Dear Evan Hansen (11/26), Les Liaisons Dangereuses (12/21) 2017 In Transit (2/01), Groundhog Day (4/04), Ring Twice For Miranda (4/07), Church And State (4/10), The Lucky One (4/19), Ernest Shackleton Loves Me (5/16), Building The Wall (5/19), Indecent (6/01), Six Degrees of Separation (6/09), Marvin's Room (6/28), A Doll's House Pt 2 (7/25) Curvy Widow (8/01)
Updated On: 5/2/11 at 11:19 PM
Weez Profile Photo
Weez
Profile
Broadway Legend
joined:9/16/05
Broadway Legend
joined:
9/16/05
Most Famous Broadway Show?#18
Posted: 5/3/11 at 8:32am
I would give extra points to Phantom because most people know it is a Broadway show but they also could describe the plot ("dude in a mask obsessed with a singer"). I'm not sure that's the case anymore for Cats or The Sound of Music.

Be fair, a lot of people who've seen Cats couldn't describe the plot of that either.

I'd say Phantom of the Opera. Do you really truly honestly think the average joe in the street knows what A Chorus Line is?
Amalia Balash Profile Photo
Amalia Balash
Profile
Broadway Star
joined:7/2/08
Broadway Star
joined:
7/2/08
Most Famous Broadway Show?#19
Posted: 5/3/11 at 8:40am
Cats had a plot? Who knew?

If there was a successful movie of the show, a lot more people will know about it than if there was no movie or a flop movie. I also like TimesSquareRegular's cast album measurement. Another measure might be how easy it is to license the show for high school productions.

Putting all of those together, I'm going to go with Grease or Sound of Music.
degrassifan
Broadway Legend
joined:1/23/08
Broadway Legend
joined:
1/23/08
Most Famous Broadway Show?#20
Posted: 5/3/11 at 9:31am
Honestly, I didn't know about A Chorus Line till I started coming to this website.

Honestly, I think it depends on who you ask and where they are from, but I would say it's The Sound of Music. Even if you've never seen the show or movie, you still know majority of the songs. I even went to Nigeria for the holidays, and that's the musical everyone loves in that country and in Africa in general.


« Back to the Message Board