Broadway's Most Entertaining Show About a Serious Social Issue?

[NewYorkTheater]

I asked this question in a ticket giveaway contest for Indecent, and have put together some of the answers.

Broadway's Most Entertaining Shows About Serious Social Issues

But which show would you pick?

Remember, both serious AND entertaining. 

[leighmiserables]

I'd say it's a three-way tie between Fun Home, Next to Normal, and Ragtime for me. 

[Sunny11]

In seriousness, The Book of Mormon. Because how it protrayed two very different cultural groups ultimately compromising and bonding over religion. 

The world today would be a much better place or more people shared those characters pragmatism. 

[raddersons]

When referring to social issues, I wouldn't think half of the shows in this article would apply. Fun Home is about being gay and suicide, but it's not like the story connects to the greater narrative of social justice as a whole.

Also my answer is Hair. 

[Valentina3]

Easy Urinetown & Hairspray. 

[leighmiserables]

raddersons said: "When referring to social issues, I wouldn't think half of the shows in this article would apply. Fun Home is about being gay and suicide, but it's not like the story connects to the greater narrative of social justice as a whole."

Maybe I'm misunderstanding something, but where does it say the story has to connect to social justice as a whole? Being LGBT and mental health issues are both social causes. 

[Stage Door Sally]

Urinetown. By the way, it needs to be revived ASAP. Sorry I just had to say it.

[LYLS3637]

THE WHO'S TOMMY is my pick. Personal enlightenment, organized religion, celebrity culture-- it's all there. In ways, it's more relevant now more than ever. 

[Mister Matt]

So many to choose from, but it certainly would not be Dear Evan Hansen or Spring Awakening.

"Most entertaining"?  I'd probably agree with Urinetown.  Falsettos would be around the top of the list as well.

[Littleshopofcarrie]

Hairspray

[bdn223]

Easily Hairspray...its one of the most joyful musicals of all time, and yet is able to tackle the topics of racism, segregation, body image, and lgbt equality with such great depth.

*When you say entertaining, I assume you mean a people pleaser & not the best social issue musical, as there is a difference*

 

[Nicole7579]

Gotta go with Urinetown, Hairspray, DEH or Rent. 

[haterobics]

Curious Incident, too.

[Cat Guy]

Show Boat

[Broadway525600]

Most definitely Rent and Spring Awakening. Spring Awakening was originally the most controversial play before it became a musical and it discussed issues that left it closed after one night in ny....and rent is a no-brainer between Idina Menzel and AIDS

[youwillbefound2]

Spring Awakening or Next to Normal

[haterobics]

Broadway525600 said: "rent is a no-brainer between Idina Menzel and AIDS"

Idina Menzel has graduated to being a social issue?!?

[CorkySt.Clair]

Phew, thought I was the only one marching to raise awareness for Idina Menzel in January! (Just kidding lol)

But to answer the question, I join the chorus saying Hairspray. One of the most fun shows I've ever seen, but the candy coating has a pretty sharp, questioning inside. 

[raddersons]

leighmiserables said: "Maybe I'm misunderstanding something, but where does it say the story has to connect to social justice as a whole? Being LGBT and mental health issues are both social causes. "

I think it's just schooling making me hear the term "social issue" and thinking it must be inherently political. What makes depression a "social issue"? It's a great theme for a show to explore, but I don't think of it as a social issue. Bullying which LEADS to depression is a social issue (albeit a boring one). 

I think for a show to actually be about a serious social issue, it needs a bit of political tilt, a bit of a call to action. Hairspray manages to be political about segregation while still being a 60s bubblegum musical (which is pretty amazing when you think about it). Urinetown is about wage gaps and the divide between rich and poor. Next to Normal meanwhile, is about depression... but what does it say about depression as a whole? Does it break the stigma? When you think about it, it kind of demonizes ECT which is a 100% legitimate treatment for depression. Does that makes it a good show about a serious social issue? (Not trying to throw shade at N2N, it's one of my favorites, but this plotline has always bothered me)

Feel free to disagree -- I'm just trying to start a discussion so this thread is a little more than a list of shows.

[leighmiserables]

raddersons said: "I think it's just schooling making me hear the term "social issue" and thinking it must be inherently political. What makes depression a "social issue"? It's a great theme for a show to explore, but I don't think of it as a social issue. Bullying which LEADS to depression is a social issue (albeit a boring one). ."

I think it's just a syntax issue, really. When I personally hear 'social issue' I think of anything that can be a 'cause' or something that can finish the phrase "we're raising awareness for ______." Plus, if there's stigma/prejudice against something, I think that immediately qualifies it as a social issue. There's plenty of stigma towards mental health.  

Personally I've never seen the need to have an overarching/political message in stories. If there is one, wonderful, but I don't think it's a necessity. I think shows like Next to Normal and Fun Home are actually quite important to the wider scope, even if there's no song in Next to Normal called, "Being Depressed is Okay" or "Please Give LGBT People Basic Human Rights, Thanks" in Fun Home (obviously these are exaggerations, but you get my point).

To me, the thing that always sticks out in any social movement are the personal stories that come forth from them, or the "faces" that are used as posters for the cause. You can talk to me about X-cause in a general sense all day, but the thing I'll remember most are the real-life stories related to said cause. N2N is a 'personal' story relating to mental health, which – to me – makes it just as an important contribution to raising mental health awareness as, say, Hairspray is to all of the social issues it tackles. 

Really, it's just semantics though. This is just my take. 

[Phantom4ever]

Entertaining:

full production numbers

emotional ballads

tons of laughs

buddy story

fish-out-of-water story

romance

energetic tap number

dream sequence

quick costume changes

Tony Award-winning book and music

Tony Award-winning direction, orchestrations and sound design

Tony Award-winning scenic and lighting design

 

 

Serious Social Issue (s):

female genital mutiliation

imperialism

white savior complex

AIDS crisis

child rape

violence

murder

war lords

crime

cultural ignorance

religious corruption

lack of access to plumbing

lack of access to clean water

dysentery

anti-gay phobias

lack of stable governments in developing countries

racism

poverty

 

Book of Mormon 

[Pippin]

Most Entertaining: Hairspray

Favorite: Rent

Guilty Pleasure: Anyone Can Whistle

[Kitsune]

Mister Matt said: "So many to choose from, but it certainly would not be Dear Evan Hansen or Spring Awakening.

"Most entertaining"?  I'd probably agree with Urinetown.  Falsettos would be around the top of the list as well.

 

"

I saw a recent production of Urinetown at Berkeley Playhouse.  It was incredibly well done, but I was amazed at how timely it is right now.  (The production even incorporated in "news headlines" into a projected opening montage during the orchestra - they even had the UGC call the newspaper "fake news" )

[Itonlytakesajourney]

Hairspray is one of my all-time favorites, so that's my number one pick. But besides that, Falsettos and DEH are contenders. 

[mc1227]

What about Avenue Q?