BWW Blog: Taylor Swift's Albums - On Broadway!

Over quarantine, I've found all of my conversations being centered around or ending on one certain subject: Taylor Swift. The woman, the myth, the legend. I've loved Taylor Swift my whole life, waking up every Sunday at the crack of dawn to ensure her music videos stayed at number one on CMT's Top 20 Countdown. But, something about listening to Taylor in the middle of a global pandemic really struck a chord with me. Her albums have been just about the only music playing in my headphones for the past 7 months, especially the unexpected Folklore, that was released in July. Because in my mind Taylor and I are such good friends, I started to think about how her albums would be as musicals on Broadway. From these thoughts, this blog post was born. Welcome to: Taylor Swift's Albums: On Broadway! Alternate title, Ranking Taylor Swift's Albums Based on Their Broadway Potential.

8. Taylor Swift

In last place, sadly, we have Miss Swift's debut album, self-titled. Though the album has some of Taylor's most iconic songs, the record is just simply too country for Broadway. I know, I know, we have country shows that we love, like Oklahoma! But, this album doesn't really create a story like those shows, or like her other albums do.

Best song-to-stage moment: "Our Song". Picture the on-stage romance, the set, all of it.

7. Red

It physically pains me to put Red this low. But, like self-titled, the story wouldn't be as dramatic as it would need to be. The show would focus on a relationship gone really good then gone really bad. But, honestly, I think we could just do a whole musical about "All Too Well" instead.

Best song-to-stage moment: "All Too Well." Every single time. Imagine the Fall leaves on the stage, the acting, the big breakthrough moment for the main character. If we were ranking Taylor's songs based on Broadway-ability, this song might just be number one.

6. Lover

Do not get me wrong on this one, I think Lover would be such an amazing musical. Picture Taylor and Brendon Urie's performance of "ME!" from The 2019 Billboard Music Awards, but make it 2 and a half hours long. From the pastel colors to the glitter and extravagant props, this show would not be one to miss. Though Lover has the production quality, the story would not match up. This being because, as the album tells, Lover is mainly a happy album (with the exception of a few songs ... looking at you, "Death By A Thousand Cuts"). Us Broadway lovers know that strictly happy shows on stage are fairly rare, usually we need some of that drama or trauma to really create the story.

Best song-to-stage moment: "The Man." This song screams character development. I envision our main character in Lover: The Musical being a bit like Liz/Beth from If/Then. "The Man" would be her anthem.

5. Fearless

Remember when I mentioned a show needing some drama and trauma? Fearless: The Musical would give us that and so much more. Picture the story: a young girl enters high school for the first time, falls in love, gets her heart broken, and then is okay in the end. I think I just described the perfect story for a musical, I love when shows are based around high schoolers (Mean Girls, Dear Evan Hansen, etc.) because they always do such a good job at showing the reality of those four years. I think Fearless could do this perfectly, "Fifteen" is basically a whole show in itself.

Best song-to-stage moment: "Love Story." I know you remember that iconic music video. The main character, a teen girl, daydreams about her relationship with "Fifteen" guy being similar to Romeo and Juliet's. Picture the ballgowns, the castle, and THAT bridge coming to life.

4. Reputation

Like Taylor's personal life, Reputation depicts what it's like to be scorned and then bounce back even better than before. In addition to Lover, the production of Reputation would be absolutely extraordinary. With giant snakes, newspapers everywhere, and all black costumes, it would be the perfect mix of drama and reality. Though some songs on this record are more-so centered around her past, there's a good amount focused on the happiness she found in light of these events. The story line: like reality, a celebrity seemingly falls from grace after her reputation is ruined. But, in that, finds there is much more to life than what others think of you.

Best song-to-stage moment: "Getaway Car." The part of the show when the lead attends a glamorous party with one person, but leaves it with another.

3. Folklore

Taylor's newest album presents a collection of stories. Depending on how the listener perceives it, each of these tales can be individual or they can work together to create a whole narrative. So, this show could go either way. In my mind, I envision the stories of Folklore: The Musical to be separate, each song narrating the life of a different character. Taylor wrote the songs from this album like this, basing each song around a certain person or event. I can almost picture this show to resemble Into The Woods in terms of the set and the multiple chronicles within it.

Best song-to-stage moment: "The Last Great American Dynasty." The song tells the story of Rebekah Harkness, a socialite who was the previous owner of Taylor's home in Rhode Island. The telling of Rebekah's life could almost be like a Hello, Dolly! moment, inviting audience members on a quick trip to a far more glamorous life.

2. Speak Now

I promise that this album being my personal favorite has nothing to do with it's high ranking on this list! I remember watching videos from the Speak Now tour when I was younger and thinking, "this would make an amazing musical". Well, I still stand by that. On the tour of this album, Taylor included little skits that depicted the stories told within the songs. I believe that this album is Taylor's best, most realistic representation of a relationship. The story of this show would follow that journey, almost like The Last Five Years. This show could give the perfect amount of drama and romance.

Best song-to-stage moment: "Speak Now"! What's more Broadway than a wedding interrupted by the groom's secret lover? I can hear the audience gasps now.

1. 1989

Ending up at the top of my list, 1989 takes the cake for most Broadway potential. This album has it all; romance, new cities, ruined friendships, and self-discovery. In my opinion, the perfect ingredients for a perfect Broadway musical. This album has some of Taylor's best, most heart-felt songs, and that much emotion deserves nothing less than a whole show dedicated to it. I'm casting Eva Noblezada and Reeve Carney as the leads in this show, by the way.

Best song-to-stage moment: "Welcome to New York". Nothing I love more than the classic "moving to a new city" sequence in a show. Especially when it's New York!

Taylor, if you're reading this by some random chance, please make your albums into Broadway musicals. They would be life-changing. Also, I love you.

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