Every year, I turn to the Tony Awards to discover new musicals that will hopefully fill my playlist and schedule full of memorable experiences. I am especially a fan of the Best Musical category, which has arguably the most coveted spot on any national tour line-up and is most likely to make it to my neck of the woods. For one of the rare times in modern history, all five of the shows have released their Original Broadway Cast Recordings prior to the actual ceremony. As a result, I want to rank the soundtracks based on my personal preference.
It should be noted that while soundtracks tend to provide some indication of how much I’ll enjoy a show, this is a criticism piece solely geared at the music. I have not seen any of the shows either in recorded or live form. As of this publication, I haven’t even seen the typical press tour where they perform on various talk shows. This is based solely on how well or not the music resonates with me. Overall enjoyment is subject to change given outside factors.
5. The Outsiders
There is nothing wrong with The Outsiders in theory. If I were to adapt S.E. Hinton’s seminal coming of age novel into a musical, this would be roughly what I’d aim for. Having seen a community theater-style dramatization already, I’m aware of how well this show plays to young audiences looking for purpose in their lives. It’s a memorable story where gang members find redemption and create a level of sympathy not often saved for those who are seen as outsiders. These are children whose personal lives are riddled with hardships and they often have to make due with what they have. Even then, the potential to escape through education (notably reading) adds the silver lining to the wild story and makes the viewer feel invested in the journey.
I don’t have any doubt that this show will appeal to the high school/young adult crowd. By nature of centering around age-related characters, I think it makes the most sense that they’re the most likely to get anything out of this. However, as someone who is quickly approaching their Mid-30s and never had an S.E. Hinton era when I was younger, The Outsiders as a text doesn’t resonate with me. The story is solid. I recognize the melodrama that populates the cast recording is true to the material. Everything screams youthful struggles, and does so to a degree that it maybe sacrifices any complex identity.
Like all of these OBCRs, The Outsiders is not without its charm. When it’s ensemble numbers about camaraderie, it tends to capture the magic of this unique greaser world. However, the more it relies on intimate moments, the more earnestness exploits the limitations of the lyrical potential. At one point the protagonist sings about having “Great Expectations” in reference to the Charles Dickens novel. It’s maybe the most achingly cornball motif of any nominated show this year. Even if the drive is pure, it takes a lot for me to get past the naivety baked into the experience. I know that it needs to be there to best emphasize characters, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to love it.
While this is the only show of the five that I confidently can say I’m disinterested in, I will stop short of calling it bad or even a failure. The music tells Hinton’s story with a faithfulness that is admirable. I like that the characters feel realized in a way that seeks to capture emotion you can only capture through song. However, I am much too old to find much that resonates. It does what it needs to, but it fails to reach the level of musicals like Newsies where it’s more than a young person’s show. I’m sure people more nostalgic for the text will get something out of it, but I struggle to not feel my age every time I’m disconnected from a song.
4. Suffs
From a creative level, this is arguably the most ambitious show of the year. Shaina Taub has her fingers in many pots on this suffragettes musical, and there is something worth commending for that alone. At almost 100 minutes, the soundtrack follows the interconnecting journey of several women in the first wave feminist movement. It’s a story of finding independence and attempting to separate yourself from the patriarchy. There’s even subplots about how race factors into the greater conversation. All in all, it’s spinning a lot of plates and I think it does a commendable job of keeping them all in motion.
Part of me remains concerned that this show’s greatest appeal is that it’s a story about freedoms to vote as it pertains to the 2024 presidential election. As many will have you believe, it’s an important one. The same was true back then where Taub spends several songs detailing the intimate lives of women attempting to make sense of a world that expects so little from them. It’s at times a bit blunt, but maybe that’s simply to reflect suffragettes’ need to be as clear in their messaging as possible. It comes at the expense of what feels like surface-level encouragements, but I do want to believe that the staging and what little story is not on here elevates the material into something equal parts history lesson as it is commentary.
Otherwise, this is a musical that feels painfully on the nose. For as much as I think that the suffragettes as a movement should be more studied in schools, I don’t know if this is the most effective manner. Taub sings with her entire soul and I never doubt the significance of the show to her. However, I think that this is lacking a cleverness that could make the music have a repeatability that is filled with sly humor and allusions to a world that was deeply complicated and not always capable of a convenient answer. I don’t think Taub is suggesting that the answer is easy, but more trying to tie the past to the present in ways that I would need to learn more about to appreciate its effectiveness.
A major issue is that this show can’t help but borrow comparisons to Hamilton. Not only did it have significant marketing from Lin-Manuel Miranda, but the style attempts to reinvent history and has an all-female cast subverting roles of dominance. I’m sure that it’s clever and possibly even adds layers of camp to the greater story. However, a listening experience robs it of certain cleverness because it sounds way too much like an agit-prop musical that never develops a second gag. While I love songs like “Great American Bitch” and think it finds Taub humorously digging into women’s interiority, most of it feels like 90 minutes of slogans and messages that most in attendance probably already sympathize with. I have to believe the stage version has something more because this is both the most ambitious and easily the most tedious of the five on here.
3. Water for Elephants
This was the first OBCR to be released and I think it really benefits from doing so. Upon first listen, I was underwhelmed and found it to be tedious and uninspired. How could a love story about two carnies possibly amount to great theater? It’s safe to say that without many to compare it to, I ended up playing it a few more times before the remaining four met my ears. Much to my relief, every subsequent listen made me appreciate its intentions more. My imagination grew as I pondered what the music would look like set alongside the spectacle. Was this going to be maximalist, possibly even putting actors in high-flying stunts?
Of the five, this is the one that feels the most conventionally pleasing. Even with its dark messaging of love and corruption, it presents the underlying optimism not dissimilar from Hadestown. It’s still about performers using their art to overcome plights. The main difference is that this one comes with enough of a hook to not be accused of plagiarism. Even as it delves into mysticism, there is humanity shining through. There is a need to endure, and it makes the third act particularly rich with clever character development that lands beautifully in the final line.
I also want to give major credit to the composers. Along with telling a very compelling story, the instrumentation is brilliantly crafted to fit the carnival atmosphere. The measures are in odd time signatures to help create discordance. The percussion at times plays with a dizzying inconsistent pattern that hypnotizes the listener into imagining grandeur. This is a record that may not have the most accessible chord progressions, but I think it overcomes those limitations with vocals that perfectly counterbalance the melody and produce something astounding. In a world of uneasiness, there is humanity attempting to make sense of it all. Every component comes together to make something harmonious.
What keeps this from ranking higher is that the music by itself isn’t the most accessible. While I have loved it more with each listen, I think it suffers from its own ambitions. The album is heavy in emotions that weave in and out with the melodies, and it means that it requires some effort on the listener’s part to fully appreciate. When it’s successful, there’s an intensity that captures the entire scale of passion. Even when it becomes hit and miss on the more esoteric numbers, its promise of spectacle goes a long way of hoping that the barker is not grifting me. I can’t wait to see what this looks like on The Tonys. I can only imagine it’s a one of a kind experience.
2. Hell’s Kitchen
Stick around long enough in the music industry and somebody will make a jukebox musical out of your work. It’s the time tested pattern that gets butts in seats during one of Broadway’s more strenuous periods. In that regard, seeing Alicia Keys on the line-up doesn’t necessarily fill one with confidence. Even if you like her music, you have to wonder what she’s going to do that is any more thrilling than the other critically panned tales that have graced the stage lately. How is she any better than Britney Spears, Tina Turner, or even Cher? Something has to give.
And thankfully, my inexperience with Keys’ discography allowed me to be continually surprised at how well Hell’s Kitchen plays on the record. Along with interstitial dialogue that pieces the larger story together, the hits feel personal. It could be a personal appreciation of 2000s-era R&B, but the singers do a great job of translating it to Broadway by wringing out every last emotion from the numbers. I laughed, I cried, I even felt a greater appreciation for the life of artists as the story continues. Much to my surprise, Hell’s Kitchen’s OBCR does a fantastic job of conveying character to the point that even the most recognizable Top 40 is given new context.
On the surface, even the underdog story is familiar territory. I don’t necessarily believe that the journey to curtain call is all that revolutionary. However, this is one of the most concrete soundtracks that I listened to. Every song feels purposeful. I’m left feeling like the lyrics have been tailored to these characters without sacrificing the greater personality of Keys. For all I know this is going to be the familiar heart on its sleeve inspirational story we’ve come to expect, but is that such a bad thing when done right? To me, the music flows so perfectly into the next that the final cries of “Empire State of Mind” feel like more than a cheesy farewell. It’s the story of what endurance and talent can bring.
As of this publication and without larger knowledge of these shows, it’s the one that I would predict to win Best Musical. While Suffs could win on the grounds of it being an election year, I think Hell’s Kitchen speaks to something more universal and necessary right now. As everything feels dark and scary outside, the idea of a musical encouraging artists to use their canvases to better understand themselves more pertinent than ever. I would like to believe it tackles serious messages as well, but in terms of doing it accessibly, I don’t know a soundtrack that conveys the centralized appeal of musicals of these five better than this one.
1. Illinoise
If forced to say what was my overall favorite, I think it would be fair to say that the Sufjan Stevens tale of growing up in Illinois is far and away my favorite. I think some biases should be stated before getting too far along. Yes, I am a casual fan of Stevens’ greater career. However, I was always excited by his states project and sad that, even in its audacity, was never close to accomplished. To me, the idea of exploring the identity of states through their cultural signifiers is fun. I love “Michigan” and “Illinois” and I think listening to this OBCR, I was left wondering what other states could make for 60 minutes of blissful storytelling. Maybe it’s because of the recent NBA playoffs, but Minnesota has been on my mind.
This isn’t to say that Illinoise the show is a direct translation. I can’t imagine that it’s going to be a PowerPoint presentation of factoids. Instead, every new detail I learn about it only makes me more curious to know how this show is going to be. For starters, every song feels beefed up by an incredible cast of singers that manages to have the jazz pop and folk motifs flow naturally between booming harmonies and deep, intimate moments. Somehow even the numbers that feel rooted in the most impersonal topics imaginable all tie to this sense of identity. I couldn’t help but feel songs about John Wayne Gacy or Superman alluded to things that aren’t overt on the album but can be heard in vocal inflections.
More than that, this is a musical that won’t be following normal paths. Even among the category of jukebox musicals, Stevens’ work feels rooted mostly in the art of dance. I’m assuming this means that while it will have a heavy and very real emotion running through the pieces, this will be a chance to embrace the abstract and capture sensibilities of its cast that aren’t apparent through song. I recognize that a lot of shows have dance, but not many have necessarily done something innovative enough to write home about. Maybe I am putting too much pressure on Illinoise to be the best show of 2024, but I do sincerely believe it has the chance to present something exciting about the future of musical theater.
Much like my hope for more states albums, I want to believe that this will lead to a lot of similar projects. For now, I could be silly and think that he’ll move onto adapting “Michigan” for a second act. Even if it’s predictable, I think it could establish him as one of the most singular jukebox musical tycoons in recent history. Not since American Idiot has a single album been so delicately updated for a different medium. Given that it was always planned for a limited run, I have to wonder if this recent success means it will have any lasting legacy. If anything, I hope it lasts long enough to make it west of New York, and even further west of Illinois. To me, it’s the show that makes me most excited to get out there. That is the highest praise I can give any of these shows.
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