CMU School of Drama


Monday, January 30, 2017

Five Inspirational Musicals to Help You Fight the Power

The Mary Sue: In times of oppression and fear, art has always been there to inspire us. For musical fans old and new, Hamilton has become even more of a touchstone in recent months, but it’s not the first and it certainly won’t be the last musical to tackles issues of race and poverty or tell a story of rebellion. When you think musical theater, you might automatically think of cheerful farmers or singing cats, but musicals have always been about important issues, often ahead of their times. Here are five shows to listen to when the world is getting you down.

1 comment:

Marisa Rinchiuso said...

This article was the perfect thing to read this week. It's amazing how art is so relevant to life. I always feel that way when I'm on a show. It may be the fact that productions are often selected to contribute to the world in some way. Regardless, I always find solace in musicals in times of struggle or pain. Funny enough his morning I was listening to Hamilton and just thought about the line "Look around, look around. How lucky we are to be alive right now." That really resonated with me and changed my perspective on the day. I think we take a lot for granted and it's great to be taken aback by the power of music and words. In relation to the article, I think these are excellent musicals to pull from. The only thing I would of switched out would be Wicked for Hamilton. Overall though, I completely agree. Newsies is usually my go-to pump up power musical.