www.broadwaynews.com: The Recording Academy has revealed the nominations for the 2025 Grammy Awards. The awards body, which recognizes excellence in the music industry, comprises 94 competitive categories. The cast albums from six of the productions that opened on Broadway in the 2023-2024 season were recognized in the Best Musical Theater Album category.
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A few things popped into my head as I read this article. First, I had never fully realized the gap between when an album was released and the grammy year it was nominated in. Given how fast the industry moves, it seems weird to me that an album released in 2023 could be considered for a grammy in 2025. Second, I have only heard of two of the musicals on this list; Suffs and The Outsiders, however I’ve never seen these shows or listened to the albums. For a theatre kid and a theatre student, I am woefully unaware of many of the goings-on in the industry. I also didn’t know that there was a musical theatre category in the grammys. I don’t usually watch the grammys, but I do pay attention to the eventual winners and nominees. At the next grammys, I am looking forward to seeing the results in the musical theatre category.
In a community so driven by the Tonys, I sometimes forget that there is even a Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album. I understand it though, and I like it. Kind of? The Grammy is all about recording, of course, so it applies to the whole quality of score as well as production and performance. The Tonys are broken down into smaller categories such as “Best Score” or “Best Musical” which is a great representation, allowing each artist to stand for their own work. Musical theatre albums are, of course, a godsend, but sometimes I wonder about how it takes away from the live aspect of theatre. I love cast recording and definitely want them to keep coming, but I understand why it isn’t a category in the Tonys itself. Regardless, it must be an honor to win a best musical theatre album Grammy, but I just have never seen much hype around it in the theatre community. Also, it feels weird that “the album’s producers, composers, lyricists and up to four principal vocalists are eligible to receive the nomination.” These albums have so many voices on them. None of it could be done without every harmony and every single specific ensemble member, as well as just other cast members in general. Lots of shows have more than four main characters, so I just wonder how they make those decisions and if the other people on the cast recording get to claim it as their own award or not.
I am so very happy that the 2025 Musical Theater Album Grammy Awards was announced because half of the music I listen to is comprised of musical theatre music. It is very embarrassing to admit, but I really enjoy listening to musical theatre music very much. The nominees for best musical theater albums are, “Hell’s Kitchen,” “Merrily We Roll Along,” “Suffs,” “The Notebook,” “The Outsiders” and “The Wiz.” Of those shows, I have only seen Suffs and The Notebook, and both of those soundtracks were definitely outstanding, and they absolutely deserve the nominations they received. I have not seen or listened to The Outsiders, but I have seen one of their lighting sequences for the rumble and it was definitely one of my favorite lighting sequences I have ever seen. That being said, I hope to see that show soon and listen to their 2025 Musical Theater Album Grammy Award nominated soundtrack.
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