Gateway Musicals

Any musical can spark an intense interest in theatre, gateway musicals are the ones that turn people into theatre fans for life. For those who don’t know, a gateway musical is a huge show that gathers masses of fans and most importantly, gets people hooked. These musicals are so compelling and addictive that those who see or hear gateway musicals are curious to learn more about other shows and the theatre world.

Gateway musicals have been around forever, but now with the power of social media and technology, the theatre world has been able to form obsessive fan bases that normally would take years to create. With different apps like Spotify and Pandora that can play random songs from any genre you wish; a musical has a greater chance of gaining popularity and drawing in a new crowd of theatre lovers. Additionally, apps like Instagram and TikTok have rallied thousands of people behind brand new musicals, causing them to trend and bringing in people who would otherwise never listen to show tunes.

More recently TikTok has brought Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical and The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical incredible amounts of fame. So much, that lyricist composer duo Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear have their Bridgerton series-based musical nominated for a Grammy. These musicals getting their start on internet platforms has pulled many people who would typically not be interested in theatre into the world of musicals. Impressive as this seems, this is just the tip of the gateway musical iceberg.

In 2015 the musical Hamilton was nominated for a record-breaking 16 Tony Awards. Though it only won 11 Tony Awards, this did not stop the hip-hop-styled musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda from becoming a cultural phenomenon. It was an overnight sensation. One day everyone was living their normal lives, the next everybody and their brother were rapping about the founding fathers. News stations did segments on it, teachers started using it to teach about history, comedy shows took songs and made bits from them. The Hamilton phenomenon took the world by storm. With all of the glory and love did come some amounts of hate for the musical, but that did not stop the new fans from exploring other musicals after discovering their love for Hamilton. Personally, I would dub it “The Biggest Gateway Musical of All Time” but that doesn’t mean there weren’t others before and after Hamilton.

October 30, 2003, the backstory to one of the most famous villains in cinema history debuted on Broadway and has stayed running ever since. Wicked, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman, has become one of the biggest musicals of all time. Even people who don’t like theatre know about Wicked. This prequel to The Wizard of Oz is a tale that caught the attention of millions and changed people into lifelong theatergoers.

The same year as Hamilton, 2015, a new musical premiered at the Two Rivers Theatre following a nerdy teenager and his need to “more than survive.” Be More Chill, based on the book by Ned Vizzini, has original music and composition by Joe Iconis and book by Joe Tracz. This young-adult-targeted musical did its job by relating to misunderstood teenagers and their intense need to fit in. Iconis is still being criticized for poor lyrics that have been called “too immature for the Broadway stage” Be More Chill accumulated one of the biggest fans bases an off-off-Broadway musical has ever seen. It grew so strong that in 2018 the show was able to be picked up off-Broadway this time. With revisions being made to the music for better or for worse, the show opened, then moved to Broadway in 2019. These die-hard BMC fans were brought into the theatre world with relatable content and stayed because in this music they felt accepted.

These three musicals may be opposites of one another, but they are gateway musicals that turn anyone into a theatre lover. Maybe it’s the underdog character that the shows have, and we can’t help but become invested in their stories. It could be the killer songs; with vocalization we think we have while singing along in the shower. Possibly it’s the unique plots that force us to become obsessed with a founding father, a green witch, and a nerdy teenage boy. No matter what engages folks the most, these gateway musicals play vital roles in bringing in new fans and keeping the theatre world alive.