When it comes to determining the best plays all options are a matter of opinion. So for this list I give you the most famous on Broadway, most popular original plays and top classical plays.
On Broadway
Broadway refers to the street in New York that all the theaters stayed. The oldest one being The Lyceum Theatre built in 1903. It was considered a Landmark and can not be taken down. Broadway is famous for its shows which can only be put on Broadway if it has been staged in 40 professional theaters that have 500 or more seats. It is considered to be an Honor to be played on Broadway. Even so, Broadway has gone to host many shows and created its own award show called The Tony’s. Here are the most famous shows to come out of Broadway.
The Phantom of the Opera
Written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, the musical depicts the famous telling of an Opera recluse who takes in the mind and voice of a young girl. In some versions he is depicted being scarred or having been born scarred giving him a disfigured look on his face.
Cats
Another musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, this dance musical depicts the story of a group of cats called The Jellicles. This musical is famous for premiering the song “Memories.”
Chicago
Created by John Kramer, this musical depicts real crimes that happened in the early 1900s based off reports given by an actual officer. This musical is based around a play of the same name.
The Lion King
A story much like Hamlet around the idea of a young lion prince who will one day lead the pride is framed for his father’s death by his uncle who seeks to rule the pride. This leads him to other characters that help him return to the pride to stop his uncle. Based off the Disney Cartoon with music from Elton John.
Les Miserables
Written by Claude-Michel Schönberg, this musical is based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo. The story depicts a convict who is released after 20 years of prison. He breaks parole to seek an honest life but is hunted by Inspector Javert. This story ranges throughout an 18 year time span in the 1800s.
Original Plays
Thousands of plays are written all the time. Most based off books, other plays, movies and even the lives of their writers. This section refers to plays or musicals that have been made based off original concepts.
Anything Goes
Opened in Broadway November 21, 1934
The play depicts the life of three people who live out a comedic story aboard a boat.
Allegro
October 10, 1947
The story of a doctor who moves from a small town to a large city for more success and money only to realize everything he worked for was for his own greed not to save lives.
Hallelujah, Baby!
April 26th, 1967
This tale depicts the life of an African-American woman as she lives through black segregation in the early to late 1900s.
Follies
April 4, 1971
Based on a group of Follie girls this story depicts the life of two young girls who think back to their lives and experiences to imagine what their futures may become.
Grease
February 14, 1972
Greaser Danny Zuko meets the prim and proper Sandy Dumbrowski over summer vacation, but when Sandy ends transfers to Danny’s school in the fall, the expectations of his friend group threaten to derail the high school romance.
Classical Plays
Plays have been around for a very long time. It is said they started in ancient Greece. From that era there came a lot of Classical plays that inspired stories both about the work and their writers. Here is a list of Classical Plays that made Theatre
Sophocles, Oedipus Rex
The story of Oedipus who is told one day he will kill his mother and father and so to avoid such prophecy he runs away only to learn more of his coming conflict.
Sophocles, Antigone
Follows the story of Oedipus’s daughter who fights for her brothers corpse after he is killed in war.
Aeschylus, The Oresteia
Written as three part tale. It tells the story of the turbulent goings-on in Agamemnon’s family after his return from the Trojan War. The starting-point is his wife Clytemnestra’s plot to murder her husband upon his return, for having sacrificed their daughter in exchange for fair winds to carry him off to the wars.
Euripides, Medea.
This is one of the most famous classical stories about a woman who kills her ex-husbands wife and her own children after he is found to have been in affair with his soon to be new wife.
Euripides, Cyclops
Written as a third type of play called Satire. Cyclops centres on the incident from the story of Odysseus when the Greek hero found himself a prisoner in the cave of Polyphemus.