From Oliver! to Cats and beyond, these are the groundbreaking shows that redefined what a musical could be. Dive into ten of the greatest classic musicals and where to catch them.
The variety of musicals we’ve come to know and love today – think Hamilton or Wicked – wouldn’t have been possible without the innovations of these classics, not only in captivating audiences around the world but in being an impetus for change and evolution within the genre.
The stories are rich and varied: a tumultuous love triangle on a farm in rural Oklahoma, an orphan trying to find where he belongs in gritty Victorian London, a woman desperate to survive and reunite with her lost love in 1970s Vietnam. These musicals have also remained popular decades after they first premiered.
From experimenting with songs to further plot and character development, to challenging the conventions of staging and the fourth wall, these shows offer a glimpse into the vibrant history and evolution of musical theatre. It’s by no means a definitive list but it is a great starting point for new and old musical enthusiasts alike.
10 classic musicals you should know
Les Misérables
Based on the historical novel of the same name by Victor Hugo, Les Misérables is a gripping tale of love, redemption and revolution in 19th century France. The iconic musical follows ex-convict Jean Valjean on a journey of redemption after spending 17 years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread.
The musical was originally conceived by French lyricist and librettist Alain Boublil, who got the idea to adapt the novel while seeing a production of Oliver! in London but it wasn’t until Cameron Mackintosh partnered with the Royal Shakespeare Company that we got the English version we all know and love today.
It’s now the longest running show in the West End, engraining itself in the cultural zeitgeist. Even if they’d never seen the musical, most people would probably recognize songs like ‘I Dreamed a Dream,’ ‘On My Own,’ and ‘One Day More.’
Where can you see it? Les Misérables celebrated 40 years in the West End last year. Currently playing at the Sondheim Theatre in London, this iconic musical is full of spectacle and continues to captivate audiences worldwide.
Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon was the musical of the 90s, making its premiere first in the West End and then on Broadway: both productions ran for 10 year and over 4,000 performances. Based on Puccini’s Madame Butterfly, Miss Saigon transports the tragic story of lost love to 1970s Vietnam, in the last days of the divisive war.
Created by the same duo behind Les Misérables, Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, the musical follows 17-year-old Kim (originated by Lea Solonga in the original West End and Broadway runs) as she’s forced to work in a Saigon bar, where she meets and falls in love with an American GI named Chris.
Schönberg was inspired by a photograph he’d seen in a magazine of a Vietnamese mother leaving her child at a departure gate for a plane heading to the US, where the child’s father was waiting. This idea of the ultimate sacrifice became a central plot to the musical.
Where can you see it? With similar epic storytelling to Les Misérables, Miss Saigon has proved popular over the years. A new production is currently on tour, with plans to return to the West End in 2027.
Oliver!
A musical retelling of Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist, Oliver! is a classic through and through. Lionel Bart’s interpretation is as much beloved as its source material, following the orphaned Oliver through Victorian London as he escapes the harsh workhouse and finds himself in its criminal underworld with a familiar cast of characters.
Though a writer and composer, Lionel Bart couldn’t read or write music. In order to write iconic songs like ‘I’d Do Anything,’ ‘Consider Yourself’ and ‘Food Glorious Food,’ Bart would hum or tap out the melodies, and his collaborator Eric Rogers would transcribe the songs.
Oliver! would be a huge success when it premiered in 1960 in the West End with a record-breaking run: the production ran for 2,618 performances, which was unheard of at the time. The show transferred to Broadway and was adapted for film in 1968.
Where can you see it? A critically acclaimed revival of Oliver! returned to the West End in 2024 and is currently playing at the Gielgud Theatre.
Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom of the Opera boasts the title of longest-running musical in Broadway history, and second longest running musical in the West End. A popular and iconic musical from Andrew Lloyd Webber, Phantom of the Opera is based on the1910 novel of the same name by Gaston Leroux.
Lloyd Webber was interested in writing a major romance, and approached Cameron Mackintosh about the idea, but after watching the two film versions, they scrapped the idea. It wasn’t until Webber picked up the original novel that he was inspired to give it another go.
The tragic romance tells the tale of beautiful soprano Christine Daaé and the angel of music who lurks beneath the Paris Opera House. To tell the story, Lloyd Webber penned iconic songs such as ‘Think of Me,’ ‘All I Ask of You,’ and of course, ‘The Phantom of the Opera.’
Where can you see it? Premiering in the West End in 1986, Phantom of the Opera has been performing for 40 years at His Majesty’s Theatre. It’s currently booking until 13 March 2027.
Cats
Also from Andrew Lloyd Webber, Cats is unique on this list as one of the only sung-through musicals. There is very little spoken dialogue throughout the show, and it features libretto all the way through.
Interestingly, the musical is inspired by and based on a collection of whimsical poems by T.S. Eliot. Most of the lyrics come from Eliot’s poems, set to music by Andrew Lloyd Webber as a songwriting exercise. Eventually a selection of songs was performed, after which Eliot’s widow passed on some unpublished poems from the same collection including one called ‘Grizabella the Glamour Cat.’
Webber was inspired by the new poem to write a full musical turning the poems into a story of a tribe of Jellicle cats as they gather for their annual ball and decide who is worthy ascending to the Heaviside Layer and be reborn into a new life. The popular musical ran for 21 years on the West End and 18 years on Broadway, earning it a solid spot in the musical theatre hall of fame.
Where can you see it? A new revival of Cats is coming to Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre this summer from 25 July – 12 September 2026, directed by Drew McOnie (Jesus Christ Superstar, Brigadoon).
Sunday in the Park with George
One of Stephen Sondheim’s lesser-known works, Sunday in the Park with George is considered by many to be both a classic and a masterpiece. The musical was inspired, not by a book like many of the other shows on this list, but by the George Seurat painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (1884).
Sondheim and his collaborator James Lapine spent a great deal of time observing the painting, and their curiosity about the artist led to Sunday in the Park with George. While it does take some artistic licence with details of his life, the musical follows painter Georges Seurat in the months leading up to the completion of his most famous work.
The musical features some of Sondheim’s most endearing songs, including ‘Sunday,’ ‘Finishing the Hat,’ and ‘Putting It Together.’ Incidentally, Sunday in the Park with George is only one of ten musicals to ever win a Pulitzer Prize, along with RENT, Hamilton and South Pacific to name a few.
Where can you see it? While it has not been revived on the West End for many years, the Barbican announced that a revival of Sunday in the Park with George is coming in 2027, starring Jonathan Bailey and Ariana Grande.
Cabaret
Cabaret has been a staple of musical theatre history ever since its 1966 premiere. Much like other musicals on this list, Cabaret left a lasting impression on audience goers with its unconventional staging, subject matter and structure.
Inspired by 1939 novel Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood in which he details his life in Berlin on the cusp of Adolf Hitler’s ascent to power, Cabaret centres around the decadent Kit Kat Club and the people who work there alongside the real people who live outside the walls of the club.
The unusual staging is part of what makes it so captivating: productions regularly break the fourth wall, and make the audience part of the show, as if they are the crowd at the Kit Kat Club. There is no overture or raising of the curtain as with more traditional musicals, and the plot is interspersed with cabaret performances. It was a groundbreaking piece of theatre at the time, and continues to remain relevant today.
Where can you see it? Cabaret is currently enjoying a highly praised revival which opened at the Playhouse Theatre in November 2021 and is currently booking until January 2027.
My Fair Lady
Based on the 1913 play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw, My Fair Lady premiered on Broadway and in the West End to great acclaim and remains an iconic musical that continues to be revived today.
There had been several attempts to translate the play into a musical, including by Rodgers and Hammerstein, but it was Frederick Loewe and Alan Jay Lerner who accomplished the feat by making significant changes to some of the plot. There is no romantic element in Shaw’s original play, but the love story is essential for the musical. Famously, Shaw was not interested in seeing his play turned into a musical, but after his death, Lerner and Loewe were granted permission to adapt the work.
Julie Andrews famously starred as Eliza Doolittle, the Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons from Professor Henry Higgins, in both the Broadway and West End productions alongside Rex Harrison as Henry. Harrison would go on to star in the equally iconic film adaptation with Audrey Hepburn.
Where can you see it? The last major revival of My Fair Lady was in 2022, but a new production is coming to Chichester Festival Theatre this summer. Several productions there have made the jump to the West End in the past so we’ll be keeping an eye out.
Kiss Me Kate
Kiss Me Kate is one of Cole Porter’s most successful musicals. Written during the golden age of musicals, it’s a retelling of Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew and premiered on Broadway in 1949, going on to play over a thousand performances and win the very first Tony Award for Best Musical.
Kiss Me Kate was a new style of writing from Porter who didn’t always adapt his compositions to the plot. Despite his successes with previous musicals Anything Goes and High Society, this was Porter’s first time writing an integrated score in which the music wove seamlessly with the narrative.
Following warring exes Fred and Lilli as they’re forced to play opposites in a production of Taming of the Shrew and the complications that arise with the cast both on and off stage, Kiss Me Kate has been revived numerous times in the last 70 years. Most recently it returned to the West End in 2024, starring Adrian Dunbar (Line of Duty) as Fred / Petruchio and Stephanie J. Block (Wicked, Into the Woods) as Lilli / Katharine.
Where can you see it? Kiss Me Kate isn’t currently playing in the West End, but it’s a great show you’ll want to keep an eye out for. In the meantime, why not check out High Society at the Barbican, also by Cole Porter.
Oklahoma!
Though many musicals from esteemed duo Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II are considered classics, like Cinderella, South Pacific and The King and I, it is their very first collaboration Oklahoma! (1943) that changed musical theatre as we know it.
Integrated musicals were a relatively new and little tested idea by the time Rodgers and Hammerstein produced their award-winning musical. Prior to this period, musicals didn’t always have cohesive plots, nor did the songs link in with any real intention. Showgirls and big choruses were a regular occurrence.
With Oklahoma!, the duo wrote songs that furthered the action of the story and developed the characters, even featuring a dream ballet and incorporating movement into characters beyond musical numbers. Following farm girl Laurey Williams as she is pursued by two rival suitors, cowboy Curly McLain and farmhand Jud Fry, Oklahoma! defied convention.
The opening scene, especially, caused a frenzy due to its revolutionary staging: rather than a showy chorus, a lone Aunt Eller sitting outside her farmhouse churning butter while a robust offstage voice sings ‘Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin.’
Where can you see it? The last major revival of Oklahoma! was in 2023. It’s not currently playing in the West End but given its popularity, a new production is always on the cards
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