Top 10 Musicals — Cinema Sugar

10. Little Shop of Horrors

The dirt and dust of Roger Corman’s original may be camouflaged by a little shiny presentation here, but the essence of the first film persists. This is an FX masterpiece and a crucial illustration of the influence of spectacular film. The puppeteering is excellent, having been emphasized by wonderful configuration, and the songs continuously emerge at breakneck speed. It’s an overall grimy, sinister, and amazingly unruly production where the outrageous vision of the Corman film is maintained, brimming over by way of the budget. While the movie has an abundance of notable players (although, really, some of them are kind of a packaged deal for 1986) and feels colossal overall, it still has a fierce and ambitious heart; it is hopelessly odd and never feels diluted. It’s got energy, knifelike wisecracks, and a good deal of drama at a full tilt. It grows beautifully before wholly devolving into something completely unhinged. —Natalie Bauer (streaming, libraries)

9. True Stories

A characterization of a fictitious township, a televised dissertation, and musical performance footage in which David Byrne assumes the part of a softly curious folklorist who examines this sphere of mortal existence with the same kind of alienation and allure commonly set aside for more mysterious cultures. Simultaneously, Byrne’s tangible appearance as the storyteller seems to command that world into consciousness, a realm where informal narratives may actually be true (because they are, even when they aren’t), a world where these yarns may disclose something about the human beings who spin them—and what is Western civilization if not that. Plus, you have the added bonus of John Goodman and a plethora of incredible songs. Good luck getting rid of the little ball of glowing golden light in your chest when it ends. —Natalie Bauer (streaming, libraries)

8. Top Hat

It’s hard to come up with something that was more of its time than a Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musical. To watch Top Hat is to watch a time capsule filled with glamor, elegance, and refinement. These were all things America was starved for in the 1930s, among other things. The plots of most of the Astaire-Rogers musicals were farcical (literally—they often remind me of farce plays). But the plot was really just to get you from dance to dance. Top Hat is the highest-grossing of all their 10 films together, and in it you can see the magical world Depression-era America was escaping to, complete with incredible dances set on extravagant stages. But most of all, you see the chemistry these two actors had together. It’s compelling enough for us to keep watching almost 100 years later. —Vicki Rakowski (streaming, libraries)

7. Once

With its soulful singer-songwriter music, cast of relative unknowns, lo-fi production, and a whole lot of heart, this 2007 reverie of a movie from John Carney changed the paradigm for what a musical could be. “Falling Slowly” wowed the world and won the awards, but it’s the whole collection of songs—written and performed by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová—that help to tell this beautifully intimate guy-meets-girl story on the streets of Dublin, which celebrates the power of music and companionship and a graceful kind of love. My mind’s made up: I’ll love Once always. —Chad Comello (streaming, libraries)

6. La La Land

To live a creative life—to pursue a creative dream—requires a bit of madness. Real-world things like meal planning, paying bills, and maintaining relationships are often an afterthought. It’s a near constant tug-of-war between the space you need to create and the space you need to live, and no movie understands this (and celebrates it) quite like La La Land. From its jubilant opening scene to its bittersweet ending (and every unforgettable song and dance in between), writer-director Damien Chazelle proves you can honor the past while still creating something original, fresh, and timeless—and that’s very, very exciting. —Kevin Prchal (streaming, libraries)

5. Moulin Rouge!

Where to begin with this dark delight, this hopeless romance? A penniless writer falls for a courtesan, and they have to hide their love or the financier she was promised to will shut down the show and bankrupt the theater. It’s an addicting drama filled with cover songs and drug-induced sequences that only Baz Luhrmann could piece together into something surprisingly coherent. It’s a spectacle in the best way. The Elephant scene is a comedic wonder and the “El Tango de Roxanne” sequence is a master class in editing. This film earns its place next to the classics because it breathed new life into the genre after decades ruled almost exclusively by Disney. —Natalie Pohorski (streaming, libraries)

4. West Side Story (1961)

Romeo and Juliet in the streets of New York. When Tony and Maria, connected to two rival gangs, fall in love and the gangs go to war, not only are they caught in the middle but they end up perpetuating the violence. Leonard Bernstein’s score and Stephen Sondheim’s lyrics pair up for something truly special. The contrast of the dirty, industrial setting with the soft and brightly colored costuming assists with the visual storytelling. This one may break your heart, but it’s the dance numbers for me. And I have to give some love to the recent Steven Spielberg remake, which brilliantly gave the musical new life while taking care of most of the problematic bits and bringing back Rita Moreno in a new role. —Natalie Pohorski (streaming, libraries)

3. Grease

I was so obsessed with Grease as a preteen that there’s home video of me squealing when I got the VHS for Christmas one year—and that was without understanding any of the abundant sexual innuendos and jokes sprinkled throughout this 1978 Randal Kleiser film. Such is the power of John Travolta’s gyrations and white-hot charisma, Olivia Newton-John’s likability and leathered-up doe-to-gimlet-eyed transformation, a cast of twenty- and thirty-somethings playing high schoolers, and a soundtrack that’s frankly confused (disco, doo-wop, rockabilly, and pop? OK) but catchy nevertheless. As movie musicals go, Grease is the word. —Chad Comello (streaming, libraries)

2. The Sound of Music

Christopher Plummer and Dame Julie Andrews
Singing nuns, puppets, escaping the Nazis
Rolling crane shots of the Austrian Alps
These are a few of my favorite things!

Best Picture winner The Sound of Music tells the story of a failing nun that gets sent to care for the seven children of a widower and brings them all back to life with her infectious, rebellious spirit and love of music—all set in 1930s Austria during the rise of the Nazi regime. With incomparable and memorable musical numbers from Rodgers and Hammerstein, it’s full of moral dilemmas and satisfying character arcs that keep it grounded and complex. Just thinking of it makes you smile (especially the yodeling puppet show). —Natalie Pohorski (streaming, libraries)

1. Singin’ in the Rain

Singin’ in the Rain is the reason we go to the movies. It dazzles and amazes; lightens our feet and softens our eyes; and takes us out of our world and into another. Every scene, song and dance is more impressive than the last and leaves you dumbstruck and renewed by your love for the medium and all it can express. But technical achievements aside, it’s the weightless joy of this film that makes it so beloved and the perfect go-to choice for when you’re feeling up, down and everything in between. The Hollywood musical is all but dead and there are a number of reasons why—but Moses supposes one of them is that they peaked at Singin’ and all musicals before it and since continue to orbit around the enormity of this timeless, toe-tapping classic. —Kevin Prchal (streaming, libraries)