Musicals

Writers and Short Summary

West Side Story

Leonard Bernstein & Stephen Sondheim

West Side Story – Summary

A modern Romeo and Juliet about rival gangs in New York whose violence destroys a tragic interracial love

The Phantom of the Opera

Andrew Lloyd Webber

The Phantom of the Opera – Summary

A masked musical genius haunts the Paris Opera and obsesses over a young soprano

My Fair Lady

Frederick Loewe & Alan Jay Lerner

My Fair Lady – Summary

A phonetics professor transforms a flower girl into a lady and unexpectedly falls in love

Cats

Andrew Lloyd Webber

Cats – Summary

A tribe of cats gathers to decide which one will be reborn

Evita –

Andrew Lloyd Webber & Tim Rice

Evita – Summary

The rise and fall of Eva Perón

The Mikado

Arthur Sullivan

The Mikado – Summary

A comedic critique of British politics disguised as a story set in Japan

The Sound of Music

Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II

The Sound of Music – Summary

A governess brings music and love to a family while escaping Nazi-controlled Austria

Fiddler on the Roof

Jerry Bock & Sheldon Harnick

Fiddler on the Roof – Summary

A Jewish father struggles to maintain tradition as his daughters choose love over custom

Oklahoma!

Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II

Oklahoma! – Summary

Romantic and social tensions unfold in frontier America on the brink of statehood

Cabaret

John Kander & Fred Ebb

Cabaret – Summary

A love story set in Berlin as the rise of Nazism threatens personal freedom

The Music Man

Meredith Willson

The Music Man – Summary

A con man pretending to start a boys’ band falls in love and finds redemption

Rent

Jonathan Larson

Rent – Summary

Young artists struggle with love

Guys and Dolls

Frank Loesser

Guys and Dolls – Summary

Gamblers and missionaries clash in a comedic story about love and chance

Les Misérables

Claude-Michel Schönberg

Les Misérables – Summary

Former convict Jean Valjean seeks redemption amid revolution and injustice in France

Annie Get Your Gun

Irving Berlin

Annie Get Your Gun – Summary

A sharpshooter learns that love matters more than winning

The Pirates of Penzance

Gilbert & Sullivan

The Pirates of Penzance – Summary

A young man caught in a legal loophole must return to pirate life

H.M.S. Pinafore

Gilbert & Sullivan

H.M.S. Pinafore – Summary

A sailor and captain’s daughter overcome class barriers through mistaken identity

The King and I

Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II

The King and I – Summary

A British teacher challenges tradition in the royal court of Siam

Jesus Christ Superstar

Andrew Lloyd Webber & Tim Rice

Jesus Christ Superstar – Summary

The final days of Jesus told from Judas’s conflicted perspective

Sweeney Todd

Stephen Sondheim

Sweeney Todd – Summary

A barber seeks revenge through murder

South Pacific

Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II

South Pacific – Summary

Love stories unfold during World War II while confronting prejudice