The Best Broadway Musicals of the 2000s

Buster McDermott
Updated January 9, 2021 12.1K votes 1.5K voters 36.9K views

What are the best Broadway shows today? This has been ranked by theater lovers to determine the top Broadway musicals from the 2000s to the present. From Wicked to Spring Awakening, today's best Broadway musicals are carrying on the musical theater legacy and drawing in audiences both during their Broadway runs, and on tour as well.

Though revivals and adaptations have been increasing in popularity, such as Thoroughly Modern Millie, West Side Story and South Pacific, notable new shows such as Wicked and The Book of Mormon continue to draw audiences to Broadway musicals. Today's Broadway shows dazzle with nonstop dancing, music, and energy, as seen in shows like Hairspray and Billy Elliott. The 2000s have also seen a large draw to musical comedies, including the dark satire of Urinetown, a show with an outrageous plot that kept audiences laughing in their seats. 

Though the decade has seen its fair share of criticism that the original musical is dead, Broadway shows are still enjoyed by many who delight in the dazzle of the lights. Broadway today attracts families to shows such as Seussical or Legally Blonde, but treasures such as The Color Purple and Next to Normal continue to keep the Broadway musical alive.

Cast your votes below for the greatest modern Broadway musicals and see where the musicals of the 2000s you think are the best rank.
Ranked by
  • Wicked
    1

    Wicked

    Stephen Schwartz, Winnie Holzman
    582 votes
    • Characters: Wicked Witch of the West, The Wizard, Glinda the Good Witch, Boq, Doctor Dillamond
    Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by Winnie Holzman. It is based on the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, an alternative telling of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L. Frank Baum's classic 1900 story The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The musical is told from the perspective of the witches of the Land of Oz; its plot begins before and continues after Dorothy's arrival in Oz from Kansas and includes several references to the 1939 film and Baum's novel. Wicked tells the story of two unlikely friends, Elphaba and Glinda the Good, who struggle through opposing personalities and viewpoints, rivalry over the same love-interest, reactions to the Wizard's corrupt government, and, ultimately, Elphaba's public fall from grace. Produced by Universal Studios in coalition with Marc Platt and David Stone, the Joe Mantello–directed and Wayne Cilento–choreographed original production of Wicked premiered on Broadway at the Gershwin Theatre in October 2003, after completing pre-Broadway tryouts at San Francisco's Curran Theatre in May 2003.
  • Hamilton
    2

    Hamilton

    591 votes
    Hamilton: An American Musical is a sung- and rapped-through musical about the life of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, with music, lyrics and book by Lin-Manuel Miranda, inspired by the 2004 biography Alexander Hamilton by historian Ron Chernow. Notably incorporating hip-hop, rhythm and blues, pop music, soul music, traditional-style show tunes and color-conscious casting of non-white actors as the Founding Fathers and other historical figures, the musical achieved both critical acclaim and box office success.
  • Dear Evan Hansen
    3
    Dear Evan Hansen is a musical with music and lyrics by Pasek and Paul, and a book by Steven Levenson. The title character, Evan Hansen, is a high school senior with a social anxiety disorder who finds himself amid the turmoil that follows a classmate's death.
  • The Book of Mormon
    4

    The Book of Mormon

    Matt Stone, Trey Parker, Robert Lopez
    419 votes
    • Characters: Arnold Cunningham, Kevin Price, Nabulungi, General Butt-Fucking Naked, Elder McKinley
    The Book of Mormon is a musical comedy. First staged in 2011, the play is a satirical examination of Mormon beliefs and practices that ultimately endorses the positive power of love and service. The script, lyrics, and music were written by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone. Parker and Stone were best known for creating the animated comedy South Park; Lopez had co-written the music for the musical Avenue Q. The Book of Mormon follows two Mormon missionaries as they attempt to preach the Mormon religion to the inhabitants of a remote Ugandan village. The earnest young men are challenged by the lack of interest from the locals, who are distracted by more pressing issues such as AIDS, famine, female genital mutilation, and oppression from the village warlords.In 2003, after Parker and Stone saw Avenue Q, they met with the musical's co-writer Lopez and began developing the musical, meeting sporadically for several years. Parker and Stone grew up in Colorado, and references to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had been commonplace in their previous works. For research, the trio took a trip to Salt Lake City to meet with current and former Mormon missionaries. Beginning in 2008, developmental workshops were staged. The show's producers, Scott Rudin and Anne Garefino, opted to open the show directly on Broadway. The show opened on Broadway in March 2011, after nearly seven years of development. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints responded indifferently; however, they did purchase advertising space in its playbill in later runs. The Book of Mormon garnered overwhelmingly positive critical responses, and set records in ticket sales for the Eugene O'Neill Theatre. The show was awarded nine Tony Awards, one of which was for Best Musical, and a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. The original Broadway cast recording became the highest-charting Broadway cast album in over four decades, reaching number three on the Billboard charts. In 2013, the musical premiered in the West End, followed by two US national tours. A production in Melbourne and the first non-English version, in Stockholm, both opened in January 2017. Productions in Oslo and Copenhagen followed. The Book of Mormon has grossed over $500 million, making it one of the most successful musicals of all time.As of July 27, 2019, it is the 14th longest-running Broadway show surpassing 42nd Street.
  • Come from Away
    5
    Come from Away is a musical with book, music and lyrics by Irene Sankoff and David Hein. It is set in the week following the September 11 attacks and tells the true story of what transpired when 38 planes were ordered to land unexpectedly in the small town of Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, as part of Operation Yellow Ribbon. The characters in the musical are based on (and in most cases share the names of) real Gander residents as well as some of the 7,000 stranded travelers they housed and fed.
  • Hairspray
    6

    Hairspray

    Scott Wittman, Marc Shaiman, Thomas Meehan
    411 votes
    • Characters: Velma Von Tussle, Edna Turnblad, Little Inez, Seaweed J Stupps, Motormouth Maybelle
    Hairspray is an American musical with music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman and a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, based on John Waters’s 1988 film of the same name. The songs include 1960s-style dance music and "downtown" rhythm and blues. In 1962 Baltimore, Maryland, plump teenager Tracy Turnblad's dream is to dance on The Corny Collins Show, a local TV dance program based on the real-life Buddy Deane Show. When Tracy wins a role on the show, she becomes a celebrity overnight, and meets a colorful group of characters, leading to social change as Tracy campaigns for the show's integration. In 2003 it won eight Tony Awards, including one for Best Musical, out of 13 nominations. It ran for 2,642 performances, and closed on January 4, 2009. Hairspray has also had national tours, a West End production, and numerous foreign productions and was adapted as a 2007 musical film. The London production was nominated for a record-setting eleven Laurence Olivier Awards, winning four, including Best New Musical.