A challenge to watch or listen to one musical per week from January-March.
As someone who is fascinated by variety in forms of storytelling and someone who has to sing (it is not optional—I can’t listen to music when I’m alone and have to focus, even if it’s purely instrumental), musical theater is ideal for me. But, growing up in a family with lots of loud children and not much money, I never got to experience live theater unless it was a school play. I’d seen some musical movies, and of course Disney movies, but nothing else.
In 2016, I decided to change that. My job must not have been very time-consuming then, because I settled on a personal challenge to watch or listen to one new musical every day for the entire month of February. That was 29 new musicals streamlined into my brain.
The challenge was a lot of fun, so I decided to do it yearly. I successfully accomplished this goal three years in a row. Then I moved countries, got a more involved job, and… well, Musical Theater Month wasn’t happening anymore. I kept trying, but I never got past the first handful.
So, in 2021, I decided to switch tactics. Musical Theater Month became Musical Theater Quarter, with a much more doable goal of one musical per week. They don’t have to be brand new to me, either—if I’ve seen it before, I’ll usually go for a different version, but I don’t have any hard-and-fast rules. This project is meant to be fun.
I still haven’t seen much live theater, and I’m still working my way through the canon and picking favorites as I go, but I’ve learned a lot during the past 5 years. Ultimately, this project has only reinforced that musical theater is a superb medium. If think you don’t like musicals, you probably haven’t watched the right ones!
You can read more about this project by looking at the tag on my blog, or see the lists I’ve done each year below.
Daisy M. Hall 