Best Musical Revue

Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill is a musical play written by Lanie Robertson that premiered in 1986. The production dramatizes one of jazz singer Billie Holiday's final performances, set in a small bar in South Philadelphia shortly before her death in 1959. The intimate revue features the vocali...

Jerome Robbins' Broadway is a 1989 anthology musical that recreates iconic dance and musical numbers originally directed or choreographed by Jerome Robbins. The production compiles scenes from classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals like The King and I and Fiddler on the Roof, alongside works such...

At the Drop of a Hat was a two-man musical revue by the British duo Flanders and Swann, consisting of writer and vocalist Michael Flanders and pianist and composer Donald Swann. It opened at the New Lindsay Theatre in London in 1956 and later transferred to the Fortune Theatre in the West End, runni...

"At the Drop of Another Hat" is a musical revue by the British duo Flanders and Swann, first performed in 1963. Serving as the sequel to their successful 1956 show "At the Drop of a Hat," it features Michael Flanders providing witty, satirical social commentary alongside Donald Swann's piano composi...

The Me Nobody Knows is an American musical built from writings by young people living in New York City. It has music by Gary William Friedman, lyrics by Will Holt, and additional lyrics by Herb Schapiro, with material adapted from an anthology edited by Stephen M. Joseph. After an Off-Broadway produ...

The World Goes 'Round is a 1991 Off-Broadway musical revue featuring the song catalogue of composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb. Conceived and directed by Scott Ellis with choreography by Susan Stroman and a linking script by David Thompson, the production is performed by a cast of five and ar...

Black Nativity is a gospel musical play by Langston Hughes, subtitled A Gospel Song Play. It retells the biblical Nativity story with an entirely Black cast, incorporating traditional carols and spirituals. The work was commissioned by Karamu House in Cleveland and premiered on Broadway in December...

La Chauve-Souris was a highly influential theatrical revue created by Armenian-Russian émigré Nikita Balieff, whose name translates to The Bat. First established in Paris following Balieff's departure from Russia, the production brought its unique blend of songs, comedic sketches, dance, and stylize...

*Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope* is a 1971 musical revue featuring music, lyrics, and book by Micki Grant, with direction by Vinnette Carroll. The production is distinguished by its exploration of Black American life, addressing topics like race relations, education, and social justice through a blen...

The Choir of Man is a stage musical revue created by Nic Doodson and Andrew Kay that premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2017. The production is set in a working pub, where a cast of nine male performers sing, dance, and play live instruments. The show features a repertoire of well-known p...

Dancin' is a Broadway musical revue that premiered in 1978, conceived, directed, and choreographed by Bob Fosse. The production is distinguished by its complete omission of a traditional narrative plot, focusing entirely on extended sequences of dance numbers. It features an eclectic musical score s...

Charlot's Revue of 1924 was an Anglo-American theatrical revue produced by André Charlot that premiered on Broadway. The production is historically notable for introducing American audiences to British stage performers Beatrice Lillie and Gertrude Lawrence. The show consisted of a series of musical...

Cowardy Custard is a 1972 musical revue devised to celebrate the songs, plays, and writings of Noël Coward. The original London production opened at the Greenwich Theatre before transferring to the West End, where it ran for more than 400 performances. The revue intersperses well-known Coward songs...

Your Arms Too Short to Box with God is a gospel musical conceived by Vinnette Carroll, with music and lyrics by Alex Bradford and Micki Grant. Drawn from the Gospel of Matthew, it presents the ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus through song, dance, and dramatic narration. The productio...

This Is the Army is a wartime musical revue by Irving Berlin, first staged on Broadway in 1942 with a cast drawn from members of the United States Army. Developed from Berlin's earlier World War I revue Yip Yip Yaphank, it combined songs, comedy, dance, and military spectacle to support morale and r...

Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies is a Broadway musical revue that opened in 1981, celebrating the music of jazz composer Duke Ellington. The production features a catalog of his classic standards performed by singers and dancers, initially starring renowned performers like Gregory Hines and Jud...

Five Guys Named Moe is a musical revue that celebrates the music of rhythm and blues artist Louis Jordan, featuring many of his hit songs from the 1940s and 1950s. Created and written by Clarke Peters, the musical premiered in London's West End in 1990, where it won the Olivier Award for Best Entert...

*Me and Bessie* is a Broadway musical revue that premiered in 1975, starring Linda Hopkins. The production is structured as a solo show dedicated to the life and music of the influential blues singer Bessie Smith. The original Broadway run lasted for 453 performances, and Linda Hopkins received a Dr...

Words and Music is a theatrical revue written, composed, and directed by Noël Coward, which premiered at the Adelphi Theatre in London in 1932. The production is most notable for introducing the enduring song "Mad About the Boy" to the stage. Coward himself performed in the revue alongside Joyce Car...

Berlin to Broadway with Kurt Weill is a musical revue created in 1972 that chronicles the career of composer Kurt Weill. The production is structured around his emigration from Germany to the United States, featuring songs from his collaborations with Bertolt Brecht during his European period and la...

A Party with Betty Comden and Adolph Green is a 1958 musical revue starring the titular duo, who wrote and performed the material. The show combines comedic sketches and songs from their Broadway and Hollywood careers, as well as routines originating from their early comedy troupe, The Revuers. It c...

Cookin' at the Cookery is a two-actor musical revue conceived and directed by Marion J. Caffey, centered on the life and repertoire of blues singer Alberta Hunter. The piece traces Hunter's career from her 1920s Chicago and New York recordings through her decades-long performing life, and through he...

The Little Show is a Broadway intimate revue that opened in 1929, with music by Arthur Schwartz and lyrics by Howard Dietz, and was produced by Dwight Deere Wiman. Its sophisticated sketch-and-song format helped define the intimate revue form that flourished on Broadway in the late 1920s and early 1...

Tomfoolery is a 1980 musical revue built from the satirical songs of American songwriter Tom Lehrer. It was devised for the stage by Cameron Mackintosh and Robin Ray, arranging Lehrer's existing material into a theatrical presentation. The revue includes songs characterized by black humor and social...

"Blues in the Night" is a musical revue conceived by Sheldon Epps that premiered in 1980. The production uses classic blues and torch songs from the 1920s through the 1940s to explore themes of love and hardship. Set in a rundown 1938 Chicago hotel, the narrative unfolds through the perspectives of...

Wake Up and Dream is a musical revue produced by Charles B. Cochran, with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. It opened in London in 1929 and later played on Broadway, presenting songs and specialty acts rather than a continuous dramatic plot. Its score introduced "What Is This Thing Called Love?", whi...

The 1940's Radio Hour is a musical revue conceived and written by Walton Jones and first produced in 1979. Set in a New York radio studio during World War II, it depicts the cast and crew of a fictional live variety broadcast, combining backstage incidents with period songs, comedy, advertisements,...

Make Me a Song is an off-Broadway musical revue featuring the music and lyrics of composer William Finn. Conceived by Rob Ruggiero, the show premiered in 2006 at the Hartt School before moving to an off-Broadway venue in 2007. The revue compiles songs from Finn's well-known musicals, such as Falsett...

Sigh No More was a theatrical revue written and composed by Noël Coward that opened in London's West End in 1945. The production combined musical numbers, comedic sketches, and topical material reflecting British society during the final months of World War II. It was part of Coward's extensive body...