Guides for Musicals, Plays, Operas & Operettas
Read expert-written show guides with context, plot, characters and video examples.
The Music Man
There’s trouble in River City When smooth-talking con man Harold Hill arrives in a small, tight-knit town in Iowa, he expects to dupe its residents with his elaborate moneymaking scheme: Despite his complete lack of musical literacy, he will convince everyone that he is a brilliant bandleader a... read more
Thoroughly Modern Millie
It’s 1922, and small-town girl Millie Dillmount has just arrived in New York City, ready to make her dreams come true. Millie’s plan is simple: find a job as a secretary for an eligible bachelor, and then marry him. It doesn’t take long, however, for Millie’s “thoroughly modern” plan to go awry.... read more
Shrek the Musical
Shrek the Musical is a one-of-a-kind, hilarious fairy tale in which curses are reversed, monsters get the girls, donkeys and dragons find love, and princesses are beautiful in all shapes and sizes. Grumpy, gruff, green ogre Shrek lives alone in his swamp. The world is fearful and mocking of him,... read more
Oliver!
Bringing Charles Dickens’ beloved novel to life, Lionel Bart’s Oliver takes audiences on a wild adventure through Victorian England. Join young,orphaned Oliver Twist as he navigates the London’s underworld of theft and violence, searching for a home, a family, and - most importantly - for love.... read more
Funny Girl
The greatest star, the ultimate people person…. the story of beloved comedienne Fanny Brice begins with her irrepressible youth in New York’s Lower East Side, where the stage-struck teenager clowns her way through burlesque and vaudeville, with dreams of making it big. despite the discouragemen... read more
In The Heights
Over the course of the Tony award-winning musical, In the Heights, we encounter the many colorful residents of Washington Heights -- a New York City neighborhood on the brink of change. Usnavi, a first generation Dominican-American corner bodega owner, and his friends and family are dealing with... read more
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
An eclectic group of sixth-graders arrives at the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, each eager to win for very different reasons. Sweet and shy Olive brings only her best friend with her to the bee; bold and hyperallergic speller William Barfee uses his “magic foot” to propel him to greatn... read more
The King and I
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The King and I is a moving, radiant story of East meets West. It is the early 1860s when newly widowed Anna Leonowens and her son, Louis, set sail from their native England for Bangkok, Siam . Anna, still grieving, has set her sights on a new adventure and taken a positi... read more
Bye Bye Birdie
The year is 1958, and the much-adored rock-and-roll idol -- Conrad Birdie -- has been drafted into the US army. His songwriter and agent, Albert, and Albert’s secretary and some-time girlfirend, Rosie, hatch a plan for a farewell performance to take place on The Ed Sullivan Show, which they hope... read more
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
The biblical story of Joseph and his coat of many colors comes alive in the musical retelling. Joseph -- the favorite son of Jacob -- is blessed with vivid dreams that foretell the future. Sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, Joseph endures a series of adventures which challenge him to his... read more
