Top 5 Underrated Musical Theatre Songs
- Becky Wallis
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
As someone who lives with that 'Eat, Sleep, Theatre, Repeat' state of mind, you can guarantee that the vast majority of songs on my playlists come from the land of musical theatre and we all have our favourites. But, of course, we can't all like the same things, and each of us have those songs that we just believe to be criminally underrated, at the bottom of some people's list whilst they might be at the top of ours. So, here we go. Here are mine top 5, in no particular order, most underrated musical theatre songs.
The Prince of Humbug - Barnum
The patter song, fast in tempo, as impressive as it it catchy, and always a wonder to behold when performed live as we marvel in the skill and talent it takes to bring to life. And Barnum's 'The Prince of Humbug' is one of my favourites of these intricate clever patter songs. Barnum the showman, who rolls lies and trickery in glitter and flamboyancy, delighting in every minute of it. He knows its all humbug, and he is proud to celebrate that in this charming high speed number.
The Name of the Game - Mamma Mia!
Let's be honest here, ABBA are the masters of the certified bop, with song after song in Mamma Mia a hit, but in my opinion there is one number that somehow manages to fly under the radar of many, and that is 'The Name of the Game' performed by Sophie to Bill when the penny drops for him and she just wants to know the truth. There is so much heart, hope and longing in this song, and there is something wonderfully powerful about that to me. For a musical that hasn't actually had a cast recording from the stage production since 1999! (criminal I know), this is a song that we simply don't get to hear enough so, please, do yourself a favour and just listen to Amanda Seyfried's version from the movie adaptation, its stunning and should not have been left on the cutting room floor!
Those Magic Changes - Grease
Whilst some people may argue that Grease's 'Those Magic Changes' didn't hit the mainstream until it was performed by Jordan Fisher and Aaron Tveit in Grease Live, I have always loved this one since I first saw Grease on stage. Its fun, catchy, and just something that I love to sing along too, and I think that it really deserves some more credit.
Justice - Flashdance
Taking it back to 2018 when I saw the UK Tour of Flashdance in both Torquay and Exeter, and absolutely fell in love with this song, only to discover that it was nowhere to be found on streaming platforms. An absolute disaster. In this song, we see the steel man delight in Nick being knocked down a few pegs when Alex rejects his advances, and its comical and teasing whilst having that element of truth that we can all relate too. After all, who doesn't take at least a little bit of enjoyment in seeing someone who seems to get all all the luck fail for once. And thank you to Selladoor Worldwide for sharing this live lounge version of the 2018 touring cast performing this great great number for saving me every time I just have to listen to it.
Wonderful - Wicked
Okay, so this one may be a little controversial as I firmly believe that I am well and truly in the minority when it comes to this song. I have lost count of the amount of people I have seen say something along the lines of they wouldn't miss this song if it wasn't there, or this is their least favourite in the whole show. But here I am, head held up with pride, saying that I love 'Wonderful', performed by the wizard himself. Something about this song just itches my brain in the right way, especially the man's called a traitor, or liberator section, and I love it.
