The Aughts — the years between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2009 — were a tumultuous period, to say the least. Still, those difficult times produced some spectacular new works of American pop culture, including in the Broadway musical genre. A slew of shows introduced during that decade became monster smashes that still play on Broadway today, and many more made significant marks in the Broadway canon. Now the Great Pop Culture Debate podcast wants to look back at that period and answer the question: what IS the Best 2000s Broadway Musical?
Join Host Eric Rezsnyak, GPCD panelists Curtis Creekmore, Gary Jackson, and Joelle Boedecker, and special guest Patreon supporter Trey Radu-Blackburn as they pull back the curtain on the Best 2000s Broadway Musical.
Want to listen to music from all the nominated shows? Check out our 2000s Broadway Musical Playlist here.
To listen to Round 1, showing how we got to the Singing 16 down from the Top 32, become a Patreon supporter of the podcast today to access the exclusive Part 1 episode.
The Round 2 match-ups are:
Note that for the purposes of this debate, the shows must have been NEW — not revivals — and debuted on actual Broadway — not Off-Broadway — between 1/1/2000 and 12/31/2009.
Match-Up 1: Wicked (1) vs. Caroline, or Change (4)
Match-Up 2: The Producers (3) vs. Mamma Mia! (2)
Match-Up 3: Spring Awakening (1) vs. The Color Purple (4)
Match-Up 4: Mary Poppins (6) vs. Avenue Q (2)
Match-Up 5: In the Heights (1) vs. Aida (4)
Match-Up 6: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (3) vs. Legally Blonde: The Musical (2)
Match-Up 7: Hairspray (1) vs. Jersey Boys (4)
Match-Up 8: Urinetown: The Musical (3) vs. Next to Normal (2)
Want to play along at home?
Download the listener bracket here and see if your picks match up with ours!
Looking for more related content?
Check out these other episodes from Great Pop Culture Debate:
Best Tony Winner for Best Musical
And if you want more content, check out Curtis Creekmore’s Top 10 List of musicals that DIDN’T win the Tony for Best Musical, but SHOULD have.
Have a say in future episodes!
Finally, if you want to have a say in what episodes we tackle next, vote in our Topic Polls! And we would love to have you pick your faves in the polls currently open for your votes!
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EPISODE CREDITS
Host: Eric Rezsnyak
Panel: Curtis Creekmore, Gary Jackson, Joelle Boedecker
Special Guest: Trey Radu-Blackburn
Producer: Bob Erlenback
Editor: Jack Kwait-Blank