Stage Musicals: 10 All-Time Greatest

From ''Okahoma!'' and ''Carousel'' in the '40s to ''The Book of Mormon'' today -- let us sing their praises
By Thom Geier
Updated July 12, 2013 at 03:00 PM EDT
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10. The Book of Mormon (2011)

Credit: Joan Marcus

Music, Lyrics & Book by Trey Parker, Matt Stone, and Robert Lopez

An old-fashioned book musical for the 21st century, complete with wicked satire and a liberal sprinkling of F-bombs.

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9. Carousel (1945)

Credit: Everett Collection

Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics & Book by Oscar Hammerstein II

Carnival barker Billy Bigelow's first-act-closing soliloquy offers a master class for songwriters trying to use song to tell a story with both emotional impact and nuance.

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8. Rent (1993)

Credit: Joan Marcus

Music & Lyrics by Jonathan Larson

Larson died suddenly and tragically just before the premiere of his rock-opera update on Puccini's La Bohème. But his depiction of the AIDS crisis and young urban hipsters remains as vibrant as ever.

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7. A Chorus Line (1975)

Credit: Martha Swope

Music by Marvin Hamlisch
Lyrics by Edward Kleban
Book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante

The supporting players take center stage in this backstage musical, a valentine to theater performers featuring a glut of memorable solos and a high-kicking finale that remains one singular sensation.

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6. Cabaret (1966)

Credit: Everett Collection

Music by John Kander
Lyrics by Fred Ebb

Even the orchestra is beautiful in this perfectly marvelous portrait of a young English cabaret singer named Sally Bowles in 1931 Berlin during the rise of the Nazis.

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5. West Side Story (1957)

Credit: Everett Collection

Music by Leonard Bernstein
Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by Arthur Laurents

Who wouldn't want to live in an America with an exuberant update of Romeo and Juliet featuring rival inner-city gangs of singing and dancing hooligans?

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4. Oklahoma! (1943)

Credit: Everett Collection

Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics & Book by Oscar Hammerstein II

Rodgers & Hammerstein's unlikely hit ushered in a golden age of American musicals, boosted by infectious melodies such as ''Oh, What a Beautiful Morning,'' ambitious dance numbers (including a 15-minute mini-ballet in the second act), and a mature love story that doesn't rely mainly on jokes.

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3. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1979)

Credit: Everett Collection

Music & Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by Hugh Wheeler

Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd, a Grand Guignol fable featuring a murderous barber, his cannibalistic sidekick, and some of the twistiest lyrics and most challenging melodies ever to worm their way into your memory.

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2. Gypsy (1959)

Credit: Everett Collection

Music by Jule Styne
Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by Arthur Laurents

Though the title character is notorious stripper Gypsy Rose Lee, the real star is her mother, that pre-Toddlers & Tiaras bundle of gumption and ambition known as Mama Rose.

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1. Guys and Dolls (1950)

Credit: Everett Collection

Music & Lyrics by Frank Loesser
Book by Joe Swerling and Abe Burrows

Forget the 1950 movie, which miscasts Marlon Brando as a crooning gambler named Sky Masterson. This is an almost perfect show featuring parallel love stories and a winning big-city setting.

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By Thom Geier