Top 5 Goosebump Moments In Musical Theatre

In this I will be telling you my top 5 goosebump moments I have witnessed in theatre! I think Musical Theatre is one of the best mediums to tell a powerful story. It combines music, drama and dance to heightens.

NUMBER 1- KIMS NIGHTMARE (MISS SIAGON) I saw the revival of Miss Saigon on tour and one of the most famous elements of this show is the helicopter. This one blockbuster of a scene which leaves your heart racing. It is Kims Nightmare. This is all in her head so the lighting had a slant to realism on it. This scene flashes back to when Kim and Chris got split apart this . There is so much energy and heartbreak in this scene with GI running everywhere and the Vietnamese trying to get onto a helicopter to leave. This is all heightened with the dramatic music by Boubil and Schönberg. Miss Saigon also features many goosebump moments but I think this is the best of them.

NUMBER 2- DEFYING GRAVITY (WICKED) I think this is one of the best Act One finales of musical theatre. Elphaba belting out one of modern musical theatres famous songs whilst in mid air with a huge cape. I don’t think it can get much better than that. That combined with booming sounds, great lighting and effects. This was a huge a goosebump moment for me. Everyones heart in that room was pounding

NUMBER 3- AND I’M TELLING YOU (DREAMGIRLS) There seems to be a bit of a pattern with the last moment being an Act One finale and this one being the same. Act One finales are supposed to climax to bring you back to see more like on a Netflix Show! I saw the London production of Dreamgirls directed by Casey Nicholaw. Marisha Wallace’s And I’m Not Telling You was exceptional. It had powerful emotion that blew the theatre away. At the end of the song ,in this version, the dressing room tables split apart by automation and her desk was separate and moved back into a huge blue light. She reached to the audience like she was being pulled into this blue light. And as she was at the back the Dreams came on performed a snippet of “Love, Love You Baby” as the audience roared and gave a Standing Ovation. Hope that was a reasonable explanation! If you’ve seen the show you will know what I mean.

NUMBER 4- ELECTRICITY (BILLY ELLIOT) This received a mid standing ovation when I saw in on tour. No this isn’t an Act One finale but it is a huge goosebump moment. A 10-11 year old boy singing at the top of his lungs why he likes dance and then him bursting into a complex dance. That is true perfection with the genius of Elton John writing it. I will never forget that moment of the audience springing to their feet and roaring. Billy Elliot is packed with stand out musical theatre goosebump moments such as :Angry Dance and Solidarity.

NUMBER 5- THE KING AND I (SHALL WE DANCE) I saw the London production of this at The Palladium and it was beautiful. A huge orchestra playing one of the most famous show tunes in history whilst the King and the Teacher finally dance in-between moving palace collumns. That is true theatre perfection! This is the climax of The King And I, which is a huge classic of Rogers and Hammerstein’s. This moment was unforgettable.

HONORABLE MENTIONS- COMPANY- BEING ALIVE (This was a very emotional and powerful performance of a gorgeous song. I saw the 2018 London Revival and Rosalie Craig sang this brilliantly) FOLLIES- WHO’S THAT WOMAN AND LOSING MY MIND (Brilliant dance number with their younger selves exactly mirroring them. And Losing My Mind is a very powerful song full of emotion) THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA-PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (Title song of the show with the Phantom taking Christine to his lair via a dry ice lake with candle’s rising up from the low smoke and the Phantom and Christine are in a boat) Pure theatrical magic!

Do you agree with my picks? Feel free to comment or message me on instagram @unofficialtheatre Or follow my blog to get email updates when I post a new blog.

Thanks for reading!

Eugene