Top 10 Best Opening Numbers in Modern Musicals

As dramatic an opening as you’ll find on Broadway, “No One Mourns the Wicked” is both an overture and a first song. Spooky, sweeping, and funny, it reintroduces us to the Land of Oz. It also reinvents the “Wizard of Oz” story we thought we knew. Glinda the Good Witch addresses her fellow Ozians, who are ecstatic about the recent death of the Wicked Witch of the West. She tells them, and us, about the witch Elphaba’s cursed upbringing. Even without original star Kristin Chenoweth’s heartstopping soprano voice cutting through the chorus of voices, the song is a hard-hitting entrance into this skewed take on an old story.

Greek myth gets a modern makeover in this award-winning Broadway production. Placing its cast of Greek gods in a post-industrial context, “Hadestown” retells the timeless legend of Orpheus and Eurydice, two lovers torn apart by a voyage to the underworld. Sung by the god Hermes, the show’s jazzy first number introduces us to the show’s mix of styles and inspirations. The god-turned-emcee reminds us this is a story we’ve heard before, but we keep telling it again because we always hope the ending may change. Like a Shakespearean tragedy, it tells you how it’s going to end, but you still can’t help but get invested.

From the brilliantly irreverent creators of “South Park” comes this surprisingly loving, Tony Award-winning riff on Mormonism. “Hello!” is a fitting primer for the show. Punctuated by doorbells and buzzers, it sees a smiling chorus of missionaries-in-training demonstrate the nuances of converting people to their religion. Some of them are better than others. All of them are absolutely hilarious. The original choreography has the actors popping up and waving like toothy, grinning whack-a-moles throughout the entire song. “Hello!” constantly plays with the juxtaposition between their good manners and threats of hellfire. After a while, they start to feel almost relentless.

This Best Musical winner focuses on high school outcasts dogged by mental health crises, but it opens the show by exploring the toll it takes on their mothers. “Anybody Have a Map?” is a song shared between Heidi and Cynthia, two mothers who feel helpless against their sons’ depression and anxiety. There is no roadmap to parenting them through these struggles. It’s hard not to get chills as their voices build and harmonize. Right away, we realize this isn’t just a story about Evan Hansen. It’s about the cumulative effect of mental illness on the people who experience it and the people who love them through it.

Telling the true story of the 38 planes diverted to a small Newfoundland town in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, “Come From Away’s” first number introduces us to the townsfolk. The citizens of Gander are just acting out the routine of their days when they hear the news. They have no idea yet how much their lives are about to change. “Welcome to the Rock” engages the sounds and instruments of the region and introduces us to the spirit of the town. Though it’s only about five minutes of stage time, it has poignant moments of humor and stirring emotion that will catch you off guard.

The sisters of Delta Nu are abuzz with the news that their president and queen bee, Elle Woods, is about to get engaged. At least, that’s what everyone thinks. We all deserve friends like Elle’s sorority sisters. They put as much effort into finding her the perfect proposal dress as they would in planning their own weddings. “Omigod You Guys” is a cartoonish but lovingly daffy opening number that’s deceptively complicated to pull off. With enough rapid fire jokes, vocal acrobatics, and choreography to make our heads spin, these performers have to make it look as light and frothy as possible. And on top of all that, it also introduces the musical’s most iconic character, Salesgirl

Winner of several Tonys and a Pulitzer Prize, this wickedly funny and devastating musical follows a mother with bipolar disorder and the long and ongoing road to managing her condition. Its first scene sees a mother, a father, a son, and a daughter prepare for an ordinary day in their own lives. But as this upbeat scene continues, we see the cracks start to show. Everyone is in some state of crisis, desperate for some inner peace, and doing their best to hide it. The lyrics expose more and more of their dysfunction as it goes along. As funny as it is disturbing, “Just Another Day” exposes the truths that the four principal characters’ think they’re keeping from each other.

Adapted from a controversial coming of age play that doesn’t shy away from the ugliness of growing up in a repressive society, “Spring Awakening” begins with a yearning ballad. Originated by Lea Michele on Broadway, “Mama Who Bore Me” is a haunting song that foreshadows the show’s coming tragedies. Wendla Bergmann is growing up. Her mother’s refusal to educate her on anything related to her body makes her burgeoning maturity confusing and frustrating for her. It’s also a counterpoint to the music that comes after. So much of the score is loud and defiant rock music, but this stripped-down introductory number gets at the beating heart of it all.

Tracy Turnblad literally jumps out of bed with an irrepressible positive attitude. At the start of “Hairspray,” she’s not gonna let social ills or pressures to conform come between her and her love for her hometown. Tracy’s anthem to Baltimore and all its quirks, is the perfect burst of energy to start the dance-heavy crowd-pleaser about racism and social change in the 1960s. Dancing past the criminals and rats that litter the streets of her precious city, it’s her enthusiasm for the elements of urban life that other people might run from that makes her so endearing.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

“What Do You Do with a B.A. in English?/It Sucks to Be Me,” “Avenue Q”
The Perfect “I Am” Song for Anyone Who’s Ever Felt Demoralized by Adult Life

“Beautiful,” “Heathers: The Musical”
Veronica Sawyer Details the Pressures, Disappointment & Tragedies of Being a Teenager

“To Build a Home,” “The Bridges of Madison County”
A Farmer’s Wife Remembers What She Gave Up to Come to America

“It’s Your Wedding Day,” “The Wedding Singer”
An 80s-Themed Crowd Pleaser

“What’s Inside/Opening Up,” “Waitress”
Diner Employees Lovingly Complain About the Routine of Their Work

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s opening numbers are dense but catchy. “In the Heights” introduces us to its setting and all its characters in the first few minutes. “Hamilton” is even more ambitious. The show asks a lot of questions at the top of the show. How does a person who was born into such a desperate childhood get as far as Alexander Hamilton did? Why isn’t he remembered the way George Washington or Thomas Jefferson are? Will a rapped-through musical about a founding father even work? Given the international phenomenon that followed, it clearly does. Packed with information and exposition, it’s surprisingly easy to follow and primes the audience on how to listen to the rest of the show’s lyrics.

Did your favorite show make the list? Tell us in the comments.