Want to take your other half for a glamourous night out in the West End but worried the lack of fast car chases and explosions will leave him whinging like a bored child? Well fear not, while they may not have the special effects to rival a Hollywood blockbuster there are still plenty of musicals out there which many men will relish. Stage shows aren’t all about frilly costumes, tear-jerking romances and girly sing-alongs, they can be gripping, dramatic, laugh-out-loud funny and even jam-packed with action or bawdy jokes. If the man in your life is reluctant to broaden his horizons with some Broadway-style culture then here are five of the most manly musicals that he might just enjoy:
Avenue Q
Like a dirty version of Sesame Street, the puppets sing about sex, drugs and other grown-up themes as they come to terms with the harsh realities of life on a downtown New York street. Oozing mischief, political incorrectness and adult humour, Avenue Q brings musical comedy firmly into the 21st century with a bang.
American Idiot: The Musical
In arguably one of the most unlikely musicals to emerge from Broadway, this stage show is based on American punk rock band Green Day’s album of the same name and tells the tale of a trio of disaffected young men, dealing with issues including pregnancy, relationship disasters and being reluctantly shipped off to war. Musicals don’t come much more manly than one with a score by Green Day and with the show set to make its UK debut with a tour later this year it is set to introduce new audiences galore to the world of musical theatre.
Rock of Ages
Leaving behind the disaffected punk ethics of Green Day’s stage show, Rock of Ages is all about camped up, glammed up, over-the-top rock music. A pure feel-good show, it is full of guilty pleasures with its 80s anthem soundtrack sure to have male audience members casting their inhibitions to the wind, rising to their feet, punching the air and singing along with the cast to hits such as We Built This City, I Want To Know What Love Is and The Final Countdown.
Les Misérables
Even the name of this West End mainstay should be enough of a clue that it’s perfect for the culturally vacuous men you may be trying to tame – it translates literally as ‘The Miserable Ones,’ after all. But drill down into the storyline and there’s plenty of reasons why men should love it; rebellion, bloodshed, filth and grime of life on the streets, an ex-convict hero, prostitutes and gun fights. What more could they want?
Sweeney Todd
Theatre tickets may not seem the most popular gifts for men, but then Sweeney Todd is no ordinary musical. Even if you’re looking to treat a man whose idea of culture is more Jean-Claude Van Damme than Andrew Lloyd Webber, then he may well be won over by the darkly comic and bloodthirsty tale of revenge that is Sweeney Todd. After returning from wrongful imprisonment The Demon Barber of Fleet Street sets out on a path of bloody retribution, slitting the throats of those who wronged him and having their bodies turned into meat. Now you wouldn’t see that in Hairspray.
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Five Of The Best Musicals For Men
