March Musicals Madness Results for the Second Round

Is this March Musicals Madness getting harder for you? This round may not have been too bad but things are about to heat up! Let’s dig in to how the 32 shows from the second round fared.

The Showstoppers

Three Shows took Center Stage this round.  

Hamilton trounced Guys and Dolls.  Although I really do like Guys and Dolls with it’s swanky vibe, big cast and truly classic songs, Hamilton just offers a fresh perspective on musicals. It casts a wider net to be more inclusive for a more diverse audience. Young and old, rich and poor, black and white. Unfortunately, Guys and Dolls never really stood a chance here.

Les Miserable squashed Pippin. Here is another little guy going against a giant. I love me some Pippin and think the last run of it was really well done, but, if we are being honest, my love runs deep because I was in it and it is one of the most fun times of my life. I have a sentimental relationship with this show. At the end of the day, Les Mis offers so much more. It’s heart braking and beautiful. I feel so many emotions when I watch it. EVERY SINGLE TIME. For some people it’s too much but the music is too good to deny it as a huge contender.  

Hadestown whoomped Beetlejuice. This was not even close but Beetlejuice did manage to snag a few more votes than the two above.  Beetlejuice was fun but I think I think it has a more niche audience. Some people don’t care for that humor. Having been a movie many of us grew up to though, it has does very well on Broadway. Hadestown is familiar in a different way. And I think that is why people love it. It maintains the cadence and rhyme of many story of Greek Mythology but it brings in this taste of New Orleans to it through the music that is just incredible. The way the creator was able to weave this old song into a new tale is incredible. People are really drawn to something fresh these days.

The Leads

In the shows below, the winners took a pretty significant lead over their counterparts. I was surprised about a couple of these. I would have thought The Lion King would have performed better at the very least. But the rest make sense. The majority of these winners have toured more recently or more often, making them more well known.

• Jesus Christ Superstar over The Lion King
• The Prom over Tina
• Into the Woods over Gypsy
• Fiddler over Spamalot
• Rent over On the Heights

The Understudies

These show were not too far off from each other but were not necessarily really close either. For the most part, these are shows that don’t have huge followings. They are each pretty fairly matched in terms of popularity but one had an edge over the other.

• La Cage over Aladdin
• Cabaret over Annie
• Waitress over Kinky Boots

The Dualing Divas

These match ups were neck and neck. One or two votes is what set them apart from taking the win. The biggest surprise here is Phantom losing to the King and I. Both of these shows are classics but I would say that Phantom is a more well known in story, book of songs and overall show. It was not my vote for many reasons but I would have thought it would have beaten a show like King and I hands down.

• King and I over Phantom of the opera 
• Moulin Rouge over a Chorus LIne
• West Side Story over Book of Mormon
• Mama Mia over Jersey Boys 

What are your thoughts about all the top 32 match ups? Did you struggle with any? Do you see any big upsets? Are you sad to see any of them go?

The Show Must Go On

Now is the time to get down to the nitty gritty of our March Musicals Madness: The sweet 16! The match ups in this round are going to cause me some angst having to pick between some of my faves! Anyone else?

Now that you have seen the updated bracket above, it is time for you to cast your votes for which show is better at the link here. Make sure to pick fast. This round ends on March 24. The results will be posted on March 25.

You can comment on my blog or social media posts to let me know you are in it to win it. You do not need to have voted in prior rounds to vote. And feel free to share with your theater loving friends as well.

If you would like to see how the last round went, you can check out this post.

For more information on March Musicals Madness, read this blog post.

Happy Voting!