What Are the Big Three Musical Theater Shows?

If you’ve ever sat in a dark theater, headphones off, heart pounding as the first note of a musical swells up-then you know why some shows never fade. The big three musicals aren’t just popular. They’re cultural landmarks. They’ve outlasted trends, survived cast changes, and still sell out theaters decades after they opened. These aren’t just shows. They’re experiences that defined a generation of theatergoers.

The Phantom of the Opera

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera didn’t just become a hit-it became a phenomenon. It opened in London’s West End in 1986 and hit Broadway in 1988. By 2023, it had surpassed 13,000 performances on Broadway alone, making it the longest-running show in Broadway history. That’s more than 35 years of nightly performances, with over 100 different actors playing the Phantom.

The story-of a disfigured musical genius haunting the Paris Opera House, obsessed with a young soprano-is simple. But the production? It’s pure spectacle. The chandelier that crashes down? Real. The underground lake? Filled with actual water. The mask? Worn by every Phantom since Michael Crawford, who originated the role. The score, with songs like ‘The Music of the Night’ and ‘All I Ask of You,’ is instantly recognizable, even to people who’ve never seen the show.

It’s not just about the music. It’s about the atmosphere. The velvet curtains, the flickering candles, the way the stage seems to breathe. You don’t just watch this show. You step into it.

Cats

Before Hamilton made musicals cool again, there was Cats. Based on T.S. Eliot’s poems about feline behavior, this show turned theater into a dance party with fur. It opened in London in 1981 and on Broadway in 1982. It ran for 18 years on Broadway and 21 years in the West End. That’s longer than most people’s marriages.

What made Cats unforgettable? The costumes. The choreography. The way 30+ performers moved like real cats-crouching, leaping, purring, stretching-while singing about the Jellicle Ball and the choice of which cat would ascend to the Heaviside Layer. The music, by Andrew Lloyd Webber, is catchy and strange. ‘Memory,’ sung by the aging cat Grizabella, became a global hit. It’s the kind of song that stops you in your tracks, even if you don’t know the rest of the show.

People often mock Cats for its weirdness-the tail wagging, the fur suits, the catnip dreams. But that’s exactly why it stuck. It didn’t try to be realistic. It embraced the absurd, and in doing so, created something that felt alive. You didn’t just see a musical. You felt like you’d wandered into a secret cat society.

Les Misérables

If The Phantom of the Opera is romance and Cats is surrealism, then Les Misérables is raw, unfiltered emotion. Based on Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel about justice, redemption, and revolution in 19th-century France, this show is a storm of voices, chains, barricades, and hope.

It opened in London in 1985 and on Broadway in 1987. Unlike the other two, it doesn’t rely on elaborate sets or costumes. The stage is bare. The focus is on the singers. The score is sung-through-no spoken dialogue. Every line is a song. Every emotion is a melody. ‘I Dreamed a Dream,’ ‘On My Own,’ ‘One Day More’-these aren’t just songs. They’re cries from the soul.

What makes Les Mis different is its scale. It’s not about one character. It’s about masses of people fighting for change. The barricades aren’t props-they’re symbols. The costumes are worn, torn, stained. The actors don’t just sing. They suffer. They bleed. And the audience? They feel every moment.

There’s a reason this show still sells out in Sydney, Toronto, and Tokyo. It doesn’t ask you to escape reality. It asks you to face it. And that’s why, after 40 years, it still moves people to tears.

Why These Three?

These aren’t the only big musicals. Wicked has sold more tickets in the last 20 years than most shows ever do. Hamilton changed the game with hip-hop and diverse casting. But the big three? They’re the ones that built the modern musical theater industry.

They all opened within five years of each other. They all ran for more than two decades. They all broke box office records. And they all turned musical theater from a niche art form into a global business. Before them, musicals were often light comedies or revues. After them? Musicals became epic, emotional, and unforgettable.

They also changed how theaters operate. The Phantom’s chandelier required new rigging systems. Cats’ fur suits demanded custom laundry facilities. Les Mis’s rotating stage needed structural engineers. These shows didn’t just tell stories-they forced theaters to evolve.

What Makes Them Last?

They’re not perfect. Cats has a confusing plot. The Phantom has a villain who’s more tragic than terrifying. Les Mis has too many characters to keep track of. But that’s not the point.

They last because they tap into something deeper than plot. They’re about longing. About loss. About hope. About what it means to be human. The Phantom wants to be loved. Grizabella wants to be remembered. Jean Valjean wants to be free. These aren’t fairy tales. They’re human stories wrapped in music.

And the music? It’s designed to stick. Each show has at least three songs that become standards-played on the radio, covered by pop stars, sung in school choirs. You don’t need to see the show to know ‘Memory.’ You don’t need to know the plot to feel ‘Bring Him Home.’

Where to See Them Today

All three are still running in major cities. The Phantom of the Opera closed on Broadway in 2023 after 35 years, but it’s still touring globally and playing in London’s West End. Cats had a major revival in 2016 and returned to Broadway in 2024 with updated staging and new choreography. Les Misérables is still going strong in London, New York, and Sydney, with new productions adding modern lighting and projections while keeping the original score intact.

If you’ve never seen one of these shows, don’t wait for a special occasion. Go on a Tuesday night. Sit in the back. Let the music wash over you. You might not understand every lyric. But you’ll feel it.

What Comes Next?

Will another show ever join the big three? Maybe. Hadestown has the same emotional weight. Dear Evan Hansen connects with younger audiences. But none have the same longevity, the same global footprint, or the same cultural imprint.

The big three aren’t just shows. They’re landmarks. Like the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty-they’re not just structures. They’re symbols. Of art. Of endurance. Of what happens when music, story, and human emotion come together.