Every musical theatre nerd has that one friend who's into science, math or computer programming. That one friend who claims not to like any musicals, whatsoever. Whether this list helps appeal to that friend's deeply buried love of musical theatre, or you yourself are both a musical theatre nerd and a science geek, here's where the two interests collide! (Chemistry joke? Anyone? Just me? OK, I get it.)
1. Young Frankenstein
Based on the 1974 Mel Brooks film, and with music and lyrics by Brooks himself and a book by Brooks and Thomas Meehan, if you've seen the movie, you know this show must be an outrageous comedy. And it is. But seeing as the major character is the scientist grandson of a "mad scientist" monster-maker, it's only natural that science would play a role in Young Frankenstein. The "Young Frankenstein" himself, Frederick, is the Dean of Anatomy at a New York school of medicine before he is called away to Transylvania to deal with his late grandfather's estate. In New York, he sings an entire song to his students about how enamored he is with "The Brain" using actual neurological terms and a list of scientists he admires. Though he is reluctant about taking over his grandfather's supposedly deranged research, he eventually brings his own monster to "Life, Life"!
2. A New Brain
Speaking of brains--this musical, with book by William Finn and James Lapine and music and lyrics by Finn, tells the story of Gordon Schwinn, a composer diagnosed with an arteriouvenous malformation that requires an operation to prevent his death. Gordon worries that he will die without getting the chance to write his best songs. Gordon does survive, after hallucinating while in a coma. Some songs from A New Brain that might especially appeal to your scientist friend are "Trouble in His Brain" and "Gordo's Law of Genetics."
3. Nerds
While this new "musical dot comedy" has as of right now postponed its Broadway run indefinitely, it's undeniable that a show about Bill Gates' and Steve Jobs' rise to the top of the technology world is a must-see for the scientific mind. With book and lyrics by Jordan Allen-Dutton and Erik Weiner and music by Hal Goldberg, this musical is definitely unique in its portrayal of computer scientists. There's not a lot of material out from Nerds, but you can check out one of Bill Gates' songs, "I Am Just A Nerd," and a promotional video for the show!
4. On A Clear Day You Can See Forever
Admittedly, this musical, with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Burton Lane, is more accurately about pseudoscience. The two major concepts explored in the show are reincarnation and Extra-Sensory Perception, or ESP. The main character, Daisy Gamble, seems, in the world of the show, to have been reincarnated, a fact discovered by her psychiatrist during a hypnosis session to break her smoking habit. Through her ESP, she is able to predict when she will get a phone call and even that a plane she is about to get on will crash. According to many sources, including UC Berkeley, ESP is not scientifically proven; however, the treatment of it in On A Clear Day You Can See Forever justifies the show's inclusion in this list as a study of the concept. Check out the song "Who Is There Among Us Who Knows," which appeared in the 2011 Broadway revival of the show!
5. Jekyll and Hyde
This musical, based (not surprisingly) on the Robert Louis Stevenson novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, has a book by Leslie Bricusse, music by Frank Wildhorn and lyrics by Bricusse, Wildhorn and Steve Cuden. It delves into deep psychological questions about good and evil, and whether the two opposing aspects of the human personality could be separated. Dr. Henry Jekyll explores this concept through a "hard science" lens, inspired by having to watch his father die in a hospital. He sings "I Need To Know" about this struggle. In his quest to separate a person's good and evil, Dr. Jekyll creates a "formula" to accomplish this that he himself takes as a test case, resulting in the emergence of his alternate personality, Mr. Edward Hyde. His metamorphosis occurs in the song "First Transformation." Though Jekyll and Hyde, like most science-based musicals, portrays mostly pseudoscience, the psychological themes are intriguing to anyone, especially a scientist who studies that sort of idea!
As your typical scientist "deals in fact, not fiction," at least according to Dr. Frederick Frankenstein, this fact-filled list should enthuse your scientifically minded friend about how much fact is involved in a musical, though it may itself be fictional!
