Musical theatre is a medium made for all. Even though some musicals are based on children's stories or written for a predominantly young audience, that doesn't mean that adults can't enjoy them and learn a ton from them, too. This is by no means a full list, but these are definitely some shows with big lessons hidden in fairy tales and imaginary worlds.
1. Matilda
So much of this fantastic show goes way beyond what many of the elementary-aged kids who love the music and strong young protagonist might see. Yes, Matilda stands up to all the bullies in her life and values reading, but she also manages to resist the pressure from her family to act a certain way that doesn't feel true to her. Her mother thinks girls ought to be a certain way, but she doesn't agree. And even though Matilda knows how to stand up for herself, early on, her teacher, Miss Honey, does not, so the audience gets to see her learn from her student, and we can come to understand that age differences don't preclude a transfer of important knowledge.
2. Seussical
Child abandonment, drug abuse and peer pressure, oh my! Seussical, based on the many children's books by Dr. Seuss including "Horton Hears A Who" and "The Cat in the Hat", manages to hit a bunch of very real, very mature subjects without letting the audience (often young) notice. Mayzie, a flighty, irresponsible bird, ends up with an egg that she doesn't want to care for, so she leaves Horton the Elephant babysitting, flies off, and doesn't return. Even when she runs into Horton later on, she decides to leave the egg with him. Nice mom, right? Gertrude, the bird who is in love with Horton, takes pills (at Mayzie's strong suggestion) to make her tail grow bigger so that Horton will notice her more. When she sees her tail is really getting larger, she takes more and more pills, until finally, her tail becomes too big for flying. None of the kids watching "Seussical" would know it, but the characters are learning how (and how not) to deal with drugs, peer pressure, child neglect, and unplanned pregnancy. And on what might seem like a very basic level, "Seussical" is reminding the children AND adults in the theatre to think, imagine, discover, and above all, not let the best parts of themselves be put in a box.
3. Annie
The kids learn about being optimistic and determined and never giving up hope. But it's really adults who tend to give up their dreams more easily than children. Oliver Warbucks is certainly not intending to adopt Annie; he invites her to stay for Christmas as a political move, to improve his reputation. Annie realizes she has an opportunity to see her longtime dream of having a home and family again fulfilled, although maybe not in the way she would have imagined. Through her patience and sheer determination, she achieves her dreams, and we can learn a lot about persistence and about accepting that things may not always work out exactly how we had planned.
4. Into the Woods
To be fair, this isn't really a show for kids. It's probably not at all a show for kids. But it's based upon fairy tale characters, which were created for children. From "Into the Woods", we learn more about each character we told countless stories about when we were young. "Little Red Riding Hood" teaches us a more complex lesson than not talking to strangers; it's about keeping your wits about you, and developing a sense for when an interaction is normal and when it's off somehow. Cinderella learns something less cliché than "all that glitters is not gold" or "the grass is always greener on the other side." The bigger lesson we can find from her story as told through "Into the Woods" is that sometimes, what you thought you wanted can change after you get it, and that can be OK.
5. Aladdin
The child audience sees the love story, and hopefully they learn that people from different financial statuses can still be friends (or more). And we, as adults, are sometimes so far removed from our former young minds that we forget this is still something we should remember. We're living in a time when people hate others for being from different classes, races, ethnicities, or religions; for having different sexualities or points of view. If we all learned to love each other how Aladdin and Jasmine do, despite their differences, despite the other voices condemning their relationship, the world would be a much happier place, and maybe at some point those voices would even start to disappear.
While these musicals subliminally teach children numerous important life lessons through song and dance, they can also be impactful on the minds and lives of adults.
