With fans flocking to see Hugh Jackman in The Music Man, which hit the stage in February of 2022, it's clear there is still a large audience for classic musicals of yesteryear.  Long-time favorites like Phantom and The Lion King have been running for decades, but there's so much more to see and experience.

RELATED: 10 Movies That Should Become Broadway Musicals

Despite their fame, classic musicals of the stage and screen tend to get a little bit stale after a while. That's not to say that they aren't great, but it's an act that audiences have seen before. Fortunately, there's always something new and exciting being developed on and off-Broadway to satisfy cravings for the classics.

Cabaret (The Sound Of Music)

Joel Grey performs in Cabaret

When it comes to musicals or movies about World War II, there are typically two contenders for the most famous. The first is the iconic Sound Of Music from Rogers and Hammerstein, a musical and film enjoyed by millions concerning the Von Trapp family singers. The second is the sinister, silly, and seductive Cabaret.

Both the film and the stage production are poignant and shadowy trips into Nazi-era Berlin, as the audience is introduced to Sally, Cliff, the Emcee, and his seedy and mysterious Kit Kat Klub. The songs are incredible, the plot is rife with commentary and symbolism of the decade, and the choreography by Bob Fosse is absolutely stellar. It's certainly different from the trip through the alps.

Hadestown (West Side Story)

Patrick Page playing Hades in Hadestown

Musicals about star-crossed lovers are a dime a dozen, but there are probably fewer more well-known than Stephen Sondheim's West Side Storya spin on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. While Romeo and Juliet are exchanged for Tony and Maria, the highlights are still the same. Viewers wanting something a little more mythic should take a trip to Hadestown.

RELATED: The 10 Best Musical Movies Of All Time, According To Letterboxd

In this folk opera take on Orpheus and Eurydice, Hermes and the Fates weave the tale of both Orpheus in the Underworld and Hades and Persephone. Set in the era of the Great Depression, it feels a bit like O' Brother Where Art Thou with some artistic flair.

In The Heights (Hamilton)

Jimmy Smits plays Kevin Rosario in The Heights

While he'll forever be known as the mind behind the musical about the Ten Dollar Founding Father, Lin-Manuel Miranda cut his teeth first on In The Heights. Hamilton will always be what he's remembered for, but his attachment and involvement with the concept, development, and inspiration behind In The Heights deserves more attention.

The musical and film of the same name are both centered around the Dominican American community of Washington Heights in New York City. The plot concerns the hopes, dreams, and personalities of a group of residents as they swirl in a collective of storylines that create a flavorful musical that's as vibrant as the city itself.

Company (Rent)

Neil_Patrick_Harris_as_Bobby_in_Company_Fixed

There are so many Broadway musicals and movies where the city of New York is as much a character as it is a setting. While the bohemian masterpiece that is Rent has been an award-winning favorite for years, Company shows a more optimistic and jazzy take on life in the Big Apple.

RELATED: 10 Broadway Stage Recordings Streaming Now (& Where To Watch Them)

While not as popular as some of Sondheim's other works, it's a staple of his material, as the single Bobby tries to understand life, love, marriage, and relationships through the eyes of his non-single friends. With familiar motifs and a fine host of Sondheim's lyrical stylings, Company could be considered the figurehead of the musical romantic comedy on stage.

Victor/Victoria (The Rocky Horror Show)

Julie Andrews in Drag as Victor in Victor/Victoria

Although Tim Curry made stage and screen history as the "Sweet Transvestite from Transexual Transylvania," he wasn't the only Broadway star to utilize a drag persona. But Julie Andrews of Mary Poppins fame is certainly one of the last people most audiences would consider in such a role.

In this comedy of errors, Julie Andrews plays a freshly-fired soprano who, with aid of her friend and fellow performer, masquerades as a Polish count who works as a female impersonator for a music career. Throw in some gangsters and a romp through Paris and this tale of a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman starts to rival the science-fiction double feature in terms of absurdity.

Godspell (Jesus Christ Superstar)

The cast of Godspell as they appeared in the Movie

The scriptures have left themselves up for dramatic interpretation for decades, but one of the most famous adaptations of the Passion was Andrew Lloyd Webber's Jesus Christ SuperstarThe original musical was indeed a product of the '70s and a glorious one at that. However, for a musical about hippies in the Holy Land, it wasn't as psychedelic as it could have been.

RELATED:10 Best Songs From Movie Musicals, According To Reddit

On the other hand, Godspell, a musical retelling of the Gospel of Matthew, covers all the bases of Jesus's life of ministry but with a colorful, clown-inspired, presentation. From the baptism of Christ to the crucifixion, the gospel is told through skits, games, and songs through an eccentric cast.

Six (Mamma Mia)

Anne Boleyn singing and Catherine of Aragon looking shocked in SIX

"Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived" aren't exactly the words someone would normally use to describe a pop group, but it is how they would use to describe the wives of Henry VIII. Where Mamma Mia took the musical stylings of ABBA and gave audiences a Greek comedy, Six took six queens and turned them into a pop band.

Fans who enjoyed Mamma Mia will also enjoy the reimagined history of the wives of Henry the Eighth. From the costumes to the music, everything about the show drips with pop sensationalism. There's even a little bit of ABBA influence in the "Haus of Holbein" number for good measure.

Nevermore (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street)

Image from Nevermore Musical

The tale of Sweeney Todd was one of violence, murder, death, and lost love. Anyone who has taken an introductory literature class knows that Edgar Allan Poe specialized in all of those subjects and more, and they all come together to form the inspiration for Nevermore.

RELATED: 10 Musical Adaptations Better Than The Original Show, According To Reddit

The musical is essentially the life and works of Poe set to music. The narration and dialogue are performed entirely in verse, and all of the songs cover such masterpieces as Israfel and the iconic Raven. It's truly a feast for the mind and ears.

The Grinning Man (Phantom Of The Opera)

Grinpayne stars in the Grinning Man Musical

The Phantom of the Opera isn't the only masked man with a musical on stage anymore. The Grinning Man is a gory black comedy from Bristol's Old Vic that utilizes puppets, masks, and strange imagery to tell the story of Victor Hugo's The Man Who Laughs. 

From the creators of War Horse, the gothic musical tells the story of Grinpayne, a circus performer trying to uncover the secrets of his forgotten past. At times it's like a Tim Burton film, other times it's like a demented Monty Python sketch. In the end, it's an unforgettable and tragic love story.

Hunchback Of Notre Dame (Les Miserables)

Michael Arden as Quasimodo in the Hunchback of Notre Dame play

Les Miserables might be one of the most heartbreaking stories on the stage. The saga of Jean Valjean and the revolutionaries is one of Victor Hugo's most powerful works, but not his most famous. While Disney is often criticized for sugarcoating works based on classical literature, their stage rendition of The Hunchback of Notre Dame takes more from the book than the animated film that inspired it. In a way, it better blends both sources to create a unique and marvelous musical.

Although it does follow the core events of the film, it pulls more elements from the novel such as Frollo being a priest instead of a judge, Esmeralda's death, and the ending reflecting the one scene in the book. It's truly a powerful adaptation worthy of the stage.

NEXT: 10 Other Musical Remakes To Watch After West Side Story