30 Best Musicals From The 2000s [Movies & Theater]

Musicals, both in film and the theater, are still going strong. Between the years 2000 – 2009 for example, there were a number of breakout hits that appeared in movie theaters and on stage.

Here are the best musicals from the 2000s. We’ll start with musical movies, then showcase musical theater after.

Top Musical Movies Of The 2000s

Here are the top musical movies from the 2000s that stuck with us:

Dream Girls

Year: 2006

Dream Girls is a musical that tells the story of backup singers discovered by an ambitious manager Curtis Taylor Jr (Jamie Foxx), who'd eventually get pushed into the national spotlight.

Effie is the standout in the musical, and she delivered one of the most outstanding performances of all time in “And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going.” Jennifer Hudson shines in the role that landed her an Oscar for best supporting actress.

High School Musical

Year: 2006

High School Musical is about the unlikely love between a jock, Troy Bolton (Zac Efron), and the gorgeous nerd, Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Anne Hudgens). Along their journey, jealous Sharpay Evans (Ashley Tisdale) conspires to upend their chance at love.

The film went on to be a sensation giving way to a proliferating franchise that remains to date. It would rejuvenate the teen musical, becoming the most successful entry in the genre since Grease with hits such as “Breaking Free.”

Corpse Bride

Year: 2005

Corpse Bride tells the story of an arranged marriage between Victor (Johnny Depp) and Victoria, in which the two actually like each other. But before they can tie the knot, Victor is dragged to the land of the dead, and he has to figure out how to get back to his bride before she marries another.

Songs such as “Remains of the Day” display the whim of the director, and it demonstrates how to make something eerie and fun at the same time.

Mamma Mia!

Year: 2008

Mamma Mia chronicles a wedding day involving Sophie, the bride who wants to know her biological father. She devises a plan to secretly invite three men from Donna's past—her mother in the hope of meeting her real dad and having him walk her down the aisle.

This is a fun romance musical that is endlessly silly. Moreover, audiences get to see Meryl Streep sing at the top of her lungs to Pierce Brosnan in “The Winner Takes It All.”

Hannah Montana: The Movie

Year: 2009

Miley Stewart's plight of dealing with her popularity as “Hannah Montana” begins to envelop her life. Her father persuades her to visit her hometown to get some much-needed perspective on what's genuinely important.

After being stuck between fame and spending time with her family, Hannah Montana: The Movie speaks to the difficulty many child stars and tv actors/actresses face when balancing life and stardom. “The Best of Both Worlds” is one of Hannah Montana's most popular songs.

Rent

Year: 2005

This musical picks up in the 90s with a group of New Yorkers struggling with their love lives, careers, and the impact of the  AIDS epidemic on their community. Roger, an HIV-positive musician, and Mark, an aspiring filmmaker, struggle to scrounge up rent money that they owe their landlord, Benny.

Simultaneously, their friend Tom, who's a professor, falls for someone who is slowly dying of AIDS. The most popular song in the movie is “Seasons of Love.”

Chicago

Year: 2002

Chicago starts with Catherine Zeta-Jones, a rising star singing in nightclubs,  murdering her unfaithful husband. She hires a savvy lawyer, Billy Flynn (Richard Gere), for her defense. Billy also takes on another woman's (Renée Zellweger) case at the same time. The two women try to outduel one another for fame.

Chicago impacted the genre immensely by demonstrating to the industry how critically adored and financially successful musicals could be. “Cell Block Tango” would become a number for the ages.

Moulin Rouge

Year: 2001

A singer at the Moulin Rouge and a young Englishman from Paris in 1899 forge a forbidden love affair. Satine (Nicole Kidman) has been promised to a Duke by the manager of Moulin Rouge in exchange for funding his next production.

However, Satine hides a dangerous secret that neither man knows about. Perhaps the most intense scene in the film comes from the number “El Tango de Roxanne”; it became an instant classic

Hair Spray

Year: 2007

In Baltimore during the 60s, a lover of dance auditions for a part on The Corny Collins Show and gets the role. She becomes an overnight sensation, trendsetter, and famous in areas of dance, fashion, and fun.

She may be successful enough to bring racial integration to the show and supplant Corny's reigning dance queen. The cast is refreshingly charismatic and upbeat, which seems to work seamlessly for the film, especially for songs like “You Can't Stop the Beat.”

Phantom of the Opera

Year: 2004

The conniving Phantom (Gerard Butler) schemes to get closer to a vocalist. Phantom has a hideout beneath a 19th-century Paris opera house, and he wears a make to hide his birth deformity.

He goes on to force management into giving his interest key roles, but she begins to fall for Raoul. The 2004 film adaptation of Phantom of the Opera received three Oscar nominations, including Best Original Song for “Learn To Be Lonely.”