Given that we’re almost at the halfway point of the decade, we felt that it was time to start thinking about what have been some of the best new musicals to premiere/open in the 2020s.

So we consulted with some friends of ours, both here in the US and abroad, on what they thought was some of the best work they’ve seen in the past four years - and these were the results.

10. SUFFS

“SUFFS is able to unravel the complicated issues that are an inherent part of the women's suffrage movement, such as generational and racial divide. The show doesn't shy away from showing its characters as complex or flawed, seeking to humanize them by delivering messages through songs that ooze humor and heart. A particular stand-out is an intense and emotional solo from James called "Wait My Turn", where her character sings about being relegated to march in the back of the 1913 parade.” - Andrea Towers, Entertainment Weekly

9. Standing at the Sky's Edge

“I was blown away by the emotional power of this show, about three generations of incomers in Sheffield’s iconic – and infamous – brutalist housing estate, Park Hill. It’s a stunning achievement, which takes the popular but very different elements of retro pop music, agitprop and soap opera, melts them in the crucible of 50 years of social trauma and forges something potent, gorgeous and unlike any big-ticket musical I’ve seen before.” - Caroline McGinn, Timeout

8. Intimate Apparel

“Nottage has stripped down her play to a tight libretto. There’s an elegant, poetic simplicity in its essential journey of the human heart as it navigates matters of race, gender, religion and class. Overlaying it all is Gordon’s lush score, which remains true to its operatic scope — and is aided by super-titles which help when words are lost in the musical stratosphere.” - Frank Rizzo, Variety

7. Soft Power

“Soft Power wisely includes critiques of the musical-within-the-show’s communism (in case you’re worried the toe-tapping will just lead to totalitarianism), and it finally redirects toward ambivalence. It’s a forceful ambivalence, though, backed by the full arsenal of the American musical, with strings and horns and a whole ensemble of actors, all deployed here not to deliver an ideology but to try to shake you out of one.” - Jackson McHenry, Vulture

6. Tammy Faye

“This is, without doubt, a musical with charisma, just like Tammy Faye herself. In its biggest moments – and there are several – it reaches a delirious kind of excellence.” - Arifa Akbar, The Guardian

5. Six

“Audience interest in this competitive concert concept could easily wear out its welcome but the musical variety, bite-sized storytelling and unstoppable performances keep the entertainment level high as the musical subversively builds in emotional depth.” - Frank Rizzo, Variety

4. Lempicka

“Although bombastically loud in spots, the musical by bookwriter Carson Kreitzer and composer Matt Gould is also studded with tender and gorgeous solo songs that define and illuminate the characters.” - Pam Kragen, San Diego Tribune

3. The Little Big Things

“This isn’t so much a story of human resilience as the story of one particular man’s superhuman resilience, and the sheer strength of Fraser’s character – his instant determination and deep reserves of humour and courage – means that we never truly doubt his ability to accept his injuries and prevail over them. This gives the show an infectious energy of hope and purpose, but at the expense of jeopardy and enduring discomfort. The intensely motivational atmosphere is reflected in the power-pop score, which defaults unapologetically to punch-the-air triumph.” - Kit Buchan, The Guardian

2. Kimberly Akimbo

“OK, so strictly speaking this is not an original work but a reinvention of David Lindsay-Abaire’s 2001 play about a lonely teenager suffering from a rare fast-aging disease like progeria, which makes her age at four and a half times the normal rate. She’s a 16-year-old — the average life expectancy of her disease — with the body of a septuagenarian. But in reimagining the work with composer Jeanine Tesori, his collaborator on the stage version of Shrek, Lindsay-Abaire has crafted something uncommonly satisfying, a new musical so clever, funny and touching you might want to give everyone on stage a hug.” - David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter

1. A Strange Loop

“Every once and a while — sadly, too few — we get something that pushes the musical theater form completely, taking an utterly unforgettable, idiosyncratic trip. Add Michael R. Jackson’s “A Strange Loop” to the list that includes “Fun Home” and “Angels in America,” both of which have echoes here. Like them, it is astonishing, challenging and awesome.” - Mark Kennedy, Associated Press

The Top 10 Musicals of the 2020s