A Whole New World of Music

By Stephanie Ma and Shriyaa Madan Gopal

From the tumultuous tales of history and religion, to transporting us to a “whole new world” with the whimsical and captivating Disney films we all grew up with, musicals have covered it all. They capture all of our beloved stories through a universal language being music.

Music has been telling stories for thousands of years, long before the word ‘musical’ was ever created in the nineteenth century. Musicals evoke emotion, affecting our mental states and lifting our moods, as well as giving us a catchy tune to sing along to while we dream of our fairytale lands. 

The best musicals will stay with you forever, just like any good story. If you’d like to listen to some musicals, here are some of our recommendations:

Hamilton: The story of Alexander Hamilton, one of the least known founding fathers of America, that is, until the musical Hamiltion came out, showing his journey through love, rise to power and fame and inevitable fall to the one he once considered his idol.

Six: An exciting, historical retelling of the stories of Henry the eighth’s six wives with a little twist. Fighting for the title of the best and being one of the most tragic stories, you’ll meet the six wives and grow to love each of their fun and bright personalities during the hour and a half you spend with them.

Dear Evan Hansen: A story about a high school boy with social anxiety grappling a crazy and unique situation where he unintentionally inserts himself into a local tragedy, keeping up the facade of friendship whilst actually bonding with Connor’s family.

Epic the Musical: A fun and slightly inaccurate musical detailing the journey Odysseus took, also known as The Odyssey. Although it’s not a full fledged musical, only having finished releasing the songs as of 25th of December 2025, you’ll still have a great time listening to the previously underground artists and the amazing journey, featuring war, love and everything in between.

The Sound of Music: When a Nun is found to be too ‘excitable’ for the convent, she’s sent to work for a newly widowed naval captain and his 7 children. As she spends more time with them, she reminds the eldest of the kids of how beautiful music can be and gives the younger kids a whole new experience.

Ride the Cyclone: When six teenagers' lives end due to an accident with a rollercoaster, they end up in the afterlife. It is there that they find a fortune teller who gives them an opportunity to get back to earth through singing.

Heathers: A high school story following Veronica Sawyer, a regular teenager, where her story gets intertwined with the school’s most popular girls, Heather M, Heather D and their leader, Heather C and the mysterious new kid, JD.  

Loreto’s recently been taking part in the musical scene, the first show being in 2022 featuring Matilda. The most recent show was in 2024, showing the popular disney movie “Aladdin”. It included dancing, music, lights, drama and everything you could want from a musical, but most importantly a great cast and backstage crew. Last year the backstage crew consisted of nine students ranging from years 8-10 and is one of the most integral parts of a spectacular musical, like the wonders of Aladdin. If you're interested, take a look at joining!

If backstage/tech crew has sparked your interest for our upcoming musical in 2026, we’ve had a talk to some of the members to have a look at what they do:

Backstage