Disney's The Lion King has been crowned Britain's favourite musical, according to a new survey. Nearly one in five Brits (18%) selected the West End blockbuster as the nation's top musical, beating long-standing classics Mamma Mia! (16%) and Grease (15%).
Top musicals revealed
The research by Marella Cruises, TUI's cruise line, conducted ahead of launching its debut musical-themed cruise, Musical Med-leys, also saw The Sound of Music (11%), Wicked (10%) and Matilda (10%) claim prominent positions in the table.
The Disney favourite is Britain's most-watched musical, with one in four (25%) having witnessed Simba and friends perform live on stage. However, when it comes to the songs Britain adores most, ABBA dominates the field.
Favourite songs
Dancing Queen (14%) claimed the top spot, followed by Mamma Mia (13%), Circle of Life (13%) and We Will Rock You (13%).
Far from being a niche pastime, musicals have become part of everyday British life. One in four regularly play musical soundtracks at home, while the same proportion admit to belting out show tunes during household chores.
More than one in five (22%) sing them out in the shower, while others reveal they've played the same soundtrack repeatedly for weeks (23%).
Theatre-going habits
Yet despite this passion, most Britons remain infrequent theatre visitors, with almost a quarter (23%) attending less than once a year. Only 7% manage to catch a musical every month.
If given the opportunity to spend a year working in musical theatre, 15% said they'd opt to work behind the scenes, while 14% aspire to become a West End leading performer. Another 14% would gladly join the entertainment cast aboard a cruise ship.
Musical Med-leys cruise
It's that enduring love of musical theatre that inspired Marella Cruises to launch Musical Med-leys – the cruise line's first-ever sailing dedicated entirely to musicals.
The five-night cruise aboard Marella Voyager will feature live performances and appearances from West End stars Zoe Birkett, Lee Mead and Jenna Lee-James, who will also take part in Q&A sessions with guests.
The entertainment line-up already reflects Britain's favourite musicals. Frozen ranked seventh in the nation's favourite productions (10%), while Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (6%) and The Tina Turner Musical (5%) also featured in the rankings.
Their signature songs proved just as popular too, with Let It Go named Britain's joint third favourite musical song (13%), while Any Dream Will Do and Proud Mary both made the nation's top 20.
West End star Zoe Birkett said: "The magic of musical theatre is that it stays with you long after the curtain comes down."
"The songs become part of your everyday life, the stories never leave you, and every audience shares something special together."
"It's wonderful to see just how passionate Britain remains about musical theatre, and I can't wait to help bring that same excitement to guests aboard Musical Med-leys."
Britain's favourite musicals
- The Lion King – 18%
- Mamma Mia! – 16%
- Grease – 15%
- The Sound of Music – 11%
- Wicked – 10%
- Matilda – 10%
- We Will Rock You – 9%
- Mary Poppins – 9%
- Les Misérables – 8%
- The Phantom of the Opera – 8%
Britain's favourite musical songs
- Dancing Queen (Mamma Mia!) – 14%
- Mamma Mia (Mamma Mia!) – 13%
- Circle of Life (The Lion King) – 13%
- Let It Go (Frozen) – 13%
- We Will Rock You (We Will Rock You) – 13%
- Hakuna Matata (The Lion King) – 12%
- You're The One That I Want (Grease) – 12%
- The Winner Takes It All (Mamma Mia!) – 11%
- Time Warp (The Rocky Horror Show) – 9%
- Defying Gravity (Wicked) – 8%
