Motivational Musical Theatre Songs

Musicals are not just about soaring ballads and long legato tones; the musical theatre catalogue has some of the most energetic, driven and kickass songs to ever exist. Tap into the unbridled enthusiasm and power of these songs, and smash your workout!

Just to bring you up to speed on how vast the genre of musical theatre is; since the start of the 21st century, around 120 different musicals have opened on Broadway! That’s not even taking into account the number of regional theatre productions in the U.S., let alone the rest of the world! Think about how many songs that quantifies to! Suddenly, what once appeared as a small niche of music to those unfamiliar with the genre, has opened up into a sprawling and vast amount of music that you can run, dance, skip, cycle, and box to. If you’re not sure where to start looking to find these songs, I’ve already done the legwork (pun intended) and have created a playlist filled with these kinds of songs.

The first 35 songs in the playlist are fast, high-impact, and high-energy, which will really get the blood pumping and make you feel unstoppable, whilst the last 10 songs on the playlist transition you into a calmer and softer headspace - ideal for the much needed ‘cool down’ or stretching. Let’s delve into some key moments of the playlist below.

The first song is I’m Alive from the rock-musical Next to Normal, and, honestly, isn’t this something that we’ve all had to remind ourselves at least once during a gruelling workout? (‘No, you’re not dying, you’re fine, get back up.’) The song quickly builds momentum, and will definitely drive you forward with its’ almost hypnotic guitar riffs and pounding drums. It’s an incredibly empowering song to run to, and I can attest to the fact that listening to this whilst running on a treadmill makes the experience considerably more fun. In fact, the vocalist on this track, Aaron Tveit, said in an interview that during preparation for Next to Normal, he would practice singing I’m Alive whilst running on a treadmill in order to increase his stamina and breath control for when he needed to perform it live. (For context, he had to run up and down flights of stairs, swing around a couple poles here and there, and generally be very active whilst singing this song on stage.) And after a little light research, I found out that while this is quite common practice for professional performers, apparently Beyoncé has used this technique too!

Track 6. on the playlist is Backstage Romance from the Broadway adaptation of Baz Luhrman’s Moulin Rouge, and it is a mash-up of some absolute bangers from pop music - but performed as if those songs existed in a raunchy club in the gritty underworld of 18th century Paris. We’re talking Bad Romance by Lady Gaga, Tainted Love by Soft Cell, Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes, Toxic by Britney, and Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) by Eurythmics. If that doesn’t excite you, then I don’t know what will.

Run And Tell That from Hairspray is the 11th song on this playlist, and it’s one of the most infectious, fun, and slick songs in the musical theatre catalogue. Elijah Kelley absolutely smashes the lead vocal, and it’s a joy to listen to - it is impossible to not dance to this tune.

Number 22. on the playlist is Guns and Ships from Hamilton. This song is an actual record breaker; it ranks as the fastest song in the fastest-paced musical ever (the entire show fits 20,000 words into 2.5 hours). It is also the contested top spot for the fastest ever song in musical theatre history, with an average of 6.3 words per second (Not Getting Married from Company comes in at 6.2, but its’ pacing is considered more challenging than that of Guns and Ships). Needless to say, it’s a song full of intensity and fierce tenacious energy that will certainly make you want to move as quickly as David Diggs raps.

Track 26. is 96,000 from In The Heights and it is the “I want” song (as creator Lin-Manuel Miranda puts it) - all musicals have an “I want” song in one form or another, in which the characters tell the audience their motivations and ambitions, and what they hope to achieve throughout the story of the show. Channel your fitness goals into this song, and join in with the characters as they sing about achieving their dreams. You want to beat your time for five miles? Use the passion in the song to spur you forward, and you’ll get there one day.

The song is also demonstrative of the diversity of musical theatre scores; one character responds in a rap style, while others respond in a dancehall beat, and the ensemble use a reggaeton style. All the different styles and melodies come together beautifully, and you’ll want to listen to it again and again.

The 32nd song on the playlist is Flash, Bang, Wallop from the 2017 revival of Half a Sixpence: a tongue-in-cheek yet endearing slapstick-style song (that was one of the best performances that I’ve seen in my entire life - I would watch this show everyday if I could). It’s such a fun and raucous song, and its’ enthusiasm will definitely re-energise you (and make you smile) during your workout!

Track 35 - the final song that you can really push yourself to is, of course, Don’t Rain On My Parade from Funny Girl, sung by the legendary Barbra Streisand. In my opinion, it would be near sacrilege to make a musical theatre playlist without including at least one Barbra Streisand song; she truly is one of the greatest vocalists to ever exist. Listening to Don’t Rain On My Parade makes you feel invincible and like you can overcome any hurdle, so it’s the perfect song to end the high-intensity or high cardio section of your workout to.

The 36th song on the playlist is where the ‘cool down’ section begins. Dance at the Gym from the Leonard Bernstein classic West Side Story, is an instrumental piece which is fuelled with energy and passion for the first five minutes or so, but it’s just over halfway through when the music turns to something softer and delicate. This is the point in the show where the protagonists, Tony and Maria, dance together, effectively entwining their destinies together. It’s a very poetic and tender moment, which is a great time for your body to begin to unwind from your workout. I should point out that it does become fairly energetic at the end of the piece, but don’t worry, you’ll be ushered into a collection of calmer and grounding songs to continue cooling down to. Personally, my favourite section from this part of the playlist is three songs that follow one after the other: Shadowland from The Lion King, Stay, I Pray You from Anastasia, and Will I? from Rent. All three songs have absolutely gorgeous and layered harmonies, which you almost feel like you can melt into. The nature of such arrangements means that they’re very hypnotic to listen to, with an almost meditative quality to them, which is the perfect blend for when you’re settling back into your body.

The playlist ends with Someday from the stage adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which is ultimately a song of hope, and I think it’s very important to finish exercise (and any part of your day) with a sense of peace and optimism.

What’s another reason why this genre of music will inspire you to push yourself further in your workouts? Not only are some of these songs an endurance run vocally, these incredible performers have to sing them whilst also dancing, and presumably sweating, their asses off.

Watch Norbert Leo Butz perform Don’t Break The Rules from Catch Me If You Can live on Letterman, where you’ll see him dance and shoot around the stage like a pocket-rocket, bursting with energy, whilst still delivering a characterful and winning vocal performance.

And definitely watch Sutton Foster’s knockout performance of Anything Goes! at the 2011 Tony Awards, wherein she flawlessly executes an intricate tap-dance routine and still manages to belt out high notes to complete perfection. (At this point, I can only assume that her body doesn’t need oxygen and instead is solely fuelled by her god-like talent.)

Next time you’re at your spin class, imagine having to sing a fully-fledged song whilst maintaining the circuit you’re doing; think about how out of breath you’d be!

So, when you’re struggling or feeling like you can't keep going, remember the performers who have to sing whilst doing intense cardio - for example after a two minute-long dance solo that includes a backflip (see Electricity from Billy Elliot) - and I guarantee you that your workout will feel much easier in comparison!

What I hope you’ll get from reading this - aside from some great new songs to motivate you during your workouts! - is a newfound or renewed appreciation for musical theatre scores, and a whole new world (that Aladdin song reference is a happy accident, I assure you) of music for you to delve into. I feel that musicals are oftentimes regarded as cheesy, clichéd and unrealistic, or are just generally pigeon-holed as only being interesting to a specific audience. Which is so sad, because they offer such a wealth of beauty and art, and are so diverse in both subject matter and musical style.

Hamilton is the obvious contemporary example of this - it’s musical theatre that is subversive through it’s use of rap and hip-hop. Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 is a highly experimental score, described by the composer as “electropop opera”, with influences from Russian folk and classical music, alongside indie rock and EDM. Next to Normal is an almost entirely sung-through rock musical, and Hadestown incorporates the soulful and vibrant sounds of New Orleans jazz alongside American folk music. Hairspray’s score is a giant nod to the music of the 1950s and 60s, Catch Me If You Can is authentic pop-jazz, whereas In The Heights is infused with merengue and salsa.

What I’m trying to show here is that musicals offer a diverse, genre-spanning catalogue of music, that in turn creates a rich tapestry in which everyone can find something that resonates with them. But more importantly, music that can motivate and spur on anyone, regardless of their fitness level, confidence in the gym, or sporting prowess! Throw yourself into the world of musical theatre, and emerge with a back-catalogue of impassioned, fierce, and exciting music to accompany you on your future workouts.