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Need some showtunes in your life? Join us as we countdown our picks for the most resonant and rafter-ringing moments from male Broadway stars! From "Rent" to "Hamilton," these performances are iconic and endlessly rewatchable. Get ready for some serious vocal power!
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00:00Make me confused, mock me with praise!
00:07Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today, we're counting down our picks for male musical theater stars'
00:13most resonant and rafter-ringing moments. This list doesn't include West End or
00:18Off-Broadway performances, unless they transfer to Broadway later.
00:22I treasure every instant.
00:27Number 20, Sunset Boulevard, Tom Francis, Sunset Boulevard.
00:34Sure, I came out here to make my name, wanted my pool, my dose of fame, wanted my parking space at Warner's.
00:42The English actor and soda enthusiast first played the role of Joe Gillis on the West End in 2023
00:47before transferring with the production, and its star, Nicole Scherzinger, to Broadway.
00:52Tom Francis' performance of the show's title number is absolutely haunting.
00:56This song, which opens the second act, is staged in such a way that Francis actually exits the theater,
01:07and is shown performing it on the streets of New York before returning to the theater.
01:11The last moments showcase his siren of a voice.
01:14You'll watch it again just to hear how he ramps up into it,
01:17and then punctuates it with that growl on the end of the note.
01:20You're on Sunset Boulevard.
01:30Number 19, One Song Glory, Adam Pascal, Rent.
01:34If you listen to this guy belt long enough, the time just flies.
01:38See what we did there?
01:39Time flies, time dies.
01:47Adam Pascal's voice sounds just as ideal for the stage as it does a 90s grunge rock band.
01:53And being a rock singer was actually his plan before he found musical theater.
01:57But Jonathan Larson's rock-based musical turned him into a leading man,
02:01and his role as Roger Davis made him a part of one of Broadway's most legendary shows.
02:05One Blaze of Glory
02:10Pascal's resonant tenor gets a workout on One Song Glory.
02:15When you listen, it's kind of amazing to think somebody could do that eight times a week.
02:20His tone is so clear that you can tell there's something soulful and husky in it.
02:24Glory
02:25One Blaze of Glory
02:31Number 18, Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat, Titus Burgess, Guys and Dolls.
02:37In the 2009 revival of this mid-century classic,
02:40the future Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt star led the company through one of Broadway's most famous songs.
02:45Oh, nicely sit down, God, you're rockin' the boat.
02:50Before he was singing about the joys of Pinot Noir,
02:53Titus Burgess played Nicely Nicely Johnson in Guys and Dolls.
02:56He brought his powerhouse vocal talent to an incredibly spirited sit down, you're rockin' the boat.
03:01Sit down, you're rockin' the boat.
03:10The song, while always a crowd pleaser, is turned into a brassy, belty showpiece.
03:16Burgess wields his piercing, spine-tingling voice like a weapon, deploying it at every opportunity.
03:22Luckily, his stunning performance was captured during that year's Tony ceremony.
03:25Having played some of the most famous roles on Broadway, we couldn't not include this
03:42Tony-nominated Canadian actor and his glorious belt.
03:46Some of Ramin Karimloo's best vocal work may be in Anastasia.
03:59Karimloo plays Gleb in this animated film-to-stage adaptation, which sees him contending with his duty as a loyal Russian and a man in love with the forgotten Romanov.
04:07In one of his two best songs, Karimloo's belt is as powerful as a horn, full of throbbing vibrato and gut-wrenching emotion.
04:23And what's more, he does all that through a half-closed mouth.
04:26It's easy to see why so many Broadway heartthrobs of the last 20 years have played Fierro, as the part offers a lot to an actor.
04:52His introductory song sums up his entire approach to life and school.
04:56Put zero effort or care into anything and everything.
04:59Mindless and careless, make sure you wear less trouble in the ride.
05:05He's the guy who's too cool for school, and he requires a performer who can dance and belt without looking like he's trying too hard.
05:12Enter Norbert Leobutz, who tackles dancing through life with ease.
05:16His vocals are smooth, despite the enormous effort it takes to dance and project some of the song's more demanding notes.
05:22There's a reason he's the blueprint for the role.
05:24Dancing through life...
05:32There might not be a more perfect male belting song from the classic Broadway era.
05:41This is my quest to follow that star...
05:48In 1965, Richard Kiley originated the dual role of Don Quixote and Miguel de Cervantes in Man of La Mancha.
05:54As the eccentric and pathologically idealistic knight, he also introduced a new standard in The Impossible Dream.
06:01To be willing to march into hell for the heavenly core...
06:07This song is a full-on belt-fest that became a Broadway standard.
06:11Encapsulating Don Quixote's entire philosophy, it's punctuated by big, bold vocal moments from Kylie that came to define the way the song is sung and the role played.
06:20Soul...
06:25Soul...
06:27Soul...
06:29Soul...
06:33Number 14, For Forever, Ben Platt, Dear Evan Hansen.
06:38I climb till the entire sun shines on my face...
06:47The Tony winner has been praised up and down for his performance as the anxiety-ridden teenager whose lies inspire a movement.
06:54But Ben Platt's instrument isn't the only thing that's impressive here.
06:57The songs in Dear Evan Hansen are really hard to sing.
07:00On top of the belting, there's the fluctuation of notes and the speed at which some of them have to be sung.
07:05Did I even make a sound? Did I even make a sound? It's like I never made a sound. Did I ever make a sound?
07:13Waving through a window has some powerful moments of belting and falsetto.
07:17But our pick goes to Platt's approach to For Forever, the song he sings to a dead classmate's family.
07:22His deft handling of the song's second half is a feat of musicality and sheer lung power.
07:27We coulda be alright for forever this night...
07:37Number 13, Move On, Mandy Patinkin, Sunday in the Park with George.
07:42I want to make things that count, things that will be new.
07:45I think what I want to do.
07:47What am I to do?
07:49Steven Sondheim composed this show, a story of art and immortality told through the creation of a famous Pointless painting by Georges Seurat.
07:56Mandy Patinkin plays both the original artist and his fictional grandson, a frustrated painter living in his grandfather's shadow.
08:03The performer's trademark tenor lifts the show's climactic ballad, Move On, and makes it soar.
08:09Move on! Move on!
08:18In this moment of epiphany for his character, he bursts in halfway through with some genuinely thrilling notes.
08:24He's even more impressive given that he duetted the song with Bernadette Peters, owner of one of the stage's most powerful belts.
08:31And the lights moving on!
08:38We've always belonged together!
08:45Number 12, Make Them Hear You, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Ragtime.
08:50When they hear you, I'll be near you!
08:56This Tony-winning baritone was the first to perform this now-classic song on a Broadway stage.
09:01With one of the strongest, most distinctive voices in musical history, listening to Brian Stokes Mitchell's belt is like slipping into a warm bath.
09:09And I could not put down my sword when justice was my right.
09:15Make Them Hear You sees his character, Cole House Walker Jr., addressing the men he's led into a dangerous act of protest.
09:22The rousing song about the power of words over violence ends with a rousing long note that he savors until the very last drop.
09:28It washes over you.
09:30It's one of the reasons his rendition seems to be the definitive one.
09:33It's one of the reasons his rendition seems to be the definitive one.
09:37Number 11, It All Fades Away, Steven Pasquale, The Bridges of Madison County.
09:54This underrated musical is based on the heartbreaking novel of the same name.
09:58It tells the story of a passionate affair between a married Italian immigrant and the adventurous photographer who happens upon her farm.
10:05And the only thing that mattered was the four days in your arms.
10:12Steven Pasquale originated the role of Robert in its 2014 Broadway production.
10:17Pasquale must sing this, his final song in the show, as an old man looking back on his life in this brief but profound romance.
10:24The entire song is an intense vocal exercise, but the most magical part doesn't even feature lyrics.
10:37His voice becomes another instrument, vocalizing through the building emotions until coming to a shattering crescendo.
10:43Pasquale put his stamp on this amazing number forever.
10:55Number 10, Bring Him Home, John Owen Jones, Les Miserables.
10:59Les Miserables is a musical that offers many a chance for male singers to show off their best belts.
11:18The summers die one by one, how soon they fly on and on.
11:29Between Vajon, Javert, Marius, and Angel Ross, it's a feast for the boys.
11:35We absolutely love Philip Quast's stirring rendition of Stars, for instance.
11:39You say, this I swear, this I swear by the stars.
11:56But it's hard to beat John Owen Jones at his best.
11:59Bring Him Home is one of the musical's best numbers, and Jones carries that simple, gorgeous melody with gravitas and strength.
12:07If I die, let me die.
12:19The control over his soft, beautiful falsetto is only matched by his powerful belts when the song finally reaches its emotional crescendo.
12:27Number 9, One Last Time, Christopher Jackson, Hamilton.
12:42One last time, relax, have a drink with me, one last time.
12:50We sure hope we never have to listen to this belt for the last time.
12:54Christopher Jackson's run as George Washington in the hit musical Hamilton is a performance to contend with.
13:13Not only does he nail the hip-hop elements of his numbers, but his smooth, buttery vocals lent a comforting quality to Washington that not many could master.
13:22This soothing quality comes to a head with One Last Time, George Washington's swan song.
13:39By the time Jackson begins his effortless runs and riffs at the end of the number, you are completely under his spell.
13:46That final belt is something to behold.
13:49One Last Time, Die.
13:51Die.
13:52Die.
13:53Die.
13:54Die.
13:55Die.
13:56Die.
13:57Number 8. My Petersburg, Derek Klenna, Anastasia.
14:09That's where I've learned my stuff, in some rough company.
14:14There's the boy growing up, who was me, all I've been, all I'll be.
14:22Any musical theater kid worth their salt knows that a voice like Derek Klenna's doesn't come around every day.
14:27He's more than proved he can belt with the best of them.
14:30And we had a tough time finding our favorite high note moment.
14:33We could have gone with his heartbreaking rendition of Come Back in Dogfight.
14:48But the exhilaration we feel hearing My Petersburg is too great to ignore.
14:52Funny how a boy can grow. Funny how a city tells you when it's time to go.
15:02As Dimitri in Anastasia, Klenna brought a cartoon heartthrob to life, both physically and vocally.
15:08In the final few verses of My Petersburg, the notes keep climbing higher and higher until he finally lets the last one go.
15:16And it's big, folks.
15:17Number 7. I'll Cover You Reprise
15:28Jesse L. Martin
15:29Rent
15:30It's time to break out the tissues.
15:33Jesse L. Martin played Collins in the original Broadway production of Rent.
15:36He then reprised his role for the 2005 movie, ensuring that we could all hear his incredible chops whenever we desire.
15:53His entire vocal performance is masterful, but there's nothing like listening to him sing I'll Cover You Reprise.
16:10The main version of I'll Cover You is a love song between Collins and Angel, but the former sings the reprise during the latter's funeral, giving it a heart-wrenching turn.
16:20The main version of I'll Cover You is a love song.
16:27I will cover you.
16:29I will be 25,600.
16:31Martin's voice is so filled with emotion that you can hardly believe he's able to pump out all those high notes as well as he does.
16:39Yet, no one could do it better.
16:41I will cover you.
16:53Number 6. El Tango de Roxanne
16:55Aaron Tveit
16:56Moulin Rouge!
16:57It's more than I can stand!
17:04If there's one thing Aaron Tveit is known for, it's those effortless high notes.
17:09You won't leave me behind
17:14Whether it's I'm Alive and Next to Normal, or Goodbye in Catch Me If You Can, he can straight up sing.
17:23Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye.
17:35When Tveit was cast as Christian in Moulin Rouge, we couldn't wait to see his take on the character Ewan McGregor so expertly portrayed in the original 2001 film.
17:44We especially couldn't wait to hear him sing El Tango de Roxanne, and we were right to be excited.
17:50Feelings are only can't bite
17:58Tveit imbues the melody with so much rage and sorrow, his belts come out tinged with growls and snarls.
18:05It's so perfectly angsty, we can barely handle it.
18:08Believe me when I sing, I love you.
18:16Number 5. I Believe. Andrew Rannells. The Book of Mormon.
18:21I can't have even one shred of doubt. I believe that the Lord God created the universe.
18:31We believe this might be one of the best belts to ever grace the Broadway stage.
18:36Rannells is a beloved musical actor who has many a high note to his name.
18:40We absolutely love the vulnerability he brings to his rendition of The Games I Play from Falsettos.
18:46These are the only games I play.
19:00But there's certainly one belt you think of when you think of Andrew Rannells, and that's I Believe.
19:05I believe that Satan has a hold of you.
19:11His performance as Elder Price in The Book of Mormon was not only a comedic revelation, but a vocal one.
19:17You'll be a Mormon, and by gosh, a Mormon doesn't just believe.
19:25Just believe, a Mormon doesn't just believe.
19:29Oh, I believe. Just believe, a Mormon doesn't just believe.
19:34When the key change hits an I Believe, it's a flabbergasting moment.
19:38You can't believe, pun intended, that he can go higher, but somehow he does.
19:44I believe.
19:544. The Music of the Night
19:56Michael Crawford, The Phantom of the Opera
19:58Many singers have played the titular Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera over the years,
20:11and many have done it to great success.
20:13Ramin Karamloo is one of those actors.
20:16His belt's Until I Hear You Sing,
20:18A song from the original musical sequel, Love Never Dies, are something to behold.
20:23Till I hear you sing.
20:28But there's one name and performance that continues to be synonymous with the name Phantom,
20:34and that's Michael Crawford singing the music of the night.
20:50Crawford has an impeccable tone and pitch, ebbing and flowing with the music expertly,
20:55and hitting the crescendo with some of the most astounding vocal power we have ever heard.
21:00Let your soul take you where you long to reign.
21:123. Santa Fe, Jeremy Jordan, Newsies
21:16Just the moon so big and yellow, it turns night right in the day, dreams come true.
21:25We couldn't make this list without at least one Jeremy Jordan belt.
21:29His performance as Jamie in the last five years' movie is a great one.
21:32His version of moving too fast is particularly striking.
21:36My ear goes swollen, I just keep rolling alone, oh yeah.
21:49But as we said, we're sticking to Broadway, so there was really only one logical answer.
21:54Santa Fe.
22:08Jordan's performance as Jack Kelly, the leader of the Newsboys in Newsies, is the one that put him on the map.
22:14It made Santa Fe a sort of signature song of his.
22:24Jordan hits some high notes throughout the song, but in the number's final moments, he goes for broke.
22:30It's no wonder people always want to hear him sing it.
22:33I ain't got nothing if I ain't got Santa Fe.
22:42I ain't got nothing if I can't.
22:46I ain't got nothing if I can't.
22:47I ain't got nothing if I can't.
22:49I ain't got nothing if I can't.
22:51Number 2.
22:52Heaven on their minds.
22:53Carl Anderson.
22:54Jesus Christ Superstar.
22:56We bet you didn't know Judas could sing like that.
23:10Carl Anderson was one heck of a talent, and his interpretation of Judas and Jesus Christ Superstar ensured that his talent would forever be a part of Broadway history.
23:19You begone to matter more than the things you say.
23:26This musical has a number of amazing, belty performances associated with it, including Steve Balsamo's wonderful version of Gethsemane.
23:34Why should I die?
23:40Why should I die?
23:45But nothing beats Anderson singing Heaven on Their Minds.
23:49Have you forgotten how put down we are?
23:53The song basically opens the show and involves Judas espousing his concerns about Jesus and his role as the Messiah.
24:00Please remember that I want us to live, but it's sad to see our chances we can live with every eye.
24:10Anderson, of course, hits each note with the perfect amount of frustration and power.
24:15Come on and listen, listen to me.
24:18Come on and listen to me.
24:20Come on and listen to me.
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24:39We know that award shows often make controversial choices, and that's okay.
24:54But we don't know if we'll ever be able to forgive the Tonys for not awarding the big prize to Raul Esparza for his portrayal of Bobby in the 2006 revival of Company.
25:04Someone to make you come through, who'll always be there, as frightened as you, of being alive.
25:15Esparza nails the role, but it's his mesmerizing vocal performance that blows us away the most, particularly his final belty moments in being alive.
25:25Make me confused, mock me with praise, let me be used.
25:37This song serves as Bobby's I want number near the end, allowing him to finally come to terms with commitment and vocalize what he desires in a romance.
25:45Is alone, not alone, not alone.
25:58Esparza's amazing throughout, but the last few notes are mind-boggling in their delivery.
26:03Our mouths are just as agape as his.
26:06Make me alone.
26:15Did your favorite performer make the list?
26:21Tell us who we left out in the comments.
26:23And the world will be better for this.
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