Special Coverage Pop Culture Classics (The EW 1000)Summer MusicSummer TVBox Office Game

With their fresh-faced casts and Off Broadway roots, these musicals should be obvious successors. On a scale of 1 to 5, how likely are they to light Broadway's candle?

1. Spring Awakening
Pros
High visibility (Gap ads! Letterman!); a sound that's more rock than show tunnel a potent fan base. Eight Tonys don't hurt, either.
Cons
Simulated masturbation and lyrics like ''totally f---ed'' may not play in Peoria.
Rent-ability: 4.5/5

2. In The Heights
Pros
Inventive, varied score (salsa, merengue, rap); hip NYC setting; already dubbed ''an uptown Rent.''
Cons
The last Latino musical that broke out big with white-bread Broadway audiences was, um...
Rent-ability: 3/5

3. Passing Strange
Pros
Pulsating, soul-funk-R&B-fusion songs; bohemian hero; globetrotting story line.
Cons
Star/co-creator Stew (of the band the Negro Problem) isn't a household name. And will anyone get that Shakespearean title?
Rent-ability: 1/5


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Posted Feb 29, 2008 | Published in issue #981 Mar 07, 2008 | Order Article Reprints