Valentine’s Day: hearts, red roses, big romantic gestures and love songs. Some people love it, some hate it and others simply pretend that it doesn’t exist! There are plenty of romantic musicals in the world full of couples, love stories and pretty romantic songs but in the world of musical theatre, just like in the real world, not all love stories have to be romantic; love comes in many different shapes and forms.

Sibling love, friendship love, love that doesn’t find a happy ending, it’s all covered in some of our favourite musicals.

Wicked

Whilst there may be the love story between Elphaba and Fiyero in the smash hit Wicked, many consider the true love story of Wicked to be the friendship between Elphaba and Glinda. The pair go through a lot together, parting ways when finding out what was best for one another and always knowing that they have been changed by their time as best friends.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Let’s be honest, Joseph and his eleven brothers may not be your conventional happy family; after all, they sell Joseph off to be a slave and pretend he is dead, so I will forgive you for thinking that there is not much brotherly love there! Their father Jacob loved Joseph for sure. In fact, he loved him more than his other sons so you have that fatherly love, and eventually the brothers do learn to love and appreciate their brother too.

Frozen

Hit Disney musical Frozen may feature a love story between Anna and Kristoff, but the main love story of Frozen is the sisterly love between Anna and Elsa. The sisters were very close as young children but spent years separated from each other. It is Anna’s love for Elsa that leads her to attempt to save her sister and bring her home. It is also Elsa’s love for Anna that allows her to save Anna in the end. Sibling love can be very powerful and this musical highlights that.

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie

There are three types of love in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie: motherly love, friendship and self-acceptance. The bond between Jamie and his mother Margaret is incredibly strong and touching. She would do anything to make sure that he is happy and he wants her to be proud of him. That is a type of love that cannot be ignored. Jamie also gets motherly love from Ray, who is like a second mom to him. There is also the loving friendship between Jamie and Pritti, with her willing to stand up for him and help him to achieve his dreams. The third love in this musical, and probably the most powerful, is the love that comes with self-acceptance as Jamie learns to love himself.

Mary Poppins

Mary Poppins may predominantly appear to be about a magical nanny who takes children on wonderful adventures, but those adventures teach the children important lessons about how to face and, in a way, fix their family. Mr Banks is a man of business, throwing himself into work whilst ignoring his wife and children and as such, he has to learn to embrace the love he has pushed aside. The love between the members of the Banks family may be hidden away but Mary Poppins helps them to find it again. There is also that “are they, aren’t they; will they, won’t they”, sort of romance between Mary and Bert. I mean, are they friends or are they more?