The changing nature of shows at sea on cruise ships

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Here are the best shows on cruise ships as reported by USA Today.  I have bolded the ships name where I was fortunate enough to see the shows.

Disney Dreams;Disney Wishes;Toy Story: The Musical;Disney's Aladdin – A Musical Spectacular

Disney Cruise Line always seems to top  the family entertainment category with Broadway-style musicals featuring a talented cast. All four ships have wonderful productions including original shows created for the ships, all including classic Disney characters and tunes that will have kids thrilled and parents teary with nostalgia.  Disney utilizes cast from their large pool of talent.

Hairspray

It's 1962 and Baltimore's 16-year-old Tracy Turnblad wants to change in the world, in this Broadway musical and winner of eight Tony Awards. Last year, the shipboard cast on Oasis of the Seas, big hair and all, even performed a number live during the Tony Awards broadcast on CBS.

Chicago

In the decadent 1920s, Roxie Hart murders her lover and ends up in jail, where she fights for freedom with the help of a sleazy lawyer and the media. Like the Broadway original, winner of six Tony Awards, the slightly abridged shipboard version on Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas dazzles with songs, choreography and characters.

Saturday Night Fever: The Musical

Disco fever and Bee Gees tunes have the audience grooving on Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas, with a production of this acclaimed musical from London's West End. Cruisers can Dance the Night Away.

Rock of Ages

Cruise passengers can rock out to such '80s hair-band classics as Journey's Don't Stop Believin' and Bon Jovi's Wanted Dead or Alive in this five-time Tony Award–nominated show on Norwegian Breakaway. It's by the same team that brought the show to Broadway – where it is one of the 100 longest-running musicals of all time.

The Blue Man Group

Innovative, hysterically funny and very blue, this land-based brand performs its raucous show/party in a custom-built, state-of-the-art theater on Norwegian Epic. The 90-minute experience includes live music, comedy and techno-theatrics, splashes of blue paint and Twinkies.

Legally Blonde

This seven-time Tony Award-nominated musical will debut on Norwegian Getaway, as the latest Broadway musical at sea. The story follows bubbly blonde Delta Nu sorority girl Elle Woods as she follows her ex-boyfriend Warner to Harvard Law School.

Burn the Floor

On Norwegian Breakaway and debuting too on Norwegian Getaway, this Broadway show serves up a sizzling take on ballroom dance. The ridiculously attractive dancers perform both in ships' supper clubs and in a 45-minute show in the theater. It's like seeing Dancing With the Stars live.

Richard III

For fans of traditional theater, Cunard's Queen Mary 2 serves up performances by graduates of the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. They do one-hour versions of classics, currently including this Shakespeare classic.