Top five musical theatre tearjerker tunes

Sometimes you need a good cry, and musical theatre can supply some amazing moments for a wail. The combination of live music, expressed emotion and some classic tunes can really open the floodgates. We recently asked WhatsOnStage readers what their biggest tearjerker moments are from musicals – here are the results.

5. "The Letter", Billy Elliot

The iconic film became a longrunning West End show, chock full of emotional moments and intense scenes. But this, according to readers, is the bit that really hits home. In the video above, Ruthie Henshall performs "The Letter".

4. "I Still Believe", Miss Saigon

The first of two Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil musicals on this list (and the first of two performed by Lea Salonga!), Miss Saigon has a lot of brilliant numbers, but "I Still Believe" was the one that really got us all weeping.

3. "A Little Fall of Rain", Les Misérables

There were a few Les Mis moments that were up for the top spot – "Empty Chairs At Empty Tables", "Little People" or even the finale, but the quiet tragedy of "A Little Fall of Rain" made it to bronze on our list.

2. "I'll Cover You Reprise", Rent

For a long while, we thought this one was going to take the top spot – the emotional centrepiece of one of the most iconic musicals of the last few decades. The death of Angel, one of the great characters of theatre history, really does bring tears to the eyes.

1. "Tell Me It's Not True", Blood Brothers

But Willy Russell's Blood Brothers had to come in top. The grief, the utter terror and denial of fact that comes through the song, is devastating. Could there be any other winner?

Notable mentions : "He's My Boy" from Everybody's Talking About Jamie, "It's Quiet Uptown" from Hamilton, "For Good" from Wicked and all of Dear Evan Hansen.