April 12th is the International Day of Human Space Flight, the annual celebration of the first human space flight by Yuri Gagarin established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2011. It’s also Yuri’s Night, also known as the World Space Party, where many people around the world raise a glass to Gagarin’s single orbit around the Earth in his Vostok space capsule. I thought this would be a stellar opportunity to have a bit of fun and launch myself into the universe of space musicals, only to find that they’re as scarce as complex extraterrestrial life. Talk about a “Rare Earth” phenomenon! Nonetheless, today we’re going to get into the spirit of Yuri’s Night and list a veritable solar system of musicals – actually, just five – which take place in space or directly involve space travel. All right, all right – one of these shows has very little to do with space travel other than the mere mention of it. If you can’t guess what they are, you’ll find one of them the number one spot – but for now, let’s begin the countdown!

5. Starmites

What if Peter Pan went to space? While this is no Neverland tie-in, the answer to that question gives you the bare bones of the Starmites story. At its heart is shy teenager Eleanor, who wants to be a “Superhero Girl” and finds herself in a universe where the Starmites serve as the guardian angels of Innerspace. More than just a musical theatre maker’s fever dream, Starmites is the ultimate underdog story: what might have been a pretty inconsequential Off-Off-Broadway show hustled its way via Off-Broadway to a Broadway stage for the 1988–1989 season. Admittedly, this was hardly Broadway’s golden year. In fact, it’s often cited as one of the weakest seasons ever for new musicals, so much so that the Tony Awards scrapped the categories for Best Score and Best Book altogether that year. In a more robust season, Starmites would never have claimed either prize, but you have to admire the sheer audacity of its journey. The score (with some bops like “Hard to be a Diva” and “Love Duet”) is endearingly sweet, steeped in a 1980s vernacular with a few retro flourishes that add to its charm. It’s true that this is probably more of a comic book musical than a space adventure, which bumps it down to the bottom spot on the list – but there’s enough intergalactic action to warrant a little generosity. Over the years, Starmites has built a modest cult following and it’s a fun choice for school productions too. Barry Keating and Stuart Ross refined the piece on its way to Broadway, and it’s since been polished further in various editions for performance. Overall, it’s cute and sweet, but just a little bit naïve, which, of course, is all part of its charm. It might lean more into comic book fantasy than pure space epic, but for Yuri’s Night, we’re embracing the intergalactic fun of Starmites with open arms.

4. Space Dogs

A rocking tribute to the early days of the space race, this off-Broadway hit tells the extraordinary true story of Laika, the first dog in space, and the Soviet scientists behind her mission. The concept feels instantly engaging – quirky, unexpected and full of potential. The rock score is lively, even if it doesn’t stick in your head long after you’ve given the cast album a spin, but it’s clear that the live show leant into the concept’s eccentricity with gusto, using puppetry and a chorus line of soft toys. Who wouldn’t be tickled pink by the tongue-in-cheek hilarity of “A Russian Canine Beauty Pageant?” There are genuinely sweet moments too, with songs like “Blessed by Two Great Oceans” catching the ear. It’s easy to imagine Space Dogs being a riot to watch live, full of offbeat energy and visual inventiveness. Am I the only one who can imagine this material jumping seamlessly from the stage into a Phineas and Ferb-style cartoon series? Its offbeat humour seems well suited to the medium of animation. At any rate, even if the show still needs time to find longevity beyond its initial blast into the musical theatre universe, it still makes for great entertainment thanks to its playful theatricality. With its roots in the Soviet space programme and the story of Laika, it’s hard to imagine a more fitting musical companion for Yuri’s Night festivities.

3. Starship

Starkid Productions is guilty pleasure territory of the very best kind. Wild, free, and utterly freewheeling, Starkid’s musicals have delivered countless earworms and inside jokes for musical theatre lovers everywhere – and Starship is no exception. Set on Bug-World, an alien planet teeming with giant insects, it follows the journey of one particularly curious bug, aptly named Bug, who dreams of joining the elite Starship Rangers. His chance arrives when a human crew lands on his planet with colonisation in mind, and what unfolds is a high-energy space adventure brimming with heart. With music and lyrics by Darren Criss, and a book by Matt Lang, Nick Lang, Brian Holden, and Joe Walker, Starship feels like a madcap Pixar sci-fi movie, complete with an A Bug’s Life aesthetic and a narrative mash-up of The Little Mermaid and Aliens – a comparison Darren Criss himself once made. What’s always so impressive about Starkid’s productions is their sheer ambition: these are big, bold visions brought to life with passion and ingenuity, fuelled by an infectious love of musical theatre. Starship is a wild ride from start to finish that doesn’t take itself too seriously, which is exactly what makes it such a blast. For a night that celebrates bold dreams of cosmic exploration, Starship keeps the wild ambition and joyful creativity of space exploration alive and well in the universe of the stage.

2. Return to the Forbidden Planet

Return to the Forbidden Planet is the kind of madcap sci-fi romp that feels like a bespoke celebration of Yuri’s Night – full of zany space adventures and rock ’n’ roll energy. It’s the quintessential cosmic musical. Is it brilliant? Is it terrible? Yes. A West End phenomenon that leaves you half-baffled and half-impressed that it works at all, the show is the textbook example of “what am I watching?” theatre. It’s a mad pastiche of Shakespearean verse, 1950s sci-fi and jukebox rock ‘n’ roll – and somehow, it found an audience and even managed to snag the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical in 1989, beating out Miss Saigon, The Baker’s Wife and Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story. The Shakespearean text-play is arguably the show’s most successful trick, weaving familiar lines into its wild narrative with surprising wit. The musical numbers, while cleverly chosen, tend to fade quickly after their introduction, and you can’t help wondering if an original score might have been more engaging – though, truthfully, the whole concept is so off-the-wall that it’s hard to say. At its best, the show flirts with being the perfect combination of quirky fun and good theatre, and you’re left wishing it consistently reached that higher orbit.

1. The Rocky Horror Show

The Rocky Horror Show is obviously the musical we hinted at in the introduction! Yes, the alien-from-outer-space angle only reveals itself late in the game (spoiler alert?), but The Rocky Horror Show is such an icon that it absolutely earns the top spot on our list today. With book, music, and lyrics by Richard O’Brien, this cult classic is a hilarious and loving tribute to the B-movies of the 1930s to early 1960s – a gleeful blend of sci-fi, horror, and rock’n’roll rebellion. It follows a newly engaged couple who, caught in a storm, stumble upon the lair of the mad scientist Dr Frank-N-Furter, just in time for the unveiling of his latest creation: Rocky, a Frankenstein-style muscle man brought to life. I’ve found myself enjoying this show more as I’ve grown older. Where once it was the quickness and irreverent energy that drew me in, now I also appreciate the flashes of pathos that lurk beneath the surface and emerge in some of the later songs. The show’s subversiveness guaranteed its legacy, and that irresistibly entertaining score certainly helps keep audiences coming back. From “Science Fiction Double Feature” and “Dammit Janet” all the way through to “I’m Going Home” and “Super Heroes,” the hits just keep on coming. Watching it today, The Rocky Horror Show is still a breezy, high-energy night out, especially when there’s a great Frank at the helm to steer the ship. Or should that be the starship? Anyway, once you add in the audience participation, the props, the call-backs, and the sheer communal joy of the whole Rocky Horror cult, you’ve got a show that’s truly out of this world. With its starry-eyed send-up of sci-fi tropes, this cult classic is the ultimate party piece for Yuri’s Night – and we absolutely encourage you to get your “Time Warp” on and get the party started!

It seems that musicals have explored just about every theme under the sun – and beyond – but space travel remains oddly underrepresented in the musical theatre canon. If the history of human space flight has taught us anything, it’s that even the most improbable journeys can take flight. Space musicals seem to be the realm of camp, fun, pastiche and parody, never really dipping its toes into the philosophical Milky Way we see in, say, Star Trek. So let’s look out for the Yuri’s Night Wishing Star tonight and use that chance to ask for the totally mind-blowing theatrical space opera we’ve yet to see take flight.