Floyd Collins (2025 Broadway Revival)

The Man Trapped Underground

1925, Kentucky, USA. Caver Floyd Collins was trapped in a narrow cave for 17 days, until the end of his life.

The event gripped the nation—thousands gathered at the cave mouth, reporters and photographers swarmed, staging a battle between media and life.

And this musical, Floyd Collins, turns that true tragedy into a profound work about media, humanity, and life.

Hailed as an Artistic Benchmark

With music and lyrics by Adam Guettel, this musical is hailed as “the artistic benchmark of contemporary musical theatre.”

Guettel is the grandson of composer Richard Rodgers, but his musical style is entirely different from his grandfather’s—more complex, more modern, with a distinctive lyricism and uncertainty.

That song “The Riddle Song” captures, with an almost impossible melody, Floyd’s confusion and hope in the dark cave.

Media and Life

Floyd Collins’s most profound aspect is its critique of media.

Floyd is trapped underground, while the media above consumes his suffering—reporting, sensationalizing, waiting for his death. This musical, premiered in 1996, has become more satirical and pointed than ever in today’s social media age.

Why Listen

Jeremy Jordan’s Floyd is the core of the show. His performance on a cramped stage makes the audience feel as if they too are inside that dark cave.

This 2025 revival soundtrack preserves Jordan’s heartbreaking interpretation. It is both an outstanding musical album and a profound reflection on humanity and media.

Further Listening

If you love true-story musicals with deep human concern, The Book Thief and Maybe Happy Ending are both recent gems.