TORONTO—A story I tried write earlier—but couldn’t, because of other goings-on while on tour—is this one about Broadway shows I’ve seen this year.

In May, I got to watched “Rock of Ages” and “Next to Normal” and, just a few weeks ago, “Hair,” “Billy Elliot” and “South Pacific.”

I went into each one hopeful and with great anticipation, and left enthralled and inspired.

They couldn’t be more different from one other. “Billy Elliot,” based on the successful film of the same title, written by Lee Hall and directed by Stephen Daldry, tells of a young boy who struggles for his right to express himself in dance (ballet). “Next to Normal” is about a housewife with a bipolar disorder. “Rock of Ages” is a rock ‘n’ roll love story between a struggling musician and a small town girl, set to 1980s hair band anthems. “Hair” and “South Pacific” are tried-and-true classics, each a Tony Award winner for Best Revival (“Hair” this year, “South Pacific” last year).

There is one thing that these shows have in common, though: A struggle, a fight, some sort of back-and-forth between forces. The outcome isn’t always as interesting as the journey getting there.

I wanna rock!

“American Idol” alumnus Constantine Maroulis stars in “Rock of Ages,” a new musical offering. Side note: They serve drinks during the show and distribute fake LED lighters, which lend themselves to a genuine rocking atmosphere. Add to that, scantily clad stripper girls, men with righteous mullets and crazy facial hair, and plenty of 1980s music by bands like Journey, Poison, Whitesnake, among others.

The struggle? Besides the audience trying to stay sober, I’d rather not elaborate and let you see the show for itself. I hear it’s going to make its way to our shores at some point in the future. Trust me, it’s one solid night of fun, fun, fun!

Oy, dancin’ boy!

All I knew of “Billy Elliot” was from its official website, YouTube clips of TV performances by numerous Billys from London, New York and Australia, and a few documentaries on the search for the talented young men that would be taking on this huge role. The night I watched, young Alex Ko replaced Kiril Kulish, one of the original Tony Award-winning Billys.

The show (music by Elton John, lyrics by Lee Hall, direction by Stephen Daldry) is set in a working class English town during the miners’ strike of the 1980s, when Margaret Thatcher was prime minister. Billy is the younger of two sons; the elder has followed in his coal-miner father’s footsteps. Billy discovers ballet—and a talent and passion for dance—when he arrives too late for a boxing lesson one day. He struggles against his father, who is decidedly against dancing, and societal constraints (ballet is identified with homosexual men).

At the show’s touching conclusion, Billy’s family and the entire town rallies behind him, supporting him on his road to the Royal Ballet School.

The choreography is amazingly clever, and the performances by the adults are uniformly affecting. However, I reserve most of my praise for the children in the show: The Ballet Girls (especially the young lady who plays Debbie, the ballet teacher’s daughter), Michael (imagine a cross-dressing song and tap dancing dynamo, played by Trevor Braun), and Billy (I have never seen a performance like this). Alex in only his second performance as Billy, was incredible.

Let the sunshine in!

I was very young when my cousins sang “The Age of Aquarius” at a family party. The music has stuck with me since. I found myself singing along with the cast of “Hair” when I saw the show. Turned out that I was familiar with quite a few of the other songs from this musical, among them “Let the Sunshine In,” “Easy to be Hard,” and “Good Morning, Starshine.”

With all that’s been happening in America, there’s no better time for this musical to make its return to Broadway. It may be set in the ’60s when many young people were protesting the Vietnam war, but it’s still timely. In fact, on the night that I watched, a huge Equality March banner was hung across the stage. And the Oct. 11 matinee performance was canceled, so that the cast could participate in a march in Washington, DC.

I’m in favor of every person on this planet being treated equally, and they should be able to marry whomever they want. Every single person who marched on Oct. 11 felt exactly that same way, and I feel very proud to have gone to the “Hair” performance when that banner made its appearance at the end of the show.

Every performer was charming, earthy and real. Make sure to add this show to your list when you visit the city.

(Next week, “Next to Normal” and “South Pacific”—shows with female heroes who both triumph over their struggles.)