13 small business musicals to make your heart sing

Have you ever been stuck doing the books after closing time and had the urge to break out into song?

Fresh from the international success of his musical Matilda, Australian composer and comedian Tim Minchin appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden and performed a brilliantly rewritten version of Matilda’s ‘When I Grow Up’.

Only, this version took aim at the US President and key member of his coven, sorry, team.

Just when you thought it couldn’t get more humiliating for the Weirdly-Coiffed Orange One Who Shall Not Be Named than being lampooned by Alec Baldwin!

It was as brutal as it was necessary and frankly, it was also inspiring.

I mean, I love a good musical and firmly believe in the stress-busting benefits of launching into song on a whim.

So much so that I’ve gathered up a bunch of the best musicals – some modern, some classics – and adapted them to small business so that you, too, might bust out a few toe-tappers whenever you feel the need.

Here are 13 of my favourites, complete with plot summaries:

1. Auditor On The Roof

A small businessman tries to sell of three of his companies while under the scrutiny of an auditor in danger of falling through a skylight.

2. Little BAS Of Horrors

A nerdy business owner tries to complete his quarterly BAS in the same room as an insatiable, bloodthirsty, man-eating plant.

3. Gentlemen Prefer Budgets

A group of small business owners try to calculate their income and expenditure while surrounded by showgirls.

4. Seven Banks For Seven Brothers

When a small business owner from the country gets a great loan rate from a bank, his six brothers all decide they want one, too.

5. Bye, Bye Balance Sheet

A small business owner is suddenly drafted into the army, interrupting his ability to calculate his business’ assets and liabilities.

6. The Rocky Horror Market Share

A small businessman discovers he can become the market leader within his industry by doing nothing more than gyrating suggestively in fishnet stockings and heels.

7. The Accountant Of Notre Dame

An accountant with a severe physical deformity finds he enjoys ringing bells almost as much as he enjoys profit and loss statements.

8. The Patents Of Penzance

A bunch of pirates obtain an exclusive license to sell ruffled shirts with big sleeves online.

9. My Fair Licensing Agreement

A pompous licensor attempts to transform a working-class licensee into someone who can pass for a member of the Small Business Association.

10. The Book Of Marketing

Two young Mormon missionaries are sent to Uganda to convince the residents of a small village to create a cult brand.

11. Annie Get Your General Ledger

A Wild West sharpshooter is threatened with an audit by the ATO or IRD.

12. The Best Little Startup In Texas

A small business owner gains unwanted attention from a journalist when it is discovered she bears a striking resemblance to Dolly Parton and grossly overuses the word “hootenanny.”

13. The Phantom Of The Franchise

From his hideout beneath an office building, a masked and brooding small business owner schemes to get closer to a young and talented franchisee.