We all know that old theatre adage: Never work with children or animals. Well, thank goodness no one actually takes it seriously, otherwise we’d never get a myriad of moments in the last 25 years that touched our hearts and filled us with awe. While last week, Playbill took a very comprehensive look at the 30 best Broadway showtunes of the last 25 years, we also wanted to take time to remember some memorable moments of this century in theatre so far.

But such a list would be too sprawling to do justice. So we decided to stay small. Below is Playbill’s very unserious list of the 10 best kids and animals (who were sometimes kids) of the 21st century.

Anthony Rosenthal in Falsettos

2016 was indeed “the year of the child” for Anthony Rosenthal, who flawlessly played Jason in the revival of William Finn and James Lapine’s Falsettos. In his Broadway debut at the age of 12, Rosenthal stole our hearts as the backbone of the musical’s tight-knit family. While tackling the complex yet funny and timely story, Rosenthal took the stage alongside six esteemed theatre icons and held his own in a way that is something to marvel at nearly a decade later. Rosenthal’s unbelievably charismatic stage presence helped usher in a new generation of theatregoers, making Falsettos resonate for a younger audience in a year where reality, for most, was equally as heartbreaking and complicated as it was portrayed on stage. An undeniable talent (who we recently got to see on stage again in Leopoldstadt), Anthony Rosenthal was the biggest gift to the historical revival. -Heather Gershonowitz

The Billy Elliots

When it comes to a demanding kid role, I’m not sure it gets much more demanding than Billy Elliot. You get the usual singing and acting requirements, but they also had to be able to dance ballet well enough to make it believable that they are something of a wunderkind, while flying onstage! It’s a tall order. It’s no wonder that the Elton John Billy Elliot musical was part of why Broadway started adopting London’s tendency to cast three to four (or more!) kids in single roles, jointly sharing the eight-performance week. In London, they even created a kids dance school explicitly just to train child dancers for the long-running musical. And so, it’s no surprise that many of the kids that played the role over the last 25 years have been truly incredible. The original London Billys—James Lomas, George Maguire, and Liam Mower—and their Broadway counterparts—David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik, and Kiril Kulish—all made history jointly winning Olivier and Tony Awards (respectively) for their performances. And many have gone on to rich performance careers: Alvarez starred as Bernardo in the 2021 film version of West Side Story, while other Billy alum have become film stars (Jamie Bell and Tom Holland), Strictly Come Dancing vets (Layton Williams and Lewis Cope), and more. Bravo, gents! —Logan Culwell-Block

The Crucible Dog

“A dog in The Crucible?! Now I’ve seen everything!” Yes, the 2016 Broadway revival of The Crucible added a new element to the Arthur Miller play: a dog. Well, only technically. The dog in question—Luchta, a Tamaskan (at the time the only of his kind in North America)—looked much closer to an honest-to-God wolf. Director Ivo van Hove used the animal as an expression of the animal-like witch hunt on display in the plot of the classic, having Luchta (with some help from Broadway animal trainer extraordinaire Bill Berloni) kick off the second act by sauntering to downstage center and staring out menacingly into the audience before scampering off stage. Van Hove also wisely kept the stunt a secret—the Playbill had no billing for the dog. Instead audiences received Luchta’s credits on a loose piece of paper as they left the theatre after the performance. I always love seeing dogs in shows, but this was something else; eerie, unnerving, downright scary. It was an especially effective coup de théâtre. That Luchta was actually, by all reports, a friendly and fully domesticated dog (rather than a scary wolf ready to eat my face) was beside the point. Luchta was an expert at playing his role, and it got your attention for this already tense play’s second act. I’ll never forget it! —Logan Culwell-Block

The Goats from Once On This Island

Where were you when Nathan Lane refused to feed a goat at the Tony Awards? The 2017 Broadway revival of Once On This Island employed two true superstars, and no, I’m not talking about Lea Salonga and Alex Newell. Sparky and Peapod, the two goats in the production, stole the show every night with their deceptively natural performances and lived-in realism. All jokes aside, these animals, trained by Lydia DesRoche, were stars. Broadway fans immediately became obsessed with them, with novelty Twitter and Tumblr accounts dedicated to their exploits quickly popping up. Their Instagram account, @goatsonthisisland, still has thousands of followers without a single post in six years. During the show’s Broadway run, they even had their own merch! At the 2018 Tony Awards, Sparky walked the red carpet with producer Ken Davenport before the pair appeared in the production's performance number. Frankly, I think Sparky and Peapod were a part of what tipped the scale in Once On This Island’s favor to win the Tony for Best Revival of a Musical. We miss those divas! —Margaret Hall

Joey, Joey, Joey in War Horse

Seeing only a still photo of Joey, the horse puppet in the 2011 Tony-winning Broadway production of War Horse, one might think, “Cool looking, but obviously not a real animal.” Yet, sitting inside the Vivian Beaumont was a completely different and emotionally potent story. When that horse moved and let out its first breath, it was Broadway magic at its finest. There was a slight disconnect between what your brain knew was true and what your heart was feeling. That horse was as alive as any you might encounter at a stable. The movement of the head, the wagging of the tail, the sound of the breath, the larger sound of a snort, and, especially, those twitching ears all managed to make believers of everyone sitting in the Lincoln Center Theater venue. And then there was the movement: the galloping, the walking, and the trotting created an even more realistic effect, and audiences became as attached to that horse as any other character in the play—if not more so. How the three puppeteers worked in unison to manipulate Joey and convince the audience they were watching a real, live breathing animal was truly astonishing. No wonder Nick Stafford's imaginative stage adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's 1982 coming-of-age novel was named Best Play and received a Special Tony Award for the Handspring Puppet Company, who created those life-sized horse puppets to thrilling effect. —Andrew Gans

Kong in King Kong 

Let’s be honest, Broadway has seen some larger-than-life divas tread the boards (you know exactly who I’m talking about), but not even the most demanding Tony winner has required their own cargo ship to commute to work. The massive 20-foot, 1.2-ton animatronic King Kong was built by specialists, suspended from a crane, and operated by 10 puppeteers (plus three in a booth and one voice actor). A sophisticated system of hydraulics, motors, and custom controls combined to create a stunningly lifelike creation. In other words, as designed by Sonny Tilders (who won a Special Tony for his work), Kong was a high-maintenance queen. We loved him so much, we collectively sobbed when he died onstage. Broadway has yet to see an animal of that size ever since…just egos of the same size and weight. — Jeffrey Vizcaíno

The Matildas

These little girls were miracles. With voices of angels, comedic timing beyond their years, and endless charm, they took on a role more complex than many roles written for adults in the modern musical theatre. Songs like “Naughty” and “Quiet” require an incredibly deft instrument, and it is astonishing that they found one little girl up to the challenge: That there were four was astounding. Originated on Broadway by Sophia Gennusa, Oona Laurence, Bailey Ryon, and Milly Shapiro, each Matilda was fascinatingly different from the next, making the experience of returning to the musical again and again a tempting experience. The quartet received the Tony Honor for Excellence in Theatre, making them some of the youngest Tony recipients in the awards' history, and they were commendations well earned. —Margaret Hall

Milky White in Into the Woods

There is a reason why Playbill’s video interview with Milky White from the 2022 Broadway revival of Into the Woods went viral. She was an icon, a moment, a puppet that stole our hearts with her expressive head turns and bouncy gait. As operated by actor Kennedy Kanagawa and designed by James Ortiz, this Milky White stood out from all the other cows as white as milk that came before her because she looked so unique. Skeletal and only held aloft by two pairs of strings, she was such an impactful character that when she briefly died during the show, the audience cried out in shock. Jack loved Milky White, and in the 2022 Broadway revival of Into the Woods, so did we. —Diep Tran

The School of Rock Kids

I feel like we moved on way too quickly from the fact that the kids in School of Rock, which ran on Broadway from 2015 to 2019, were all little musical prodigies. From electric guitar to drums, all these outstanding child stars performed live both vocally and instrumentally—the youngest of them just 11 years old. In front of thousands of people every night, these kids were singing and playing instruments all at once (I can’t even walk and drink water at the same time or else I’ll accidentally inhale it and choke). The multitasking alone is impressive at such a young age, much less being such compelling performers that we were invested in their rebellious journey during the musical. I hope these kids do a reunion concert somewhere down the line! —Meg Masseron

Sydney Lucas in Fun Home

You might have sensed it when reading through our Best Broadway Showtunes of the Last 25 Years list: We’re fans of Fun Home and Sydney Lucas at the Playbill headquarters. Playing Little Alison in Jeanine Tesori and Lisa Kron’s moving musical Fun Home, Lucas carried a deeply mature story on her shoulders: that of a girl at the beginning of her queer journey, with a father who she loved, who was also deeply closeted. Lucas was just nine years old when she was in Fun Home on Broadway, but her ability to portray a character that needed to be simultaneously knowing and unknowing was so uncanny that it was as if she channeled the soul of a woman twice her age. Oh, and her performance of “Ring of Keys” at the 2015 Tony Awards was one for the ages; Lucas confidently held that gigantic stage on her own while also inspiring a generation of young people going through their own awakening. She may not have won the Tony that year, but she was a champion in all of our hearts. Lucas is no longer an actor; she’s now pursuing a career in the medical field, showing that after Fun Home, she is not done making a deep impact on people’s lives. —Diep Tran

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The Most Adorable Kids and Animals of the 21st Century

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