%%This trope needs a canon couple to overshadow for it to count. The canon/ones with no canon couples to compete with are removed. The ones without mentioning them are hidden/rewritten. If you want to unhide one please add a canon couple or come to this thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14860997890A40152400&page=1
* A lot of fans of ''Theatre/BeMoreChill'' gravitate towards Jeremy/Michael instead of the OfficialCouple, Jeremy/Christine. While it would be hard to find someone who actually doesn't like Christine, we see Michael and Jeremy hang out far more often, they're already best friends (as opposed to Jeremy just admiring Christine from afar), and Michael himself has been [[WordOfGod confirmed]] to be pining for Jeremy throughout the story.
%%* ''Theatre/{{Cats}}'': Pairing together Rum Tug Tugger and Mr. Mistoffelees is popular in the fandom.
* Roughly 90% of what little ''[[Theatre/CompanySondheim Company]]'' fanfiction there is seems to pair Bobby/Joanne, despite the fact that Joanne is married to Larry. The fact that one of the key scenes in the show has Joanne propositioning Bobby probably helps.
* ''Theatre/DearEvanHansen'': Connor/Evan is the biggest ship in the fandom. Having Evan hastily clarify that they weren't gay in "Sincerely, Me" only added fuel to the fire. Also: Evan/Jared, Evan/Connor/Jared, and Zoe/Alana. Every possible pairing that is not canon is far more popular among the fandom than the canon Zoe/Evan. However, unlike other examples of this, DieForOurShip isn't really invoked for the most part; many AU fanfics have Zoe as a supportive sister/friend to the other characters as they form a relationship of their own.
* Death and ''Theatre/{{Elisabeth}}'', the OfficialCouple of that musical, isn't as popular as Death/Rudolf - the latter has more works on Website/ArchiveOfOurOwn and general fan content/discussion than the former. [[note]]Okay, Death/Rudolf is canon to an extent, but still...[[/note]] Franz Joseph/Elisabeth, who are ''canonically married'' is even worse off, with a measly eleven [=AO3=] fics[[note]] And most of them are written by one author in particular[[/note]].
* ''Theatre/{{Hairspray}}'': Also, the almost BelligerentSexualTension of [[RunningGag Corny Collins and Amber competing in hogging camera time]] has made Corny/Amber surprisingly popular.
* In ''Theatre/{{Hamilton}}'', while many do support Hamilton being with his real-life wife Eliza, most fanfiction focuses on [[HoYay Hamilton/John Laurens]] instead.
* ''Theatre/HarryPotterAndTheCursedChild'': Although Scorpius/Rose seemed the most popular of ''Franchise/HarryPotter'''s next generation character ships for a time, it was soon ''vastly'' overshadowed by Scorpius/Albus after the release of the play, which contained so much dialogue of affection and care for one another that many readers genuinely thought it was headed towards a romantic relationship, with many popular websites such as the Guardian and Vox accusing the play of queerbaiting.
* ''Theatre/{{Heathers}}'': While the OfficialCouple of Veronica and JD is the most popular straight pairing by far, even this is outstripped by the LesYay shippers, themselves roughly evenly split into pairing Veronica with Heather Chandler or Heather [=MacNamara=] - the former being popular for the two girls' LikeAnOldMarriedCouple bickering being easily read as BelligerentSexualTension, and the latter for the scene where Veronica saves Heather's life, which is one of the few [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments genuinely heartwarming]] scenes in this pitch-black comedy.
* ''Film/IntoTheWoods'' fans love to pair up Cinderella and the Baker. The show basically invites this, since by the end [[spoiler: he's been widowed, she's been abandoned, and they're about to move in together with three kids]], but nothing in the script suggests more than a platonic relationship.
* ''Theatre/LesMiserables'':
** A large portion of fans seem to believe that Éponine is a better match for Marius than Cosette. Admittedly, Cosette doesn't do much in the musical besides hit a B flat and flirt with Marius. In a lot of respects, that suits Victor Hugo's purpose well: Éponine's role in the original novel was a commentary on the unfairness of class distinctions in contemporary French society, which meant that Éponine/Marius was not "proper".
** Éponine/Enjolras has also been a frequent ship by fans, generally those who prefer not to split Marius and Cosette. Never mind that they never interacted at all in canon.
%%** Enjolras/Grantaire is a very popular pairing despite it being one-sided admiration in the book and stage versions.
* ''Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'' presents Christine and Raoul as the true romance, but a vast majority of "phans" prefer the Phantom and Christine to Christine and Raoul, despite the former man being a CrazyJealousGuy. This may have been due to the show [[RelationshipCompression compressing]] Raoul and Christine's relationship and downplaying many of his flaws while Christine and the Phantom get five entire duets to themselves.
* Creator/GeorgeBernardShaw was annoyed by fans of his play ''Theatre/{{Pygmalion}}'' trying to ship Eliza Doolittle and Professor Higgins, and [[WordOfGod adamantly declared]] that the two would never be more than friends (and not very close friends, at that) and declared that, after the events in his play, Eliza Doolittle eventually marries Freddy and they open a flower shop together. He wrote an [[http://www.bartleby.com/138/6.html essay]] about that, which was included in the 1916 print edition of the play. The musical ''Theatre/MyFairLady'', made after Shaw's death, has an ending that implies much more strongly that the two of them do get together. As ''Pygmalion'' was written in 1913 and the first film adaptation was made in 1938, this particular FanPreferredCouple is OlderThanTelevision.
* ''Theatre/StarlightExpress'' fans are more likely to pair Electra's minions with each other or with other trucks than with Electra himself. [[PsychoLesbian Wrench/Volta]] and [[CampGay Purse]]/[[AmbiguouslyGay Caboose]] are probably the two most popular ships.
* ''Theatre/TanzDerVampire'': There aren't that many Alfred/Sarah shippers out there, as most fans prefer Sarah with Krolock and a good number like to pair Alfred with Herbert. Anyone who's seen the film beforehand ships Krolock/Professor with renewed vigour, some fans going so far as to state that 'Gott ist tot' is aimed at the Professor, not Sarah.
%% * Kendra/Archie are this in ''Theatre/{{Thirteen}}''.
* ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}'': Despite Elphaba [[OfficialCouple being canonically paired]] with Fiyero and running away with him in the end, most fans prefer to pair with Glinda, due to the pair's friendship being the heart of the play and feeling like they have better chemistry. It certainly helps that both the original book's author and several cast members have said [[WordOfGay that they feel like Elphaba and Glinda are in love with each other]] and could have ended up together if things had played out differently.
----