35+ Classical Musicals – A Full List of Shows
Whether you’re auditioning for musicals, setting up your rep book, or simply looking for some new musicals to get into, it’s good to get familiar with what’s out there. And that’s why we’ve put together this full list of classical musicals for you below.
The following list is broken down into six categories – “Chamber Musicals”, “Classical Musicals” “Experimental Classical Musicals”, “Mixed Genre Classical Musicals”, “Operatic Classical Musicals”, “Operettas”, and “Operetta/Musical Theatre Mixes”. Each category is sorted alphabetically.
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Chamber Musicals
Music/Lyrics: Michael John La Chiusa
Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)
Music Genre: Chamber
Music/Lyrics/Book: Michael John LaChiusa
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1993)
Music Genre: Chamber
Music/Lyrics/Book: Dave Malloy
Musical Type: Contemporary (2019)
Music Genre: Chamber
Classical Musicals
Music: Polly Pen Lyrics: Peggy Harman
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1985)
Music Genre: Classical
Experimental Classical Musicals
Music/Lyrics/Book: Joshua Schmidt Lyrics/Book: Jason Loewith
Musical Type: Contemporary (2007)
Music Genre: Classical/Experimental
Music/Lyrics/Book: Dave Malloy
Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)
Music Genre: Classical/Experimental
Music: Jeffrey Lunden Lyrics/Book: Arthur Perlman
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1992)
Music Genre: Classical/Experimental/Legit
Mixed Genre Classical Musicals
Music: Joshua Schmidt Lyrics: Jan Levy Tranen Book: Austin Pendleton
Musical Type: Contemporary (2011)
Music Genre: Legit Musical Theatre/Classical
Music/Lyrics: George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin Book: Craig Lucas
Musical Type: 1951 Film/Contemporary Musical (2014)
Music Genre: Jazz/Classical
Music/Lyrics: Various Book: John Weidman
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1999)
Music Genre: Jazz/Classical/Rock & Roll
Music: Brad Carroll Lyrics/Book: Peter Sham
Musical Type: Contemporary (2010)
Music Genre: Musical Theatre/Classical/Opera
Music/Lyrics: Howard Goodall Lyrics/Book: Stephen Clark
Musical Type: Contemporary (2010)
Music Genre: Musical Theatre/Classical
Music/Lyrics: Billy Joel
Musical Type: Contemporary/Jukebox (2002)
Music Genre: Rock/Classical
Music/Lyrics: Ricky Ian Gordon Lyrics/Book: Richard Nelson
Musical Type: Contemporary (2003)
Music Genre: Legit Musical Theatre/Classical
Music/Lyrics: Jason Robert Brown Book: Marsha Norman
Musical Type: Contemporary (2013)
Music Genre: Legit Musical Theatre/Classical/Country
Music: Peter Rutherford Lyrics/Book: James Millar
Musical Type: Contemporary (2008)
Music Genre: Legit Musical Theatre/Classical
Music/Lyrics: Adam Guettel Book: Craig Lucas
Musical Type: Contemporary (2003)
Music Genre: Legit Musical Theatre/Classical
Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber Lyrics: David Zippel Book: Charlotte Jones
Musical Type: Contemporary (2004)
Music Genre: Legit Musical Theatre/Classical
Music: Leonard Bernstein Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim Book: Arthur Laurents
Musical Type: Golden Age (1957)
Music Genre: Musical Theatre/Jazz/Classical
Operatic Classical Musicals
Music: Georges Bizet Lyrics/Book: Oscar Hammerstein II
Musical Type: Golden Age (1943)
Music Genre: Opera/Musical Theatre
Music: Frederic Norton Book: Oscar Asche
Musical Type: Pre-Jazz Age (1916)
Music Genre: Opera/Musical Theatre
Music: Kurt Weill Lyrics: Bertolt Brecht Book: Elisabeth Hauptmann
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1929)
Music Genre: Opera/Musical Theatre
Music: Kurt Weill Lyrics/Book: Maxwell Anderson
Musical Type: Golden Age (1949)
Music Genre: Opera/Blues
Music: Kurt Weill Lyrics: Various Book: Alfred Uhry
Musical Type: Contemporary (2007)
Music Genre: Opera/Musical Theatre
Music/Book: Andrew Lloyd Webber Lyrics/Book: Glenn Slater Book: Ben Elton, Frederick Forsyth
Musical Type: Contemporary (2010)
Music Genre: Opera/Musical Theatre
Music/Lyrics: Maury Yeston Book: Arthur Kopit
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1991)
Music Genre: Opera/Musical Theatre
Music: George Gershwin Lyrics: Ira Gershwin Libretto: DuBose Heyward, Dorothy Heyward
Musical Type: Opera (1935)
Music Genre: Opera/Musical Theatre
Music: Jerome Kern Lyrics/Book: Oscar Hammerstein II
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1927)
Music Genre: Opera/Musical Theatre
Music: Jerome Kern Lyrics/Book: George Grossmith, P.G. Wodehouse
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1922)
Music Genre: Opera/Musical Theatre
Music/Lyrics/Book: Marc Blitzstein
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1938)
Music Genre: Opera/Musical Theatre
Music: Jerome Moross Libretto: John Latouche
Musical Type: Golden Age (1954)
Music Genre: Opera/Musical Theatre
Music/Lyrics/Book: Frank Loesser
Musical Type: Golden Age (1956)
Music Genre: Opera/Musical Theatre
Music/Book: Andrew Lloyd Webber Lyrics: Charles Hart Lyrics/Book: Richard Stilgoe
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1986)
Music Genre: Opera/Musical Theatre
Music: Kurt Weill Lyrics/Book: Bertolt Brecht
Musical Type: Play with Music (1928)
Music Genre: Opera/Musical Theatre
Operettas
Music/Lyrics: Leonard Bernstein Lyrics: Richard Wilbur, John Latouche, Stephen Sondheim*, Dorothy Parker Book: John Caird*, Hugh Wheeler*, Lillian Hellman
* Writers who worked on the 1974/1999 revivals of the show
Musical Type: Golden Age (1956)
Music Genre: Operetta
Music: Richard Rodgers Lyrics: Lorenz Hart Book: Herbert Fields
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1925)
Music Genre: Operetta
Music: Kurt Weill Lyrics/Book: Maxwell Anderson
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1938)
Music Genre: Operetta
Music: Ron Grainer Lyrics/Book: Ronald Millar
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1964)
Music Genre: Operetta
Music: Edvard Grieg Lyrics: Robert Wright, George Forrest Book: Milton Lazarus, Homer Curran
Musical Type: Golden Age (1944)
Music Genre: Operetta
Music: Sigmund Romberg Lyrics/Book: Otto Harbach, Oscar Hammerstein II, Frank Mandel
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1926)
Music Genre: Operetta
The Happiest Girl in the World
Music: Jacques Offenbach Lyrics: E.Y. Harburg Book: Fred Saidy, Henry Mayers
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1961)
Music Genre: Operetta
Music: Sigmund Romberg Lyrics/Book: Oscar Hammerstein II, Frank Mandel, Laurence Schwab
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1927)
Music Genre: Operetta
Music: Sigmund Romberg Lyrics/Book: Dorothy Donnelly
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1924)
Music Genre: Operetta
Operetta/Musical Theatre Mixes
Music: Milton Schafer Lyrics: Ronny Graham Book: A.J. Russell
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1962)
Music Genre: Musical Theatre/Operetta
Music/Lyrics: Robert Wright, George Forrest Book: Peter Stone
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1961)
Music Genre: Musical Theatre/Operetta
Music: Kurt Weill Lyrics: Ira Gershwin Book: Moss Hart
Musical Type: Golden Age (1941)
Music Genre: Musical Theatre/Operetta
Music: Heitor Villa-Lobos Lyrics: Robert Wright, George Forrest Book: Frederick Hazlitt Brennan, Homer Curran
Musical Type: Golden Age (1948)
Music Genre: Musical Theatre/Folk Operetta
Music: Al Carmines Lyrics/Book: María Irene Fornés
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1965)
Music Genre: Musical Theatre/Operetta/Folk
Music/Lyrics: Arthur Schwartz, Howard Dietz Book: Fay Kanin, Michael Kanin
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1961)
Music Genre: Musical Theatre/Operetta
Music: Sigmund Romberg Lyrics: Leo Robin Book: Jerome Chodorov, Joseph Fields
Musical Type: Golden Age (1954)
Music Genre: Musical Theatre/Operetta
Music: Vincent Youmans Lyrics: Edward Heyman Book: Brian Hooker
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1932)
Music Genre: Musical Theatre/Operetta
Want a weekly list of stagey surprises?!
Which of these classical musicals is your favorite?
Or have you ever played a role in any of the above classical musicals? Feel free to share in the comments below! And if you like these types of lists, check out the musical database. That’s where you’ll find musicals sorted by composer, theme, setting, and more!
Author: Stacy Karyn
Stacy Karyn is the founder of Theatre Trip, author of The Thespian’s Bucket List, and creator of The Cast Album List. She has a TESOL drama certificate, a BA in theatre, and has worked and interned with Broadway and Off-Broadway theaters.