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 five categories – “Chamber Musicals”, “Contemporary Classical Musicals”, “Experimental 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/Lyrics/Book: Michael John LaChiusa
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1993)
Music/Lyrics/Book: Dave Malloy
Musical Type: Contemporary (2019)
Contemporary Classical Musicals
Music: Joshua Schmidt Lyrics: Jan Levy-Tranen Book: Austin Pendleton
Musical Type: Contemporary (2011)
Music/Lyrics: Ricky Ian Gordon Lyrics/Book: Richard Nelson
Musical Type: Contemporary (2003)
Music/Lyrics: Jason Robert Brown Book: Marsha Norman
Musical Type: Contemporary (2013)
Music/Lyrics: Adam Guettel Book: Craig Lucas
Musical Type: Contemporary (2003)
Music: Peter Rutherford Lyrics/Book: James Miller
Musical Type: Contemporary (2008)
Experimental Classical Musicals
Music/Lyrics/Book: Joshua Schmidt Lyrics/Book: Jason Loewith
Musical Type: Contemporary (2007)
Music/Lyrics/Book: Dave Malloy
Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)
Music: Jeffrey Lunden Lyrics/Book: Arthur Perlman
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1992)
Operatic Classical Musicals
Music: Georges Bizet Lyrics/Book: Oscar Hammerstein II
Musical Type: Golden Age (1943)
Music: Frederic Norton Book: Oscar Asche
Musical Type: Pre-Jazz Age (1916)
Music: Kurt Weill Lyrics: Bertolt Brecht Book: Elisabeth Hauptmann
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1929)
Music: Kurt Weill Lyrics/Book: Maxwell Anderson
Musical Type: Golden Age (1949)
Music: Kurt Weill Lyrics: Various Book: Alfred Uhry
Musical Type: Contemporary (2007)
Music/Book: Andrew Lloyd Webber Lyrics/Book: Glen Slater Book: Ben Elton, Frederick Forsyth
Musical Type: Contemporary (2010)
Music/Lyrics: Maury Yeston Book: Arthur Kopit
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1991)
Music: George Gershwin Lyrics: Ira Gershwin Libretto: DuBose Heyward
Musical Type: Opera (1935)
Music: Jerome Kern Lyrics/Book: Oscar Hammerstein II
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1927)
Music: Jerome Kern Lyrics/Book: George Grossmith, P.G. Wodehouse
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1922)
Music/Lyrics/Book: Marc Blitzstein
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1938)
Music: Jerome Moross Lyrics/Book: John Treville Latouche
Musical Type: Golden Age (1954)
Music/Lyrics/Book: Frank Loesser
Musical Type: Golden Age (1956)
Music/Book: Andrew Lloyd Webber Lyrics/Book: Richard Stilgoe Book: Charles Hart
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1986)
Music: Kurt Weill Lyrics/Book: Bertolt Brecht
Musical Type: Play with Music (1928)
Operettas
Music/Lyrics/Book: Bernstein, Wilber, Latouche, Parker, Hellman, Sondheim, Wheeler
Musical Type: Golden Age/Operetta (1956)
Music: Richard Rodgers Lyrics: Lorenz Hart Book: Herbert Fields
Musical Type: Jazz Age/Operetta (1925)
Music: Kurt Weill Lyrics/Book: Maxwell Anderson
Musical Type: Jazz Age/Operetta (1938)
Music: Ron Grainer Lyrics/Book: Ronald Millar
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age/Operetta (1964)
Music: Edvard Grieg Lyrics: Robert Wright, George Forrest Book: Milton Lazarus, Homer Curran
Musical Type: Golden Age/Operetta (1944)
Music: Sigmund Romberg Lyrics/Book: Otto Harbach Book: Oscar Hammerstein II, Frank Mandel
Musical Type: Jazz Age/Operetta (1926)
The Happiest Girl in the World
Music: Jacques Offenbach Lyrics: E.Y. Harburg Book: Fred Saidy, Henry Mayers
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age/Operetta (1961)
Music: Sigmund Romberg Lyrics/Book: Oscar Hammerstein II, Frank Mandel, Laurence Schwab
Musical Type: Jazz Age/Operetta (1927)
Music: Sigmund Romberg Lyrics/Book: Dorothy Donnelly
Musical Type: Jazz Age/Operetta (1924)
Music: Vincent Youmans Lyrics: Edward Heyman Book: Brian Hooker
Musical Type: Jazz Age/Operetta (1932)
Operetta/Musical Theatre Mixes
Music: Milton Schafer Lyrics: Ronny Graham Book: A.J. Russell
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1962)
Music/Lyrics: Robert Wright, George Forrest Book: Peter Stone
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1961)
Music: Kurt Weill Lyrics: Ira Gershwin Book: Moss Hart
Musical Type: Golden Age (1941)
Music: Heitor Villa-Lobos Lyrics: Robert Wright, George Forrest Book: Brennan, Curran
Musical Type: Golden Age (1948)
Music: Al Carmines Lyrics/Book: María Irene Fornés
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1965)
Music: Arthur Schwartz Lyrics: Howard Dietz Book: Fay Kanin, Michael Kanin
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1961)
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.