LGBTQ+ 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 list of the most notable LGBTQ+ musicals for you below, all great to listen to during pride month!
The following musicals either have LGBTQ+ themes in the plot and/or LGBTQ+ characters. The list is organized by time period, and then alphabetically within each category.
Please note: This post contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to make a purchase through one of the following links, we may earn a small commission on the sale at no additional cost to you. See our disclosure for more info.
1930s LGBTQ+ Musicals
Music/Lyrics: Cole Porter Book: Romney Brent
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1933)
1960s LGBTQ+ Musicals
Music: John Kander Lyrics: Fred Ebb Book: Joe Masteroff
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1966)
1970s LGBTQ+ Musicals
Music: Marvin Hamlisch Lyrics: Edward Kleban Book: James Kirkwood Jr., Nicholas Dante
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1975)
Music: Charles Strouse Lyrics: Lee Adams Book: Betty Comden, Adolph Green
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1970)
Music/Lyrics/Book: Richard O’Brien
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1973)
1980s LGBTQ+ Musicals
Music/Book: Andrew Lloyd Webber Lyrics: Don Black, Charles Hart
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1989)
Music: Charles Strouse Lyrics/Book: Alan Jay Lerner
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1983)
Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens
Music: Janet Hood Lyrics/Book: Bill Russell
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary/Song Cycle (1989)
Music/Lyrics: Jerry Herman Book: Harvey Fierstein
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1983)
Music: Michel Legrand Lyrics: Alain Boublil, Herbert Kretzmer Book: Schönberg, Kent, Boublil
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1981)
Music/Lyrics: Tom Wilson Weinberg
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary/Revue (1987)
1990s LGBTQ+ Musicals
Music/Lyrics/Book: William Finn Book: James Lapine
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1998)
Music/Lyrics: William Finn Book: James Lapine
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1990)
Music/Lyrics/Book: William Finn Book: James Lapine
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1992)
Music/Lyrics: Stephen Trask Book: John Cameron Mitchell
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1998)
Music/Lyrics/Book: Michael John LaChiusa
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1994)
Music: John Kander Lyrics: Fred Ebb Book: Terrence McNally
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1992)
Music/Lyrics: Various Book: Robert Schrock
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary/Revue (1999)
Music/Lyrics/Book: Jonathan Larson
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1996)
Music/Lyrics/Book: Michael Kunze, Jim Steinman, David Ives
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1997)
Music/Lyrics: Peter Allen Book: Nick Enright, Martin Sherman
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary/Jukebox (1998)
Music/Lyrics/Book: Andrew Lippa
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1997)
Music: Henry Mancini, Frank Wildhorn Lyrics: Leslie Bricusse Book: Blake Edwards
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1995)
Music/Lyrics/Book: Dick Gallagher, Mark Waldrop, Howard Crabtree
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary/Revue (1996)
Music/Lyrics/Book: Crabtree, Cantanese, Waldrop, Gallagher, George, Morris
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary/Revue (1993)
2000s LGBTQ+ Musicals
Music: Stephen Flaherty Lyrics: Lynn Ahrens Book: Terrence McNally
Musical Type: Contemporary (2002)
Music/Lyrics: Robert Lopez, Jeff Marx Book: Jeff Whitty
Musical Type: Contemporary (2003)
Music/Lyrics: Kath Gotts Book: Maureen Chadwick, Ann McManus
Musical Type: Contemporary (2006)
Music/Book: Damon Intrabartolo Lyrics/Book: Jon Hartmere
Musical Type: Contemporary (2000)
Music/Lyrics: Pet Shop Boys Book: Jonathan Harvey
Musical Type: Contemporary (2001)
Music/Lyrics: Nick Blaemire Book: James Gardiner
Musical Type: Contemporary (2008)
Music/Lyrics: Ricky Ian Gordon Lyrics/Book: Richard Nelson
Musical Type: Contemporary (2003)
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Music/Lyrics: Various Book: Stephan Elliott, Allan Scott
Musical Type: Contemporary/Jukebox (2006)
Music/Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim Book: John Weidman
Musical Type: Contemporary (2003)
Music: Duncan Sheik Lyrics/Book: Steven Sater
Musical Type: Contemporary (2006)
Music/Lyrics: B. George Lyrics: K. Frost, J. Themis, R. Stevens Book: M. Markham, C. Busch
Musical Type: Contemporary (2002)
Music/Lyrics: Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, Stephen Bray Book: Marsha Norman
Musical Type: Contemporary (2005)
Music/Lyrics: David Yazbek Book: Terrence McNally
Musical Type: Contemporary (2000)
Music/Lyrics/Book: Mel Brooks Book: Thomas Meehan
Musical Type: 1967 Film/Contemporary Musical (2001)
Music/Lyrics/Book: Michael John LaChiusa Book: George C. Wolfe
Musical Type: Contemporary (2000)
Music/Lyrics/Book: Jonathan Larson
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary/Contemporary (1990/2001)
Music: Joseph Zellnik Lyrics/Book: David Zellnik
Musical Type: Contemporary (2005)
Music/Lyrics/Book: Tim Acito, Alexander Dinelaris
Musical Type: Contemporary (2003)
2010s LGBTQ+ Musicals
Music/Lyrics: Max Martin, Various Book: David West Read
Musical Type: Contemporary/Jukebox (2019)
Music/Lyrics/Book: Michael R. Jackson
Musical Type: Contemporary (2019)
Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
Music: Dan Gillespie Sells Lyrics/Book: Tom MacRae
Musical Type: Contemporary (2017)
Music/Lyrics: Meredith Stepien, Mark Swiderski Book: Matt Lang, Nick Lang, Brian Holden
Musical Type: Contemporary (2016)
Music: Stuart Brayson Lyrics: Tim Rice Book: Bill Oakes
Musical Type: Contemporary (2013)
Music: Jeanine Tesori Lyrics/Book: Lisa Kron
Musical Type: Contemporary (2013)
Music/Lyrics: The Go-Go’s Book: Jeff Whitty, James Magruder
Musical Type: Contemporary/Jukebox (2015)
Music/Lyrics/Book: Fat Mike, Jeff Marx, Soma Snakeoil, David Goldsmith
Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)
Music: Tom Kitt Lyrics/Book: Brian Yorkey
Musical Type: Contemporary (2014)
Music/Lyrics/Book: Kristen Anderson-Lopez, James-Allen Ford, Russ Kaplan, Sara Wordsworth
Musical Type: Contemporary (2010)
Music: Barbara Anselmi Lyrics/Book: Brian Hargrove
Musical Type: Contemporary (2011)
Music/Lyrics: Alanis Morissette Music: Glen Ballard, Guy Sigsworth, Michael Farrell Book: Diablo Cody
Musical Type: Contemporary/Jukebox (2018)
Music/Lyrics: Cyndi Lauper Book: Harvey Fierstein
Musical Type: Contemporary (2012)
Music/Lyrics/Book: Justin Huertas
Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)
Music/Lyrics/Book: Brooke Maxwell, Jacob Richmond
Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)
Music: George Stiles Lyrics/Book: Anthony Drewe Book: Elliot Davis
Musical Type: Contemporary (2011)
Music/Lyrics/Book: Adam Wachter
Musical Type: Contemporary (2017)
Music: Matthew Sklar Lyrics/Book: Chad Beguelin Book: Bob Martin
Musical Type: Contemporary (2016)
Music/Lyrics/Book: Max Vernon
Musical Type: Contemporary (2017)
Music/Lyrics/Book: Preston Max Allen
Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)
Music/Lyrics/Book: Matt Gould, Griffin Matthews
Musical Type: Contemporary (2014)
2020s LGBTQ+ Musicals
Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber Lyrics: David Zippel Book: Emerald Fennell
Musical Type: Contemporary (2021)
Music/Lyrics/Book: Elise Marra
Musical Type: Contemporary (2020)
Music/Lyrics: Joey Contreras
Musical Type: Contemporary (2021)
Want a weekly list of stagey surprises?!
Which of these LGBTQ+ musicals is your favorite?
Or have you ever played a role in any of the above 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.