Musical Lists

68 LGBTQ+ Musicals – The 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.


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Contents:

1930s LGBTQ+ Musicals

1960s LGBTQ+ Musicals

1970s LGBTQ+ Musicals

1980s LGBTQ+ Musicals

1990s LGBTQ+ Musicals

2000s LGBTQ+ Musicals

2010s LGBTQ+ Musicals

2020s LGBTQ+ Musicals


1930s LGBTQ+ Musicals

Nymph Errant

Music/Lyrics: Cole Porter  Book: Romney Brent, Steve Mackes, Michael Whaley

Musical Type: Jazz Age (1933)


1960s LGBTQ+ Musicals

Cabaret

Music: John Kander  Lyrics: Fred Ebb  Book: Joe Masteroff

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1966)


1970s LGBTQ+ Musicals

A Chorus Line

Music: Marvin Hamlisch  Lyrics: Edward Kleban  Book: James Kirkwood, Nicholas Dante

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1975)


Applause

Music: Charles Strouse  Lyrics: Lee Adams  Book: Betty Comden, Adolph Green

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1970)


In Trousers

Music/Lyrics/Book: William Finn

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1979)


The Rocky Horror Show

Music/Lyrics/Book: Richard O’Brien

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1973)


1980s LGBTQ+ Musicals

Aspects of Love

Music/Book: Andrew Lloyd Webber  Lyrics: Don Black, Charles Hart

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1989)


Dance a Little Closer

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 (1989)


La Cage aux Folles

Music/Lyrics: Jerry Herman  Book: Harvey Fierstein

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1983)


March of the Falsettos

Music: Michel Legrand  Lyrics: Alain Boublil, Herbert Kretzmer  Book: Schönberg, Kent, Boublil

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1981)


1990s LGBTQ+ Musicals

A New Brain

Music/Lyrics/Book: William Finn  Book: James Lapine

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1998)


Falsettoland

Music/Lyrics/Book: William Finn  Book: James Lapine

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1990)


Falsettos

Music/Lyrics/Book: William Finn  Book: James Lapine

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1992)


Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Music/Lyrics: Stephen Trask  Book: John Cameron Mitchell

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1998)


Hello Again

Music/Lyrics/Book: Michael John LaChiusa

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1994)


Kiss of the Spider Woman

Music: John Kander  Lyrics: Fred Ebb  Book: Terrence McNally

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1992)


Naked Boys Singing!

Music/Lyrics: Various  Book: Robert Schrock

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1999)


Rent

Music/Lyrics/Book: Jonathan Larson

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1996)


The Boy From Oz

Music/Lyrics: Peter Allen  Book: Nick Enright, Martin Sherman

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1998)


The Wild Party

Music/Lyrics/Book: Andrew Lippa

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1997)


Victor/Victoria

Music: Henry Mancini, Frank Wildhorn  Lyrics: Leslie Bricusse  Book: Blake Edwards

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1995)


When Pigs Fly

Music: Dick Gallagher  Book/Lyrics/Concept: Mark Waldrop  Concept: Howard Crabtree

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1996)


Whoop-Dee-Doo!

Music/Lyrics/Book: Howard Crabtree, Charles Cantanese, Mark Waldrop, Dick Gallagher, Phillip George, Peter Morris

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1993)


2000s LGBTQ+ Musicals

A Man of No Importance

Music: Stephen Flaherty  Lyrics: Lynn Ahrens  Book: Terrence McNally

Musical Type: Contemporary (2002)


Avenue Q

Music/Lyrics: Robert Lopez, Jeff Marx  Book: Jeff Whitty

Musical Type: Contemporary (2003)


Bad Girls

Music/Lyrics: Kath Gotts  Book: Maureen Chadwick, Ann McManus

Musical Type: Contemporary (2006)


Bare

Music/Book: Damon Intrabartolo  Lyrics/Book: Jon Hartmere

Musical Type: Contemporary (2000)


Closer to Heaven

Music/Lyrics: Pet Shop Boys  Book: Jonathan Harvey

Musical Type: Contemporary (2001)


Glory Days

Music/Lyrics: Nick Blaemire  Book: James Gardiner

Musical Type: Contemporary (2008)


Loving Repeating

Music: Stephen Flaherty  Lyrics: Gertrude Stein  AdaptationFrank Galati

Musical Type: Contemporary (2006)


My Life with Albertine

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 (2006)


Road Show

Music/Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim  Book: John Weidman

Musical Type: Contemporary (2003)


Spring Awakening

Music: Duncan Sheik  Lyrics/Book: Steven Sater

Musical Type: Contemporary (2006)


Taboo

Music/Lyrics: Boy George  Music: Kevan Frost, John Themis, Richie Stevens  Book: Charles Busch

Musical Type: Contemporary (2002)


The Color Purple

Music/Lyrics: Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, Stephen Bray  Book: Marsha Norman

Musical Type: Contemporary (2005)


The Full Monty

Music/Lyrics: David Yazbek  Book: Terrence McNally

Musical Type: Contemporary (2000)


The Producers

Music/Lyrics/Book: Mel Brooks  Book: Thomas Meehan

Musical Type: Contemporary (2001)


The Wild Party

Music/Lyrics/Book: Michael John LaChiusa  Book: George C. Wolfe

Musical Type: Contemporary (2000)


Tick, Tick… BOOM!

Music/Lyrics/Book: Jonathan Larson

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary/Contemporary (1990/2001)


Yank!

Music: Joseph Zellnik  Lyrics/Book: David Zellnik

Musical Type: Contemporary (2005)


2010s LGBTQ+ Musicals

& Juliet

Music/Lyrics: Max Martin, Various  Book: David West Read

Musical Type: Contemporary (2019)


A Strange Loop

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)


Far From Heaven

Music: Scott Frankel  Lyrics: Michael Korie  Book: Richard Greenberg

Musical Type: Contemporary (2012)


Firebringer

Music/Lyrics: Meredith Stepien, Mark Swiderski  Book: Matt Lang, Nick Lang, Brian Holden

Musical Type: Contemporary (2016)


From Here to Eternity

Music: Stuart Brayson  Lyrics: Tim Rice  Book: Bill Oakes

Musical Type: Contemporary (2013)


Fun Home

Music: Jeanine Tesori  Lyrics/Book: Lisa Kron

Musical Type: Contemporary (2013)


Head Over Heels

Music/Lyrics: The Go-Go’s  Book: Jeff Whitty, James Magruder

Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)


Home Street Home

Music/Lyrics/Book: Fat Mike, Soma Snakeoil, Jeff Marx  Book: David Goldsmith

Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)


If/Then

Music: Tom Kitt  Lyrics/Book: Brian Yorkey

Musical Type: Contemporary (2014)


In Transit

Music/Lyrics/Book: Kristen Anderson-Lopez, James-Allen Ford, Russ Kaplan, Sara Wordsworth

Musical Type: Contemporary (2010)


It Shoulda Been You

Music: Barbara Anselmi  Lyrics/Book: Brian Hargrove

Musical Type: Contemporary (2011)


Jagged Little Pill

Music/Lyrics: Alanis Morissette  Music: Glen Ballard, Guy Sigsworth, Michael Farrell  Book: Diablo Cody

Musical Type: Contemporary (2018)


Kinky Boots

Music/Lyrics: Cyndi Lauper  Book: Harvey Fierstein

Musical Type: Contemporary (2012)


Lempicka

Music/Book: Matt Gould  Lyrics/Book: Carson Kreitzer

Musical Type: Contemporary (2018)


Lizard Boy

Music/Lyrics/Book: Justin Huertas

Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)


Love in Hate Nation

Music/Lyrics/Book: Joe Iconis

Musical Type: Contemporary (2019)


Ride the Cyclone

Music/Lyrics/Book: Brooke Maxwell, Jacob Richmond

Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)


Soho Cinders

Music: George Stiles  Lyrics/Book: Anthony Drewe  Book: Elliot Davis

Musical Type: Contemporary (2011)


The Landing

Music: John Kander  Lyrics/Book: Greg Pierce

Musical Type: Contemporary (2013)


The Prom

Music: Matthew Sklar  Lyrics/Book: Chad Beguelin  Book: Bob Martin

Musical Type: Contemporary (2016)


The View UpStairs

Music/Lyrics/Book: Max Vernon

Musical Type: Contemporary (2017)


We Are the Tigers

Music/Lyrics/Book: Preston Max Allen

Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)


Witness Uganda

Music/Lyrics/Book: Matt Gould, Griffin Matthews

Musical Type: Contemporary (2014)


2020s LGBTQ+ Musicals

Bad Cinderella

Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber  Lyrics: David Zippel  Book: Emerald Fennell

Musical Type: Contemporary (2021)


Trevor

Music: Julianne Wick Davis  Lyrics/Book: Dan Collins

Musical Type: Contemporary (2022)


White Girl in Danger

Music/Lyrics/Book: Michael R. Jackson

Musical Type: Contemporary (2023)


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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 enjoy exploring these lists, check out the musical database, where you can discover musicals organized by composer, theme, setting, and much more!


Stacy Karyn, Author of LGBTQ+ Musicals.
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 holds a BA in theatre and a TESOL drama certificate, with experience working and interning in Broadway and Off-Broadway theaters.


 

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