28+ Magical Musicals – The Full List of Shows
Looking for the perfect magical musical for an upcoming project or research purposes? A musical has been included in the following list if the narrative features magic or enchantment. While most magical musicals fall under the broader category of fantasy, not every fantasy musical necessarily centers around magic. So this list can be considered a smaller subset of this full list of fantasy musicals.
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Magical Musicals
Music: Alan Menken Lyrics/Book: Chad Beguelin Lyrics: Tim Rice, Howard Ashman
Musical Type: 1992 Film/Contemporary Musical (2011)
Genre: Fairy Tale
Music: Michel Legrand Lyrics/Book: Didier van Cauwelaert, Jeremy Sams
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1997)
Genre: Fantasy
Music: Alan Menken Lyrics: Howard Ashman, Tim Rice Book: Linda Woolverton
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1994)
Genre: Fairy Tale
Music: David Shire Lyrics: Richard Maltby, Jr. Book: John Weidman
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1996)
Genre: Fantasy
Music: Frederick Loewe Lyrics/Book: Alan Jay Lerner
Musical Type: Golden Age (1947)
Genre: Fantasy
Music/Lyrics: Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman Adaptations: Jeremy Sams, Ray Roderick
Musical Type: 1968 Film/Contemporary Musical (2002)
Genre: Fantasy
Music: Richard Rodgers Lyrics/Book: Oscar Hammerstein II Book: Douglas Carter Beane
Musical Type: 1957 Film/Contemporary Musical (2013)
Genre: Fairy Tale
Music/Lyrics: Various Lyrics/Book: Nick Blaemire Adaptation: Madeline Smith
Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)
Genre: Fantasy
Music: Matthew Sklar Lyrics: Chad Beguelin Book: Bob Martin, Thomas Meehan
Musical Type: Contemporary (2010)
Genre: Fantasy
Music: Tom Kitt Lyrics: Brian Yorkey Book: Bridget Carpenter
Musical Type: Contemporary (2016)
Genre: Fantasy
Music/Lyrics: Robert Lopez, Kristen Anderson-Lopez Book: Jennifer Lee
Musical Type: Contemporary (2017)
Genre: Fairy Tale
Music/Lyrics/Book: Frank Loesser Book: Lesser Samuels
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1960)
Genre: Fantasy
Music/Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim Book: James Lapine
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1986)
Genre: Fairy Tale
Music: Justin Paul Lyrics: Benj Pasek Book: Timothy Allen McDonald
Musical Type: Contemporary (2010)
Genre: Fantasy
Music: George Stiles Lyrics/Book: Anthony Drewe
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1984)
Genre: Fantasy
Music/Lyrics/Book: Michael John LaChiusa
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1999)
Genre: Drama
Music/Lyrics: Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman, George Stiles, Anthony Drewe Book: Julian Fellowes
Musical Type: 1964 Film/Contemporary Musical (2004)
Genre: Fantasy
Music/Lyrics: Tim Minchin Book: Dennis Kelly
Musical Type: Contemporary (2010)
Genre: Fantasy
Music/Lyrics: Various Book: Chad Beguelin
Musical Type: Contemporary (2004)
Genre: Revue
Music: Kurt Weill Lyrics/Book: Ogden Nash Book: S.J. Perelman
Musical Type: Golden Age (1943)
Genre: Fantasy / Romantic Comedy
Music: Moose Charlap, Jule Styne Lyrics: Carolyn Leigh, Betty Comden, Adolph Green Book: J.M. Barrie
Musical Type: Golden Age (1954)
Genre: Fantasy
Peter Pan: A Musical Adventure
Music: George Stiles Lyrics: Anthony Drewe Book: Willis Hall
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1997)
Genre: Fantasy
Music: Alan Menken Lyrics: Howard Ashman, Glenn Slater Book: Doug Wright
Musical Type: 1989 Film/Contemporary Musical (2007)
Genre: Fairy Tale
Music: A.R. Rahman, Christopher Nightingale, Värttinä Lyrics/Book: Matthew Warchus, Shaun McKenna
Musical Type: Contemporary (2006)
Genre: Fantasy
Music: Dana P. Rowe Lyrics/Book: John Dempsey
Musical Type: Contemporary (2000)
Genre: Fantasy
Music: Chris Miller Lyrics: Nathan Tysen Book: Claudia Shear, Tim Federle
Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)
Genre: Fantasy
Music/Lyrics: Stephen Schwartz Book: Winnie Holzman
Musical Type: Contemporary (2003)
Genre: Fantasy
Music/Lyrics: Jeff Lynne, John Farrar Book: Douglas Carter Beane
Musical Type: Contemporary (2007)
Genre: Fantasy
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Which of these magical musicals is your favorite?
Or have you ever played a role in any of the above musicals about magic? 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!
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.