21+ Hilarious Musical Parodies to Add to Your List
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 musical parodies for you below!
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Musical Parodies
Music/Lyrics: Robert Lopez, Jeff Marx Book: Jeff Whitty
Musical Type: Contemporary (2003)
What It’s a Parody of: Sesame Street
Music: Jim Wise Lyrics/Book: George Haimsohn, Robin Miller
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1966)
What It’s a Parody of: 1930s Movie Musicals
Music/Lyrics: Various Book: Jack Plotnick, Seth Rudetsky
Musical Type: Contemporary/Jukebox (2011)
What It’s a Parody of: 1970s Disaster Films
Music: Milton Schafer Lyrics/Book: Ira Levin
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1965)
What It’s a Parody of: Late-Victorian Melodrama
Music/Lyrics/Book: George Reinblatt Music: Christopher Bond, Frank Cipolla, Melissa Morris
Musical Type: Contemporary (2003)
What It’s a Parody of: The Evil Dead film series
Music/Lyrics: Marc Shaiman Lyrics: Scott Wittman Book: Martin Short, Daniel Goldfarb
Musical Type: Contemporary (2006)
What It’s a Parody of: Musical Theatre
Music: Various Lyrics/Book: Gerard Alessandrini
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary/Contemporary Series
What It’s a Parody of: Musical Theatre
Music/Lyrics: Joe Patrick Ward Book: David Church, Jim Webber
Musical Type: Contemporary (2002)
What It’s a Parody of: 1950s TV Variety Shows
Music/Lyrics/Book: Rick Besoyan
Musical Type: Golden Age (1959)
What It’s a Parody of: Old-Fashioned Operettas and Musicals
Music/Lyrics: Jon Kaplan, Al Kaplan Book: Hunter Bell
Musical Type: Contemporary (2005)
What It’s a Parody of: The Silence of the Lambs
Music/Lyrics/Book: James McDonald, David Vos, Robert Gerlach, Ed Linderman
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1972)
What It’s a Parody of: Detective stories
Music: John Du Prez Music/Lyrics/Book: Eric Idle
Musical Type: Contemporary (2004)
What It’s a Parody of: The Arthurian Legend/Various
Music: Various Lyrics/Book: Gerard Alessandrini
Musical Type: Contemporary (2016)
What It’s a Parody of: Hamilton
Music/Lyrics: Clark Baxtresser, Pierce Siebers Book: Corey Lubowich, Joey Richter, Brian Rosenthal
Musical Type: Contemporary (2016)
What It’s a Parody of: The Spy Film Genre
Music/Lyrics/Book: Jonathan Hogue
Musical Type: Contemporary (2021)
What It’s a Parody of: Stranger Things
Music/Lyrics: Lisa Lambert, Greg Morrison Book: Bob Martin, Don McKellar
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1998)
What It’s a Parody of: 1920s Musical Comedies
The Musical of Musicals (The Musical)!
Music/Book: Eric Rockwell Lyrics/Book: Joanne Bogart
Musical Type: Contemporary (2003)
What It’s a Parody of: Musicals
Music/Lyrics/Book: Richard O’Brien
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1973)
What It’s a Parody of: 1930s Sci-Fi/Horror B Movies
Music/Lyrics/Book: Jeff Blim Book: Matt Lang, Nick Lang
Musical Type: Contemporary (2014)
What It’s a Parody of: The Oregon Trail
Music: A.J. Holmes Lyrics: Kaley McMahon Book: Matt Lang, Nick Lang, Eric Kahn Gale
Musical Type: Contemporary (2013)
What It’s a Parody of: Disney’s Aladdin
Other Musical Parodies
Here’s a list of additional musical parodies that are not as mainstream as the ones above.
Parental Warning: Many musical parodies have adult themes/content, and most of the shows below fall into that category.
Fellowship! The Musical Parody of The Fellowship of the Ring➝
Gossip Girl: The Parody Musical➝
Say My Name!: The Unauthorized Breaking Bad Parody Musical➝
Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch➝
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Which of these musical parodies is your favorite?
Or have you ever played a role in any of the above parody 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.