Musical Lists

23+ Musicals About Aging – The Full List of Shows

Whether you’re doing some research, putting on a show, or simply looking for 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 for you. Here’s a full list of musicals about aging, sorted alphabetically!


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Musicals About Aging

70, Girls, 70

Music: John Kander  Lyrics/Book: Fred Ebb  Book: Norman L. Martin

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1971)

Songs About Aging: “Old Folks”


Applause

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

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1970)

Songs About Aging: “Who’s That Girl?”


Cabaret

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

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1966)

Songs About Aging: “So What?”, “What Would You Do?”


Calendar Girls

Music/Lyrics: Gary Barlow  Book: Tim Firth

Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)

Songs About Aging: “So I’ve Had a Little Work Done”, “What Age Expects”


Celebration

Music: Harvey Schmidt  Lyrics/Book: Tom Jones

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1969)

Songs About Aging: “Where Did It Go?”


Closer Than Ever

Music: David Shire  Lyrics: Richard Maltby, Jr.

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1989)

Songs About Aging: “March of Time”


Company

Music/Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim  Book: George Furth

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1970)

Songs About Aging: “Company”, “The Ladies Who Lunch”


Dear World

Music/Lyrics: Jerry Herman  Book: Jerome Lawrence, Robert E. Lee

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1969)

Songs About Aging: “And I Was Beautiful”


Follies

Music/Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim  Book: James Goldman

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1971)

Songs About Aging: Multiple


Gigi

Music: Frederick Loewe  Lyrics/Book: Alan Jay Lerner

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1973)

Songs About Aging: “I Remember It Well”, “I’m Glad I’m Not Young Anymore”


Grey Gardens

Music: Scott Frankel  Lyrics: Michael Korie  Book: Doug Wright

Musical Type: Contemporary (2006)

Songs About Aging: “Another Winter in a Summer Town”


Half Time

Music: Matthew Sklar  Lyrics: Nell Benjamin  Book: Bob Martin, Chad Beguelin

Musical Type: Contemporary (2018)

Songs About Aging: “Too Old For This”


Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris

Music/Lyrics: Jacques Brel  Book: Eric Blau, Mort Shuman

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1968)

Songs About Aging: “My Death”, “Old Folks”


Kimberly Akimbo

Music: Jeanine Tesori  Lyrics/Book: David Lindsay-Abaire

Musical Type: Contemporary (2021)

Songs About Aging: “Our Disease”


Lorelei

Music: Jule Styne  Lyrics: Leo Robin, Adolph Green, Betty Comden  Book: Anita Loos, Joseph Fields, Kenny Solms, Gail Parent

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1974)

Songs About Aging: “Looking Back”


Mame

Music/Lyrics: Jerry Herman  Book: Jerome Lawrence, Robert E. Lee

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1966)

Songs About Aging: “That’s How Young I Feel”, “We Need a Little Christmas”


Merrily We Roll Along

Music/Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim  Book: George Furth

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1981)

Songs About Aging: “Old Friends”


Mr. Saturday Night

Music: Jason Robert Brown  Lyrics: Amanda Green  Book: Billy Crystal, Lowell Ganz, Babaloo Mandel

Musical Type: Contemporary (2021)

Songs About Aging: “I Still Got It”


Sunset Boulevard

Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber  Lyrics/Book: Don Black, Christopher Hampton

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1991)

Songs About Aging: “Eternal Youth is Worth a Little Suffering”


The Notebook

Music/Lyrics: Ingrid Michaelson  Book: Bekah Brunstetter

Musical Type: Contemporary (2022)

Songs About Aging: “Time”


The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Music: Leon Carr  Lyrics: Earl Shuman  Book: Joe Manchester

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1964)

Songs About Aging: “Marriage Is for Old Folks”, “Now That I’m Forty”


Tick, Tick … BOOM!

Music/Lyrics/Book: Jonathan Larson

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

Songs About Aging: “30/90”


Tuck Everlasting

Music: Chris Miller  Lyrics: Nathan Tysen  Book: Claudia Shear, Tim Federle

Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)

Songs About Aging: “The Wheel”, “Time”


Vanities

Music/Lyrics: David Kirshenbaum  Book: Jack Heifner

Musical Type: Contemporary (2006)

Songs About Aging: “Fly Into the Future”, “Looking Good”


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Which of these musicals about aging is your favorite?

Or have you ever played a role in any of the above musicals about aging? 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!


Stacy Karyn, Author of Musicals About Aging.
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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