21+ Musicals About Food – The Full List
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! The following list is broken down into two categories – “Musicals About Food” and “Musicals With Food in Their Titles“.
Note: Although food is referenced in numerous other musicals, the list below specifically includes musicals where food plays an important role in the show’s plot.
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Musicals About Food
Music: Milton Schafer Lyrics: Ronny Graham Book: A.J. Russell
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1962)
Songs About Food: “Uriti”
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Music/Lyrics: Marc Shaiman Lyrics: Scott Wittman Book: David Greig
Musical Type: Contemporary (2013)
Songs About Food: “The Candy Man”, Others
Music/Lyrics: Jimmy Buffett Book: Greg Garcia, Mike O’Malley
Musical Type: Contemporary (2017)
Songs About Food: “Cheeseburger in Paradise”, “Coconut Telegraph Medley”, Others
Music/Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim Book: David Ives
Musical Type: Contemporary (2023)
Songs About Food: “Cafe Everything”, “Waiter’s Song”, “Bistro a la Mode”
Music/Lyrics/Book: John Forster Book: Delia Ephron, Judith Kahan
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1984)
Songs About Food: “Like a Child”
Music: Justin Paul Lyrics: Benj Pasek Book: Timothy Allen McDonald
Musical Type: Contemporary (2010)
Songs About Food: “Plump and Juicy”, Others
Music: Alan Menken Lyrics/Book: Howard Ashman
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1982)
Songs About Food: “Suppertime”, “Feed Me”
Music/Lyrics/Book: Lionel Bart
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1960)
Songs About Food: “Food, Glorious Food”
Music/Lyrics/Book: John Foley, Mark Hardwick, Debra Monk, Cass Morgan, John Schimmel, Jim Wann
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1981)
Songs About Food: “Serve Yourself”, “Menu Song”, Others
Music/Lyrics: Brandy Clark, Shane McAnally Book: Robert Horn
Musical Type: Contemporary (2022)
Songs About Food: “Corn”, “Corn Mix”
Music/Lyrics/Book: Karey Kirkpatrick Music/Lyrics: Wayne Kirkpatrick Book: John O’Farrell
Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)
Songs About Food: “It’s Eggs!”, “Something Rotten! / Make an Omelette”
Music/Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim Book: Hugh Wheeler
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1979)
Songs About Food: “The Worst Pies in London”, “A Little Priest”, “God, That’s Good!”
Music/Book: Jerry Bock Lyrics/Book: Sheldon Harnick Book: Jerome Coopersmith
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1966)
Songs About Food: “Forbidden Fruit”
Music/Lyrics: Stephen Schwartz Book: Joseph Stein
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1976)
Songs About Food: “Bread”
The Great British Bake Off Musical
Music/Lyrics: Pippa Cleary Lyrics/Book: Jake Brunger
Musical Type: Contemporary (2022)
Songs About Food: “Somewhere in the Dough”, “Bring on the Scone”, Others
Music/Book: James Valcq Lyrics/Book: Fred Alley
Musical Type: Contemporary (2001)
Songs About Food: “Something’s Cooking”, “Out of the Frying Pan”, Others
Music/Lyrics: Sara Bareilles Book: Jessie Nelson
Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)
Songs About Food: “What Baking Can Do”, “What’s Inside”, Others
Musicals With Food in Their Titles
The following shows have food in their titles, but don’t exactly feature food in their plots.
Music/Lyrics: Various Book: Loften Mitchell
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1976)
Music/Lyrics/Book: Gary Kupper Book: Rose Caiola
Musical Type: Contemporary (2010)
Music: George Gershwin Lyrics: Ira Gershwin Book: George S. Kaufman, Morrie Ryskind
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1933)
Music/Lyrics: Jerry Herman Book: Don Appell
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1961)
Music: Judd Woldin Lyrics: Robert Brittan Book: Robert Nemiroff, Charlotte Zaltzberg
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1973)
Music: Jule Styne Lyrics: Bob Merrill Book: Peter Stone
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1972)
Music/Lyrics: Johnny Mercer Book: Hy Kraft
Musical Type: Golden Age (1951)
Music/Lyrics: Noël Coward Book: Harry Kurnitz
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1963)
Music: Jerome Moross Lyrics/Book: John La Touche
Musical Type: Golden Age (1954)
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Or have you ever played a role in any of the above musicals about food? 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.