45+ Musicals About School – 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. A full list of musicals about school/ musicals set in schools are listed below, sorted alphabetically!
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Musicals About School
Music/Lyrics: Jason Robert Brown Book: Dan Elish, Robert Horn
Musical Type: Contemporary (2007)
School Level: Middle School
Music/Lyrics: Lin-Manuel Miranda
Musical Type: Contemporary (2014)
School Level: High School
Music: Andrew Lippa Lyrics/Book: Brian Crawley
Musical Type: Contemporary (2004)
School Level: Boarding School/Middle School
Music: Nancy Ford Lyrics/Book: Gretchen Cryer
Musical Type: Contemporary (2007)
School Level: Middle School/High School
Music: Mark Allen Music/Lyrics: Gaby Alter Music/Lyrics/Book: Tommy Newman Book: Gordon Greenberg
Musical Type: Contemporary (2010)
School Level: High School
Music/Book: Damon Intrabartolo Lyrics/Book: Jon Hartmere
Musical Type: Contemporary (2000)
School Level: High School
Music/Lyrics: Joe Iconis Book: Joe Tracz
Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)
School Level: High School
Music/Lyrics: Hugh Martin, Ralph Blane Book: John Cecil Holm
Musical Type: Golden Age (1941)
School Level: High School
Music/Lyrics: Lin-Manuel Miranda Music: Tom Kitt Lyrics: Amanda Green Book: Jeff Whitty
Musical Type: Contemporary (2011)
School Level: High School
Music/Lyrics/Book: Barry Wyner
Musical Type: Contemporary (2006)
School Level: High School
Music: Michael Gore Lyrics: Dean Pitchford Book: Lawrence D. Cohen
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1988)
School Level: High School
Music/Lyrics: Paul Gordon Book: John Caird
Musical Type: Contemporary (2009)
School Level: College/University
Music/Lyrics: Benj Pasek, Justin Paul Book: Steven Levenson
Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)
School Level: High School
Music: Elizabeth Swados Lyrics/Book: Garry Trudeau
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1983)
School Level: College/University
Music/Lyrics/Book: Ben Adams, Chris Wilkins
Musical Type: Contemporary (2016)
School Level: High School
Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
Music: Dan Gillespie Sells Lyrics/Book: Tom MacRae
Musical Type: Contemporary (2017)
School Level: High School
Music: Steve Margoshes Lyrics: Jacques Levy Book: José Fernandez
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1988)
School Level: High School
Music: Tom Kitt Lyrics: Brian Yorkey Book: Bridget Carpenter
Musical Type: Contemporary (2016)
School Level: High School
Music/Lyrics/Book: Gary Kupper Book: Rose Caiola
Musical Type: Contemporary (2010)
School Level: Elementary/Primary
Music: Ray Henderson Lyrics/Book: B.G. DeSylva Lyrics: Lew Brown Book: Laurence Schwab
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1927)
School Level: College/University
Music/Lyrics: Danny Abosch Lyrics/Book: John Maclay
Musical Type: Contemporary (2016)
School Level: Middle School
Music/Lyrics: Nick Blaemire Book: James Gardiner
Musical Type: Contemporary (2008)
School Level: High School/College/University
Music/Lyrics/Book: Jim Jacobs, Warren Casey
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1971)
School Level: High School
Music/Lyrics: Marc Shaiman Lyrics: Scott Wittman Book: Mark O’Donnell, Thomas Meehan
Musical Type: Contemporary (2002)
School Level: High School
Music/Lyrics/Book: Laurence O’Keefe, Kevin Murphy
Musical Type: Contemporary (2010)
School Level: High School
Music/Lyrics: Various Book: David Simpatico
Musical Type: Contemporary (2007)
School Level: High School
Music/Lyrics/Book: John Forster Book: Delia Ephron, Judith Kahan
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1984)
School Level: Elementary/Primary
Is There Life After High School?
Music/Lyrics: Craig Carnelia Book: Jeffrey Kindley
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1982)
School Level: High School
Music: Zina Goldrich Lyrics/Book: Marcy Heisler
Musical Type: Contemporary (2004)
School Level: Elementary/Primary
Music/Lyrics: Nell Benjamin, Laurence O’Keefe Book: Heather Hach
Musical Type: Contemporary (2007)
School Level: College/University
Music: Stephen Flaherty Lyrics: Gertrude Stein Book: Frank Galati
Musical Type: Contemporary (2006)
School Level: College/University
Music/Lyrics: Lewis Flinn Book: Douglas Carter Beane
Musical Type: Contemporary (2011)
School Level: College/University
Music/Lyrics: Tim Minchin Book: Dennis Kelly
Musical Type: Contemporary (2010)
School Level: Elementary/Primary
Music: Jeff Richmond Lyrics: Nell Benjamin Book: Tina Fey
Musical Type: Contemporary (2017)
School Level: High School
Music/Lyrics: Nicky Ager Lyrics/Book: Debbie Isitt
Musical Type: Contemporary (2017)
School Level: Elementary/Primary
Now Is the Time for All Good Men
Music: Nancy Ford Lyrics/Book: Gretchen Cryer
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1967)
School Level: High School
Music/Book: Richard Rodgers Lyrics/Book: Lorenz Hart Book: George Abbott
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1936)
School Level: College/University
Polkadots: The Cool Kids Musical
Music/Lyrics: Douglas Lyons Music: Greg Borowsky Book: Melvin Tunstall III
Musical Type: Contemporary (2016)
School Level: Elementary/Primary
Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber Lyrics: Glenn Slater Book: Julian Fellowes
Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)
School Level: Middle School
Music/Lyrics: Various Book: George Keating, Scott Ferguson, Kyle Hall
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1993)
School Level: Elementary/Primary
Music: Duncan Sheik Lyrics/Book: Steven Sater
Musical Type: Contemporary (2006)
School Level: High School
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Music/Lyrics: William Finn Book: Rachel Sheinkin
Musical Type: Contemporary (2005)
School Level: Middle School
Music: Doug Besterman Lyrics: Dean Pitchford Book: Timothy Allen McDonald
Musical Type: Contemporary (2019)
School Level: Elementary/Primary
Music/Lyrics/Book: Sandy Wilson
Musical Type: Golden Age (1953)
School Level: Finishing School
Music/Lyrics: Various Book: Roger Bean
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1999)
School Level: High School
The Marvelous Wonderettes: Caps and Gowns
Music/Lyrics: Various Book: Roger Bean
Musical Type: Contemporary (2013)
School Level: High School
Music: Matthew Sklar Lyrics/Book: Chad Beguelin Book: Bob Martin
Musical Type: Contemporary (2016)
School Level: High School
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾
Music/Lyrics: Pippa Cleary Lyrics/Book: Jake Brunger
Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)
School Level: Middle School
Music: Sigmund Romberg Lyrics/Book: Dorothy Donnelly
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1924)
School Level: College/University
Music: Tom Kitt Lyrics/Book: Brian Yorkey Book: Kwame Kwei-Armah
Musical Type: Contemporary (2021)
School Level: College/University
Music/Lyrics/Book: Tim Acito Book/Lyrics: Alexander Dinelaris
Musical Type: Contemporary (2003)
School Level: High School
Music: Dana P. Rowe Lyrics/Book: John Dempsey
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1993)
School Level: High School
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Which of these musicals about school is your favorite?
Or have you ever played a role in any of the above musicals about school? 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 holds a BA in theatre, a TESOL drama certificate, and has worked and interned with Broadway and Off-Broadway theaters.