Musical Lists

Musicals of the 1940s – The Full List of Shows

Last Updated: May 6, 2025

The musicals of the 1940s were a defining part of popular culture at the time, with romantic comedies, lively dance numbers, and feel-good stories dominating the stage. This decade marked the start of the “Golden Age” of musical theatre. Here’s the full list of musicals that premiered during this decade.

And here’s Theatre Trip’s playlist of Golden Age Musical Theatre Songs➝.


Post Contents:

1940 Musicals

1941 Musicals

1942 Musicals

1943 Musicals

1944 Musicals

1945 Musicals

1946 Musicals

1947 Musicals

1948 Musicals

1949 Musicals



Cabin in the Sky

Music: Vernon Duke  Lyrics: John La Touche  Book: Lynn Root

Musical Type: Golden Age (1940)


Louisiana Purchase

Music/Lyrics: Irving Berlin  Book: Morrie Ryskind

Musical Type: Golden Age (1940)


Pal Joey

Music: Richard Rodgers  Lyrics: Lorenz Hart  Book: John O’Hara

Musical Type: Golden Age (1940)


Panama Hattie

Music/Lyrics: Cole Porter  Book: Herbert Fields, Buddy DeSylva

Musical Type: Golden Age (1940)



Best Foot Forward

Music/Lyrics: Hugh Martin, Ralph Blane  Book: John Cecil Holm

Musical Type: Golden Age (1941)


Lady in the Dark

Music: Kurt Weill  Lyrics: Ira Gershwin  Book: Moss Hart

Musical Type: Golden Age (1941)



By Jupiter

Music/Book: Richard Rodgers  Lyrics/Book: Lorenz Hart

Musical Type: Golden Age (1942)


This Is the Army

Music/Lyrics: Irving Berlin

Musical Type: Golden Age (1942)



Carmen Jones

Music: Georges Bizet  Lyrics/Book: Oscar Hammerstein II

Musical Type: Golden Age (1943)


Oklahoma!

Music: Richard Rodgers  Lyrics/Book: Oscar Hammerstein II

Musical Type: Golden Age (1943)


One Touch of Venus

Music: Kurt Weill  Lyrics/Book: Ogden Nash  Book: S.J. Perelman

Musical Type: Golden Age (1943)


Something for the Boys

Music/Lyrics: Cole Porter  Book: Herbert Fields, Dorothy Fields

Musical Type: Golden Age (1943)



Bloomer Girl

Music: Harold Arlen  Lyrics: Yip Harburg  Book: Sig Herzig, Fred Saidy

Musical Type: Golden Age (1944)


Mexican Hayride

Music/Lyrics: Cole Porter  Book: Herbert Fields, Dorothy Fields

Musical Type: Golden Age (1944)


On the Town

Music: Leonard Bernstein  Lyrics/Book: Betty Comden, Adolph Green

Musical Type: Golden Age (1944)


Song of Norway

Music: Edvard Grieg  Lyrics: Robert Wright, George Forrest  Book: Milton Lazarus

Musical Type: Golden Age (1944)



Carousel

Music: Richard Rodgers  Lyrics/Book: Oscar Hammerstein II

Musical Type: Golden Age (1945)



Annie Get Your Gun

Music/Lyrics: Irving Berlin  Book: Dorothy Fields, Herbert Fields

Musical Type: Golden Age (1946)


Call Me Mister

Music/Lyrics: Harold Rome  Sketches: Arnold Auerbach

Musical Type: Golden Age (1946)


Pacific 1860

Music/Lyrics/Book: Noël Coward

Musical Type: Golden Age (1946)


St. Louis Woman

Music: Harold Arlen  Lyrics: Johnny Mercer  Book: Arna Bontemps, Countee Cullen

Musical Type: Golden Age (1946)



Allegro

Music: Richard Rodgers  Lyrics/Book: Oscar Hammerstein II

Musical Type: Golden Age (1947)


Brigadoon

Music: Frederick Loewe  Lyrics/Book: Alan Jay Lerner

Musical Type: Golden Age (1947)


Finian’s Rainbow

Music: Burton Lane  Lyrics/Book: Yip Harburg  Book: Fred Saidy

Musical Type: Golden Age (1947)


High Button Shoes

Music: Jule Styne  Lyrics: Sammy Cahn  Book: Stephen Longstreet

Musical Type: Golden Age (1947)


Street Scene

Music: Kurt Weill  Lyrics: Langston Hughes  Book: Elmer Rice

Musical Type: Opera (1947)



Kiss Me, Kate

Music/Lyrics: Cole Porter  Book: Bella Spewack, Samuel Spewack

Musical Type: Golden Age (1948)


Look Ma, I’m Dancin’!

Music/Lyrics: Hugh Martin  Book: Jerome Lawrence, Robert E. Lee

Musical Type: Golden Age (1948)


Magdalena

Music: Heitor Villa-Lobos  Lyrics: Robert Wright, George Forrest  Book: Frederick Hazlitt Brennan, Homer Curran

Musical Type: Golden Age (1948)


Where’s Charley?

Music/Lyrics: Frank Loesser  Book: George Abbott

Musical Type: Golden Age (1948)



Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Music: Jule Styne  Lyrics: Leo Robin  Book: Joseph Fields, Anita Loos

Musical Type: Golden Age (1949)


Lost in the Stars

Music: Kurt Weill  Lyrics/Book: Maxwell Anderson

Musical Type: Golden Age (1949)


Miss Liberty

Music/Lyrics: Irving Berlin  Book: Robert E. Sherwood

Musical Type: Golden Age (1949)


South Pacific

Music: Richard Rodgers  Lyrics/Book: Oscar Hammerstein II  Book: Joshua Logan

Musical Type: Golden Age (1949)


Texas, Li’l Darlin’

Music: Robert Emmett Dolan  Lyrics: Johnny Mercer  Book: John Whedon, Sam Moore

Musical Type: Golden Age (1949)



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Which of these musicals of the 1940s is your favorite?

Or have you ever played a role in any of these musicals from the 1940s? Feel free to share in the comments! 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 ListShe holds a BA in theatre and a TESOL drama certificate, with experience working and interning in Broadway and Off-Broadway theaters.

Photo of Stacy Karyn

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