Musicals of the 1940s – A Complete Ordered List
The musicals of the 1940s played a huge role in popular culture at the time. A few of the popular musical theatre trends included feel-good shows, book musicals, Rodgers & Hammerstein, comedies, love stories, French culture, and big dance numbers.
Because of that, the 1940s-1950s are also referred to as the “golden age” of musical theatre. Here’s the full list of musicals that premiered during the decade. And to enhance your researching experience, you can pop on Theatre Trip’s Spotify playlist while scrolling – “The Best Musical Songs of the Golden Age”➝.
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Contents:
1940 Musicals
Music: Vernon Duke Lyrics: John Latouche Book: Lynn Root
Musical Type: Golden Age (1940)
Music/Lyrics: Irving Berlin Book: Morrie Ryskind
Musical Type: Golden Age (1940)
Music: Richard Rodgers Lyrics: Lorenz Hart Book: John O’Hara
Musical Type: Golden Age (1940)
Music/Lyrics: Cole Porter Book: Herbert Fields, B.G. DeSylva
Musical Type: Golden Age (1940)
1941 Musicals
Music/Lyrics: Hugh Martin, Ralph Blane Book: John Cecil Holm
Musical Type: Golden Age (1941)
Music: Kurt Weill Lyrics: Ira Gershwin Book: Moss Hart
Musical Type: Golden Age (1941)
1942 Musicals
Music/Book: Richard Rodgers Lyrics/Book: Lorenz Hart
Musical Type: Golden Age (1942)
Music/Lyrics: Irving Berlin
Musical Type: Golden Age (1942)
1943 Musicals
Music: Georges Bizet Lyrics/Book: Oscar Hammerstein II
Musical Type: Golden Age (1943)
Music: Richard Rodgers Lyrics/Book: Oscar Hammerstein II
Musical Type: Golden Age (1943)
Music: Kurt Weill Lyrics/Book: Ogden Nash Book: S.J. Perelman
Musical Type: Golden Age (1943)
Music/Lyrics: Cole Porter Book: Herbert Fields, Dorothy Fields
Musical Type: Golden Age (1943)
1944 Musicals
Music: Harold Arlen Lyrics: E.Y. Harburg Book: Sig Herzig, Fred Saidy
Musical Type: Golden Age (1944)
Music/Lyrics: Cole Porter Book: Herbert Fields, Dorothy Fields
Musical Type: Golden Age (1944)
Music: Leonard Bernstein Lyrics/Book: Betty Comden, Adolph Green
Musical Type: Golden Age (1944)
Music: Edvard Grieg Lyrics: Robert Wright, George Forrest Book: Milton Lazarus, Homer Curran
Musical Type: Golden Age (1944)
1945 Musicals
Music: Richard Rodgers Lyrics/Book: Oscar Hammerstein II
Musical Type: Golden Age (1945)
Music: Frederick Loewe Lyrics/Book: Alan Jay Lerner
Musical Type: Golden Age (1945)
Music: Sigmund Romberg Lyrics/Book: Dorothy Fields Book: Herbert Fields
Musical Type: Golden Age (1945)
1946 Musicals
Music/Lyrics: Irving Berlin Book: Dorothy Fields, Herbert Fields
Musical Type: Golden Age (1946)
Music/Lyrics: Harold Rome Sketches: Arnold Auerbach
Musical Type: Golden Age (1946)
Music: Harold Arlen Lyrics: Johnny Mercer Book: Arna Bontemps, Countee Cullen
Musical Type: Golden Age (1946)
1947 Musicals
Music: Richard Rodgers Lyrics/Book: Oscar Hammerstein II
Musical Type: Golden Age (1947)
Music: Frederick Loewe Lyrics/Book: Alan Jay Lerner
Musical Type: Golden Age (1947)
Music: Burton Lane Lyrics/Book: E.Y. Harburg Book: Fred Saidy
Musical Type: Golden Age (1947)
Music: Jule Styne Lyrics: Sammy Cahn Book: Stephen Longstreet
Musical Type: Golden Age (1947)
Music: Kurt Weill Lyrics: Langston Hughes Book: Elmer Rice
Musical Type: Opera (1947)
1948 Musicals
Music/Lyrics: Cole Porter Book: Bella Spewack, Samuel Spewack
Musical Type: Golden Age (1948)
Music/Lyrics: Hugh Martin Book: Jerome Lawrence, Robert E. Lee
Musical Type: Golden Age (1948)
Music: Heitor Villa-Lobos Lyrics: Robert Wright, George Forrest Book: Frederick Hazlitt Brennan, Homer Curran
Musical Type: Golden Age (1948)
Music/Lyrics: Frank Loesser Book: George Abbott
Musical Type: Golden Age (1948)
1949 Musicals
Music: Jule Styne Lyrics: Leo Robin Book: Joseph Fields, Anita Loos
Musical Type: Golden Age (1949)
Music: Kurt Weill Lyrics/Book: Maxwell Anderson
Musical Type: Golden Age (1949)
Music/Lyrics: Irving Berlin Book: Robert E. Sherwood
Musical Type: Golden Age (1949)
Music: Richard Rodgers Lyrics/Book: Oscar Hammerstein II Book: Joshua Logan
Musical Type: Golden Age (1949)
Other Decades
• Musicals of the 1940s → You are here!
• The Golden Age Musicals (1940 – 1959)
• The Post-Golden Age Musicals (1960- 1969)
Want a weekly list of stagey surprises?!
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 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.