Musicals of the 1990s – A Complete Ordered List

The musicals of the 1990s were big, epic, and full of surprises, just like the musicals of the 1980s. A few of the popular trends at the time included country music, shows set in the 1800s, drama, comedy, pop/rock, musical revues, and Disney shows.

The 1990s mark the end of the pre-contemporary musical theatre time period. And the most notable musicals of the decade are included below.

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1990 Musicals

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Assassins

Music/Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim Book: John Weidman

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1990)

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Copacabana

Music/Book: Barry Manilow  Lyrics/Book: Bruce Sussman, Jack Feldman

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1990)

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Falsettoland

Music/Lyrics: William Finn  Book: James Lapine

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1990)

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Five Guys Named Moe

Music/Lyrics: Louis Jordan  Book: Clarke Peters

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary/Revue (1990)

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Jekyll & Hyde

Music/Lyrics: Frank Wildhorn  Lyrics/Book: Leslie Bricusse, Lyrics: Steve Cuden

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1990)

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Moby Dick

Music/Lyrics/Book: Robert Longden, Hereward Kay

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1990)

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Once on This Island

Music: Stephen Flaherty  Lyrics/Book: Lynn Ahrens

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1990)

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The Life

Music/Book: Cy Coleman  Lyrics/Book: Ira Gasman  Book: David Newman

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1990)

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1991 Musicals

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And the World Goes ‘Round

Music: John Kander  Lyrics: Fred Ebb

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary/Revue (1991)

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Children of Eden

Music/Lyrics: Stephen Schwartz  Book: John Caird

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1991)

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Nick & Nora

Music: Charles Strouse  Lyrics: Richard Maltby, Jr.  Book: Arthur Laurents

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1991)

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Phantom

Music/Lyrics: Maury Yeston  Book: Arthur Kopit

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1991)

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Sunset Boulevard

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

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1991)

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The Secret Garden

Music: Lucy Simon  Book/Lyrics: Marsha Norman

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1991)

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The Will Rogers Follies

Music: Cy Coleman  Lyrics: Betty Comden, Adolph Green  Book: Peter Stone

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1991)

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1992 Musicals

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Crazy for You

Music: George Gershwin  Lyrics: Ira Gershwin  Book: Ken Ludwig

Musical Type: Jazz Age/Pre-Contemporary (1992)

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Falsettos

Music/Lyrics/Book: William Finn  Book: James Lapine

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1992)

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Hot Shoe Shuffle

Music/Lyrics: Various  Book: Larry Buttrose, Kathryn Riding

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary/Jukebox (1992)

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Jelly’s Last Jam

Music: Jelly Roll Morton, Luther Henderson  Lyrics: Susan Birkenhead  Book: George C. Wolfe

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1992)

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Kiss of the Spider Woman

Music: John Kander  Lyrics: Fred Ebb  Book: Terrence McNally

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1992)

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My Favorite Year

Music: Stephen Flaherty  Lyrics: Lynn Ahrens  Book: Joseph Dougherty

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1992)

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Nunsense II

Music/Lyrics/Book: Dan Goggin

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1992)

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Putting It Together

Music/Lyrics/Book: Stephen Sondheim  Book: Julia McKenzie

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary/Revue (1992)

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Ruthless!

Music: Marvin Laird  Lyrics/Book: Joel Paley

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1992)

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Scrooge

Music/Lyrics/Book: Leslie Bricusse

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1992)

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The Who’s Tommy

Music/Lyrics/Book: Pete Townshend  Book: Des McAnuff

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1992)

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Weird Romance

Music: Alan Menken  Lyrics: David Spencer  Book: Alan Brennert

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1992)

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Wings

Music: Jeffrey Lunden  Lyrics/Book: Arthur Perlman

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1992)

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1993 Musicals

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A Grand Night for Singing

Music: Richard Rodgers  Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II  Book: Walter Bobbie

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary/Revue (1993)

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Annie Warbucks

Music: Charles Strouse  Lyrics: Martin Charnin  Book: Thomas Meehan

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1993)

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First Lady Suite

Music/Lyrics/Book: Michael John LaChiusa

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1993)

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Honk!

Music: George Stiles  Book/Lyrics: Anthony Drewe

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1993)

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Moll Flanders

Music: George Stiles  Lyrics: Paul Leigh  Book: Claire Luckham

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1993)

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Schoolhouse Rock Live!

Music/Lyrics: Various  Book: George Keating, Scott Ferguson, Kyle Hall

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1993)

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The Fields of Ambrosia

Music: Martin Silvestri  Lyrics/Book: Joel Higgins

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1993)

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The Goodbye Girl

Music: Marvin Hamlisch  Lyrics: David Zippel  Book: Neil Simon

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1993)

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Whoop-Dee-Doo!

Music/Lyrics/Book: Crabtree, Cantanese, Waldrop, Gallagher, George, Morris

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary/Revue (1993)

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Zombie Prom

Music: Dana P. Rowe  Lyrics/Book: John Dempsey

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1993)

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1994 Musicals

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A Christmas Carol

Music: Alan Menken  Lyrics/Book: Lynn Ahrens  Book: Mike Ockrent

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1994)

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Beauty and the Beast

Music: Alan Menken  Lyrics: Howard Ashman, Tim Rice  Book: Linda Woolverton

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1994)

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Floyd Collins

Music/Lyrics: Adam Guettel  Book: Tina Landau

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1994)

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Hello Again

Music/Lyrics/Book: Michael John LaChiusa

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1994)

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How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Music: Mel Marvin  Lyrics/Book: Timothy Mason

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1994)

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Passion

Music/Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim  Book: James Lapine

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1994)

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Smokey Joe’s Cafe

Music/Lyrics: Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary/Revue (1994)

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1995 Musicals

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Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk

Music/Lyrics/Book: Daryl Waters, Ann Duquesnay, Zane Mark, George C. Wolfe, Reg E. Gaines

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary/Revue (1995)

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Jane Eyre

Music/Lyrics: Paul Gordon  Book: John Caird

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1995)

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John & Jen

Music/Book: Andrew Lippa  Lyrics/Book: Tom Greenwald

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1995)

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Jolson

Music/Lyrics: Various  Book: Francis Essex, Rob Bettinson

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1995)

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Nunsense Jamboree

Music/Lyrics/Book: Dan Goggin

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1995)

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Songs for a New World

Music/Lyrics: Jason Robert Brown

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary/Song Cycle (1995)

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Victor/Victoria

Music: Henry Mancini, Frank Wildhorn  Lyrics: Leslie Bricusse  Book: Blake Edwards

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1995)

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1996 Musicals

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Big

Music: David Shire  Lyrics: Richard Maltby Jr.  Book: John Weidman

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1996)

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I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change

Music: Jimmy Roberts  Lyrics/Book: Joe DiPietro

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1996)

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Kat and the Kings

Music: Taliep Petersen  Lyrics/Book: David Kramer

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1996)

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Martin Guerre

Music/Book: Claude-Michel Schönberg  Lyrics/Book: Alain Boublil  Lyrics: Edward Hardy, Stephen Clark

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1996)

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Peter Pan: A Musical Adventure

Music: George Stiles  Lyrics: Anthony Drewe  Book: Willis Hall

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1996)

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Play On!

Music/Lyrics: Duke Ellington, Various  Book: Cheryl L. West

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1996)

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Ragtime

Music: Stephen Flaherty  Lyrics: Lynn Ahrens  Book: Terrence McNally

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1996)

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Rent

Music/Lyrics/Book: Jonathan Larson

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1996)

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State Fair

Music: Richard Rodgers  Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II  Book: Tom Briggs, Louis Mattioli

Musical Type: 1945 Film/Pre-Contemporary Musical (1996)

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When Pigs Fly

Music/Lyrics/Book: Dick Gallagher, Mark Waldrop, Howard Crabtree

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary/Revue (1996)

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Whistle Down the Wind

Music/Book: Andrew Lloyd Webber  Lyrics: Jim Steinman  Book: Patricia Knop, Gale Edwards

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1996)

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1997 Musicals

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Amour

Music: Michel Legrand  Lyrics/Book: Jeremy Sams, Didier Van Cauwelaert

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1997)

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Bat Boy

Music/Lyrics: Laurence O’Keefe  Book:  Keythe Farley, Brian Flemming

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1997)

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High Society

Music/Lyrics: Cole Porter, Susan Birkenhead  Book: Arthur Kopit

Musical Type: 1956 Film/Pre-Contemporary Musical (1997)

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Lucky in the Rain

Music: Jimmy McHugh  Lyrics: Dorothy Fields, Harold Adamson

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1997)

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Saturday Night

Music/Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim  Book: Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein

Musical Type: Golden Age (1955) / Pre-Contemporary (1997)

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Side Show

Music: Henry Krieger  Lyrics/Book: Bill Russell

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1997)

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Steel Pier

Music: John Kander  Lyrics: Fred Ebb  Book: David Thompson

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1997)

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Tanz der Vampire

Music/Lyrics/Book: Michael Kunze, Jim Steinman, David Ives

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1997)

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The Fix

Music: Dana P. Rowe  Lyrics/Book: John Dempsey

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1997)

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The Last Session

Music/Lyrics: Steve Schalchlin  Lyrics: John Bettis, Marie Cain  Book: Jim Brochu

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1997)

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The Lion King

Music: Elton John  Lyrics: Tim Rice  Book: Rodger Allers, Irene Mecchi

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1997)

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The Scarlet Pimpernel

Music: Frank Wildhorn  Book/Lyrics: Nan Knighton

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1997)

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The Show Goes On

Music: Harvey Schmidt  Lyrics: Tom Jones

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary/Revue (1997)

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The Wild Party

Music/Lyrics/Book: Andrew Lippa

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1997)

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Titanic

Music/Lyrics: Maury Yeston  Book: Peter Stone

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1997)

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Triumph of Love

Music: Jeffrey Stock  Lyrics: Susan Birkenhead  Book: James Magruder

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1997)

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Violet

Music: Jeanine Tesori  Lyrics/Book: Brian Crawley

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1997)

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1998 Musicals

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A New Brain

Music/Lyrics/Book: William Finn  Book: James Lapine

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1998)

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Aida

Music: Elton John  Lyrics: Tim Rice  Book: Linda Woolverton, Robert Falls, David Henry Hwang

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1998)

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Boogie Nights

Music/Lyrics: Various  Book: Jon Conway

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary/Jukebox (1998)

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Doctor Dolittle

Music/Lyrics/Book: Leslie Bricusse

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1998)

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Footloose

Music: Tom Snow  Lyrics/Book: Dean Pitchford  Book: Walter Bobbie

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1998)

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Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Music/Lyrics: Stephen Trask  Book: John Cameron Mitchell

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1998)

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Myths & Hymns

Music/Lyrics: Adam Guettel

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary/Song Cycle (1998)

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Nuncrackers

Music/Lyrics/Book: Dan Goggin

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1998)

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Nunsense A-Men!

Music/Lyrics/Book: Dan Goggin

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1998)

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Parade

Music/Lyrics: Jason Robert Brown  Book: Alfred Uhry

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1998)

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Reefer Madness

Music: Dan Studney  Lyrics/Book: Kevin Murphy

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1998)

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Saturday Night Fever

Music/Lyrics: Bee Gees, Various  Book: Nan Knighton, Arlene Phillips, Paul Nicholas, Robert Stigwood

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary/Jukebox (1998)

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Spend Spend Spend

Music/Lyrics/Book: Steve Brown, Justin Greene

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1998)

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The Boy from Oz

Music/Lyrics: Peter Allen  Book: Nick Enright, Martin Sherman

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary/Jukebox (1998)

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The Capeman

Music/Lyrics: Paul Simon  Lyrics/Book: Derek Walcott

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1998)

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The Civil War

Music/Book: Frank Wildhorn  Lyrics: Jack Murphy  Book: Gregory Boyd

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1998)

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The Drowsy Chaperone

Music/Lyrics: Lisa Lambert, Greg Morrison  Book: Bob Martin, Don McKellar

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1998)

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1999 Musicals

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Contact

Music/Lyrics: Various  Book: John Weidman

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1999)

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Fosse

Music/Lyrics: Various

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary/Revue (1999)

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It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues

Music: Various  Book: Charles Bevel, Lita Gaithers, Randal Myler, Ron Taylor, Dan Wheetman

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary/Revue (1999)

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Mamma Mia!

Music/Lyrics: Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus  Book: Catherine Johnson

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary/Jukebox (1999)

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Marie Christine

Music/Lyrics/Book: Michael John LaChiusa

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1999)

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Naked Boys Singing!

Music/Lyrics: Various  Book: Robert Schrock

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary/Revue (1999)

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Swing!

Music/Lyrics: Various  Book: Paul Kelly

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary/Revue (1999)

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The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Music: Alan Menken  Lyrics: Stephen Schwartz  Book: James Lapine, Peter Parnell

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1999)

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The Marvelous Wonderettes

Music/Lyrics: Various  Book: Roger Bean

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary/Jukebox (1999)

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Other Decades

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• Musicals of the 1920s

• Musicals of the 1930s

• Golden Age Musicals (1940 – 1959)

• Post-Golden Age Musicals (1960 – 1969)

• Musicals of the 1970s

• Musicals of the 1980s

• Musicals of the 1990s → You are here!

• Musicals of the 2000s

• Musicals of the 2010s

• Musicals of the 2020s

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Want a weekly list of stagey surprises?!

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Which of these musicals of the 1990s is your favorite?

Or have you ever played a role in any of these 1990s musicals? 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!

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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.

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