Musicals Set in the 1950s – The Full List of Shows
With postwar optimism and the rise of rock and roll, musicals set in the 1950s embrace themes of romance, rebellion, and the pursuit of the American Dream. These shows bring the energy and style of the decade to life. Here’s the full list of musicals set in the 1950s.
On This Page:
Musicals Fully Set in the 1950s
Musicals Partially Set in the 1950s
Musicals Fully Set in the 1950s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2007)
Creators: John Bucchino and Harvey Fierstein
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2005)
Creators: Joe DiPietro and Others
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Golden Age (1955)
Creators: Sammy Fain, Dan Shapiro, Guy Bolton, and Eddie Davis
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Golden Age (1956)
Creators: Jule Styne, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1989)
Creators: Buddy Holly, Alan Janes, and Others
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1960)
Creators: Charles Strouse, Lee Adams, and Michael Stewart
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1969)
Creators: André Previn and Alan Jay Lerner
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2007)
Creators: Adam Schlesinger, David Javerbaum, Mark O’Donnell, and Thomas Meehan
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2006)
Creators: John Kander, Fred Ebb, and Rupert Holmes
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Golden Age (1955)
Creators: Richard Adler, Jerry Ross, George Abbott, and Douglass Wallop
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2012)
Creators: Scott Frankel, Michael Korie, Richard Greenberg
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Golden Age (1958)
Creators: Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, David Henry Hwang, and Joseph Fields
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2021)
Creators: Tom Kitt, Michael Korie, and James Lapine
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Golden Age (1957)
Creators: Julian Slade and Dorothy Reynolds
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1971)
Creators: Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2007)
Creators: Paul Williams and Garry Marshall
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Golden Age (1956)
Creators: Harold Karr, Matt Dubey, Howard Lindsay, and Russel Crouse
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Golden Age (1956)
Creators: Marguerite Monnot, Alexandre Breffort, Julian More, David Heneker, and Monty Norman
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Golden Age (1957)
Creators: Harold Arlen, Yip Harburg, and Fred Saidy
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2010)
Creators: Justin Paul, Benj Pasek, and Timothy Allen McDonald
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Golden Age (1956)
Creators: Gene de Paul, Johnny Mercer, Norman Panama, and Melvin Frank
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Golden Age (1953)
Creators: Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2002)
Creators: David Bryan and Joe DiPietro
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2006)
Creators: Colin Escott, Floyd Mutrux, and Others
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2021)
Creators: Colin Escott and Others
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Golden Age (1956)
Creators: Jerry Bock, Larry Holofcener, George Weiss, Joseph Stein, and Will Glickman
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1992)
Creators: Stephen Flaherty, Lynn Ahrens, and Joseph Dougherty
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Golden Age (1958)
Creators: Jay Livingston, Ray Evans, Al Morgan, and José Ferrer
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Golden Age (1950)
Creators: Cole Porter, Dwight Taylor, and Reginald Lawrence
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Golden Age (1955)
Creators: Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Golden Age (1955)
Creators: Albert Hague, Arnold Horwitt, Joseph Stein, and Will Glickman
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1973)
Creators: Judd Woldin, Robert Brittan, Robert Nemiroff, and Charlotte Zaltzberg
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Golden Age (1954)
Creators: Julian Slade and Dorothy Reynolds
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Golden Age (1958)
Creators: Jule Styne, Betty Comden, Adolph Green, Abe Burrows, Marian Bissell, and Richard Bissell
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Golden Age (1955)
Creators: Cole Porter, George S. Kaufman, Leueen MacGrath, and Abe Burrows
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Golden Age (1957)
Creators: David Martin and Langston Hughes
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1994)
Creators: Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2002)
Creators: Marvin Hamlisch, Craig Carnelia, and John Guare
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)
Creators: Alan Menken and David Spencer
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Golden Age (1958)
Creators: Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick, Joseph Stein, and Will Glickman
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2003)
Creators: Adam Guettel and Craig Lucas
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Golden Age (1959)
Creators: Tommy Wolf, Fran Landesman, Jay Landesman, and Theodore J. Flicker
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Golden Age (1954)
Creators: Richard Adler, Jerry Ross, George Abbott, and Richard Bissell
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2001)
Creators: Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Golden Age (1951)
Creators: Johnny Mercer and Hy Kraft
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Golden Age (1958)
Creators: Sandy Wilson
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Golden Age (1957)
Creators: Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, and Arthur Laurents
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1996)
Creators: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Jim Steinman, Patricia Knop, and Gale Edwards
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2000)
Creators: Irving Berlin, David Ives, and Paul Blake
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Golden Age (1958)
Creators: Moose Charlap, Norman Gimbel, Cy Feuer, Ernest Martin, and Dan Cushman
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Golden Age (1952)
Creators: Harold Rome, Arthur Kober, and Joshua Logan
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1993)
Creators: Dana P. Rowe and John Dempsey
When It’s Set: The 1950s
Musicals Partially Set in the 1950s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2000)
Creators: Edward Kleban, Linda Kline, and Lonny Price
When It’s Set: 1950s-1980s
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1989)
Creators: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Don Black, and Charles Hart
When It’s Set: 1940s-1960s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2009)
Creators: Floyd Mutrux, Colin Escott, and Others
When It’s Set: 1950s-1960s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2020)
Creators: Alan Silvestri, Glen Ballard, and Bob Gale
When It’s Set: 1950s, 1980s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2023)
Creators: Buena Vista Social Club and Marco Ramirez
When It’s Set: 1950s-1990s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2006)
Creators: Christopher Curtis and Thomas Meehan
When It’s Set: 1890s, 1910s, 1930s, 1950s
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1984)
Creators: Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, Tim Rice, Richard Nelson, and Danny Strong
When It’s Set: 1950s, 1980s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2023)
Creators: Adam Guettel and Craig Lucas
When It’s Set: 1950s-1960s
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1976)
Creators: Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice
When It’s Set: 1930s-1950s
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1993)
Creators: Michael John LaChiusa
When It’s Set: 1930s, 1950s, 1960s
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1989)
Creators: Stuart Ross and Others
When It’s Set: 1950s-1960s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2021)
Creators: Bob Marley and Lee Hall
When It’s Set: 1950s-1980s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2009)
Creators: Michael John LaChiusa and Sybille Pearson
When It’s Set: 1920s-1950s
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1967)
Creators: Jule Styne, Adolph Green, Betty Comden, and Arthur Laurents
When It’s Set: 1910s-1960s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2013)
Creators: David Byrne and Fatboy Slim
When It’s Set: 1930s-1980s
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1995)
Creators: Andrew Lippa and Tommy Greenwald
When It’s Set: 1950s-1990s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2025)
Creators: Warren Leight, Isaac Oliver, and Others
When It’s Set: 1950s, 1960s, 2020s
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1996)
Creators: Taliep Petersen and David Kramer
When It’s Set: 1950s, 1990s
Musical Type: Golden Age (1959)
Creators: Todd Matshikiza, Pat Williams, and Harry Bloom
When It’s Set: 1940s-1950s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2022)
Creators: Stephen Flaherty, Lynn Ahrens, and Frank Galati
When It’s Set: 1910s, 1950s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2020)
Creators: Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens
When It’s Set: 1850s, 1940s, 1950s
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1962)
Creators: Cy Coleman, Carolyn Leigh, and Neil Simon
When It’s Set: 1930s-1950s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2007)
Creators: Kurt Weill, Alfred Uhry, and Others
When It’s Set: 1920s-1950s
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1981)
Creators: Stephen Sondheim and George Furth
When It’s Set: 1950s-1970s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2013)
Creators: Berry Gordy and Others
When It’s Set: 1930s, 1950s-1980s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2021)
Creators: Jason Robert Brown, Amanda Green, Billy Crystal, Lowell Ganz, and Babaloo Mandel
When It’s Set: 1940s, 1950s, 1990s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2004)
Creators: Michael John LaChiusa
When It’s Set: Medieval, 1950s, 2000s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2016)
Creators: Clark Baxtresser, Pierce Siebers, Corey Lubowich, Joey Richter, and Brian Rosenthal
When It’s Set: 1950s-1960s
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1991)
Creators: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Don Black, and Christopher Hampton
When It’s Set: 1940s-1950s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2010)
Creators: Chris Miller, Nathan Tysen, and Mariana Elder
When It’s Set: 1950s-1960s
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1998)
Creators: Paul Simon and Derek Walcott
When It’s Set: 1950s-1970s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2019)
Creators: Darren Clark and Jethro Compton
When It’s Set: 1910s-1980s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2021)
Creators: Ed Curtis and Others
When It’s Set: 1950s-1960s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2021)
Creators: Michael John LaChiusa
When It’s Set: 1940s, 1950s, 2020s
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1999)
Creators: Roger Bean and Others
When It’s Set: 1950s-1960s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2013)
Creators: Roger Bean and Others
When It’s Set: 1950s-1960s
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1992)
Creators: Pete Townshend and Des McAnuff
When It’s Set: 1940s-1960s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2018)
Creators: Katori Hall, Frank Ketelaar, Kees Prins, and Others
When It’s Set: 1950s-1980s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2016)
Creators: Scott Frankel, Michael Korie, and Doug Wright
When It’s Set: 1930s-1960s
Musicals Set Around the 1950s
Musical Type: Golden Age (1950)
Creators: Frank Loesser, Jo Swerling, and Abe Burrows
When It’s Set: Around the 1930s-1950s
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1961)
Creators: Frank Loesser, Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock, and Willie Gilbert
When It’s Set: Around the 1950s-1960s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2016)
Creators: Guy Dubuc, Marc Lessard, and Andreas Carlsson
When It’s Set: Around the 1930s-1950s
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1970)
Creators: Gary Geld, Peter Udell, Ossie Davis, and Philip Rose
When It’s Set: Around the 1950s-1960s
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1992)
Creators: Marvin Laird and Joel Paley
When It’s Set: Around the 1950s-1960s