Musical Lists

Musicals Set in the 1960s – The Full List of Shows

Whether you’re auditioning for musicals, setting up your rep book, or simply looking for some 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! Here’s the full list of musicals set in the 1960s.

The following list is broken down into three categories – “Musicals Fully Set in the 1960s”, “Musicals Partially Set in the 1960s”, and “Musicals Set Around the 1960s”. Each category is sorted alphabetically.


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Musicals Fully Set in the 1960s

A Bronx Tale

Music: Alan Menken  Lyrics: Glenn Slater  Book: Chazz Palminteri

Musical Type: Contemporary (2016)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


A Family Affair

Music/Lyrics/Book: James Goldman, John Kander, William Goldman

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1962)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


A Man of No Importance

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

Musical Type: Contemporary (2002)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


A Slice of Saturday Night

Music/Lyrics/Book: The Heather Brothers

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1989)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


All American

Music: Charles Strouse  Lyrics: Lee Adams  Book: Mel Brooks

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1962)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Baby It’s You!

Music/Lyrics: Various  Book: Floyd Mutrux, Colin Escott

Musical Type: Contemporary (2009)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Beehive: The 60’s Musical

Music/Lyrics: Various  Book: Larry Gallagher

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1985)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Carmelina

Music: Burton Lane  Lyrics/Book: Alan Jay Lerner  Book: Joseph Stein

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1979)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Carnival!

Music/Lyrics: Bob Merrill  Book: Michael Stewart

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1961)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Caroline, or Change

Music: Jeanine Tesori  Lyrics/Book: Tony Kushner

Musical Type: Contemporary (2003)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Catch Me If You Can

Music/Lyrics: Marc Shaiman  Lyrics: Scott Wittman  Book: Terrence McNally

Musical Type: Contemporary (2009)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Dirty Dancing

Music/Lyrics: Various  Book: Eleanor Bergstein

Musical Type: Contemporary (2004)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Do I Hear a Waltz?

Music: Richard Rodgers  Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim  Book: Arthur Laurents

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1965)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Do Re Mi

Music: Jule Styne  Lyrics: Betty Comden, Adolph Green  Book: Garson Kanin

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1960)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Dogfight

Music/Lyrics: Benj Pasek, Justin Paul  Book: Peter Duchan

Musical Type: Contemporary (2012)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Fly By Night

Music/Lyrics/Book: Kim Rosenstock, Will Connolly, Michael Mitnick

Musical Type: Contemporary (2014)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater

Music: Alan Menken  Lyrics: Dennis Green  Lyrics/Book: Howard Ashman

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1979)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Golden Boy

Music: Charles Strouse  Lyrics: Lee Adams  Book: Clifford Odets, William Gibson

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1964)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Golden Rainbow

Music/Lyrics: Walter Marks  Book: Ernest Kinoy

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1968)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Hair

Music: Galt MacDermot  Lyrics/Book: Gerome Ragni, James Rado

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1967)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Hairspray

Music/Lyrics: Marc Shaiman  Lyrics: Scott Wittman  Book: Mark O’Donnell, Thomas Meehan

Musical Type: Contemporary (2002)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Henry, Sweet Henry

Music/Lyrics: Bob Merrill  Book: Nunnally Johnson

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1967)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


High Spirits

Music/Lyrics/Book: Hugh Martin, Timothy Gray

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1964)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


How Now, Dow Jones

Music: Elmer Bernstein  Lyrics: Carolyn Leigh  Book: Max Shulman

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1967)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


I Had a Ball

Music/Lyrics: Jack Lawrence, Stan Freeman  Book: Jerome Chodorov

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1964)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Illya Darling

Music: Manos Hadjidakis  Lyrics: Joe Darion  Book: Jules Dassin

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1967)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s Superman

Music: Charles Strouse  Lyrics: Lee Adams  Book: David Newman, Robert Benton

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1966)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Jersey Boys

Music: Bob Gaudio  Lyrics: Bob Crewe  Book: Marshall Brickman, Rick Elice

Musical Type: Contemporary (2004)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Let It Be

Music/Lyrics: The Beatles

Musical Type: Contemporary (2012)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Let It Ride!

Music/Lyrics: Jay Livingston, Ray Evans  Book: Abram S. Ginnes

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1961)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Little Shop of Horrors

Music: Alan Menken  Lyrics/Book: Howard Ashman

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1982)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Love in Hate Nation

Music/Lyrics/Book: Joe Iconis

Musical Type: Contemporary (2019)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Made in Dagenham

Music: David Arnold  Lyrics: Richard Thomas  Book: Richard Bean

Musical Type: Contemporary (2014)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Milk and Honey

Music/Lyrics: Jerry Herman  Book: Don Appell

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1961)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Miracle on 34th Street (Here’s Love)

Music/Lyrics/Book: Meredith Willson

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1963)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Movin’ Out

Music/Lyrics: Billy Joel

Musical Type: Contemporary (2002)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Mr. President

Music/Lyrics: Irving Berlin  Book: Howard Lindsay, Russel Crouse

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1962)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Nine

Music/Lyrics: Maury Yeston  Book: Arthur Kopit

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1982)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


No Strings

Music/Lyrics: Richard Rodgers  Book: Samuel Taylor

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1962)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Now Is the Time for All Good Men

Music: Nancy Ford  Lyrics/Book: Gretchen Cryer

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1967)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Prettybelle

Music: Jule Styne  Lyrics/Book: Bob Merrill

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1971)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Promises, Promises

Music: Burt Bacharach  Lyrics: Hal David  Book: Neil Simon

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1968)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Sail Away

Music/Lyrics/Book: Noël Coward

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1961)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Skyscraper

Music: James Van Heusen  Lyrics: Sammy Cahn  Book: Peter Stone

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1965)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Spend Spend Spend

Music/Lyrics/Book: Steve Brown  Lyrics/Book: Justin Greene

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1998)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Stephen Ward

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

Musical Type: Contemporary (2013)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Subways Are For Sleeping

Music: Jule Styne  Lyrics/Book: Betty Comden, Adolph Green

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1961)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Sunny Afternoon

Music/Lyrics: Ray Davies  Book: Joe Penhall

Musical Type: Contemporary (2014)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Sweet Charity

Music: Cy Coleman  Lyrics: Dorothy Fields  Book: Neil Simon

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1966)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


The Bridges of Madison County

Music/Lyrics: Jason Robert Brown  Book: Marsha Norman

Musical Type: Contemporary (2013)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


The Fig Leaves Are Falling

Music: Albert Hague  Lyrics/Book: Allan Sherman

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1969)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


The Outsiders

Music/Lyrics/Book: Justin Levine  Music/Lyrics: Jonathan Clay, Zach Chance  Book: Adam Rapp

Musical Type: Contemporary (2023)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Music: Leon Carr  Lyrics: Earl Shuman  Book: Joe Manchester

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1964)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


The Zulu and the Zayda

Music/Lyrics: Harold Rome  Book: Howard Da Silva, Felix Leon

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1965)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Violet

Music: Jeanine Tesori  Lyrics/Book: Brian Crawley

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1997)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Winter Wonderettes

Music/Lyrics: Various  Book: Roger Bean

Musical Type: Contemporary (2016)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Woman of the Year

Music: John Kander  Lyrics: Fred Ebb  Book: Peter Stone

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1981)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Your Own Thing

Music/Lyrics: Hal Hester, Danny Apolinar  Book: Donald Driver

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1968)

When It’s Set: The 1960s


Musicals Partially Set in the 1960s

A Beautiful Noise

Music/Lyrics: Neil Diamond  Book: Anthony McCarten

Musical Type: Contemporary (2022)

When It’s Set: 1960s-1990s


A Class Act

Music/Lyrics: Edward Kleban  Book: Linda Kline, Lonny Price

Musical Type: Contemporary (2000)

When It’s Set: 1950s-1980s


Ain’t Too Proud

Music/Lyrics: The Legendary Motown Catalog  Book: Dominique Morisseau

Musical Type: Contemporary (2017)

When It’s Set: 1960s-1970s


Aspects of Love

Music/Book: Andrew Lloyd Webber  Lyrics: Don Black, Charles Hart

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1989)

When It’s Set: 1940s-1960s


Beautiful: The Carole King Musical

Music/Lyrics: Gerry Goffin, Carole King, Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil  Book: Douglas McGrath

Musical Type: Contemporary (2013)

When It’s Set: 1960s-1970s


Blood Brothers

Music/Lyrics/Book: Willy Russell

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1983)

When It’s Set: 1960s-1980s


Bombshell

Music/Lyrics: Marc Shaiman  Lyrics: Scott Wittman  Book: Patrik Komljenović

Musical Type: Contemporary (2013)

When It’s Set: 1930s-1960s


Dreamgirls

Music: Henry Krieger  Lyrics/Book: Tom Eyen

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1981)

When It’s Set: 1960s-1970s


Forever Plaid

Music/Lyrics: Various  Book: Stuart Ross

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1989)

When It’s Set: 1950s-1960s


Get Up Stand Up!

Music/Lyrics: Bob Marley  Book: Lee Hall

Musical Type: Contemporary (2021)

When It’s Set: 1950s-1980s


Hallelujah, Baby!

Music: Jule Styne  Lyrics: Adolph Green, Betty Comden  Book: Arthur Laurents

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1967)

When It’s Set: 1910s-1960s


John & Jen

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

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1995)

When It’s Set: 1950s-1990s


Leader of the Pack

Music/Lyrics: Ellie Greenwich & Friends  Book: Anne Beatts

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1984)

When It’s Set: 1960s/1980s


Merrily We Roll Along

Music/Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim  Book: George Furth

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1981)

When It’s Set: 1950s-1970s


MJ The Musical

Music/Lyrics: Michael Jackson, Various  Book: Lynn Nottage

Musical Type: Contemporary (2022)

When It’s Set: 1960s-1990s


Motown: The Musical

Music/Lyrics: Various  Book: Berry Gordy

Musical Type: Contemporary (2013)

When It’s Set: 1950s-1980s


On a Clear Day You Can See Forever

Music: Burton Lane  Lyrics/Book: Alan Jay Lerner

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1965)

When It’s Set: 1960s/1700s


Shout! The Mod Musical

Music/Lyrics: Various  Book: Phillip George, David Lowenstein

Musical Type: Contemporary (2006)

When It’s Set: 1960s-1970s


Spies Are Forever

Music/Lyrics: Clark Baxtresser, Pierce Siebers  Book: Corey Lubowich, Joey Richter, Brian Rosenthal

Musical Type: Contemporary (2016)

When It’s Set: 1950s-1960s


Summer: The Donna Summer Musical

Music/Lyrics: Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder, Paul Jabra, Various  Book: Colman Domingo, Robert Cary, Des McAnuff

Musical Type: Contemporary (2017)

When It’s Set: 1960s-1980s


The Beautiful Game

Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber  Lyrics/Book: Ben Elton

Musical Type: Contemporary (2000)

When It’s Set: 1960s-1970s


The Burnt Part Boys

Music: Chris Miller  Lyrics: Nathan Tysen  Book: Mariana Elder

Musical Type: Contemporary (2010)

When It’s Set: 1950s-1960s


The Boy From Oz

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

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1998)

When It’s Set: 1960s-1990s


The Capeman

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

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1998)

When It’s Set: 1950s-1970s


The Cher Show

Music/Lyrics: Various  Book: Rick Elice

Musical Type: Contemporary (2018)

When It’s Set: 1960s-1990s


The Drifters Girl

Music/Lyrics: Various  Book: Ed Curtis

Musical Type: Contemporary (2021)

When It’s Set: 1950s-1960s


The Marvelous Wonderettes

Music/Lyrics: Various  Book: Roger Bean

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1999)

When It’s Set: 1950s-1960s


The Marvelous Wonderettes: Caps and Gowns

Music/Lyrics: Various  Book: Roger Bean

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1999)

When It’s Set: 1950s-1960s


The Marvelous Wonderettes: Dream On

Music/Lyrics: Various  Book: Roger Bean

Musical Type: Contemporary (2016)

When It’s Set: 1960s-1970s


The Notebook

Music/Lyrics: Ingrid Michaelson  Book: Bekah Brunstetter

Musical Type: Contemporary (2022)

When It’s Set: 1960s/1970s/2020s


The Who’s Tommy

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

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1992)

When It’s Set: 1940s-1960s


Tina: The Tina Turner Musical

Music/Lyrics: Various  Book: Katori Hall, Frank Ketelaar, Kees Prins

Musical Type: Contemporary (2018)

When It’s Set: 1950s-1980s


Vanities

Music/Lyrics: David Kirshenbaum  Book: Jack Heifner

Musical Type: Contemporary (2006)

When It’s Set: 1960s-1970s


War Paint

Music: Scott Frankel  Lyrics: Michael Korie  Book: Doug Wright

Musical Type: Contemporary (2016)

When It’s Set: 1930s-1960s


Musicals Set Around the 1960s

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

Music/Lyrics: Frank Loesser  Book: Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock, Willie Gilbert

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1961)

When It’s Set: Around the 1960s


Purlie

Music: Gary Geld  Lyrics/Book: Peter Udell  Book: Ossie Davis, Philip Rose

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1970)

When It’s Set: Around the 1950s/1960s


Ruthless!

Music: Marvin Laird  Lyrics/Book: Joel Paley

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1992)

When It’s Set: Around the 1960s


More Musicals by Setting

Musicals Set in the 1800s

Musicals Set in the 1900s

Musicals Set in the 1910s

• Musicals Set in the 1920s

Musicals Set in the 1930s

Musicals Set in the 1940s

Musicals Set in the 1950s

• Musicals Set in the 1960s → You are here!

Musicals Set in the 1970s

Musicals Set in the 1980s

Musicals Set in the 1990s

• Musicals Set in the 2000s

• Musicals Set in the Future


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Which of these musicals set in the 1960s is your favorite?

Or have you ever played a role in any of the above musicals set in the 1960s? 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!


Stacy Karyn, Author of Musicals Set in the 1960s.
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.


 

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