21+ Musicals Set on Ships or at Sea – The Full List of Shows
These musicals set on ships or at sea take place fully or partially in nautical environments, from lake outings to ocean voyages. Whether you’re doing theatre research, trying to remember a particular musical with a seaside theme, or have great maritime props to show off in your next production, there are plenty of options to explore.
On This Page:
Musicals Set on Ships
Musical Type: Golden Age (1955)
Creators: Sammy Fain, Dan Shapiro, Guy Bolton, and Eddie Davis
Setting: Africa (Morocco), Italy, At Sea
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1934)
Creators: Cole Porter, Guy Bolton, P.G. Wodehouse, Howard Lindsay, and Russel Crouse
Setting: USA (NYC), At Sea
Musical Type: Golden Age (1956)
Creators: Leonard Bernstein, Richard Wilbur, John La Touche, Stephen Sondheim, Dorothy Parker, John Caird, Hugh Wheeler, and Lillian Hellman
Setting: Argentina, France (Paris), Italy, Portugal, Spain, Uruguay, At Sea
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1966)
Creators: Jim Wise, George Haimsohn, and Robin Miller
Setting: USA (NYC), At Sea
Musical Type: Contemporary (2011)
Creators: Jack Plotnick, Seth Rudetsky, and Others
Setting: At Sea
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1998)
Creators: Leslie Bricusse
Setting: England, At Sea
Musical Type: Contemporary (2007)
Creators: Mark Baron and Jeffrey Jackson
Setting: Arctic, Germany, Switzerland, At Sea
Musical Type: Golden Age (1949)
Creators: Jule Styne, Leo Robin, Joseph Fields, and Anita Loos
Setting: France (Paris), USA (NYC), At Sea
Musical Type: Golden Age (1956)
Creators: Harold Karr, Matt Dubey, Howard Lindsay, and Russel Crouse
Setting: Monaco, USA, At Sea
Musical Type: Contemporary (2010)
Creators: Justin Paul, Benj Pasek, and Timothy Allen McDonald
Setting: England (Dover, London), USA (NYC), At Sea
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1974)
Creators: Jule Styne, Leo Robin, Adolph Green, Betty Comden, Anita Loos, Joseph Fields, Kenny Solms, and Gail Parent
Setting: France (Paris), USA (NYC), At Sea
Musical Type: Contemporary (2002)
Creators: Dan Goggin
Setting: At Sea
Musical Type: Golden Age (1958)
Creators: Jay Livingston, Ray Evans, Al Morgan, and José Ferrer
Setting: England (London), France (Paris), At Sea
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1961)
Creators: Noël Coward
Setting: At Sea
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1927)
Creators: Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II
Setting: USA (Illinois, Mississippi), At Sea
Musical Type: Contemporary (2022)
Creators: The Avett Brothers and John Logan
Setting: USA (Massachusetts), At Sea
Musical Type: Contemporary (2007)
Creators: Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, Glenn Slater, and Doug Wright
Setting: Fictional, At Sea
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1927)
Creators: Sigmund Romberg, Oscar Hammerstein II, Frank Mandel, and Laurence Schwab
Setting: USA (Louisiana), At Sea
Musical Type: Contemporary (2006)
Creators: Claude-Michel Schönberg, John Dempsey, Alain Boublil, and Richard Maltby, Jr.
Setting: England, Ireland, At Sea
Musical Type: Contemporary (2016)
Creators: Kyle Jarrow and Others
Setting: Fictional, At Sea
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1960)
Creators: Meredith Willson and Richard Morris
Setting: France (Paris), Monte Carlo, USA (Colorado, Missouri), At Sea
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1997)
Creators: Maury Yeston and Peter Stone
Setting: England, At Sea
Musical Type: Pre-Jazz Age (1915)
Creators: Jerome Kern, Schuyler Green, Philip Bartholomae, and Guy Bolton
Setting: USA (New York), At Sea
Musicals with Ships in Them
Musical Type: Golden Age (1944)
Creators: Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green
Setting: USA (NYC)
Musical Type: Golden Age (1954)
Creators: Moose Charlap, Jule Styne, Carolyn Leigh, Betty Comden, Adolph Green, and J.M. Barrie
Setting: England (London), Fictional
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1996)
Creators: Stephen Flaherty, Lynn Ahrens, and Terrence McNally
Setting: USA (New Jersey, New York)
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1979)
Creators: Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler
Setting: England (London)
Musical Type: Contemporary (2014)
Creators: Sting, Brian Yorkey, John Logan, and Lorne Campbell
Setting: England
Musical Type: Opera (1879)
Creators: Arthur Sullivan and W.S. Gilbert
Setting: England
Musicals with Boats in Them
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1985)
Creators: Roger Miller and William Hauptman
Setting: USA (Missouri)
Musical Type: Golden Age (1956)
Creators: Leonard Bernstein, Richard Wilbur, John La Touche, Stephen Sondheim, Dorothy Parker, John Caird, Hugh Wheeler, and Lillian Hellman
Setting: France (Paris), Italy, Spain, Uruguay
Musical Type: Golden Age (1949)
Creators: Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, and Joshua Logan
Setting: South Pacific
Musical Type: Contemporary (2001)
Creators: Jason Robert Brown
Setting: USA (NYC, Ohio)
Musical Type: Contemporary (2016)
Creators: George Stiles, Anthony Drewe, and Julian Fellowes
Setting: Fictional