Summer Musicals – 43 Hot Shows for the Season
Whether you’re doing some research, putting on a show, or simply looking for 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! A full list of summer musicals are listed below.
The following list is broken down into three categories – “Musicals That Mention Summer”, “Musicals That Mention Weather/Heat”, and “Musicals With Summer Vibes”.
To enhance your experience, pop on Theatre Trip’s Spotify playlist – “Showtunes for Summer”➝
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Musicals That Mention Summer
Music/Lyrics/Book: James Goldman, John Kander, William Goldman
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1962)
Songs About Summer: “Summer is Over”
Music/Lyrics: Norman Campbell Lyrics/Book: Donald Harron, Elaine Campbell, Mavor Moore
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1965)
Songs About Summer: “Where Did the Summer Go To”, “Ice Cream”
Music: Richard Rodgers Lyrics/Book: Oscar Hammerstein II
Musical Type: Golden Age (1945)
Songs About Summer: “June Is Bustin’ Out All Over”
Music/Lyrics/Book: Jim Jacobs, Warren Casey
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1971)
Songs About Summer: “Summer Nights”
Music/Lyrics/Book: Frank Loesser Book: Lesser Samuels
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1960)
Songs About Summer: “Summertime Love”
Music: Stephen Flaherty Lyrics: Lynn Ahrens
Musical Type: Contemporary (2020)
Songs About Summer: “June”, “July”, “August”
Music/Lyrics: Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus Book: Catherine Johnson
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary/Jukebox (1999)
Songs About Summer: “Our Last Summer”
Music/Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim Concept: Craig Lucas, Norman Rene
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1980)
Songs About Summer: “The Girls of Summer”
Music/Lyrics: Billy Joel
Musical Type: Contemporary/Jukebox (2002)
Songs About Summer: “Summer, Highland Falls”
Music: George Gershwin Lyrics: Ira Gershwin Libretto: DuBose Heyward, Dorothy Heyward
Musical Type: Opera (1935)
Songs About Summer: “Summertime”
Music: Charles Strouse Lyrics: Stephen Schwartz Book: Joseph Stein, David Thompson
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1986)
Songs About Summer: “Blame It on the Summer Night”, “Three Sunny Rooms”
Music: Walter Kent Lyrics: Kim Gannon Book: Sally Benson
Musical Type: Golden Age (1951)
Songs About Summer: “Things Are Gonna Hum This Summer”, “Summertime is Summertime”
Music: Duncan Sheik Lyrics/Book: Steven Sater
Musical Type: Contemporary (2006)
Songs About Summer: “The Song of Purple Summer”
Music/Lyrics: David Kirshenbaum Book: Hunter Foster
Musical Type: Contemporary (2000)
Songs About Summer: “The Summer You’ll Always Remember”
Music: Jerry Bock Lyrics: Sheldon Harnick Book: Joseph Stein, Will Glickman
Musical Type: Golden Age (1958)
Songs About Summer: “Summer Is”
Music/Lyrics/Book: Paul Simon Lyrics/Book: Derek Walcott
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1998)
Songs About Summer: “Satin Summer Nights”
Music/Lyrics/Book: Jason Robert Brown
Musical Type: Contemporary (2001)
Songs About Summer: “A Summer in Ohio”
Music/Lyrics: Rob Rokicki Book: Joe Tracz
Musical Type: Contemporary (2014)
Songs About Summer: “The Last Day of Summer”
Music/Lyrics/Book: Frank Loesser
Musical Type: Golden Age (1956)
Songs About Summer: “Song of a Summer Night”, “Warm All Over”
Music: George Stiles Lyrics: Anthony Drewe Book: Julian Fellowes
Musical Type: Contemporary (2016)
Songs About Summer: “One Swallow Does Not a Summer Make”
Music: Galt MacDermot Lyrics/Book: John Guare Book: Mel Shapiro
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1971)
Songs About Summer: “Summer, Summer”
Music/Lyrics: Harold Rome Book: Arthur Kober, Joshua Logan
Musical Type: Golden Age (1952)
Songs About Summer: “Summer Afternoon”
Musicals That Mention Heat/Weather
Music: Harvey Schmidt Lyrics: Tom Jones Book: N. Richard Nash
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1963)
Songs About Heat: “Gonna Be Another Hot Day”
Music/Lyrics: Irving Berlin Book: Moss Hart
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1933)
Songs About Heat: “Heat Wave”
Music/Book: Steve Martin Music/Lyrics: Edie Brickell
Musical Type: Contemporary (2014)
Songs About Heat: “Sun is Gonna Shine”
Music/Lyrics: Cole Porter Book: Bella Spewack, Samuel Spewack
Musical Type: Golden Age (1948)
Songs About Heat: “Too Darn Hot”
Music/Lyrics: Bob Merrill Book: George Abbott
Musical Type: Golden Age (1957)
Songs About Heat: “Sunshine Girl”
Music: Kurt Weill Lyrics: Langston Hughes Book: Elmer Rice
Musical Type: Opera (1947)
Songs About Heat: “Ain’t It Awful, the Heat?”
Sunday in the Park with George
Music/Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim Book: James Lapine
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1984)
Songs About Heat: “It’s Hot Up Here”
Musicals with Summer Vibes
Music/Lyrics: Various Book: Woody Allen
Musical Type: Contemporary/Jukebox (2014)
Summery Songs: “The Hot Dog Song”
Music: Arthur Schwartz Lyrics/Book: Dorothy Fields Book: Herbert Fields
Musical Type: Golden Age (1954)
Summery Songs: “The Sea Song”, “Coney Island Boat”
Music/Lyrics: Jimmy Buffett Book: Greg Garcia, Mike O’Malley
Musical Type: Contemporary/Jukebox (2017)
Summery Songs: “Coconut Telegraph Medley”, “Margaritaville”
Music/Lyrics/Book: William Finn Book: James Lapine
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1992)
Summery Songs: “The Baseball Game”
Music: Tom Kitt Lyrics: Michael Korie Book: James Lapine
Musical Type: Contemporary (2021)
Summery Songs: “A Sapphire Dragonfly”, “Flying Over Sunset”
Music: Ray Henderson Lyrics/Book: B.G. DeSylva Lyrics: Lew Brown Book: Laurence Schwab
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1927)
Summery Songs: “Keep Your Sunny Side Up”, “Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries”
Music/Lyrics: Jason Robert Brown Book: Andrew Bergman
Musical Type: Contemporary (2013)
Summery Songs: “Out of the Sun”, “Hawaii”
Music/Lyrics: Lin-Manuel Miranda Book: Quiara Alegría Hudes
Musical Type: Contemporary (2005)
Summery Songs: “Piragua”, “When the Sun Goes Down”
Music/Lyrics: Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman, George Stiles, Anthony Drewe Book: Julian Fellowes
Musical Type: 1964 Film/Contemporary Musical (2004)
Summery Songs: “Let’s Go Fly a Kite”, “Jolly Holiday”
Music: Noel Gay Lyrics/Book: Douglas Furber, L. Arthur Rose
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1937)
Summery Songs: “The Sun Has Got His Hat On”
Music: Stephen Flaherty Lyrics/Book: Lynn Ahrens
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1990)
Summery Songs: “Waiting for Life”
Music/Lyrics/Book: Julian Slade Lyrics/Book: Dorothy Reynolds
Musical Type: Golden Age (1954)
Summery Songs: “I Sit in the Sun”, “Sand in My Eyes”
Music/Book: Stephen Flaherty Lyrics/Book: Lynn Ahrens
Musical Type: Contemporary (2000)
Summery Songs: “Mayzie in Palm Beach”
Music: Jule Styne Lyrics: Bob Merrill Book: Peter Stone
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1972)
Summery Songs: “Sun on My Face”
Music: Alan Menken Lyrics: Howard Ashman, Glenn Slater Book: Doug Wright
Musical Type: 1989 Film/Contemporary Musical (2007)
Summery Songs: “Under the Sea”
Want a weekly list of stagey surprises?!
Which of these summer musicals is your favorite?
Or have you ever played a role in any of the above summer 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!
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.