Summer Musicals
The following list includes summer musicals, including works set during the season or that reference summer in song. Additional musical lists are available in the musical database.
Summer Musicals
Music: Harvey Schmidt Lyrics: Tom Jones Book: N. Richard Nash
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1963)
Summery Songs: “Gonna Be Another Hot Day”
Music/Lyrics/Book: James Goldman, John Kander, William Goldman
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1962)
Summery Songs: “Summer is Over”
Music: Robert Reale Lyrics/Book: Willie Reale
Musical Type: Contemporary (2002)
Summery Songs: “Alone”, “The Kite”
Music/Lyrics: Norman Campbell Lyrics/Book: Donald Harron, Elaine Campbell, Mavor Moore
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1965)
Summery Songs: “Where Did the Summer Go To”, “Ice Cream”
Music/Lyrics: Irving Berlin Book: Moss Hart
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1933)
Summery Songs: “Heat Wave”
Music: Arthur Schwartz Lyrics/Book: Dorothy Fields Book: Herbert Fields
Musical Type: Golden Age (1954)
Summery Songs: “The Sea Song”, “Coney Island Boat”
Music: Richard Rodgers Lyrics/Book: Oscar Hammerstein II
Musical Type: Golden Age (1945)
Summery Songs: “June Is Bustin’ Out All Over”
Music/Lyrics: Jimmy Buffett Book: Greg Garcia, Mike O’Malley
Musical Type: Contemporary (2017)
Summery Songs: “Coconut Telegraph Medley”, “Margaritaville”
Music/Lyrics/Book: William Finn Book: James Lapine
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1992)
Summery Songs: “The Baseball Game”
Music: Tom Kitt Lyrics: Michael Korie Book: James Lapine
Musical Type: Contemporary (2021)
Summery Songs: “Flying Over Sunset”
Music: Ray Henderson Lyrics/Book: Buddy 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/Book: Jim Jacobs, Warren Casey
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1971)
Summery Songs: “Summer Nights”
Music/Lyrics/Book: Frank Loesser Book: Lesser Samuels
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1960)
Summery Songs: “Summertime Love”
Music/Lyrics: Irving Berlin Book: Gordon Greenberg, Chad Hodge
Musical Type: 1942 Film / Contemporary Musical (2014)
Summery Songs: “Song of Freedom”, “Let’s Say It With Firecrackers”
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: Cole Porter Book: Bella Spewack, Samuel Spewack
Musical Type: Golden Age (1948)
Summery Songs: “Too Darn Hot”
Music: Stephen Flaherty Lyrics: Lynn Ahrens
Musical Type: Contemporary (2020)
Summery Songs: “June”, “July”, “August”
Music/Lyrics: Howard Goodall Lyrics/Book: Stephen Clark
Musical Type: Contemporary (2010)
Summery Songs: “Summer’s Day”
Music/Lyrics: Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus Book: Catherine Johnson
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1999)
Summery Songs: “Our Last Summer”
Music/Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim Concept: Craig Lucas, Norman René
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1980)
Summery Songs: “The Girls of Summer”
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/Lyrics: Billy Joel Concept: Twyla Tharp
Musical Type: Contemporary (2002)
Summery Songs: “Summer, Highland Falls”
Music: Stephen Flaherty Lyrics/Book: Lynn Ahrens
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1990)
Summery Songs: “Waiting for Life”
Music: George Gershwin Lyrics: Ira Gershwin Libretto: DuBose Heyward, Dorothy Heyward
Musical Type: Opera (1935)
Summery Songs: “Summertime”
Music: Charles Strouse Lyrics: Stephen Schwartz Book: Joseph Stein Revisions: David Thompson
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1986)
Summery Songs: “Blame It on the Summer Night”, “Three Sunny Rooms”
Music/Lyrics: Joy Huerta, Benjamin Velez Book: Lisa Loomer, Nell Benjamin
Musical Type: Contemporary (2023)
Summery Songs: “Flying Away”
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: Walter Kent Lyrics: Kim Gannon Book: Sally Benson
Musical Type: Golden Age (1951)
Summery Songs: “Things Are Gonna Hum This Summer”, “Summertime is Summertime”
Music: Duncan Sheik Lyrics/Book: Steven Sater
Musical Type: Contemporary (2006)
Summery Songs: “The Song of Purple Summer”
Music: Kurt Weill Lyrics: Langston Hughes Book: Elmer Rice
Musical Type: Opera (1947)
Summery Songs: “Ain’t It Awful, the Heat?”
Music/Lyrics: David Kirshenbaum Book: Hunter Foster
Musical Type: Contemporary (2000)
Summery Songs: “The Summer You’ll Always Remember”
Sunday in the Park with George
Music/Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim Book: James Lapine
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1984)
Summery Songs: “It’s Hot Up Here”
Music: Jerry Bock Lyrics: Sheldon Harnick Book: Joseph Stein, Will Glickman
Musical Type: Golden Age (1958)
Summery Songs: “Summer Is”
Music/Lyrics/Book: Paul Simon Lyrics/Book: Derek Walcott
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1998)
Summery Songs: “Satin Summer Nights”
Music/Lyrics/Book: Jason Robert Brown
Musical Type: Contemporary (2001)
Summery Songs: “A Summer in Ohio”
Music/Lyrics: Rob Rokicki Book: Joe Tracz
Musical Type: Contemporary (2014)
Summery Songs: “The Last Day of Summer”
Music: Alan Menken Lyrics: Howard Ashman, Glenn Slater Book: Doug Wright
Musical Type: 1989 Film/Contemporary Musical (2007)
Summery Songs: “Under the Sea”
Music/Lyrics/Book: Frank Loesser
Musical Type: Golden Age (1956)
Summery Songs: “Song of a Summer Night”, “Warm All Over”
Music: George Stiles Lyrics: Anthony Drewe Book: Julian Fellowes
Musical Type: Contemporary (2016)
Summery Songs: “One Swallow Does Not a Summer Make”
Music: Galt MacDermot Lyrics/Adaptation: John Guare Adaptation: Mel Shapiro
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1971)
Summery Songs: “Summer, Summer”
Music/Lyrics: Harold Rome Book: Arthur Kober, Joshua Logan
Musical Type: Golden Age (1952)
Summery Songs: “Summer Afternoon”
Last Reviewed: May 6, 2025