30+ Tragic Musicals – The Full List of Shows
Looking for a musical tragedy that explores themes of loss, heartache, and devastation? From tales of love and sacrifice to stories of struggle, these musical theatre tragedies are not known for their happy endings. Here’s the full list of tragic musicals, sorted alphabetically.
Tragic Musicals
Music/Lyrics: Lin-Manuel Miranda
Musical Type: Contemporary (2014)
Genre: Dramedy
Music/Lyrics: Laurence O’Keefe Book: Keythe Farley, Brian Flemming
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1997)
Genre: Comedic Horror
Music/Lyrics/Book: Willy Russell
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1983)
Genre: Drama
Music: Frank Wildhorn Lyrics: Don Black Book: Ivan Menchell
Musical Type: Contemporary (2009)
Genre: Drama
Music: John Kander Lyrics: Fred Ebb Book: Joe Masteroff
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1966)
Genre: Drama
Music: Georges Bizet Lyrics/Book: Oscar Hammerstein II
Musical Type: Golden Age (1943)
Genre: Drama
Music: Richard Rodgers Lyrics/Book: Oscar Hammerstein II
Musical Type: Golden Age (1945)
Genre: Romantic Drama
Music: Michael J. Lewis Lyrics/Book: Anthony Burgess
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1973)
Genre: Romantic Drama
Music/Lyrics/Book: William Finn Book: James Lapine
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1992)
Genre: Drama
Music: Steve Margoshes Lyrics: Jacques Levy Book: José Fernandez
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1988)
Genre: Dramedy
Music/Lyrics: Adam Guettel Book: Tina Landau
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1994)
Genre: Drama
Music/Lyrics/Book: Kim Rosenstock, Will Connolly, Michael Mitnick
Musical Type: Contemporary (2014)
Genre: Dark Comedy
Music: Mark Baron Lyrics/Book: Jeffrey Jackson
Musical Type: Contemporary (2007)
Genre: Horror
Music/Lyrics/Book: Anaïs Mitchell
Musical Type: Contemporary (2006)
Genre: Fantasy / Romance
Music/Lyrics/Book: Lin-Manuel Miranda
Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)
Genre: Biography
Music/Lyrics/Book: Bob Merrill
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1990)
Genre: Drama
Music/Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim Book: James Lapine
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1986)
Genre: Fairy Tale
Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber Lyrics: Tim Rice
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1970)
Genre: Religious Drama
Music/Lyrics: Marc Blitzstein Book: Joseph Stein
Musical Type: Golden Age (1959)
Genre: Drama
Music: John Kander Lyrics: Fred Ebb Book: Terrence McNally
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1992)
Genre: Drama
Music/Lyrics: Claude-Michel Schönberg Lyrics: Alan Boublil, Herbert Kretzmer, Jean-Marc Natel
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1980)
Genre: Drama
Music/Book: Andrew Lloyd Webber Lyrics/Book: Glenn Slater Book: Ben Elton, Frederick Forsyth
Musical Type: Contemporary (2010)
Genre: Drama
Music/Lyrics: Howard Goodall Lyrics/Book: Stephen Clark
Musical Type: Contemporary (2010)
Genre: Romantic Drama
Music/Lyrics: Jerry Herman Book: Michael Stewart
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1974)
Genre: Drama
Music/Lyrics: Lionel Bart Book: Alun Owen
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1964)
Genre: Romantic Drama
Music: Claude-Michel Schönberg Lyrics: Alain Boublil, Richard Maltby, Jr.
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1989)
Genre: Drama
Music/Lyrics: Jason Robert Brown Book: Alfred Uhry
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1998)
Genre: Drama
Music/Lyrics/Book: Jonathan Larson
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1996)
Genre: Drama
Music: Gary Geld Lyrics/Book: Peter Udell Book: Philip Rose, James Lee Barrett
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1974)
Genre: Drama
Music: Duncan Sheik Lyrics/Book: Steven Sater
Musical Type: Contemporary (2006)
Genre: Drama
Music/Lyrics: David Kirshenbaum Book: Hunter Foster
Musical Type: Contemporary (2000)
Genre: Romantic Drama
Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber Lyrics/Book: Don Black, Christopher Hampton
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1991)
Genre: Drama
Music/Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim Book: Hugh Wheeler
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1979)
Genre: Horror
Music/Lyrics: The Avett Brothers Book: John Logan
Musical Type: Contemporary (2022)
Genre: Drama
Music: Jason Howland Lyrics: Nathan Tysen Book: Kait Kerrigan
Musical Type: Contemporary (2023)
Genre: Drama
Music: Peter Rutherford Lyrics/Book: James Millar
Musical Type: Contemporary (2008)
Genre: Drama
Music/Lyrics/Book: Jason Robert Brown
Musical Type: Contemporary (2001)
Genre: Romantic Drama
Music/Lyrics: Maury Yeston Book: Peter Stone
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1997)
Genre: Drama
Music: Leonard Bernstein Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim Book: Arthur Laurents
Musical Type: Golden Age (1957)
Genre: Romantic Drama
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Which of these tragic musicals is your favorite?
Or is there a musical tragedy that you especially love? Feel free to share in the comments below! And if you enjoy exploring these lists, check out the musical database, where you can discover musicals organized by composer, theme, setting, and much 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 and a TESOL drama certificate, with experience working and interning in Broadway and Off-Broadway theaters.
