Musical Lists

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.



21 Chump Street

Music/Lyrics: Lin-Manuel Miranda

Musical Type: Contemporary (2014)

Genre: Dramedy


Bat Boy

Music/Lyrics: Laurence O’Keefe  Book: Keythe Farley, Brian Flemming

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1997)

Genre: Comedic Horror


Blood Brothers

Music/Lyrics/Book: Willy Russell

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1983)

Genre: Drama


Bonnie & Clyde

Music: Frank Wildhorn  Lyrics: Don Black  Book: Ivan Menchell

Musical Type: Contemporary (2009)

Genre: Drama


Cabaret

Music: John Kander  Lyrics: Fred Ebb  Book: Joe Masteroff

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1966)

Genre: Drama


Carmen Jones

Music: Georges Bizet  Lyrics/Book: Oscar Hammerstein II

Musical Type: Golden Age (1943)

Genre: Drama


Carousel

Music: Richard Rodgers  Lyrics/Book: Oscar Hammerstein II

Musical Type: Golden Age (1945)

Genre: Romantic Drama


Cyrano

Music: Michael J. Lewis  Lyrics/Book: Anthony Burgess

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1973)

Genre: Romantic Drama


Falsettos

Music/Lyrics/Book: William Finn  Book: James Lapine

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1992)

Genre: Drama


Fame

Music: Steve Margoshes  Lyrics: Jacques Levy  Book: José Fernandez

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1988)

Genre: Dramedy


Floyd Collins

Music/Lyrics: Adam Guettel  Book: Tina Landau

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1994)

Genre: Drama


Fly By Night

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

Musical Type: Contemporary (2014)

Genre: Dark Comedy


Frankenstein

Music: Mark Baron  Lyrics/Book: Jeffrey Jackson

Musical Type: Contemporary (2007)

Genre: Horror


Hadestown

Music/Lyrics/Book: Anaïs Mitchell

Musical Type: Contemporary (2006)

Genre: Fantasy / Romance


Hamilton

Music/Lyrics/Book: Lin-Manuel Miranda

Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)

Genre: Biography


Hannah…1939

Music/Lyrics/Book: Bob Merrill

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1990)

Genre: Drama


Into the Woods

Music/Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim  Book: James Lapine

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1986)

Genre: Fairy Tale


Jesus Christ Superstar

Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber  Lyrics: Tim Rice

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1970)

Genre: Religious Drama


Juno

Music/Lyrics: Marc Blitzstein  Book: Joseph Stein

Musical Type: Golden Age (1959)

Genre: Drama


Kiss of the Spider Woman

Music: John Kander  Lyrics: Fred Ebb  Book: Terrence McNally

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1992)

Genre: Drama


Les Misérables

Music/Lyrics: Claude-Michel Schönberg  Lyrics: Alan Boublil, Herbert Kretzmer, Jean-Marc Natel

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1980)

Genre: Drama


Love Never Dies

Music/Book: Andrew Lloyd Webber  Lyrics/Book: Glenn Slater  Book: Ben Elton, Frederick Forsyth

Musical Type: Contemporary (2010)

Genre: Drama


Love Story

Music/Lyrics: Howard Goodall  Lyrics/Book: Stephen Clark

Musical Type: Contemporary (2010)

Genre: Romantic Drama


Mack & Mabel

Music/Lyrics: Jerry Herman  Book: Michael Stewart

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1974)

Genre: Drama


Maggie May

Music/Lyrics: Lionel Bart  Book: Alun Owen

Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1964)

Genre: Romantic Drama


Miss Saigon

Music: Claude-Michel Schönberg  Lyrics: Alain Boublil, Richard Maltby, Jr.

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1989)

Genre: Drama


Parade

Music/Lyrics: Jason Robert Brown  Book: Alfred Uhry

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1998)

Genre: Drama


Rent

Music/Lyrics/Book: Jonathan Larson

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1996)

Genre: Drama


Shenandoah

Music: Gary Geld  Lyrics/Book: Peter Udell  Book: Philip Rose, James Lee Barrett

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1974)

Genre: Drama


Spring Awakening

Music: Duncan Sheik  Lyrics/Book: Steven Sater

Musical Type: Contemporary (2006)

Genre: Drama


Summer of ’42

Music/Lyrics: David Kirshenbaum  Book: Hunter Foster

Musical Type: Contemporary (2000)

Genre: Romantic Drama


Sunset Boulevard

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

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1991)

Genre: Drama


Sweeney Todd

Music/Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim  Book: Hugh Wheeler

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1979)

Genre: Horror


Swept Away

Music/Lyrics: The Avett Brothers  Book: John Logan

Musical Type: Contemporary (2022)

Genre: Drama


The Great Gatsby

Music: Jason Howland  Lyrics: Nathan Tysen  Book: Kait Kerrigan

Musical Type: Contemporary (2023)

Genre: Drama


The Hatpin

Music: Peter Rutherford  Lyrics/Book: James Millar

Musical Type: Contemporary (2008)

Genre: Drama


The Last Five Years

Music/Lyrics/Book: Jason Robert Brown

Musical Type: Contemporary (2001)

Genre: Romantic Drama


Titanic

Music/Lyrics: Maury Yeston  Book: Peter Stone

Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1997)

Genre: Drama


West Side Story

Music: Leonard Bernstein  Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim  Book: Arthur Laurents

Musical Type: Golden Age (1957)

Genre: Romantic Drama



Want more like this? Join Theatre Thursday for musical theatre updates and surprises!

Theatre Thursday Sign Up.

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 ListShe holds a BA in theatre and a TESOL drama certificate, with experience working and interning in Broadway and Off-Broadway theaters.

Photo of Stacy Karyn

Leave a Reply