The 57 Most Underrated Musicals of All Time
Looking for musicals that deserve more recognition? From hidden gems to overlooked masterpieces, these shows, in my opinion, have flown under the radar. Here’s the full list of underrated musicals, sorted by time period.
And here are my personal lists of favorite cast albums and top musicals!
Contents:
Underrated Golden Age Musicals
Underrated Jazz Age Musicals
Music/Lyrics: Cole Porter Book: Romney Brent, Steve Mackes, Michael Whaley
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1933)
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Music: Sigmund Romberg Lyrics/Book: Oscar Hammerstein II, Frank Mandel, Laurence Schwab
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1927)
Genre: Adventure
Music/Lyrics: Cole Porter Book: Herbert Fields
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1930)
Genre: Satire
Underrated Golden Age Musicals
Music: Richard Rodgers Lyrics/Book: Oscar Hammerstein II
Musical Type: Golden Age (1947)
Genre: Dramedy
Music/Lyrics: Harold Arlen Lyrics/Book: Truman Capote
Musical Type: Golden Age (1954)
Genre: Romantic Drama
Underrated 1960s Musicals
Music: Charles Strouse Lyrics: Lee Adams Book: Clifford Odets, William Gibson
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1964)
Genre: Drama
Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris
Music/Lyrics: Jacques Brel Book: Eric Blau, Mort Shuman
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1968)
Genre: Revue
Music/Lyrics: Robert Wright, George Forrest Book: Peter Stone
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1961)
Genre: Romantic Drama
Music: Ron Grainer Lyrics/Book: Ronald Millar
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1964)
Genre: Romantic Drama
Music: Jerry Bock Lyrics: Sheldon Harnick Book: Joe Masteroff
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1963)
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Music/Lyrics: Harold Rome Book: Howard Da Silva, Felix Leon
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1965)
Genre: Dramedy
Music: John Kander Lyrics: Fred Ebb Book: Joseph Stein
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1968)
Genre: Romantic Dramedy
Underrated 1970s Musicals
Music: Michael J. Lewis Lyrics/Book: Anthony Burgess
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1973)
Genre: Romantic Drama
Music: Robert Waldman Lyrics/Book: Alfred Uhry
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1975)
Genre: Fairy Tale / Western
Music/Lyrics/Adaptation: Stephen Schwartz Music/Lyrics: Craig Carnelia, Micki Grant, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mary Rodgers, Susan Birkenhead, James Taylor Adaptation: Nina Faso
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1977)
Genre: Dramedy
Underrated 1980s Musicals
Music: Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus Lyrics: Tim Rice Book: Richard Nelson
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1984)
Genre: Drama
Music/Lyrics: Jerry Herman Book: Harvey Fierstein
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1983)
Genre: Dramedy
Music/Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim Book: George Furth
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1981)
Genre: Dramedy
Music/Lyrics/Book: John Foley, Mark Hardwick, Debra Monk, Cass Morgan, John Schimmel, Jim Wann
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1981)
Genre: Dramedy
Music/Lyrics/Book: Mbongeni Ngema Additional Songs: Hugh Masekela
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1987)
Genre: Historical
Music/Lyrics: Tom Lehrer Adaptation: Cameron Mackintosh, Robin Ray
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1980)
Genre: Comedy / Revue / Satire
Underrated 1990s Musicals
Music/Lyrics/Book: William Finn Book: James Lapine
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1998)
Genre: Semi-Autobiography
Music/Lyrics: Adam Guettel Book: Tina Landau
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1994)
Genre: Drama
Music/Lyrics: Jason Robert Brown Book: Alfred Uhry
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1998)
Genre: Drama
Music: Stephen Flaherty Lyrics: Lynn Ahrens Book: Terrence McNally
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1996)
Genre: Drama
Music: Marvin Laird Lyrics/Book: Joel Paley
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1992)
Genre: Dark Comedy
Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber Lyrics/Book: Don Black, Christopher Hampton
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1991)
Genre: Drama
Music/Lyrics: Maury Yeston Book: Peter Stone
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1997)
Genre: Drama
Music/Lyrics/Book: Paul Simon Lyrics/Book: Derek Walcott
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1998)
Genre: Biography
Music/Book: Cy Coleman Lyrics/Book: Ira Gasman Book: David Newman
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1990)
Genre: Drama
Underrated 2000s Musicals
Music: Robert Reale Lyrics/Book: Willie Reale
Musical Type: Contemporary (2002)
Genre: Theatre for Young Audiences
Music/Lyrics/Book: Michael John LaChiusa
Musical Type: Contemporary (2006)
Genre: Drama
Music/Lyrics: Pet Shop Boys Book: Jonathan Harvey
Musical Type: Contemporary (2001)
Genre: Drama
Music: Scott Frankel Lyrics: Michael Korie Book: Doug Wright
Musical Type: Contemporary (2006)
Genre: Biography
Music/Lyrics: Steven Cheslik-DeMeyer, Alan Stevens Hewitt Music/Lyrics/Book: Tim Maner
Musical Type: Contemporary (2009)
Genre: Horror
Music/Lyrics/Book: Stew Music: Heidi Rodewald
Musical Type: Contemporary (2006)
Genre: Dramedy
Music: Marvin Hamlisch Lyrics: Craig Carnelia Book: John Guare
Musical Type: Contemporary (2002)
Genre: Drama
Music: A.R. Rahman, Christopher Nightingale, Värttinä Lyrics/Book: Matthew Warchus, Shaun McKenna
Musical Type: Contemporary (2006)
Genre: Fantasy
Music/Lyrics: Neil Bartram Book: Brian Hill
Musical Type: Contemporary (2006)
Genre: Drama
Music/Lyrics/Book: Michael John LaChiusa Book: George C. Wolfe
Musical Type: Contemporary (2000)
Genre: Drama
Underrated 2010s Musicals
Music: Duncan Sheik Lyrics/Book: Steven Sater Book: Jessie Nelson
Musical Type: Contemporary (2019)
Genre: Fantasy
Music/Lyrics/Book: Jay Kuo Book: Marc Acito, Lorenzo Thione
Musical Type: Contemporary (2012)
Genre: Drama
Music/Lyrics: Duncan Sheik Book: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Musical Type: Contemporary (2013)
Genre: Horror
Music/Lyrics: George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin Book: Craig Lucas
Musical Type: 1951 Film/Contemporary Musical (2014)
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Music: Lucy Simon Lyrics: Michael Korie, Amy Powers Book: Michael Weller
Musical Type: Contemporary (2011)
Genre: Drama
Music/Lyrics/Book: Yve Blake
Musical Type: Contemporary (2019)
Genre: Dramedy
Music/Lyrics: Jason Robert Brown Book: Andrew Bergman
Musical Type: Contemporary (2013)
Genre: Comedy
Music/Lyrics/Book: The Bengsons Book: Sarah Gancher
Musical Type: Contemporary (2017)
Genre: Semi-Autobiography
Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
Music/Lyrics/Book: Dave Malloy
Musical Type: Contemporary (2012)
Genre: Drama
Music/Lyrics/Book: Jonathan Christenson
Musical Type: Contemporary (2010)
Genre: Horror / Semi-Biography
Music/Lyrics/Book: Dave Malloy
Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)
Genre: Drama
Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future
Music/Lyrics/Book: Andrew R. Butler
Musical Type: Contemporary (2018)
Genre: Science Fiction
Music/Lyrics/Book: Brooke Maxwell, Jacob Richmond
Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)
Genre: Dark Comedy / Horror
Music/Lyrics: Jason Robert Brown Book: Marsha Norman
Musical Type: Contemporary (2013)
Genre: Romantic Drama
Music/Lyrics/Book: Paul Shapera
Musical Type: Contemporary (2012)
Genre: Science Fiction
Music/Lyrics: Sting Book: Brian Yorkey, John Logan, Lorne Campbell
Musical Type: Contemporary (2014)
Genre: Drama
Music/Lyrics: Matt Sax Lyrics/Book: Eric Rosen
Musical Type: Contemporary (2010)
Genre: Science Fiction
Related Posts
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Which of these underrated musicals is your favorite?
Or have you ever played a role in any of the above underrated musicals? 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.
