Musical lists

Golden Age Broadway musicals

Broadway's Golden Age is usually dated from Oklahoma! in 1943 through the 1960s, when book musicals with songs that move the story forward became the standard. It produced Rodgers and Hammerstein classics like South Pacific and The King and I, along with Guys and Dolls, My Fair Lady, The Music Man, Gypsy, and Fiddler on the Roof. A few later shows built on Golden Age songs, such as 42nd Street and the 2013 Cinderella, are grouped here as well.

Each show below links to a guide with the plot, songs, and characters. Many of these shows remain favorites for schools and community theatres, so the page is a good place to start if you are choosing a classic to perform or simply want to know the standards.

29 musicals on this list.

1920s

Show Boat1927 · Jerome Kern · Golden AgeShow Boat is a groundbreaking musical drama set aboard a Mississippi River show boat, tracing decades of love, loss, and change among its performers and crew.

1940s

Oklahoma!1943 · Richard Rodgers · Golden AgeOklahoma! is the landmark 1943 musical that reshaped what a Broadway show could be, fusing story, song, and dance into a single dramatic whole.
On the Town1944 · Leonard Bernstein · Golden AgeOn the Town is a 1944 musical comedy that follows three sailors on a whirlwind twenty four hour shore leave in New York City…
Carousel1945 · Richard Rodgers · Golden AgeCarousel follows a doomed carnival barker and the millworker who loves him in a coastal Maine town, one of Rodgers and Hammerstein's boldest and most emotionally complex…
Brigadoon1947 · Frederick Loewe · Golden AgeBrigadoon follows two American tourists who stumble upon a mystical Scottish village that appears out of the mist for only one day every hundred years.
Finian's Rainbow1947 · Burton Lane · Golden AgeFinian's Rainbow is a 1947 musical fable about an Irish immigrant who buries a stolen leprechaun's gold near Fort Knox, with music by Burton Lane, lyrics by E.Y.
Kiss Me, Kate1948 · Cole Porter · Golden AgeKiss Me, Kate follows a bickering divorced acting couple who are forced to work out their real life drama while performing a musical version of Shakespeare's The Taming…
South Pacific1949 · Richard Rodgers · Golden AgeSouth Pacific is one of the great achievements of the Golden Age of Broadway, a romantic and morally serious musical set against the backdrop of World War II.

1950s

Guys and Dolls1950 · Frank Loesser · Golden AgeGuys and Dolls is a classic Broadway comedy about gamblers, showgirls, and mismatched romance on the streets of 1940s New York.
The King and I1951 · Richard Rodgers · Golden AgeThe King and I is a Rodgers and Hammerstein classic that pairs a sweeping romantic score with a story of two strong-willed people from very different worlds finding…
Peter Pan1954 · Charlap & Styne · Golden AgePeter Pan brings J.M. Barrie's timeless tale of the boy who never grows up to musical life, whisking the Darling children off to the eternal adventures of Neverland.
The Pajama Game1954 · Adler & Ross · Golden AgeThe Pajama Game is a 1954 workplace romance and labor comedy set inside a Midwestern pajama factory, pairing a new superintendent against the union grievance chair he…
Damn Yankees1955 · Adler & Ross · Golden AgeDamn Yankees is the classic baseball comedy that asks how far a devoted fan might go for a pennant, wrapping a Faustian bargain in Golden Age Broadway charm.
My Fair Lady1956 · Frederick Loewe · Golden AgeMy Fair Lady is the classic Golden Age musical that transforms George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion into one of Broadway's most elegant and enduring romances.
The Music Man1957 · Meredith Willson · Golden AgeThe Music Man is a warm, comic slice of Americana about a charming con artist whose scheme to swindle a small Iowa town gets complicated by an unexpected dose of…
West Side Story1957 · Leonard Bernstein · Golden AgeWest Side Story is a landmark of the Golden Age of Broadway, transposing the tragedy of star-crossed lovers into a story of rival gangs on the streets of 1950s New York.
Gypsy1959 · Jule Styne · Golden AgeGypsy is a dramatic, music-driven look at the fierce stage mother Rose and her two daughters as they climb through the fading world of vaudeville.
The Sound of Music1959 · Richard Rodgers · Golden AgeThe Sound of Music is a beloved Golden Age classic that blends soaring melodies with the true story of a family finding courage and unity in the shadow of history.

1960s

Bye Bye Birdie1960 · Charles Strouse · Golden AgeBye Bye Birdie is a 1960 musical comedy that pokes fun at rock and roll mania and small town American life through the eyes of one Ohio family caught up in a media…
Camelot1960 · Frederick Loewe · Golden AgeCamelot dramatizes the rise and fall of King Arthur's court, tracing his idealistic vision of justice through the love triangle with Guenevere and Lancelot that…
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying1961 · Frank Loesser · Golden AgeHow to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying is a 1961 satirical musical that follows an ambitious window washer who claws his way to the top of a corporation using…
Oliver!1963 · Lionel Bart · Golden AgeOliver! brings Charles Dickens' tale of a poor orphan boy to musical life, spinning grim Victorian London into a score full of warmth, wit, and unforgettable melody.
Fiddler on the Roof1964 · Jerry Bock · Golden AgeFiddler on the Roof is the beloved Golden Age musical about a Jewish milkman and his family navigating tradition, love, and upheaval in a small Eastern European village.
Funny Girl1964 · Jule Styne · Golden AgeFunny Girl tells the story of comedienne and singer Fanny Brice, tracing her rise from a scrappy Lower East Side kid to one of the biggest stars of the Ziegfeld Follies.
Hello, Dolly!1964 · Jerry Herman · Golden Age"Hello, Dolly!" follows Dolly Gallagher Levi, a New York matchmaker who sets out to arrange a match for a wealthy Yonkers merchant and ends up angling for him herself.
Man of La Mancha1965 · Mitch Leigh · Golden AgeMan of La Mancha is the Golden Age classic that reimagines the legend of Don Quixote as a story within a story, staged inside a Spanish prison.
Mame1966 · Jerry Herman · Golden AgeMame is a 1966 musical about a flamboyant, free spirited New York socialite who takes in her orphaned nephew and raises him through decades of adventure, upheaval…

1980s

42nd Street1980 · Harry Warren · Golden Age42nd Street is the quintessential backstage musical, a glittering tribute to the grit and glamour of putting on a Broadway show during the Great Depression.

2010s

Cinderella2013 · Richard Rodgers · Golden AgeRodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella brings the classic fairy tale to the Broadway stage, pairing a beloved 1957 television score with a wittier…