Jewish-Composed Musicals

BROADWAY AND HOLLYWOOD MUSICALS WRITTEN BY JEWS

THIS WEBPAGE IS PART OF THE JINFO.ORG WEBSITE.

w = words m = music

ANNIE, Martin Charnin (w) and Charles Strouse (m)
ANNIE GET YOUR GUN, Irving Berlin (w&m)
APPLAUSE, Lee Adams (w) and Charles Strouse (m)
AS THOUSANDS CHEER, Irving Berlin (w&m)
BABES IN ARMS, Lorenz Hart (w) and Richard Rodgers (m)
BARNUM, Michael Stewart (w) and Cy Coleman (m)
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, Howard Ashman (w) and Alan Menken (m)
BELLS ARE RINGING, Betty Comden/Adolph Green (w) and Jule Styne (m)
THE BOYS FROM SYRACUSE, Lorenz Hart (w) and Richard Rodgers (m)
BRIGADOON, Alan Jay Lerner (w) and Frederick Loewe^* (m)
BYE BYE BIRDIE, Lee Adams (w) and Charles Strouse (m)
CABARET, Fred Ebb (w) and John Kander (m)
CAMELOT, Alan Jay Lerner (w) and Frederick Loewe^* (m)
CANDIDE, Stephen Sondheim (w) and Leonard Bernstein (m) [lyrics also by Richard Wilbur (non-Jewish)]
CARNIVAL!, Bob Merrill (w&m)
CAROUSEL, Oscar Hammerstein II^* (w) and Richard Rodgers (m)
CHICAGO, Fred Ebb (w) and John Kander (m)
A CHORUS LINE, Edward Kleban (w) and Marvin Hamlisch (m)
CITY OF ANGELS, David Zippel (w) and Cy Coleman (m)
COMPANY, Stephen Sondheim (w&m)
A CONNECTICUT YANKEE, Lorenz Hart (w) and Richard Rodgers (m)
CRAZY FOR YOU, Ira Gershwin (w) and George Gershwin (m)
DAMN YANKEES, Richard Adler and Jerry Ross (w&m)
THE DESERT SONG, Oscar Hammerstein II^*/Otto Harbach ¹/Frank Mandel ² (w) and Sigmund Romberg (m)
DO I HEAR A WALTZ?, Stephen Sondheim (w) and Richard Rodgers (m)
DREAMGIRLS, Henry Krieger (m)
FALSETTOS, William Finn (w&m)
FAME, Jacques Levy (w) and Steve Margoshes (m)
FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, Sheldon Harnick (w) and Jerry Bock (m)
FINIAN'S RAINBOW, E. Y. Harburg (w) and Burton Lane (m)
FIORELLO, Sheldon Harnick (w) and Jerry Bock (m)
FLOWER DRUM SONG, Oscar Hammerstein II^* (w) and Richard Rodgers (m)
FOLLIES, Stephen Sondheim (w&m)
42ND STREET, Al Dubin (w) [music by Harry Warren (non-Jewish)]
FUNNY GIRL, Bob Merrill (w) and Jule Styne (m)
A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM, Stephen Sondheim (w&m)
GIGI, Alan Jay Lerner (w) and Frederick Loewe^* (m)
GODSPELL, Stephen Schwartz (w&m)
THE GOODBYE GIRL, David Zippel (w) and Marvin Hamlisch (m)
GUYS AND DOLLS, Frank Loesser (w&m)
GYPSY, Stephen Sondheim (w) and Jule Styne (m)
HELLO, DOLLY, Jerry Herman (w&m)
HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING, Frank Loesser (w&m)
I CAN GET IT FOR YOU WHOLESALE, Harold Rome (w&m)
JEKYLL AND HYDE, Frank Wildhorn (m)
THE KING AND I, Oscar Hammerstein II^* (w) and Richard Rodgers (m)
KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN, Fred Ebb (w) and John Kander (m)
LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, Jerry Herman (w&m)
LADY, BE GOOD!, Ira Gershwin (w) and George Gershwin (m)
LES MISERABLES, Alain Boublil ³/Herbert Kretzmer (w) and Claude-Michel Schönberg ³ (m)
A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, Stephen Sondheim (w&m)
LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, Howard Ashman (w) and Alan Menken (m)
LOST IN THE STARS, Kurt Weill (m) [lyrics by Maxwell Anderson (non-Jewish)]
MAME, Jerry Herman (w&m)
MAN OF LA MANCHA, Joe Darion ⁴ (w) and Mitch Leigh ⁵ (m)
MARTIN GUERRE, Alain Boublil ³ (w) and Claude-Michel Schönberg ³ (m)
MARY POPPINS, Richard and Robert Sherman (w&m)
MILK AND HONEY, Jerry Herman (w&m)
MISS SAIGON, Alain Boublil ³ (w) and Claude-Michel Schönberg ³ (m)
THE MOST HAPPY FELLA, Frank Loesser (w&m)
MY FAIR LADY, Alan Jay Lerner (w) and Frederick Loewe^* (m)
OKLAHOMA!, Oscar Hammerstein II^* (w) and Richard Rodgers (m)
OH, KAY!, Ira Gershwin (w) and George Gershwin (m)
OF THEE I SING, Ira Gershwin (w) and George Gershwin (m)
OLIVER!, Lionel Bart (w&m)
ON THE TOWN, Betty Comden/Adolph Green (w) and Leonard Bernstein (m)
ON THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, Betty Comden/Adolph Green (w) and Cy Coleman (m)
ON YOUR TOES, Lorenz Hart (w) and Richard Rodgers (m)
PAJAMA GAME, Richard Adler and Jerry Ross (w&m)
PAL JOEY, Lorenz Hart (w) and Richard Rodgers (m)
PAINT YOUR WAGON, Alan Jay Lerner (w) and Frederick Loewe^* (m)
PETER PAN, Betty Comden/Adolph Green/Carolyn Leigh (w) and Mark Charlap/Jule Styne (m)
PIPPIN, Stephen Schwartz (w&m)
PORGY AND BESS, Ira Gershwin (w) and George Gershwin (m) [lyrics also by Du Bose Heyward (non-Jewish)]
THE PRODUCERS, Mel Brooks (w&m)
PROMISES, PROMISES, Hal David (w) and Burt Bacharach (m)
PURLIE, Peter Udell (w) and Gary Geld (m)
RAGTIME, Lynn Ahrens (w) [music by Stephen Flaherty (non-Jewish)]
RENT, Jonathan Larson (w&m)
1776, Sherman Edwards (w&m)
SHENANDOAH, Peter Udell (w) and Gary Geld (m)
SHOW BOAT, Oscar Hammerstein II^* (w) and Jerome Kern (m)
THE SOUND OF MUSIC, Oscar Hammerstein II^* (w) and Richard Rodgers (m)
SOUTH PACIFIC, Oscar Hammerstein II^* (w) and Richard Rodgers (m)
STATE FAIR, Oscar Hammerstein II^* (w) and Richard Rodgers (m)
STRIKE UP THE BAND, Ira Gershwin (w) and George Gershwin (m)
SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, Stephen Sondheim (w&m)
SUNSET BOULEVARD, Don Black ³ (w) [lyrics also by Christopher Hampton (non-Jewish) and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber (non-Jewish)]
SWEENEY TODD, Stephen Sondheim (w&m)
SWEET CHARITY, Dorothy Fields (w) and Cy Coleman (m)
THEY'RE PLAYING OUR SONG, Carole Bayer Sager (w) and Marvin Hamlisch (m)
THREEPENNY OPERA, Kurt Weill (m) [play and lyrics by Bertolt Brecht (non-Jewish)]
TITANIC, Maury Yeston (w&m)
UP IN CENTRAL PARK, Dorothy Fields (w) and Sigmund Romberg (m)
WEST SIDE STORY, Stephen Sondheim (w) and Leonard Bernstein (m)
THE WIZARD OF OZ, E. Y. Harburg (w) and Harold Arlen (m)
WONDERFUL TOWN, Betty Comden/Adolph Green (w) and Leonard Bernstein (m)
ZORBA, Fred Ebb (w) and John Kander (m)

NOTES
1. See "Sultans of Song, Part II," by Paul Zollo in Reform Judaism Magazine, Spring 2003 (third to last paragraph of section on Jerome Kern): http://reformjudaismmag.net/03spring/sultan.shtml. Zollo's statement concerning Otto Harbach may, however, be incorrect.
2. See The Concise Dictionary of American Jewish Biography: Volume Two, edited by Jacob Rader Marcus and Judith M. Daniels (Carlson Publishing, Brooklyn, NY, 1994, p. 412).
3. See Broadway Babies Say Goodnight: Musicals Then and Now, by Mark Steyn (Routledge, NY, 1999, p. 87).
4. See biography in Marquis Who's Who in America.
5. Born Irwin Michnick.

* Oscar Hammerstein II and Frederick Loewe had Jewish fathers.

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