Broadway Jukebox: 50 Showtunes About Growing Up

A brand new coming-of-age musical begins performance on Broadway tonight! The Outsiders, the new musical based on the seminal novel by S.E. Hinton & Francis Ford Coppola’s landmark motion picture, begins previews at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre ahead of opening night on April 11, 2024.

In Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1967, the hardened hearts and aching souls of Ponyboy Curtis, Johnny Cade and their chosen family of ‘outsiders’ are in a fight for survival and a quest for purpose in a world that may never accept them. A story of the bonds that brothers share and the hopes we all hold on to, this gripping new musical reinvigorates the timeless tale of ‘haves and have nots’, of protecting what’s yours and fighting for what could be.

To mark the special day, we've rounded up 50 showtunes about growing up, growing old, and gaining perspective. Enjoy songs from musicals like: Matilda, Pippin, Merrily We Roll Along, Into the Woods, Little Women, Legally Blonde, Beauty and the Beast, Mean Girls, Once on This Island, and more!

Did we miss one of your favorites? Tell us which Broadway song about growing up stands out to you.

Want more showtunes? Study up on Broadway history with music from the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s and 2020s. Check out our favorite Overtures, Opening numbers, 'I Want' songs, Act 1 finales, Act 2 openers, 11 o'clock numbers, and Finales. And study up on the basics of Broadway with Broadway 101, Broadway 201, Broadway 301, Broadway 401, and Never on Broadway.

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