| Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album | |
| Awarded For: | Quality musical theater cast recordings |
| Presenter: | National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences |
| Country: | United States |
| Year: | The Music Man (1959) |
| Holder: | Some Like It Hot (2024) |
| Website: | grammy.com |
The Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album has been awarded since 1959. The award is generally given to the album's producers, principal vocalist(s), and the composer and lyricist if they have written a new score which comprises 51% or more playing time of the album, though the number of recipients has varied over the category's tenure.
The inaugural award was presented at the 1st Grammy Awards to composer Meredith Willson for his work on his 1957 musical The Music Man. Ethel Merman and Gwen Verdon became the first female recipients the in 1960 when they tied for Gypsy and Redhead. Stephen Sondheim and Thomas Z. Shepard hold the record for most wins in the category, with six each, while Sondheim holds the record for most nominations, with eleven. Tommy Krasker holds the record for most nominations without a win, with eight. To date, two-time recipient Phillipa Soo is the only woman to win more than one award (for Hamilton and Into the Woods). Among shows, cast recordings from Gypsy, West Side Story, Into the Woods, and have been nominated four times each respectively, while Gypsy, West Side Story, Into the Woods, and Les Misérables are the only shows to win twice. Anything Goes, Hello, Dolly!, The King and I, and My Fair Lady hold the record for most nominations without a win, with three. The current recipient of the award is Some Like It Hot, which won at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards in 2024.
Over the years, the qualifications for the individual nominees has fluctuated with principal artists, composers, and producers at one point being the sole eligible nominee, to the current (as of the 66th Grammy Awards) standard which is as follows: "For albums containing greater than 51% playing time of new recordings. Award to the principal vocalist(s), and the album producer(s) of 50% or more playing time of the album. The lyricist(s) and composer(s) of 50 % or more of a score of a new recording are eligible for an Award if any previous recording of said score has not been nominated in this category."
Vocalists were first awarded in this category at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards in 2012. When an album does not feature any individual soloists and predominantly features an ensemble cast, no individual award is given to the members of the ensemble, with each member instead receiving a winners certificate. As of the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, only a maximum of four principal vocalists can be awarded (previously unlimited), in addition to the producer/s and lyricists/composers.[1]
Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for music released in the previous year.
This award has had several minor name changes:
| Year | Performing artist(s) | Work | Nominees | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| scope=row | 1959 | (composer/lyricist) | The Music Man | [3] [4] | |
| scope=row rowspan=2 | 1960 | (artist) | Gypsy | [5] | |
| (artist) | Redhead | ||||
| scope=row | 1961 | Richard Rodgers (composer) (lyricist) | The Sound of Music | [6] | |
| scope=row | 1962 | (composer/lyricist) | How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying | [7] | |
| scope=row | 1963 | (composer/lyricist) | No Strings | [8] | |
| scope=row | 1964 | (composer) Sheldon Harnick (lyricist) | She Loves Me | [9] | |
| scope=row | 1965 | Jule Styne (composer) (lyricist) | Funny Girl | [10] | |
| scope=row | 1966 | Burton Lane (composer) (lyricist) | On a Clear Day You Can See Forever |
| style="text-align:center;"|[3] [27] |-! scope=row|1999| (producer)|The Lion King|| style="text-align:center;"|[3] [28] |-! scope=row|2000| & Stephen Ferrera (producers)|Annie Get Your Gun (The New Broadway Cast)|| style="text-align:center;"|[3] [29] |-! scope=row|2001| (composer)
|Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida|| style="text-align:center;"|[3] [30] |-! scope=row|2002| (composer/lyricist)
|The Producers|| style="text-align:center;"|[3] [31] |-! scope=row|2003| (composer)
|Hairspray|| style="text-align:center;"|[3] [32] |-! scope=row|2004| (producer)
|Gypsy: A Musical Fable|| style="text-align:center;"|[3] |-! scope=row|2005| (composer.lyricist)
|Wicked|| style="text-align:center;"|[3] |-! scope=row|2006| & John Du Prez (composers)
|Monty Python's Spamalot|| style="text-align:center;"|[3] |-! scope=row|2007| (producer);
|Jersey Boys|| style="text-align:center;"|[3] |-! scope=row|2008| (composer)
|Spring Awakening|| style="text-align:center;"|[3] [33] |-! scope=row|2009| (composer/lyricist)
|In the Heights|| style="text-align:center;"|[3] [34] |-! scope=row|2010| & David Lai (producer)
|West Side Story (New Broadway Cast Recording)|| style="text-align:center;"|[3] [35] |-! scope=row|2011| (producer)
|American Idiot (featuring Green Day)|| style="text-align:center;"|[3] [36] [37] |-! scope=row|2012| & Josh Gad (artists)
|The Book of Mormon|| style="text-align:center;"|[3] [38] |-! scope=row|2013| & Cristin Milioti (principal soloists)
|Once: A New Musical|| style="text-align:center;"|[3] [39] |-! scope=row|2014| & Stark Sands (principal soloists)
|Kinky Boots|| style="text-align:center;"|[3] [40] |-! scope=row|2015| (principal soloist)
||| style="text-align:center;"|[3] |-! scope=row|2016|Daveed Diggs, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Jonathan Groff, Christopher Jackson, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr., Okieriete Onaodowan, Anthony Ramos & Phillipa Soo (principal soloists)
|Hamilton|| style="text-align:center;"| [41] |-! scope=row|2017| Danielle Brooks, Cynthia Erivo & Jennifer Hudson (principal soloists)
| The Color Purple (2015 Broadway Cast)|| style="text-align:center;"|[42] [43] |-!2018|Laura Dreyfuss, Mike Faist, Rachel Bay Jones, Kristolyn Lloyd, Michael Park, Ben Platt, Will Roland & Jennifer Laura Thompson (principal soloists)
|Dear Evan Hansen (Original Broadway Cast)|||-!2019|Etai Benson, Adam Kantor, Katrina Lenk & Ari'el Stachel (principal soloists)
| The Band's Visit (Original Broadway Cast)||| |-! scope=row|2020|Reeve Carney, André De Shields, Amber Gray, Eva Noblezada & Patrick Page (principal soloists)
|Hadestown (Original Broadway Cast)||[44] |-! scope=row|2021|Kathryn Gallagher, Celia Rose Gooding, Lauren Patten & Elizabeth Stanley (principal soloists)
|Jagged Little Pill (Original Broadway Cast)||[45] |-! scope=row|2022| Emily Bear (producer); Abigail Barlow & Emily Bear (composer/lyricists)|The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical||[46] |-! scope=row|2023|Sara Bareilles, Brian d'Arcy James, Patina Miller & Phillipa Soo (principal soloists)|Into the Woods (2022 Broadway Cast Recording)||[47] |-!2024|Christian Borle, J. Harrison Ghee, Adrianna Hicks & NaTasha Yvette Williams (principal vocalists)
|Some Like It Hot (Original Broadway Cast)||[48] |-! 2025|Pending|Pending|||}
2 wins:
4 nominations
3 nominations:
2 nominations:
6 wins:
5 wins:
3 wins:
2 wins:
11 nominations
10 nominations
8 nominations
7 nominations
6 nominations
5 nominations
4 nominations
3 nominations
2 nominations