Laughing may be the best medicine, but you know what’s just as cathartic? Singing a song that makes other people laugh. Below, I’ve compiled a list of one-hundred great comedic character songs from the past 25ish years written for female-identifying characters. Some are outright hilarious, some are curiously bizarre, and some are just plain amusing. All would make great audition songs for contemporary musical comedies. Happy singing!
P.S. If you need more song suggestions– and/or you just want to support my work– check out my premium repertoire guides in the MTR store.
1. “Stupid with Love” from Mean Girls (2018)
Music by Jeff Richmond; Lyrics by Nell Benjamin | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
2. “Waiting for the Music to Begin” from The Witches of Eastwick (2000)
Music by Dana P. Rowe; Lyrics by John Dempsey| Sheet Music: MusicNotes
3. “Don’t Wanna Be Here” from Ordinary Days (2009)
Music & Lyrics by Adam Gwon | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
[See also: “Dear Professor Thomson” & “Calm”]
4. “All the Men in My Life Keep Getting Killed By Candarian Demons” from Evil Dead: The Musical (2006)
Music & Lyrics by Christopher Bond, Frank Cipolla, Melissa Morris & Greg Reinblatt| Sheet Music: see full score
5. “Jonny Don’t Go (to the Nuclear Plant)” from Zombie Prom (1996)
Music by Dana P. Rowe; Lyrics by John Dempsey | Sheet Music: see full score
[See also: Toffee’s “Easy to Say”]
6. “The Stuff” from Reefer Madness (2001)
Music by Dan Studney; Lyrics by Kevin Murphy | Sheet Music: SheetMusicDL
[See also: “Lonely Pew” & “Little Mary Sunshine”]
7. “My Big French Boyfriend” from The Toxic Avenger (2008)
Music by David Bryan; Joe DiPietro & David Bryan | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
[See also: “Choose Me, Oprah!” & “Hot Toxic Love”]
8. “Screw Loose” from Cry-Baby (2008)
Music by Adam Schlesinger; Lyrics by David Javerbaum | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
[See also: “I’m infected”]
9. “A Summer in Ohio” from The Last Five Years (2002)
Music & Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
10. “Surabaya-Santa” from Songs for a New World (1995)
Music & Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
[See also: “Just One Step”]
11. “Notice Me, Horton” from Seussical (2000)
Music by Stephen Flaherty; Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
[See also: “How Lucky You Are (Mayzie’s Reprise)”]
12. “Killer Instinct” from Bring It On (2012)
Music by Tom Kitt; Lyrics by Amanda Green | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
[See also: the short-but-amusing “Tryouts” & “Eva’s Rant”]
13. “The Ballad of Sarsaparilla Safirovich” from Sorta Love Songs (album; 2010)
Music by Michal Gore; Lyrics by Dean Pitchford | Sheet Music: Songwriter Site
14. “Once a Widow” from Clue (1997)
Music by Galen Blum, Wayne Barker & Vinnie Martucci; Lyrics by Tom Chiodo | Sheet Music: see full score
15. “Dead Girl Walking” from Heathers (2014)
Music & Lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe & Kevin Murphy | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
[See also: “Fight for Me” and “Candy Store”]
16. “Heart to Hart” from 9 to 5 (2009)
Music & Lyrics by Dolly Parton | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
[See also: “Around Here”, “Backwoods Barbie”, “One of the Boys” & the cut song “Out of Control”]
17. “Deep Love” from Young Frankenstein (2007)
Music & Lyrics by Mel Brooks | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
[See also: Elizabeth’s “Please Don’t Touch Me”, “Surprise” and the cut song “Alone”]
18. “You Stupid Bitch” from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2015)
Music & Lyrics by Rachel Bloom & Adam Schlesinger | Sheet Music: Songwriter Website
[See also: Rebecca’s many other hilarious numbers like “The Sexy Getting Ready Song”, “The Villain in My Own Story”, “Oh My God I Think I Like You”, “(Tell Me I’m Ok) Patrick”, “Strip Away My Conscience”, “After Everything You Made Me Do”, “A Diagnosis”, “Maybe She’s Not Such a Heinous Bitch”, “The Darkness”, “Eleven O’Clock”, and others]
19. “[The Legend of] Miss Baltimore Crabs” from Hairspray (2002)
Music by Marc Shaiman; Lyrics by Scott Wittman & Marc Shaiman | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
20. “Waiting” from The Addams Family (2010)
Music & Lyrics by Andrew Lippa | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
21. “In Short” from Edges (2005)
Music by Benj Pasek; Lyrics by Justin Paul | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
22. “Ireland” from Legally Blonde (2007)
Music by Laurene O’Keefe; Lyrics by Nell Benjamin | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
[See also: “Ireland” (Reprise)]
23. “T.M.I. (The Over-Sharing Song)” from Island Song (2017)
Music by Derek Gregor; Lyrics by Sam Carner | Sheet Music: NewMusicalTheatre
[See also: “Sing, But Don’t Tell”]
24. “He Vas My Boyfriend” from Young Frankenstein (2007)
Music & Lyrics by Mel Brooks | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
25. “Sexy” from Mean Girls (2018)
Music by Jeff Richmond; Lyrics by Nell Benjamin | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
26. “Dead Mom” from Beetlejuice (2019)
Music & Lyrics by Eddie Perfect | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
[See also: “No Reason”]
27. “I Just Wanna Dance” from Jerry Springer: The Opera (2003)
Music by Richard Thomas; Lyrics by Richard Thomas & Stewart Lee | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
[See also: “I Wanna Sing Something Beautiful”]
28. “Face Your Fears” from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2015)
Music & Lyrics by Rachel Bloom, Jack Dolgen, Sono Patel & Adam Schlesinger | Sheet Music: CWTV
[See also: Paula’s many other hilarious songs like “Maybe This Dream”, “After Everything I’ve Done for You”, “The Miracle of Birth”, “First Penis I Saw”, and “I’ve Always Never Believed in You”]
29. “Words, Words, Words” from The Witches of Eastwick (2000)
Music by Dana P. Rowe; Lyrics by John Dempsey| Sheet Music: MusicNotes
30. “A Note from Linda” from The Wedding Singer (2006)
Music by Matthew Sklar; Lyrics by Chad Beguelin | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
[See also: Linda’s “Let Me Come Home”]
31. “The More You Ruv Someone” from Avenue Q (2003)
Music & Lyrics by Robert Lopez & Jeff Marx | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
[See also: “Special”]
33. “Random Black Girl” from Homemade Fusion (2008)
Music & Lyrics by Michael Kooman & Christopher Dimond | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
[See also: “I Think That He Likes Me”, “Sherman and Madeline” & “Oh Henry!”]
34. “Off with Their Heads” from Wonderland (2011)
Music by Frank Wildhorn; Lyrics by Jack Murphy | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
35. “Just Around the Corner” from The Addams Family (2010)
Music & Lyrics by Andrew Lippa | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
36. “It’s a Business” from Curtains (2007)
Music by John Kander; Lyrics by Fred Ebb | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
37. “World Burn” from Mean Girls (2018)
Music by Jeff Richmond; Lyrics by Nell Benjamin | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
[See also: Regina’s “Someone Gets Hurt”]
38. “Spring” from Bare (2004)
Music & Lyrics by Damon Intrabartolo | Sheet Music: see full score
39. “Three Bedroom House” from Bat Boy (2001)
Music & Lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe | Sheet Music: see full score
[Duet, but could be made into a solo excerpt/cut. See also: “Inside Your Heart”]
40. “Man of My Dreams” from Edges (2005)
Music by Benj Pasek; Lyrics by Justin Paul | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
41. “The Revolutionary Costume for Today” from Grey Gardens (2006)
Music by Scott Frankel; Lyrics by Michael Korie | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
[See also: “Daddy’s Girl”]
42. “Don’t Call Me Trailer Trash” from Cowgirls (1996)
Music & Lyrics by Mary Murfitt | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
[See also: “Honky Tonk”, “Heads or Tails” & “It’s Time to Come Home”]
43. “Lost in the Brass” from Band Geeks (2014)
Music by Tommy Newman; Lyrics by Tommy Newman & Gabby Alter | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
44. “Roll in The Hay” from Young Frankenstein (2007)
Music & Lyrics by Mel Brooks | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
45. “Sal Tlay Ka Siti” from The Book of Mormon (2011)
Music & Lyrics by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez & Matt Stone | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
46. “What’s Gonna Happen” from Tootsie (2019)
Music & Lyrics by David Yazbek | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
47. “Change the World” from Lysistrata Jones (2011)
Music & Lyrics by Lewis Flinn | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
48. “When You Got It, Flaunt It” from The Producers (2001)
Music & Lyrics by Mel Brooks | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
49. “Show Off” from The Drowsy Chaperone (2006)
Music & Lyrics by Lisa Lambert & Greg Morrison | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
[See also: Janet’s “Bride’s Lament”]
50. “Model Behavior” from Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (2010)
Music & Lyrics by David Yazbek | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
51. “Another Night at Darryl’s” from The Witches of Eastwick (2000)
Music by Dana P. Rowe; Lyrics by John Dempsey| Sheet Music: MusicNotes
52. “Betsy’s Getting Married” from Honeymoon in Vegas (2015)
Music & Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown| Sheet Music: MusicNotes
53. “I Don’t Know What I’d Do Without You” from A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder (2013)
Music by Steven Lutvak; Lyrics by Robert L. Freedman & Steven Lutvak | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
[See also: Sibella’s “Poor Monty”]
54. “Diva’s Lament (Whatever Happened to My Part)?” from Spamalot (2005)
Music by Jon Du Prez & Eric Idle; Lyrics by Eric Idle | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
[See also: “Find Your Grail”]
55. “The History of Wrong Guys” from Kinky Boots (2013)
Music & Lyrics by Cyndi Lauper | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
56. “Never Fall in Love with an Elf” from Elf (2010)
Music by Matthew Sklar; Lyrics by Chad Beguelin | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
57. “Always a Bridesmaid” from I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change (1996)
Music by Jimmy Roberts; Lyrics by Joe DiPietro | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
58. “Pulled” from The Addams Family (2010)
Music & Lyrics by Andrew Lippa | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
59. “Alto’s Lament” (1999)
Music by Zina Goldrich; Lyrics by Marcy Heisler | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
60. “Call Me a Princess” from Aladdin (1992/2014)
Music by Alan Menken; Lyrics by Howard Ashman | Sheet Music: See Full Score
[Cut from both the 1992 animated film and the 2014 Broadway musical, but it’s a fun song!]
61. “I Want the Good Times Back” from The Little Mermaid (2008)
Music by Alan Menken; Lyrics by Glenn Slater | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
62. “They Don’t Let You in the Opera (If You’re a Country Star)” (2011)
Music & Lyrics by Dan Lipton & David Rossmer | Sheet Music: TrappedInAMusical
63. “May I Have a Moment?” from Lend Me a Tenor (2011)
Music & Lyrics by Brad Carroll et al; Lyrics by Peter Sham et al | Sheet Music: see full score
64. “Evil” from The Witches of Eastwick (2000)
Music by Dana P. Rowe; Lyrics by John Dempsey | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
65. “Apathetic Man” (2007)
Music by Zina Goldrich; Lyrics by Marcy Heisler | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
66. “My Friend, The Dictionary” from The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (2005)
Music & Lyrics by William Finn | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
66. “Come Out of the Dumpster” from The Wedding Singer (2006)
Music by Matthew Sklar; Lyrics by Chad Beguelin | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
[See also: Julia’s “Someday”]
68. “Parents Lie” from Freaky Friday (2016)
Music by Tom Kitt; Lyrics by Brian Yorkey| Sheet Music: Music Notes
69. “Right Hand Man” from Something Rotten! (2015)
Music by Wayne Kirkpatrick & Karey Kirkpatrick | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
70. “As We Stumble Along” from The Drowsy Chaperone (2006)
Music & Lyrics by Lisa Lambert & Greg Morrison | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
71. “I Can Hear the Bells” from Hairspray (2002)
Music by Marc Shaiman; Lyrics by Marc Shaiman & Scott Wittman | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
[See also: “Good Morning Baltimore” & “Mama, I’m a Big Girl Now” & “Cooties”]
72. “So Much Better” from Legally Blonde (2007)
Music by Laurene O’Keefe; Lyrics by Nell Benjamin | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
[See also: “What You Want” & “Bend & Snap”]
73. “Not for the Life of Me” from Thoroughly Modern Millie (2002)
Music by Jeanine Tesori; Lyrics by Dick Scanlan| Sheet Music: MusicNotes
[See also: the frequently performed “Gimme Gimme”]
74. “The Lady’s Improving” from The Prom (2018)
Music by Matthew Sklar; Lyrics by Chard Beguelin | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
75. “Never Get Married” from Honeymoon in Vegas (2015)
Music & Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
73. “What’s Wrong With Me?” from Mean Girls (2018)
Music by Jeff Richmond; Lyrics by Nell Benjamin | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
77. “She Goes” from High Fidelity (2006)
Music by Tom Kitt; Lyrics by Amanda Green | Sheet Music: Vocal Selections
[See also: “Ready to Settle” & “I Slept with Someone (Who Handled Kurt Cobain’s Intervention)”]
78. “I Speak Six Languages” from The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (2005)
Music & Lyrics by William Finn | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
79. “Life with Harold” from The Full Monty (2000)
Music & Lyrics by David Yazbek | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
[See also: “Jeanette’s Showbiz Number”]
80. “I Love Play Rehearsal” from Be More Chill (2019)
Music & Lyrics by Joe Iconis | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
[See also: “A Guy That I’d Kinda Be Into”]
81. “I Never Met a Wolf Who Didn’t Love to Howl” from SMASH/Bombshell (2012)
Music by Marc Shaiman; Lyrics by Scott Wittman & Marc Shaiman | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
82. “More Than Meets the Eye” from Calvin Berger (2006)
Music & Lyrics by Barry Wyner | Sheet Music: PayHip
[See also: “Saturday Alone” & “Don’tcha Think”]
83. “Here I Am” from Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (2005)
Music & Lyrics by David Yazbek | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
84. “Morning Person” from Shrek (2008)
Music by Jeanine Tesori; Lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
85. “I Want More” from Lestat (2006)
Music by Elton John; Lyrics by Bernie Taupin | Sheet Music: see full score
86. “I Am Playing Me” from [title of show] (2006)
Music & Lyrics y Jeff Bowen | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
[See also: “A Way Back to Then” & “Secondary Characters”]
87. “Inside Out” from A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder
Music by Steven Lutvak; Lyrics by Robert L. Freedman & Steven Lutvak | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
88. “Sixteen Bars” from The Taxi Cabaret (2011)
Music & Lyrics by Peter Mills | Sheet Music: Songwriter Site
[See also: “Cautiously Optimistic”]
89. “The Text Message Song” from Hot Mess in New York (2008)
Music & Lyrics by Drew Gasparini | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
90. “Taylor the Latte Boy” (2004)
Music by Zina Goldrich; Lyrics by Marcy Heisler | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
91. “Velociraptor” (2012)
Music & Lyrics by Joe Iconis| Sheet Music: MusicNotes
92. “Fifteen Pounds (Away from My Love)” from The Marcy and Zina Show (2009)
Music by Zina Goldrich; Lyrics by Marcy Heisler | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
93. “Mr. Hopalong Heartbreak” from Urban Cowboy (2003)
Music & Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
94. “Oklahoma?” from Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (2005)
Music & Lyrics by David Yazbek | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
95. “There’s a Chance” from Mr. Saturday Night (2022)
Music & Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown | Sheet Music: TBA
[See also: Susan’s “Maybe It Starts with Me”]
96. “Daddy Knows Best” from SpongeBob SquarePants (2017)
Music & Lyrics by Alex Ebert | Sheet Music: see full score
[See also: “Chop to the Top”]
97. “Invention” (2009)
Music by Scott Burkell; Lyrics by Paul Loesel | Sheet Music: Songwriter Site
98. “Joey is a Punk Rocker” from The Black Suits (2007)
Music & Lyrics by Joe Iconis | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
99. “Spring Cleaning” from Fugitive Songs (2012)
Music by Chris Miller; Lyrics by Nathan Tysen | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
[See also: “Annie’s Party”]
100. “The Girl in 14G” (2001)
Music by Jeanine Tesori; Lyrics by Dick Scanlan | Sheet Music: MusicNotes
Need more musical theatre song suggestions? Check out my professional repertoire guides here.