Why do male lead roles tend to be cast for tenors in musical theatre?

Answer 1

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People equate the tenor range with youth, and young leads (and stories featuring them) do very well because audiences are likely to be sexually or romantically interested by young actors/actresses/characters.  Have you never noticed that record labels tend toward tenor artists, as opposed to deeper voices.  Some producers have even cut soundtracks that tune their male artists voices into higher keys that they're comfortable in, just to appeal to the market.  It's youth, and everything that goes with it.

Answer 2

In the golden age, baritones definitely had more lead roles, so the roles are out there. In the last 30-40 years, there’s been a shift to tenors, but the pendulum could always swing back in the other direction.