45+ Musicals About War – The Full List
In honor of Veterans Day this year, I decided to put together a full list of musicals about war. The following list is broken down into five categories – “Musicals About WWI”, “Musicals About WWII”, “Musicals About Other Wars”, “Musicals About War in General”, and “Musicals About Conflicts & Uprisings”. Each category is sorted alphabetically.
Please note: This post contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to make a purchase through one of the following links, we may earn a small commission on the sale at no additional cost to you. See our disclosure for more info.
Musicals About WWI
Music/Lyrics: Various Book: Joan Littlewood & Theatre Workshop
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1963)
Which War is Present: WWI
Music/Lyrics/Book: Peter C. Mills Book: Cara Reichel
Musical Type: Contemporary (2019)
Which War is Present: WWI
Musicals About WWII
Music/Lyrics/Book: Jay Kuo Book: Marc Acito, Lorenzo Thione
Musical Type: Contemporary (2012)
Which War is Present: WWII
Music: Duncan Sheik Lyrics/Book: Steven Sater Book: Jessie Nelson
Musical Type: Contemporary (2019)
Which War is Present: WWII
Music/Lyrics/Book: Richard Oberacker Lyrics/Book: Robert Taylor
Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)
Which War is Present: WWII
Music/Lyrics/Book: Lionel Bart Book: Joan Maitland
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1962)
Which War is Present: WWII
Music: John Kander Lyrics: Fred Ebb Book: Joe Masteroff
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1966)
Which War is Present: WWII
Music: Stuart Brayson Lyrics: Tim Rice Book: Bill Oakes
Musical Type: Contemporary (2013)
Which War is Present: WWII
Music: Michel Legrand Lyrics: Herbert Kretzmer Lyrics/Book: Alain Boublil Book: Claude-Michel Schönberg, Jonathan Kent
Musical Type: Contemporary (2008)
Which War is Present: WWII
Music: George Fenton, Simon Chamberlain Lyrics: Don Black Book: Terry Johnson
Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)
Which War is Present: WWII
Music/Lyrics: Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman Book: Will Holt
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1974)
Which War is Present: WWII
Music: Richard Rodgers Lyrics/Book: Oscar Hammerstein II Book: Joshua Logan
Musical Type: Golden Age (1949)
Which War is Present: WWII
Music/Lyrics: David Kirshenbaum Book: Hunter Foster
Musical Type: Contemporary (2000)
Which War is Present: WWII
Music/Lyrics: Jerry Herman Book: Michael Stewart, Mark Bramble
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1978)
Which War is Present: WWII
Music: Galt MacDermot Libretto: William Dumaresq
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1983)
Which War is Present: WWII
Music: Richard Rodgers Lyrics: Oscar Hammerstein II Book: Howard Lindsay, Russel Crouse
Musical Type: Golden Age (1959)
Which War is Present: WWII
Music/Lyrics/Book: Pete Townshend Book: Des McAnuff
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1992)
Which War is Present: WWII
Music/Lyrics: Irving Berlin
Musical Type: Golden Age (1942)
Which War is Present: WWII
Music: William Patrick Harrison Lyrics/Book: Maryhee Yoon, Cara Baldwin
Musical Type: Contemporary (2021)
Which War is Present: WWII
Music: Scott Frankel Lyrics: Michael Korie Book: Doug Wright
Musical Type: Contemporary (2016)
Which War is Present: WWII
Music: Joseph Zellnik Lyrics/Book: David Zellnik
Musical Type: Contemporary (2005)
Which War is Present: WWII
Music: Michael Cohen Lyrics/Book: Enid Futterman
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1985)
Which War is Present: WWII
Musicals About Other Wars
Music: Michael J. Lewis Lyrics/Book: Anthony Burgess
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1973)
Which War is Present: The Thirty Years’ War
Music: Richard Rodgers Lyrics: Lorenz Hart Book: Herbert Fields
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1925)
Which War is Present: The American Revolutionary War
Music: Lucy Simon Lyrics: Michael Korie, Amy Powers Book: Michael Weller
Musical Type: Contemporary (2011)
Which War is Present: The Russian Civil War
Music/Lyrics: Benj Pasek, Justin Paul Book: Peter Duchan
Musical Type: Contemporary (2012)
Which War is Present: The Vietnam War
Music/Lyrics: Billy Joel
Musical Type: Contemporary/Jukebox (2002)
Which War is Present: The Vietnam War
Music: Galt MacDermot Lyrics/Book: Gerome Ragni, James Rado
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1967)
Which War is Present: The Vietnam War
Music: Jason Howland Lyrics: Mindi Dickstein Book: Allan Knee
Musical Type: Contemporary (2005)
Which War is Present: The American Civil War
Music/Lyrics/Book: Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore, George David Weiss Book: Morton DaCosta
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1968)
Which War is Present: The American Civil War
Music/Book: Claude-Michel Schönberg Lyrics/Book: Alain Boublil Lyrics: Edward Hardy, Stephen Clark
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1996)
Which War is Present: The French Wars of Religion
Music: Claude-Michel Schönberg Lyrics: Alain Boublil, Richard Maltby, Jr.
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1989)
Which War is Present: The Vietnam War
Now is the Time for All Good Men
Music: Nancy Ford Lyrics/Book: Gretchen Cryer
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1967)
Which War is Present: The Vietnam War
Music: Gary Geld Lyrics/Book: Peter Udell Book: Philip Rose, James Lee Barrett
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1974)
Which War is Present: The American Civil War
Music/Book: Frank Wildhorn Lyrics: Jack Murphy Book: Gregory Boyd
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1998)
Which War is Present: The American Civil War
Music: Jerry Bock Lyrics: Sheldon Harnick Book: Sherman Yellen
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1970)
Which War is Present: The Napoleonic Wars
Music: Frank Wildhorn Lyrics/Book: Nan Knighton
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1997)
Which War is Present: The French Revolution
Music/Book: James Valcq Lyrics/Book: Fred Alley
Musical Type: Contemporary (2001)
Which War is Mentioned: The Vietnam War
Music/Lyrics: Tom Lehrer Adaptation: Cameron Mackintosh, Robin Ray
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1980)
Which War is Present: WW3 (Fictional)
Musicals About War in General
Music/Book: Richard Rodgers Lyrics/Book: Lorenz Hart
Musical Type: Golden Age (1942)
Which War is Present: Fictional
Music: Frederick Loewe Lyrics/Book: Alan Jay Lerner
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1960)
Which War is Present: Fictional
Music/Lyrics: Stephen Schwartz Book: Roger O. Hirson
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1972)
Which War is Present: Charlemagne’s Conquests
Music: George Gershwin Lyrics: Ira Gershwin Book: George S. Kaufman, Morrie Ryskind
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1927)
Which War is Present: Fictional
Music/Book: Claude-Michel Schönberg Lyrics: John Dempsey Lyrics/Book: Alain Boublil, Richard Maltby, Jr.
Musical Type: Contemporary (2006)
Which War is Present: Fictional
Music/Lyrics: Matt Sax Lyrics/Book: Eric Rosen
Musical Type: Contemporary (2010)
Which War is Present: Fictional
Musicals About Conflicts & Uprisings
The following musicals feature a conflict or an uprising in the plot, such as a riot or revolution.
Music: Fatboy Slim Music/Lyrics: David Byrne
Musical Type: Contemporary (2013)
Which Conflict is Present: 1970s riots in the Philippines
Music/Lyrics: Claude-Michel Schönberg Lyrics: Alan Boublil, Herbert Kretzmer, Jean-Marc Natel
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1980)
Which Conflict is Present: The June Rebellion
Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber Lyrics/Book: Ben Elton
Musical Type: Contemporary (2000)
Which Conflict is Present: The Troubles
Music: Sigmund Romberg Lyrics/Book: Otto Harbach, Oscar Hammerstein II, Frank Mandel
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1926)
Which Conflict is Present: The 1925 Uprising of the Riffs in Morocco
Want a weekly list of stagey surprises?!
Know of any other musicals about war?
Feel free to share in the comments below! And if you like these types of lists, check out the musical database. That’s where you’ll find musicals sorted by composer, theme, setting, and more!
Author: Stacy Karyn
Stacy Karyn is the founder of Theatre Trip, author of The Thespian’s Bucket List, and creator of The Cast Album List. She holds a BA in theatre, a TESOL drama certificate, and has worked and interned with Broadway and Off-Broadway theaters.