50+ Musicals About War – The Full List of Shows
These musicals about war explore the experiences, consequences, and human stories surrounding armed conflict. The list is organized by the specific war mentioned, followed by shows with fictional wars or those that explore war as a more general concept.
On This Page:
Musicals About Conflicts & Uprisings
Musicals About WWI
Musical Type: Contemporary (2011)
Creators: Maury Yeston, Peter Stone, and Thomas Meehan
War Mentioned: WWI
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1963)
Creators: Charles Chilton, Theatre Workshop, Inc., and Others
War Mentioned: WWI
Musical Type: Golden Age (1955)
Creators: Victor Young, Stella Unger, and Victor Wolfson
War Mentioned: WWI
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1979)
Creators: Mel Marvin, Gary Pearle, Mary Kyte, and Others
War Mentioned: WWI
Musicals About WWII
Musical Type: Contemporary (2019)
Creators: Duncan Sheik, Steven Sater, and Jessie Nelson
War Mentioned: WWII
Musical Type: Contemporary (2012)
Creators: Jay Kuo, Marc Acito, and Lorenzo Thione
War Mentioned: WWII
Musical Type: Contemporary (2014)
Creators: George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, and Craig Lucas
War Mentioned: WWII
Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)
Creators: Richard Oberacker and Robert Taylor
War Mentioned: WWII
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1962)
Creators: Lionel Bart and Joan Maitland
War Mentioned: WWII
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1966)
Creators: John Kander, Fred Ebb, and Joe Masteroff
War Mentioned: WWII
Musical Type: Golden Age (1946)
Creators: Harold Rome and Arnold Auerbach
War Mentioned: WWII
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1979)
Creators: Burton Lane, Alan Jay Lerner, and Joseph Stein
War Mentioned: WWII
Musical Type: Contemporary (2013)
Creators: Stuart Brayson, Tim Rice, and Bill Oakes
War Mentioned: WWII
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1979)
Creators: Alan Menken, Dennis Green, and Howard Ashman
War Mentioned: WWII
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1990)
Creators: Bob Merrill
War Mentioned: WWII
Musical Type: Contemporary (2008)
Creators: Michel Legrand, Herbert Kretzmer, Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schönberg, and Jonathan Kent
War Mentioned: WWII
Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)
Creators: George Fenton, Simon Chamberlain, Don Black, and Terry Johnson
War Mentioned: WWII
Musical Type: Golden Age (1944)
Creators: Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green
War Mentioned: WWII
Musical Type: Contemporary (2019)
Creators: David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson, and Zoë Roberts
War Mentioned: WWII
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1974)
Creators: Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman, and Will Holt
War Mentioned: WWII
Musical Type: Golden Age (1949)
Creators: Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, and Joshua Logan
War Mentioned: WWII
Musical Type: Contemporary (2000)
Creators: David Kirshenbaum and Hunter Foster
War Mentioned: WWII
Musical Type: Contemporary (2022)
Creators: Elyssa Samsel, Kate Anderson, Jodi Picoult, and Timothy Allen McDonald
War Mentioned: WWII
Musical Type: Contemporary (2019)
Creators: Darren Clark and Jethro Compton
War Mentioned: WWII
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1978)
Creators: Jerry Herman, Michael Stewart, and Mark Bramble
War Mentioned: WWII
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1983)
Creators: Galt MacDermot and William Dumaresq
War Mentioned: WWII
Musical Type: Golden Age (1959)
Creators: Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Howard Lindsay, and Russel Crouse
War Mentioned: WWII
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1992)
Creators: Pete Townshend and Des McAnuff
War Mentioned: WWII
Musical Type: Golden Age (1942)
Creators: Irving Berlin
War Mentioned: WWII
Musical Type: Contemporary (2021)
Creators: William Patrick Harrison, Maryhee Yoon, and Cara Baldwin
War Mentioned: WWII
Musical Type: Contemporary (2016)
Creators: Scott Frankel, Michael Korie, and Doug Wright
War Mentioned: WWII
Musical Type: Contemporary (2005)
Creators: Joseph Zellnik and David Zellnik
War Mentioned: WWII
Musicals About Other Wars
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1973)
Creators: Michael J. Lewis and Anthony Burgess
War Mentioned: The Thirty Years’ War
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1925)
Creators: Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart, and Herbert Fields
War Mentioned: The American Revolutionary War
Musical Type: Contemporary (2011)
Creators: Lucy Simon, Michael Korie, Amy Powers, and Michael Weller
War Mentioned: The Russian Civil War
Musical Type: Contemporary (2012)
Creators: Benj Pasek, Justin Paul, and Peter Duchan
War Mentioned: The Vietnam War
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1967)
Creators: Galt MacDermot, Gerome Ragni, and James Rado
War Mentioned: The Vietnam War
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1995)
Creators: Andrew Lippa and Tommy Greenwald
War Mentioned: The Vietnam War
Musical Type: Contemporary (2005)
Creators: Jason Howland, Mindi Dickstein, and Allan Knee
War Mentioned: The American Civil War
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1968)
Creators: Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore, George Weiss, and Morton DaCosta
War Mentioned: The American Civil War
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1996)
Creators: Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil, Edward Hardy, and Stephen Clark
War Mentioned: The French Wars of Religion
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1989)
Creators: Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil, and Richard Maltby, Jr.
War Mentioned: The Vietnam War
Musical Type: Contemporary (2002)
Creators: Billy Joel and Twyla Tharp
War Mentioned: The Vietnam War
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1967)
Creators: Nancy Ford and Gretchen Cryer
War Mentioned: The Vietnam War
Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)
Creators: Gloria Estefan, Emilio Estefan, Miami Sound Machine, and Alexander Dinelaris
War Mentioned: The Vietnam War
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1974)
Creators: Gary Geld, Peter Udell, Philip Rose, and James Lee Barrett
War Mentioned: The American Civil War
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1995)
Creators: Jason Robert Brown
War Mentioned: The American Revolutionary War
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1998)
Creators: Frank Wildhorn, Jack Murphy, and Gregory Boyd
War Mentioned: The American Civil War
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1970)
Creators: Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick, and Sherman Yellen
War Mentioned: The Napoleonic Wars
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1997)
Creators: Frank Wildhorn and Nan Knighton
War Mentioned: The French Revolution
Musical Type: Contemporary (2001)
Creators: James Valcq and Fred Alley
War Mentioned: The Vietnam War
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1980)
Creators: Tom Lehrer, Cameron Mackintosh, and Robin Ray
War Mentioned: WW3 (Fictional)
Musicals About General War
Musical Type: Golden Age (1942)
Creators: Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart
War Mentioned: Fictional
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1960)
Creators: Frederick Loewe and Alan Jay Lerner
War Mentioned: Fictional
Musical Type: Golden Age (1956)
Creators: Leonard Bernstein, Richard Wilbur, John La Touche, Stephen Sondheim, Dorothy Parker, John Caird, Hugh Wheeler, and Lillian Hellman
War Mentioned: Fictional
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1938)
Creators: Kurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson
War Mentioned: Fictional
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1972)
Creators: Stephen Schwartz and Roger O. Hirson
War Mentioned: Fictional
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1927)
Creators: George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, Morrie Ryskind, and George S. Kaufman
War Mentioned: Fictional
Musical Type: Contemporary (2021)
Creators: Marc Teitler and Nancy Harris
War Mentioned: Fictional
Musical Type: Contemporary (2006)
Creators: Claude-Michel Schönberg, John Dempsey, Alain Boublil, and Richard Maltby, Jr.
War Mentioned: Fictional
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1978)
Creators: Jeff Wayne, Paul Vigrass, Gary Osborne, Jerry Wayne, and Doreen Wayne
War Mentioned: Fictional
Musical Type: Contemporary (2010)
Creators: Matt Sax and Eric Rosen
War Mentioned: Fictional
Musicals About Conflicts & Uprisings
These musicals feature a conflict or an uprising in the plot, such as a riot or revolution.
Musical Type: Contemporary (2013)
Creators: David Byrne and Fatboy Slim
Conflict Mentioned: 1970s riots in the Philippines
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1980)
Creators: Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil, Herbert Kretzmer, and Jean-Marc Natel
Conflict Mentioned: The June Rebellion
Musical Type: Contemporary (2000)
Creators: Andrew Lloyd Webber and Ben Elton
Conflict Mentioned: The Troubles
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1926)
Creators: Sigmund Romberg, Otto Harbach, Oscar Hammerstein II, and Frank Mandel
Conflict Mentioned: 1925 Rif Uprising in Morocco