Musicals About War
The following list includes stage musicals about war, focusing on wartime experiences and their impact on humanity. Additional musical lists are available in the musical database.
On This Page:
Musicals About Conflicts & Uprisings
Musicals About WWI
Music/Lyrics: Maury Yeston Book: Peter Stone, Thomas Meehan
Musical Type: Contemporary (2011)
Which War is Present: WWI
Music/Lyrics: Various Book: Charles Chilton, Theatre Workshop, Inc.
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1963)
Which War is Present: WWI
Music: Victor Young Lyrics/Book: Stella Unger Book: Victor Wolfson
Musical Type: Golden Age (1955)
Which War is Present: WWI
Music: Jason Howland Lyrics: Nathan Tysen Book: Kait Kerrigan
Musical Type: Contemporary (2023)
Which War is Present: WWI
Music/Lyrics: Various Book: Mel Marvin, Gary Pearle, Mary Kyte
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1979)
Which War is Present: WWI
Musicals About WWII
Music: Duncan Sheik Lyrics/Book: Steven Sater Book: Jessie Nelson
Musical Type: Contemporary (2019)
Which War is Present: WWII
Music/Lyrics/Book: Jay Kuo Book: Marc Acito, Lorenzo Thione
Musical Type: Contemporary (2012)
Which War is Present: WWII
Music/Lyrics: George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin Book: Craig Lucas
Musical Type: 1951 Film/Contemporary Musical (2014)
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/Lyrics: Harold Rome Sketches: Arnold Auerbach
Musical Type: Golden Age (1946)
Which War is Present: WWII
Music: Burton Lane Lyrics/Book: Alan Jay Lerner Book: Joseph Stein
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1979)
Which War is Present: WWII
Music: Stuart Brayson Lyrics: Tim Rice Book: Bill Oakes
Musical Type: Contemporary (2013)
Which War is Present: WWII
Music: Alan Menken Lyrics: Dennis Green Lyrics/Book: Howard Ashman
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1979)
Which War is Present: WWII
Music/Lyrics/Book: Bob Merrill
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1990)
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: Leonard Bernstein Lyrics/Book: Betty Comden, Adolph Green
Musical Type: Golden Age (1944)
Which War is Present: WWII
Music/Lyrics/Book: David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson, Zoë Roberts
Musical Type: Contemporary (2019)
Which War is Present: WWII
Music/Lyrics: Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman Book: Will Holt
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (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: Elyssa Samsel, Kate Anderson Book: Jodi Picoult, Timothy Allen McDonald
Musical Type: Contemporary (2022)
Which War is Present: WWII
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Music/Lyrics: Darren Clark Lyrics/Book: Jethro Compton
Musical Type: Contemporary (2019)
Which War is Present: WWII
Music/Lyrics: Jerry Herman Book: Michael Stewart, Mark Bramble
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1978)
Which War is Present: WWII
Music: Galt MacDermot Libretto: William Dumaresq
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (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: Late 20th Century (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
Musicals About Other Wars
Music: Michael J. Lewis Lyrics/Book: Anthony Burgess
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (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: Galt MacDermot Lyrics/Book: Gerome Ragni, James Rado
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1967)
Which War is Present: The Vietnam War
Music/Book: Andrew Lippa Lyrics/Book: Tommy Greenwald
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1995)
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 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: Late 20th Century (1996)
Which War is Present: The French Wars of Religion
Music: Claude-Michel Schönberg Lyrics: Alain Boublil, Richard Maltby, Jr.
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1989)
Which War is Present: The Vietnam War
Music/Lyrics: Billy Joel Concept: Twyla Tharp
Musical Type: Contemporary (2002)
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/Lyrics: Gloria Estefan, Emilio Estefan, Miami Sound Machine Book: Alexander Dinelaris
Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)
Which War is Present: The Vietnam War
Music: Gary Geld Lyrics/Book: Peter Udell Book: Philip Rose, James Lee Barrett
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1974)
Which War is Present: The American Civil War
Music/Lyrics: Jason Robert Brown
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1995)
Which War is Present: The American Revolutionary War
Music/Book: Frank Wildhorn Lyrics: Jack Murphy Book: Gregory Boyd
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1998)
Which War is Present: The American Civil War
Music: Jerry Bock Lyrics: Sheldon Harnick Book: Sherman Yellen
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1970)
Which War is Present: The Napoleonic Wars
Music: Frank Wildhorn Lyrics/Book: Nan Knighton
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (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: Late 20th Century (1980)
Which War is Present: WW3 (Fictional)
Musicals About General War
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: Leonard Bernstein Lyrics: Richard Wilbur, John La Touche, Stephen Sondheim, Dorothy Parker Book: John Caird, Hugh Wheeler, Lillian Hellman
Musical Type: Golden Age (1956)
Which War is Present: Fictional
Music: Kurt Weill Lyrics/Book: Maxwell Anderson
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1938)
Which War is Present: Fictional
Music/Lyrics: Stephen Schwartz Book: Roger O. Hirson
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1972)
Which War is Present: Fictional
Music: George Gershwin Lyrics: Ira Gershwin Book: Morrie Ryskind Original Libretto: George S. Kaufman
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1927)
Which War is Present: Fictional
Music/Lyrics: Marc Teitler Book/Lyrics: Nancy Harris
Musical Type: Contemporary (2021)
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/Book: Jeff Wayne Lyrics: Paul Vigrass, Gary Osborne Book: Jerry Wayne, Doreen Wayne
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1978)
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
These musicals feature a conflict or an uprising in the plot, such as a riot or revolution.
Music/Lyrics: David Byrne Music: Fatboy Slim
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: Late 20th Century (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
Last Reviewed: May 6, 2025