75+ Musicals Based on True Stories – A Full List of Shows
These musicals based on true stories are inspired by real people, historical events, and documented experiences. The list includes shows ranging from close adaptations of real-life stories to musicals that take some extra creative liberties.
On This Page:
Jazz Age Musicals
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1925)
Creators: Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart, and Herbert Fields
Based On: The American Revolutionary War / Mary Lindley Murray
Musical Type: Jazz Age (1926)
Creators: Sigmund Romberg, Otto Harbach, Oscar Hammerstein II, and Frank Mandel
Based On: The 1925 Uprising of the Riffs in Morocco
Golden Age Musicals
Musical Type: Golden Age (1946)
Creators: Irving Berlin, Dorothy Fields, and Herbert Fields
Loosely Based On: Annie Oakley and Frank E. Butler
Musical Type: Golden Age (1950)
Creators: Irving Berlin, Howard Lindsay, and Russel Crouse
Loosely Based On: Perle Mesta
Musical Type: Golden Age (1959)
Creators: Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick, Jerome Weidman, and George Abbott
Based On: Fiorello La Guardia
Musical Type: Golden Age (1959)
Creators: Todd Matshikiza, Pat Williams, and Harry Bloom
Based On: Ezekiel Dlamini, aka “King Kong”
Musical Type: Golden Age (1959)
Creators: Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Howard Lindsay, and Russel Crouse
Based On: The von Trapp Family
1960s Musicals
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1969)
Creators: Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone
Based On: The Signing of the Declaration of Independence
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1962)
Creators: Lionel Bart and Joan Maitland
Based On: Lionel Bart’s Memories of WWII
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1969)
Creators: André Previn and Alan Jay Lerner
Based On: Coco Chanel
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1964)
Creators: Jule Styne, Bob Merrill, and Isobel Lennart
Based On: Fanny Brice
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1968)
Creators: George M. Cohan, Mary Cohan, Michael Stewart, John Pascal, and Francine Pascal
Based On: George M. Cohan
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1963)
Creators: Arthur Schwartz, Howard Dietz, and Arnold Schulman
Based On: Jennie Malone and James O’Connor
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1969)
Creators: Bill Jacob, Patti Jacob, and Melville Shavelson
Based On: NYC Mayor Jimmy Walker
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1961)
Creators: Robert Wright, George Forrest, and Peter Stone
Based On: Edmund Kean
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1968)
Creators: Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore, George Weiss, and Morton DaCosta
Based On: The New York Draft Riots of 1863
1970s Musicals
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1976)
Creators: Leonard Bernstein and Alan Jay Lerner
Loosely Based On: The Political History of the USA
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1976)
Creators: Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice
Based On: Eva Perón
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1975)
Creators: Larry Grossman, Hal Hackady, and Sidney Michaels
Based On: Joan of Arc / The Dauphin of France
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1972)
Creators: Charles Strouse, Lee Adams, and Jay Presson Allen
Based On: Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1974)
Creators: Jerry Herman and Michael Stewart
Based On: Mack Sennett and Mabel Normand
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1976)
Creators: Richard Rodgers, Sheldon Harnick, and Sherman Yellen
Based On: King Henry VIII
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1978)
Creators: Elizabeth Swados
Based On: Interviews with Homeless Children
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1978)
Creators: Marvin Hamlisch, Carole Bayer Sager, and Neil Simon
Based On: Carole Bayer Sager and Marvin Hamlisch
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1975)
Creators: John Williams, James Harbert, and Edward Anhalt
Based On: Thomas Becket and Henry II
1980s Musicals
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1980)
Creators: Cy Coleman, Michael Stewart, and Mark Bramble
Based On: P. T. Barnum
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1984)
Creators: Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, Tim Rice, Richard Nelson, and Danny Strong
Loosely Based On: The 1972 Fischer-Spassky Chess Match
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1981)
Creators: Henry Krieger and Tom Eyen
Based On: R&B Success Stories of the 1960s/70s
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1987)
Creators: Brian Gari and Allan Knee
Loosely Based On: Brian Gari
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1985)
Creators: Charles Strouse and Warren Leight
Based On: NYC Mayor Ed Koch
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1987)
Creators: Mbongeni Ngema and Hugh Masekela
Loosely Based On: The Soweto Uprising in South Africa
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1980)
Creators: David Heneker and Warner Brown
Based On: The Silent Film Era
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1970)
Creators: Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick, and Sherman Yellen
Based On: The Rothschild Family
1990s Musicals
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1998)
Creators: William Finn and James Lapine
Based On: William Finn’s Experiences
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1993)
Creators: Michael John LaChiusa
Loosely Based On: First Ladies Throughout History
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1994)
Creators: Adam Guettel and Tina Landau
Based On: Floyd Collins
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1997)
Creators: Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman
Based On: The Comedian Harmonists
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1992)
Creators: Jelly Roll Morton, Luther Henderson, Susan Birkenhead, and George C. Wolfe
Based On: Jelly Roll Morton
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1996)
Creators: Taliep Petersen and David Kramer
Based On: The Memories of Salie Daniels
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1996)
Creators: Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil, Edward Hardy, and Stephen Clark
Based On: Martin Guerre
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1998)
Creators: Jason Robert Brown and Alfred Uhry
Based On: Leo Frank’s 1913 Trial
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1997)
Creators: Henry Krieger and Bill Russell
Based On: Daisy and Violet Hilton
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1998)
Creators: Steve Brown and Justin Greene
Loosely Based On: Viv Nicholson
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1998)
Creators: Frank Wildhorn, Jack Murphy, and Gregory Boyd
Based On: The American Civil War
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1991)
Creators: Cy Coleman, Betty Comden, Adolph Green and Peter Stone
Based On: Will Rogers
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1997)
Creators: Maury Yeston and Peter Stone
Based On: The RMS Titanic
2000s Musicals
Musical Type: Contemporary (2000)
Creators: Edward Kleban, Linda Kline, and Lonny Price
Based On: Edward Kleban
Musical Type: Contemporary (2009)
Creators: Frank Wildhorn, Don Black, and Ivan Menchell
Based On: Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow
Musical Type: Contemporary (2009)
Creators: Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman, and Terrence McNally
Based On: Frank Abagnale
Musical Type: Contemporary (2006)
Creators: Christopher Curtis and Thomas Meehan
Based On: Charlie Chaplin
Musical Type: Contemporary (2006)
Creators: Scott Frankel, Michael Korie, and Doug Wright
Based On: Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale and Edith Bouvier Beale
Musical Type: Contemporary (2009)
Creators: Steven Cheslik-DeMeyer, Alan Stevens Hewitt, and Tim Maner
Based On: Lizzie Borden
Musical Type: Contemporary (2007)
Creators: Kurt Weill, Alfred Uhry, and Others
Based On: Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya
Musical Type: Contemporary (2002)
Creators: David Bryan and Joe DiPietro
Based On: Memphis DJ Dewey Phillips
Musical Type: Contemporary (2003)
Creators: Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman
Based On: Addison and Wilson Mizner
Musical Type: Contemporary (2005)
Creators: David Pomeranz, David Friedman, and Kathie Lee Gifford
Based On: Aimee Semple McPherson
Musical Type: Contemporary (2008)
Creators: Eddie Perfect
Based On: Shane Warne
Musical Type: Contemporary (2008)
Creators: Peter Rutherford and James Millar
Based On: Amber Murray
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age/Contemporary (1965/2005)
Creators: Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice
Based On: Thomas John Barnardo
Musical Type: Contemporary (2006)
Creators: Claude-Michel Schönberg, John Dempsey, Alain Boublil, and Richard Maltby, Jr.
Based On: Gráinne O’Malley
2010s Musicals
Musical Type: Contemporary (2014)
Creators: Lin-Manuel Miranda
Based On: “What I Did For Love” from This American Life
Musical Type: Contemporary (2012)
Creators: Jay Kuo, Marc Acito, and Lorenzo Thione
Based On: WWII / The Internment of Japanese Americans
Musical Type: Contemporary (2012)
Creators: Christopher Smith and Arthur Giron
Based On: John Newton
Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)
Creators: Gary Barlow and Tim Firth
Based On: The Fundraising of the “Calendar Girls”
Musical Type: Contemporary (2012)
Creators: Paul Hodge and Michael Hodge
Based On: The Presidency of Bill Clinton
Musical Type: Contemporary (2013)
Creators: Irene Sankoff and David Hein
Based On: The Town of Gander on September 11, 2001
Musical Type: Contemporary (2019)
Creators: David Bryan and Joe DiPietro
Based On: Diana, Princess of Wales
Musical Type: Contemporary (2017)
Creators: Dan Gillespie Sells and Tom MacRae
Based On: Jamie Campbell
Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)
Creators: Michael John LaChiusa
Loosely Based On: First Daughters Throughout History
Musical Type: Contemporary (2018)
Creators: Matthew Sklar, Nell Benjamin, Bob Martin, and Chad Beguelin
Based On: The New Jersey Nets’ First 60+ Dance Team
Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)
Creators: Lin-Manuel Miranda
Based On: Alexander Hamilton
Musical Type: Contemporary (2012)
Creators: Cyndi Lauper and Harvey Fierstein
Based On: Steve Pateman
Musical Type: Contemporary (2018)
Creators: Matt Gould and Carson Kreitzer
Based On: Tamara de Lempicka
Musical Type: Contemporary (2014)
Creators: David Arnold, Richard Thomas, and Richard Bean
Based On: The 1968 Ford Sewing Machinists Strike
Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)
Creators: George Fenton, Simon Chamberlain, Don Black, and Terry Johnson
Based On: Laura Henderson and London’s Windmill Theatre
Musical Type: Contemporary (2010)
Creators: Jonathan Christenson
Based On: Edgar Allan Poe
Musical Type: Contemporary (2011)
Creators: Alan Menken, Jack Feldman, and Harvey Fierstein
Based On: The 1899 Newsboys Strike in NYC
Musical Type: Contemporary (2019)
Creators: David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson, and Zoë Roberts
Based On: A World War II Deception Operation
Musical Type: Contemporary (2011)
Creators: Michael John LaChiusa
Based On: Annie Edson Taylor
Musical Type: Contemporary (2017)
Creators: Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss
Based On: The Six Wives of Henry VIII
Musical Type: Contemporary (2013)
Creators: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Don Black, and Christopher Hampton
Based On: The 1963 Profumo affair
Musical Type: Contemporary (2010)
Creators: John Kander, Fred Ebb, and David Thompson
Based On: The Scottsboro Boys Trial
Musical Type: Contemporary (2017)
Creators: Max Vernon
Based On: The 1973 UpStairs Lounge Attack
Musical Type: Contemporary (2016)
Creators: Scott Frankel, Michael Korie, and Doug Wright
Based On: Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein
Musical Type: Contemporary (2014)
Creators: Matt Gould and Griffin Matthews
Based On: Matthews and Gould’s Experiences
2020s Musicals
Musical Type: Contemporary (2022)
Creators: Neil Diamond and Anthony McCarten
Based On: Neil Diamond
Musical Type: Contemporary (2023)
Creators: Buena Vista Social Club and Marco Ramirez
Loosely Based On: Cuban Musicians from the 1950s-1990s
Musical Type: Contemporary (2021)
Creators: Bob Marley and Lee Hall
Based On: Bob Marley
Musical Type: Contemporary (2022)
Creators: Jacob Yandura and Rebekah Greer Melocik
Based On: The Documentary How to Dance in Ohio
Musical Type: Contemporary (2025)
Creators: Warren Leight, Isaac Oliver, and Others
Based On: Bobby Darin
Musical Type: Contemporary (2022)
Creators: Shaina Taub
Based On: The American Women’s Suffrage Movement
Musical Type: Contemporary (2021)
Creators: Ed Curtis and Others
Based On: Faye Treadwell and The Drifters
Musical Type: Contemporary (2021)
Creators: Michael John LaChiusa
Based On: Graciela Daniele
Musical Type: Contemporary (2023)
Creators: Nick Butcher, Tom Ling, and Joe White
Based On: Henry Fraser
Musical Type: Contemporary (2024)
Creators: Stephen Schwartz and Lindsey Ferrentino
Based On: Jackie Siegel
Musical Type: Contemporary (2021)
Creators: William Patrick Harrison, Maryhee Yoon, and Cara Baldwin
Based On: Iva Toguri D’Aquino
Musical Type: Contemporary (2024)
Creators: Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss
Loosely Based On: Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss