54 Fascinating Musicals Based on True Stories
Do you ever watch or listen to a musical and wonder whether it was based on something that really happened? Well you’re in luck! Here’s a full list of all of the musicals based on true stories from every decade. And you can even use the “Musical Info” button by each one to learn more about each show.
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Jazz Age Musicals (1920-1939)
Dearest Enemy (1925)
Music: Richard Rodgers Lyrics: Lorenz Hart Book: Herbert Fields
The Desert Song (1926)
Music: Sigmund Romberg Lyrics: Otto Harbach Book: Hammerstein, Harbach, Mandel
Golden Age Musicals (1940-1959)
Fiorello! (1959)
Music: Jerry Bock Lyrics: Sheldon Harnick Book: Jerome Weidman, George Abbott
Up in Central Park (1945)
Music: Sigmund Romberg Lyrics: Dorothy Fields Book: Herbert Fields, Dorothy Fields
Post-Golden Age Musicals (1960s)
Coco (1969)
Music: André Previn Lyrics/Book: Alan Jay Lerner
Funny Girl (1964)
Music: Jule Styne Lyrics: Bob Merrill Book: Isobel Lennart
George M! (1968)
Music/Lyrics: George M. Cohan Lyrics: Mary Cohan Book: Michael Stewart, John Pascal, Francine Pascal
Jennie (1963)
Music: Arthur Schwartz Lyrics: Howard Dietz Book: Arnold Schulman
Jimmy (1969)
Music: Bill Jacob Lyrics: Patti Jacob Book: Melville Shavelson
Maggie Flynn (1968)
Music/Lyrics/Book: Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore, George David Weiss, Morton DaCosta
1970s Musicals
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (1976)
Music: Leonard Bernstein Lyrics/Book: Alan Jay Lerner
Evita (1976)
Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber Lyrics: Tim Rice
Goodtime Charley (1975)
Music: Larry Grossman Lyrics: Hal Hackady Book: Sidney Michaels
Minnie’s Boys (1970)
Music: Larry Grossman Lyrics: Hal Hackady Book: Arthur Marx, Robert Fisher
They’re Playing Our Song (1978)
Music: Marvin Hamlisch Lyrics: Carole Bayer Sager Book: Neil Simon
Musical Info ➝1980s
1980s Musicals
Barnum (1980)
Music: Cy Coleman Lyrics: Michael Stewart Book: Mark Bramble
Dreamgirls (1981)
Music: Henry Krieger Lyrics/Book: Tom Eyen
Mayor (1985)
Music/Lyrics: Charles Strouse Book: Warren Leight
Sarafina! (1987)
Music/Lyrics/Book: Mbongeni Ngema Music/Lyrics: Hugh Masakela
Musical Info ➝Musical
The Biograph Girl (1980)
Music/Lyrics/Book: David Heneker, Warner Brown
1990s Musicals
A New Brain (1998)
Music/Lyrics/Book: William Finn Book: James Lapine
Floyd Collins (1994)
Music/Lyrics: Adam Guettel Book: Tina Landau
Jelly’s Last Jam (1992)
Music: Jelly Roll Morton, Luther Henderson Lyrics: Susan Birkenhead Book: George C. Wolfe
Kat and the Kings (1996)
Music: Taliep Petersen Lyrics/Book: David Kramer
Parade (1998)
Music/Lyrics: Jason Robert Brown Book: Alfred Uhry
Side Show (1997)
Music: Henry Krieger Lyrics/Book: Bill Russell
Titanic (1997)
Music/Lyrics: Maury Yeston Book: Peter Stone
The Will Rogers Follies (1991)
Music: Cy Coleman Lyrics: Betty Comden, Adolph Green Book: Peter Stone
2000s Musicals
21 Chump Street (2014)
Music/Lyrics: Lin-Manuel Miranda
A Class Act (2000)
Music/Lyrics: Edward Kleban Book: Linda Kline, Lonny Price
Allegiance (2012)
Music/Lyrics: Jay Kuo Book: Marc Acito, Jay Kuo
Amazing Grace (2012)
Music/Lyrics: Christopher Smith Book: Smith, Arthur Giron
Chaplin (2006)
Music/Lyrics: Christopher Curtis Book: Thomas Meehan, Curtis
Clinton (2012)
Music/Lyrics: Paul Hodge Book: Michael Hodge, Paul Hodge
Come From Away (2013)
Music/Lyrics/Book: Irene Sankoff, David Hein
Diana (2019)
Music/Lyrics/Book: David Bryan, Joe DiPietro
Grey Gardens (2006)
Music: Scott Frankel Lyrics: Michael Korie Book: Doug Wright
Gutenberg! The Musical! (2005)
Music/Lyrics/Book: Scott Brown, Anthony King
In the Green (2019)
Music/Lyrics/Book: Grace McLean
Miss Littlewood (2018)
Music/Lyrics/Book: Sam Kenyon
Nevermore (2010)
Music/Lyrics/Book: Jonathan Christenson
Queen of the Mist (2011)
Music/Lyrics/Book: Michael John LaChiusa
Road Show (2003)
Music/Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim Book: John Weidman
Scandalous (2005)
Music: David Pomeranz, David Friedman Lyrics/Book: Kathie Lee Gifford
Six (2017)
Music/Lyrics/Book: Toby Marlow, Lucy Moss
Starry (2019)
Music/Lyrics/Book: Matt Dahan, Kelly Lynne D’Angelo
Stephen Ward (2013)
Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber Lyrics/Book: Don Black, Christopher Hampton
The Hello Girls (2019)
Music/Lyrics/Book: Peter C. Mills Book: Cara Reichel
The Scottsboro Boys (2010)
Music: John Kander Lyrics: Fred Ebb Book: David Thompson
The View UpStairs (2017)
Music/Lyrics/Book: Max Vernon
Witness Uganda (2014)
Music/Lyrics/Book: Matt Gould, Griffin Matthews
2020s Musicals
Space Dogs
Music/Lyrics/Book: Nick Blaemire, Van Hughes
Tokyo Rose
Music/Lyrics/Book: Maryhee Yoon, Cara Baldwin
We Won’t Sleep
Music/Lyrics: Ari Afsar Book: Lauren M. Gunderson
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Do you know of any other great musicals based on true stories?
Or have you seen/listened to any of the musicals based on true stories above? Let us know 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 has a TESOL drama certificate, a BA in theatre, and has worked and interned with Broadway and Off-Broadway theaters.
