Famous Books That Inspired Popular Musical Works
By Contagion Media
A book is a literary favorite of musicals. Why? Readers already care about the characters, a ready-made fan base is a gift to any producer. However, there's more to the story. Novels have lots of big feelings and songs do great things at that.
Here are some musicals inspired by books – from Victorians to a contemporary biography that took to hip-hop rap. Many of these book-to-musical movie adaptations are still playing today decades after their opening night.
Les Misérables: A Giant Novel, A Giant Hit
Photo by Ogulcan Aksoy | Adobe Stock
The book is enormous and was written in 1862 by Victor Hugo. Several editions are over 1,000 pages long. Nevertheless, in 1980 it was staged as a stage musical in France and in 1985 in London, in English.
It never went away. The musical has been the longest running in West End history and producers claim it has been seen by over 130 million people worldwide. Not bad for a tale about the theft of bread, prison and a botched uprising.
The Phantom of the Opera: From Newspaper Serial to Broadway Record
The Phantom of the Opera was written by Gaston Leroux in 1909 and 1910 as a newspaper serial, and was published as a novel shortly thereafter. The tale was the subject of multiple film adaptations by the time Andrew Lloyd Webber got hold of it.
His musical first opened in London in 1986 and on Broadway in 1988. The Broadway curtain came down finally in April 2023, and the show had performed 13,981 times. That's the greatest length of time on Broadway, and it took 35 years to reach the mark.
Leroux's story has inspired dozens of authors, and its mix of music, obsession and fear still pulls readers in.
Photo by chrisdorney | Adobe Stock
If you want a similar mood in a modern book, try Heartstrings by Luna Sads on FictionMe, a handy reading app where you can read novels free. It follows a woman who spent years trying to escape a man who would not let her go, and it largely captures the shadowy, possessive spirit of The Phantom of the Opera. It isn't a retelling. But the tension between fear and fascination feels very close.
Oliver! and the Victorian Orphan
Oliver Twist was written by Charles Dickens in 1838 and it's a dark tale. Hunger, crime, and cruelty to children. Lionel Bart considered it all and wrote a musical which premiered in London in 1960.
The original production was performed for 2,618 shows. Bart retained the sadness but added in tunes that people would hum on the way home, and that's part of the reason for its success.
Wicked: A Book That Rewrote Another Book
This one is layered! The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a book written by L. Frank Baum in 1900. In 1995, Gregory Maguire retold it from the point of view of the Wicked Witch, almost 100 years later. In 2003, the stage musical came along.
Photo by JHVEPhoto | Adobe Stock
As of now, Wicked has grossed more than $1 billion on Broadway alone, and became a two-part movie. So it turns out that people like a bad guy who may not be a bad guy.
Oliver! and the Victorian Orphan
Oliver Twist was written by Charles Dickens in 1838 and it's a dark tale. Hunger, crime, and cruelty to children. Lionel Bart considered it all and wrote a musical which premiered in London in 1960.
The original production was performed for 2,618 shows. Bart retained the sadness but added in tunes that people would hum on the way home, and that's part of the reason for its success.
Cabaret: Berlin Stories Under the Spotlight
Originally written in 1939, Goodbye to Berlin was based on Christopher Isherwood's experience in Berlin during the early 1930s. It's a collection of sketches regarding a night club singer, a lodger, and an edge-of-the-city city. They were adapted into a play (I Am a Camera) and this turned into the musical.
Photo by Cloudy Design | Adobe Stock
Very successful, Cabaret opened in 1966 on Broadway and was awarded eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Its black humour and warning to keep your eyes fixed don't fail to resonate with contemporary viewers.
Matilda: Roald Dahl Gets a Musical
Roald Dahl's Matilda came out in 1988. The Royal Shakespeare Company staged the musical version in 2010, with songs by Tim Minchin.
In 2012 it won seven Olivier Awards, which was a record for a single show at that point. Children play the main roles, and the show treats them as smart, not cute. That is very Dahl.
Fiddler on the Roof: Short Stories, Big Heart
Sholem Aleichem wrote the Tevye stories over about twenty years, starting in the 1890s. They trace the story of a poor farmer in a remote village who endeavours to hold his family and his world together in the face of a changing world.
The musical premiered on Broadway in 1964. It became the first Broadway show to reach 3,000 performances and ended up at 3,242. Evidence that a gentle tale of family can fill a large theatre.
Hamilton: When a Biography Becomes a Rap Musical
Not all sources are novels. In 2004, Ron Chernow published his 700+ page biography of Alexander Hamilton. It was picked up by Lin-Manuel Miranda while on vacation in 2008 and he couldn't get it out of his mind.
In 2015 the musical debuted on Broadway. In 2016, it took the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and went on to win 11 of its 16 Tony nominations. A large history book turned into a rap song became one of the toughest tickets around town.
Photo by Ryan | Adobe Stock
What These Adaptations Have in Common
Look at these shows side by side and a pattern shows up. The source stories are strong in their hero, their stakes and the emotions that cannot be denied. Then comes the chopping of adapters. A 1,000-page novel has to be three hours if you're going to get it in a couple of hours, so there are no subplots and songs take the place of long chapters.
Of course, it doesn't always work. Book-loving fans can be a problematic target audience to please and many adaptations have failed. However, when the situation is ideal, it makes a bigger impression than either format can claim on their own.
Final Thoughts
Books that inspired musicals show how flexible a good story can be. A Victorian orphan, a masked genius, a green-skinned witch and a founding father all found new life with a live orchestra.
If you have never seen any of these, start with the book, then buy a ticket. Or do it the other way around. Either order works, and you get two versions of the same story to argue about.
Published by KBR on September 25, 2026
