Broadway musicals based on books combine two beloved forms of storytelling—literature and theater. To celebrate the upcoming Wicked movie, we’ve decided to grab our brooms and head back to Broadway to discover what other musicals are based on beloved books. From magic to mayhem—with a little murder sprinkled in—these shows are sure to delight any theater fan, so get ready to raise the curtain and learn all about the seven best old and new Broadway musicals based on books.
7. ‘Carrie’
Adapting Stephen King’s thrilling book Carrie, already made into a hit 1976 movie starring Sissy Spacek, might have seemed like a bit of a stretch, but in 1988 they did exactly that. The plot of the novel—high schooler Carrie White uses her telekinetic abilities to seek revenge on her bullies—remains the same, but musical numbers were added. Unfortunately, her powers weren’t enough to keep things going beyond 21 shows and Carrie closed less than a month after it opened.
6. ‘Les Misérables’
Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables has inspired three different Broadway musicals, all with the same name and plot of a French prisoner on the run. It debuted on the stage in 1987 and played for 6,691 total performances before it closed in May 2003. It was then revived in 2006 and had 480 shows before closing in 2008. Finally, in 2014 Les Misérables had its final Broadway revival, which lasted 1,046 shows before closing two years later. The musical also inspired the 2012 Oscar-nominated film of the same name.
5. ‘The Great Gatsby’
First hitting the Broadway stage in March 2024, The Great Gatsby musical quickly became a fan favorite. It follows the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel of the same name and brings viewers back to 1920s New York City. In it, a young Nick Carraway befriends the illustrious Jay Gatsby, who happens to be in love with Nick’s cousin Daisy. We won’t spoil the book or musical’s ending, but trust us when we say it’s something no one will see coming. The Great Gatsby is still running as of the date of publication and has even won a Tony Award for Best Costumes.
4. ‘The Lighting Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical’
Rick Riordan’s beloved character Percy Jackson singing? Count us in! Debuting in 2019, the musical followed the demigod Percy Jackson, who must travel across the country to try and retrieve Zeus’ master bolt before a mythological civil war breaks out. The Lighting Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical ran for 125 shows before closing in 2020.
3. ‘The Notebook’
Make sure you bring tissues for this Broadway musical based on the hit Nicholas Sparks book. The show follows Allie and Noah, both young and old, as they try to tackle issues like class and health, all in the hopes of ending up together. The show opened in February 2024 and is scheduled to close in December 2024. The Notebook musical was nominated for three Tony Awards, including Best Actor and Best Actress in a Musical.
2. ‘The Outsiders’
Adapted from the classic S.E Hinton book of the same name, The Outsiders follows Ponyboy Curtis as he deals with growing up poor in 1968 Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“[The] Outsiders is the first novel I read, front to back,” Joshua Boone, who brought the character of Dallas Winston to life, said. “It was the first time I witnessed that a white person could treat other white people the way that I was treated as a Black person.”
Hinton, the book’s author, also took the time to comment on how much the plot means to her, saying, “The year I wrote The Outsiders, my father was dying of a brain tumor. It was very slow. It was very painful. It was horrendous to watch. And I chose to write because I didn’t want to live where I was living. [So] I lived in The Outsiders, and it was years before I made that connection.”
The Outsiders musical is still running and recently just won the Tony Award for Best Musical.
1. ‘Wicked’
Of course, we had to put the classic Wicked at the top of the list when it comes to Broadway musicals based on books. Adapted from Gregory Maguire’s novel of the same name, it follows Elphaba (The Wicked Witch of The West) and Glinda (The Good Witch) before Dorothy drops in. The book is a bit darker than the musical, but the key details remain the same.
“I thought of the film [The Wizard of Oz] and imagined that the two witches had known each other a long time,” Maguire said of the plot. “As soon as I took the witch off the pedestal of being wicked and put her in a human context of having a friendship, even a friendship gone wrong, I knew she was going to be interesting.” Wicked debuted on the Broadway stage in 2003 and has performed over 8,000 shows. The first of a two-part movie musical adaptation will be released on November 22.
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