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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.
- The King and I
- Evita
- Annie Get Your Gun
- 1776
- The Sound of Music
- Le Miserable
- The Greatest Showman
- Tick, Tick...Boom!
- Newsies
This 1956 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical is loosely based on the real-life story of governess Anna Leonowens (Deborah Kerr), who educated the children of King Mongkut of Siam (Yul Brynner) in the early 1860s. The musical is highly fictionalized and takes liberties when it hints of a romantic relationship between Anna and King Mongkut. However, wha...
Get your tissues ready for this next entry, because contrary to most musicals, Evita does not have a happy ending. Evitatells the story of the life of Argentine political leader Eva Perón, second wife of President Juan Perón, and Eva’s early life before her rise to power and fame, as well as her charity work and eventually her death from uterine ca...
Annie Get Your Gun is a fictionalized retelling of the story of Annie Oakley, who gained worldwide fame thanks to her skills as a sharpshooter. Annie came from humble beginnings but rose to fame in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show thanks to her skills with a gun. She would fall in love and marry Frank E. Butler and continue to set records well into he...
Have you ever wondered what America's founding fathers argued about before the U.S. won its independence from England? The 1972 musical 1776 answers all your burning questions through song and dance. Join Benjamin Franklin (Howard da Silva), John Adams (William Daniels), and Thomas Jefferson (Ken Howard) as they piddle, twiddle, and resolve to draf...
“Brown paper packages tied up with strings. These are a few of my favorite things.” The Sound of Music is also one of many people's favorite things, and is considered one of the most beloved musicals of all time. The story follows the Von Trapp Family who were renowned singers preceding World War IIand relates the events of how Maria left the conve...
“One day more. Another day, another destiny. This never-ending road to Calvary.” Les Miserables is a bittersweet musical about sacrifice and love, set amidst the June Rebellion, otherwise known as the Paris Uprising of 1832. Based on the novel by Victor Hugo published in 1862, the 2012 musical follows the fictional characters of Jean Valjean (Hugh ...
“Ladies and gents, this is the moment you’ve waited for.” Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages, may I direct your attention to The Greatest Showman, a musical loosely following one of the biggest names in the circus, P.T. Barnum (Phineas Taylor Barnum). Life in the 1800s was not easy for P.T. Barnum (Hugh Jackman) who had a dream and ba...
“They’re singing, “Happy Birthday,” you just wanna lay down and cry. Not just another birthday, it’s 30/90.” Tick, Tick...BOOM! is a biography musical about Jonathon Larson, the man behind the smash hit musical, Rent. Most musical theater fans are familiar with Rent, but before Netflix released Tick, Tick...BOOM! back in November 2021, few knew Jon...
“Pulitzer and Hearst, they think we’re nothin’. Are we nothin’? No!” Is a group of teenage boys singing and dancing in the streets protesting the price increase for newspapers historically accurate? No, but what is true in Newsiesis the events of the newsboys strike right before the turn of the century in 1899. During the time, the streets of New Y...
- Sarah Kepins
Playbill started thinking about the musicals based on true stories—some were adapted from books and films and others were original ideas, but these 35 musicals depict real-life stories, people...
Ruminations on the life of Bob Dylan, where six characters embody a different aspect of the musician's life and work.
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- TV-14
As imaginative and fantastical as the the worlds crafted onstage can be, sometimes the most riveting stories are the ones that occur in real life. Take a look back at 35 bio-musicals that took...
Oct 11, 2021 · Many fantastic musicals, such as SIX and Hamilton, take their inspiration from real life. These are the best musicals based on historical events.
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Whatever musical genre you prefer, Hollywood has offered its own interpretation. Many are off-key with the truth, but some hit almost every note. Pick up your guitar or put on your favorite soundtrack, as we examine band and singer biopics as well as musicals based on true stories.
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