Books Adapted into Plays and Musicals

This mix of fiction and nonfiction books all inspired the creation of a play or musical.

Updated March 5, 2024
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Fun home : a family tragicomic
Bechdel, Alison
Paper Book
A fresh and brilliantly told memoir from a cult favorite comic artist, marked by gothic twists, a family funeral home, sexual angst, and great books. This breakout book by Alison Bechdel is a darkly funny family tale, pitch-perfectly illustrated with Bechdel's sweetly gothic...
Alexander Hamilton
Chernow, Ron.
Paper Book
The #1 New York Times bestseller, and the inspiration for the hit Broadway musical Hamilton! Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ron Chernow presents a landmark biography of Alexander Hamilton, the Founding Father who galvanized, inspired,...
Crime and punishment : a novel in six parts with epilogue
Dostoyevsky, Fyodor
Paper Book
Hailed by Washington Post Book World as "the best [translation] currently available" when it was first published, this second edition of Crime and Punishment has been updated in honor of the 200th anniversary of Dostoevsky's birth. * ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE'S 100 BEST...
American Psycho
Ellis, Bret Easton.
Ebook
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER * In this modern classic, the acclaimed author of The Shards explores the incomprehensible depths of madness and captures the insanity of violence in our time or any other. "A seminal book." --The Washington Post
The curious incident of the dog in the night-time
Haddon, Mark.
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * A modern classic--both poignant and funny--about a boy with autism who sets out to solve the murder of a neighbor's dog and discovers unexpected truths about himself and the world. "Disorienting and reorienting the reader to devastating effect.......
Carrie
King, Stephen
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * 50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION BY MARGARET ATWOOD *  Stephen King's legendary debut, the bestselling smash hit that put him on the map as one of America's favorite writers * In a world where bullies rule, one girl holds a...
To kill a mockingbird
Lee, Harper.
Paper Book
"Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." A lawyer's advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of Harper Lee's classic novel--a black man charged with the rape of a white girl. Through the young eyes of Scout and...
Wicked : the life and times of the wicked witch of the west : a novel
Maguire, Gregory.
Paper Book
This is the book that started it all! The basis for the smash hit Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, Gregory Maguire's breathtaking New York Times bestseller Wicked views the land of Oz, its inhabitants, its Wizard, and the Emerald City, through a darker and greener (not rosier) lens....
Tales of the South Pacific
Michener, James A.
Paper Book
Tales of the South Pacific is the iconic, Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece that inspired a Broadway classic and launched the career of James A. Michener, one of America's most beloved storytellers. This thrilling work invites the reader to enter the exotic world of the South Pacific and...
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Stevenson, Robert Louis
Paper Book
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a landmark in psychological fiction. The respectable doctor and his horrifying double are known even to those who have never read Robert Louis Stevenson’s short novel. This special edition, based on the original one published in...
The color purple
Walker, Alice
Paper Book
Read the original inspiration for the new, boldly reimagined film from producers Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg, starring Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, and Fantasia Barrino. Celebrating its fortieth anniversary, The Color Purple writes a message of healing,...
The Devil wears Prada
Weisberger, Lauren
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * SOON TO BE A MUSICAL STARRING VANESSA WILLIAMS * The iconic novel that inspired the hit movie starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway--a gloriously wicked story about the ultimate Boss from Hell and the deals we make with the devil to get to the top ...
The once and future king
White, T. H.
Paper Book
T. H. White's masterful retelling of the saga of King Arthur is a fantasy classic as legendary as Excalibur and Camelot, and a poignant story of adventure, romance, and magic that has enchanted readers for generations.   Once upon a time, a young boy called "Wart" was...

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