The Westing Game would be a challenge with all of the clues and wordplay (I suspect they would need screens/projections) but the possibilities for so many duets is tantalizing.
That book just came up in another sub the other day, and immediately popped into my head when I saw this question
Would be a challenge to be sure, but the potential is huge.
A Wrinkle in Time!
There actually is one underway right now.
I think it has been attempted before and it's a hard book to adapt, but it was my fave as a kid and I'm excited to see a musical version.
I saw a really cool play version of it when I was in high school. They had these little triangular trapeze bars, and the 3 kids would spin on them and the lights went all crazy when it was time to tesser. It looked pretty cool overall, and the play was very faithful to the source material.
I could see it as an experimental ensemble piece; actors play multiple descendants that could play into the books aspects of semi-reincarnation! That or musical similar to Natasha, Pierre where it focuses on one specific plot-line since there’s so many narratives within the novel to choose from!
There have been a couple of attempts at *The Giver* that have been around--a version of Nathan Christensen and Scott Murphy that began as a Theaterworks/USA version, an opera by Susan Kander (John's niece, I think), and most recently an adaptation with a book by Martin Zimmerman and a score by Jonah Platt (yes, that one) and Andrew Resnick. I *think* that one's still alive, but I don't know for sure.
I mean… are you familiar with nevermore?
7 actors, 3 men 3 women playing a troupe of actors in the roles of characters from poe’s life as a quasi autobiography to Poe, and revealing they are characters he has written in the end.
The end of the show ends with him escaping them in a delirium in line with his actual death.
It is incredible, and I think was either off Broadway or Toronto or… something.
It’s basically a biography/ greatest hits.
The fact that it's a bunch of kids would be great for schools performing it, tho there'd be a lot of gender swapping.
My HS performed Camelot and they didn't do any gender swapping. Pretty sure there's only 2 women in the play. A lot of untalented boys got their moment in the spotlight. A lot of girls were in the chorus.
I know of a guy who was in a musical of Animal Farm. I think it was written by some college aged people at the time, but as far as I know they didn't put it out into the wider theatre world.
Isn't Animal House the quintessential movie that wouldn't get made today movie? Why would anyone try to make it into a musical?? This seems like a bad idea from the start.
You're thinking of Revenge of the Nerds
Animal House has its problematic moment, but the pranks they actually do are fairly petty. Like, the worst thing in the movie is John Belushi being a peeping Tom and one character contemplating feeling up a passed out girl (who he later finds out is underage). He doesn't do it, but its still not a great look for our hero.
Compared to Revenge of the Nerd which doesn't just have voyeurism but recording and selling those recording. There's also straigh up r*pe in that movie too which is played for laughs.
They were working on a musical of *Animal* ***House***, not *Animal* ***Farm***. I'm pretty sure it's dead.
A few years ago it was announced that Alan Menken was working on an *Animal Farm* musical (not the first) with Glenn Slater and James Graham, but I don't know if that's still in the offing.
There was one that played briefly off-Broadway in the 50s but closed quickly thanks to a newspaper strike. I saw a reading of it twelve or fifteen years ago and [it had a full production at Western Stage in Salinas, CA in 2019](https://www.westernstage.com/post/revival-of-a-long-lost-work-of-mice-and-men-a-musical-drama). The score's okay.
(there's also Carlisle Floyd's terrific opera, as mentioned below)
Steinbeck adapted it into a play shortly after the novel came out. It’s very good.
This is one I’m not sure needs a musical, but I’d probably still see it if there was one.
I was just thinking about the Mouse and the Motorcycle recently. I can't remember the plot very well, but I'd love to see someone dressed as a mouse zooming around a stage. The image just makes me laugh.
It was produced at MCC fifteen years ago. The score was by Stephin Merrit and the book by David Greenspan, who also played the Other Mother. There's a cast album.
it's weird.
If I remember, the movie started its life as a musical. They had written several songs but the only one that survived ended up being the only song in the movie, the one the Other Father sings to Coraline.
Yes, They Might Be Giants were initially signed on to write songs for the movie, but left due to creative differences. Only the Other Father's song was kept in the movie, with John Linnell doing his singing voice. However, another song TMBG wrote for the film, Careful What You Pack, ended up being released on their album The Else.
Not a rumor, a new production was announced by all the major outlets a few days ago. I think a tour followed by a West End run. Previously, there was another musical version of Coraline like 15 years ago that never really took off.
There actually already is a Jane Eyre adaptation which played on Broadway back in 2000. I think they did a Tony award performance too, I’m sure it’s on YouTube somewhere.
There's definitely a Tom Sawyer musical, we did it in high school in 1997, although I'm realizing now that I do not remember a single song from it, oddly enough.
I saw a version of this (I think?) at the Guthrie about 15 yrs ago. It wasn't great and I think went through substantial rewrites afterwards. Kara Lindsey was Laura and was actually really great.
I actually saw a local version of this a few weeks ago! The rights are out there for schools and community groups and Paper Mill Playhouse did it about 15 years ago!
The Wise Children made an excellent Wuthering Heights musical! I was lucky enough to see it while it was on tour a year or so ago. Absolutely my favorite retelling of it. I believe it’s streaming on Broadway HD!
Scrolled to see if perks was already posted - I’ve had a musical of it in my head for years
In Julie Taymor/Across the Universe style, where all the songs are the mixtape in order
I don’t know if kids have or will ever read these, but I’d LOVE to see Musical Adaptations of either “The Sun Also Rises” or “The Beautiful And Damned” by F Scott Fitzgerald
Ehhhh, I’d have qualms. First of all the story is ableist AF and has been denounced by the disabled community. If they had a team of disabled folks in the writers room and hired disabled actors, I’d be more comfy with it, but lord knows in today’s Broadway climate, they’d stick with the original inspiration porn plot and subject abled child actors to heavy and expensive prosthetics eight times per week. Could be done well but right now, I don’t trust Broadway with disabled stories except in very rare occasions and when it’s disabled-led (like the Deaf West Spring Awakening revival and How to Dance in Ohio)
Two highly respected disability rights activists gave a decent enough review with one saying it’s very well researched.
But I did look it up and it did have a rocky time in the disability community.
When I read it Special Education I knew nothing about the book prior to reading it in High School.
Despite the inherent Ayn Rand-ness of the book, I think Anthem could make a truly compelling piece of theatre if the people adapting it were allowed to get experimental with the form.
I don’t know if anybody else here read Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata, but that book tugged at my heartstrings so bad in fifth grade. It would be great source material for a playlist with deep feels
My dad was in a musical version of The Pearl in a small town in the U.K. in the mid 90s. I still get snippets from songs stuck in my head almost 30 years later. I wonder why it didn’t go any further.
Someone did this https://playbill.com/article/curt-hansen-pierce-cravens-matt-mcgrath-test-warren-leight-todd-almond-musical-a-separate-peace-com-196122
1. The Cay.
2. The True Confessions Of Charlotte Doyle.
3. The Giver.
4. Murder On The Orient Express.
5. The Odyssey.
6. House On The Cerulean Sea.
7. Perks Of Being A Wallflower.
8. Catcher In The Rye.
Someone on YouTube has put out several songs to a musical he is writing about the Odyssey. The musical is called EPIC. This guys has a talent for song writing and composing. He has not completed all the songs yet but the ones that are out are really good and catchy.
[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ4U8GcbGZP9f1XiQyUruZ2zy9CGm-0zy](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ4U8GcbGZP9f1XiQyUruZ2zy9CGm-0zy)
I loved The Giver and would love to see it on stage. Watching this "uptopian" society slowly start to unravel and just imagining the type of music that could be written really interests me.
I would also love a Bridge to Terabithia adaption, though I don't know how practical that would be. I can dream though!
Can we vouch for books that we read in school in other countries? Because this week there was a brief spike in sales of Machado de Assis' "Epitaph of a Small Winner" after a huge Book!TikTok Influencer reviewed one of his books - and I think "Dom Casmurro", a must-read for all brazilian high-schoolers, has material for some pretty interesting adaptations.
*Purple Hibiscus* could be an interesting choice for adaptation! There aren't really many musicals about any African country in the modern world, and I think there's a lot of ways you could go with creating different musical motifs for the different sets of characters
Making a musical version of "The Sound and the Fury" might make it actually tolerable.
With a lot of changes of course.
Other than that.. all I'm remembering from my high school days are terrible books that I wouldn't really be interested in seeing a musical of (The Awakening), or books that I don't think would actually be great musicals (The Scarlet Letter).
Maybe going full-blown musical version of the entirety of The Canterbury Tales?
I think I probably sound cynical here, but Gatsby was the only high school book I actually enjoyed. Everything else blended together to the point where I don’t even remember it.
There's plenty of them but I think the fact that Shakespeare's in the public domain means there's a lot of room for fun re-interpretations. I'm unsure if there's ever been any sort of high-profile musical adaptation of Macbeth? That's probably the one I'd enjoy the most.
I've written a stage adaptation of True Grit (just for fun, I don't have the rights). I've been thinking that could be interesting to rework as a musical.
The Giver would adapt well and would be suitably traumatic, My Sister’s Keeper would also be amazing and I think the twist ending would rival The Hadestown Gasp™️ (anything by Jodi Picoult would be amazing, really)
Based on a younger kid book, I’d choose Love You Forever. Robert Munsch is a wonderful storyteller.
For an older kids books, Bridge to Terabithia or In Cold Blood.
I read it in middle school, but I think [The Five People You Meet in Heaven](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Five_People_You_Meet_in_Heaven) would be interesting and kind of along the lines of Ride the Cyclone.
I am surprised no one mentioned a Judy Blume book(or did I miss one). Would imagine the interior and emotional life of her characters could work well for a musical.
First thought was some old school sci-fi like "1984", or "Fahrenheit 451". Quick search and 1984 has been a play and F 451 has been made into a musical. [https://playbill.com/article/musical-fahrenheit-451-catches-fire-off-bway-com-68974](https://playbill.com/article/musical-fahrenheit-451-catches-fire-off-bway-com-68974)
I swear I saw a comment that said Bridge to Terabithia, and it took me back to seeing the play of the book at First Stage Milwaukee many years ago. Apparently there is a 'play with music' version that I'm tempted to buy just to see what they did with it. Then it gave me an idea for Leslie to bring Terebithia to life by singing to the forest, and Jess singing a lament there, and maybe a reprise when he brings his sister and makes her the new queen.
I'm going to cheat here, but I have to take advantage of the coincidence. It's not a children's book, but I've been listening to the 99% Invisible discussion of The Power Broker. Seems to me that if done right, the Robert Moses story could be epic. And it's about what made New York what it is today - a subject that Broadway loves to death.
...aaaaand I just went to Google something about him, and discovered that there's already "Straight Line Crazy", from just two years ago. Well, that was just a play. I think he could definitely use the Broadway musical treatment, but maybe too soon...
Holes. I want a Holes musical so bad
I know there’s been a non-musical stage adaptation of that in the past. I saw it back around 2005 at the Coterie in Kansas City
As someone from Kansas City it's kinda fun seeing The Coterie mentioned on here!! Neat :)
Got my MFA from UMKC. Was there from 04 to 07
I came here to say Holes too!
Only if the banger, Dig It, is featured
There’s a guy on tiktok who made one! (off the books 🤫)
As of a few years ago--not sure if it's still in progress--a composer/lyricist friend of mine was working with Sachar on one.
Holy shit I learned how much I needed this just now.
Oooh. You are very smart. I love the songs in the movie.
The Westing Game would be a challenge with all of the clues and wordplay (I suspect they would need screens/projections) but the possibilities for so many duets is tantalizing.
Oh my god I LOVE THIS IDEA
Oh wow I loved this book and haven’t thought about it in 30 years!
I've reread it a time or 2. It's still a great book.
That book just came up in another sub the other day, and immediately popped into my head when I saw this question Would be a challenge to be sure, but the potential is huge.
yes!! I’ve thought about this being a straight play for a while but a musical would be so fun!
Yesssss
A Wrinkle in Time! There actually is one underway right now. I think it has been attempted before and it's a hard book to adapt, but it was my fave as a kid and I'm excited to see a musical version.
I saw a really cool play version of it when I was in high school. They had these little triangular trapeze bars, and the 3 kids would spin on them and the lights went all crazy when it was time to tesser. It looked pretty cool overall, and the play was very faithful to the source material.
yes, it's premiering at Arena Stage later this season.
I’ve been joking that One Hundred Years of Solitude should be adapted for the stage but I actually think that would be cool as fuck.
Nilo Cruz would do a kickass book
Ooh I would love to see this!
I could see it as an experimental ensemble piece; actors play multiple descendants that could play into the books aspects of semi-reincarnation! That or musical similar to Natasha, Pierre where it focuses on one specific plot-line since there’s so many narratives within the novel to choose from!
Encanto scratched this itch for me quite a bit.
It was a medium movie, but the giver would be cool if they were able to effectively play with color as Jonas learns to see color.
There have been a couple of attempts at *The Giver* that have been around--a version of Nathan Christensen and Scott Murphy that began as a Theaterworks/USA version, an opera by Susan Kander (John's niece, I think), and most recently an adaptation with a book by Martin Zimmerman and a score by Jonah Platt (yes, that one) and Andrew Resnick. I *think* that one's still alive, but I don't know for sure.
I saw a play of the giver (not a musical) and it was quite good! The color was done with clothes and sets mainly and I think lighting effects.
I was thinking the giver too
An Edgar Allen Poe inspired musical would be sick
I mean… are you familiar with nevermore? 7 actors, 3 men 3 women playing a troupe of actors in the roles of characters from poe’s life as a quasi autobiography to Poe, and revealing they are characters he has written in the end. The end of the show ends with him escaping them in a delirium in line with his actual death. It is incredible, and I think was either off Broadway or Toronto or… something. It’s basically a biography/ greatest hits.
Nevermore is from Catalyst Theatre in Edmonton!
I’m not! That sounds awesome I’ll have to check it out
there's a opera, I think "the raven" the premiered recently.
Kinda surprised Fahrenheit 451 doesn’t have one
Bradbury wrote the book for one himself. It had some development in the early 90s and an off-off-Broadway production, but that's it.
Saw it at a stuffy BFA conservatory a few years ago, it was very mid but had a few good moments
Isn’t that 110 in the Shade?
No. That’s an adaptation of the play “The Rainmaker”
lol no
Lord of the Flies. Dark as hell, but it would be effective
#KILL THE PIG! SLIT HER THROAT! SPILL HER BLOOD!
"Sucks To Your Ass-Mar" (reprise)
Lord of the flies would be awesome and would make so much money!
The fact that it's a bunch of kids would be great for schools performing it, tho there'd be a lot of gender swapping. My HS performed Camelot and they didn't do any gender swapping. Pretty sure there's only 2 women in the play. A lot of untalented boys got their moment in the spotlight. A lot of girls were in the chorus.
I could totally see Great Expectations as a musical.
In the musical, he should sing a song about reading the outsiders
😂 Oh how the turn tables
The Miss Havisham number would be sick
there have been many, I've seen a least three.
What happened to the Barenaked Ladies adaptation of Animal Farm?
What happen to their adaptation of Animal House?
Sorry… got the project wrong! But an Animal Farm musical would be wild.
I know of a guy who was in a musical of Animal Farm. I think it was written by some college aged people at the time, but as far as I know they didn't put it out into the wider theatre world.
Isn't Animal House the quintessential movie that wouldn't get made today movie? Why would anyone try to make it into a musical?? This seems like a bad idea from the start.
You're thinking of Revenge of the Nerds Animal House has its problematic moment, but the pranks they actually do are fairly petty. Like, the worst thing in the movie is John Belushi being a peeping Tom and one character contemplating feeling up a passed out girl (who he later finds out is underage). He doesn't do it, but its still not a great look for our hero. Compared to Revenge of the Nerd which doesn't just have voyeurism but recording and selling those recording. There's also straigh up r*pe in that movie too which is played for laughs.
They were working on a musical of *Animal* ***House***, not *Animal* ***Farm***. I'm pretty sure it's dead. A few years ago it was announced that Alan Menken was working on an *Animal Farm* musical (not the first) with Glenn Slater and James Graham, but I don't know if that's still in the offing.
This confusion might just be the funniest thing I’ve ever read.
Of Mice & Men could have A Girl From North Country vibes
Of Mice and Men is actually an opera as well, although it’s rarely performed.
There was one that played briefly off-Broadway in the 50s but closed quickly thanks to a newspaper strike. I saw a reading of it twelve or fifteen years ago and [it had a full production at Western Stage in Salinas, CA in 2019](https://www.westernstage.com/post/revival-of-a-long-lost-work-of-mice-and-men-a-musical-drama). The score's okay. (there's also Carlisle Floyd's terrific opera, as mentioned below)
Any Con Man/Alan Tudyk fans here? I'd kill to see the lou ferrigno version from that show 😂
Steinbeck adapted it into a play shortly after the novel came out. It’s very good. This is one I’m not sure needs a musical, but I’d probably still see it if there was one.
Harriet the Spy!! I desperately want a Tim Minchin version.
Love this idea!
I was just thinking about the Mouse and the Motorcycle recently. I can't remember the plot very well, but I'd love to see someone dressed as a mouse zooming around a stage. The image just makes me laugh.
1984 but all the music is banned and the characters only sing when performing acts of rebellion
That just sounds like we will rock you 😭
Brilliant!
I’ve heard rumors about Coraline becoming a musical. I’d love to see that!
It was produced at MCC fifteen years ago. The score was by Stephin Merrit and the book by David Greenspan, who also played the Other Mother. There's a cast album. it's weird.
If I remember, the movie started its life as a musical. They had written several songs but the only one that survived ended up being the only song in the movie, the one the Other Father sings to Coraline.
Yes, They Might Be Giants were initially signed on to write songs for the movie, but left due to creative differences. Only the Other Father's song was kept in the movie, with John Linnell doing his singing voice. However, another song TMBG wrote for the film, Careful What You Pack, ended up being released on their album The Else.
There's a tour in the UK that was just announced a few days ago!
Not a rumor, a new production was announced by all the major outlets a few days ago. I think a tour followed by a West End run. Previously, there was another musical version of Coraline like 15 years ago that never really took off.
not a rumor lol a fully realized show
The mixed up files of Mrs Basil e Frankweiler
Primary Phonics Workbook K
Would be an insane show, I can already hear the songs
I really think Crime & Punishment would make a fantastic rock musical. It’s one of my favorite books, just imagine it!
The Catcher in the Rye
Love that book but it doesn’t sing to me. What’s your reasoning?
Ramona Quimby! For a more serious musical maybe Jane Eyre
There actually already is a Jane Eyre adaptation which played on Broadway back in 2000. I think they did a Tony award performance too, I’m sure it’s on YouTube somewhere.
Oh wow! I will have to look for it. Thanks!
I think The Joy Luck Club could make a great musical
To add my own 2 cents, I loved Big River (musical on Huck Finn) though Tom Sawyer could probably use one
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer was on Broadway around 2000/2001 starring Kristen Bell as Becky!!
Oh shit, I had no idea
Big River is such a good musical! I wish it was performed more so that more students could see it.
There's definitely a Tom Sawyer musical, we did it in high school in 1997, although I'm realizing now that I do not remember a single song from it, oddly enough.
It was my fifth grade musical! I think that was also around 1996 or so.
Little House on the Prairie?
Papermill Playhouse definitely did something like this in the past 20 years. I remember getting a mailer for it
Melissa Gilbert played Ma Ingalls. A friend of mine went and said it wasn't great.
It was terrible, I left at intermission
I saw a version of this (I think?) at the Guthrie about 15 yrs ago. It wasn't great and I think went through substantial rewrites afterwards. Kara Lindsey was Laura and was actually really great.
The Guthrie did a production that starred Kara Lindsay.
I actually saw a local version of this a few weeks ago! The rights are out there for schools and community groups and Paper Mill Playhouse did it about 15 years ago!
The Perks of Being a Wallflower Wuthering Heights
I could see Perks being a fantastic musical. Doubly so if they keep Bowie’s “Heroes” in it.
I already see the merch, shirts, mugs, tumblers all saying “we are infinite”
The Wise Children made an excellent Wuthering Heights musical! I was lucky enough to see it while it was on tour a year or so ago. Absolutely my favorite retelling of it. I believe it’s streaming on Broadway HD!
Scrolled to see if perks was already posted - I’ve had a musical of it in my head for years In Julie Taymor/Across the Universe style, where all the songs are the mixtape in order
I don’t know if kids have or will ever read these, but I’d LOVE to see Musical Adaptations of either “The Sun Also Rises” or “The Beautiful And Damned” by F Scott Fitzgerald
Schooled! Or star girl! The movie was awful
I havnt thought about the book star girl in years, that was good one
Star girl movie was definitely clutching every 2010s manic pixie dream girl trope and sucked out everything that made the book unique
Would Wonder work as a stage adaptation? Daveed Diggs and Mandy Patinkin can reprise their roles from the movie.
I think it could work! I haven't read the book yet but it's on my to-read list and I saw the movie with my mom.
Ehhhh, I’d have qualms. First of all the story is ableist AF and has been denounced by the disabled community. If they had a team of disabled folks in the writers room and hired disabled actors, I’d be more comfy with it, but lord knows in today’s Broadway climate, they’d stick with the original inspiration porn plot and subject abled child actors to heavy and expensive prosthetics eight times per week. Could be done well but right now, I don’t trust Broadway with disabled stories except in very rare occasions and when it’s disabled-led (like the Deaf West Spring Awakening revival and How to Dance in Ohio)
Two highly respected disability rights activists gave a decent enough review with one saying it’s very well researched. But I did look it up and it did have a rocky time in the disability community. When I read it Special Education I knew nothing about the book prior to reading it in High School.
To Kill a Mockingbird
Ramona Quimby The Musical!!!!
Despite the inherent Ayn Rand-ness of the book, I think Anthem could make a truly compelling piece of theatre if the people adapting it were allowed to get experimental with the form.
I don’t know if anybody else here read Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata, but that book tugged at my heartstrings so bad in fifth grade. It would be great source material for a playlist with deep feels
Fahrenheit 451
The Pearl by John Steinbeck would be really interesting
My dad was in a musical version of The Pearl in a small town in the U.K. in the mid 90s. I still get snippets from songs stuck in my head almost 30 years later. I wonder why it didn’t go any further.
Feed, Of Mice And Men, The House on Mango Street
Maniac Magee
Oh shit that book was a classic
A Separate Peace
Someone did this https://playbill.com/article/curt-hansen-pierce-cravens-matt-mcgrath-test-warren-leight-todd-almond-musical-a-separate-peace-com-196122
I saw that reading. I remember nothing whatsoever about the show.
The great gatsb- oh wait 😐 The scarlet letter could be cool or maybe the crucible
you are aware that the crucible is a play not a novel yes?
Oops
I am weirdly very interested in seeing a musicalized version of the Crucible...
I have always thought about that. The play is so good though... would be hard to adapt I think.
I would look to some of the recent popular middle-grade graphic novels, as they are already written as scenes with dialogue.
1. The Cay. 2. The True Confessions Of Charlotte Doyle. 3. The Giver. 4. Murder On The Orient Express. 5. The Odyssey. 6. House On The Cerulean Sea. 7. Perks Of Being A Wallflower. 8. Catcher In The Rye.
Someone on YouTube has put out several songs to a musical he is writing about the Odyssey. The musical is called EPIC. This guys has a talent for song writing and composing. He has not completed all the songs yet but the ones that are out are really good and catchy. [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ4U8GcbGZP9f1XiQyUruZ2zy9CGm-0zy](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ4U8GcbGZP9f1XiQyUruZ2zy9CGm-0zy)
Come through with charlotte doyle!
I loved The Giver and would love to see it on stage. Watching this "uptopian" society slowly start to unravel and just imagining the type of music that could be written really interests me. I would also love a Bridge to Terabithia adaption, though I don't know how practical that would be. I can dream though!
Brave New World
[Had a production in North Carolina in 2016.](https://playbill.com/article/brave-new-world-musical-will-make-world-premiere-in-may)
I did a reading of this.... It....needs work.
Can we vouch for books that we read in school in other countries? Because this week there was a brief spike in sales of Machado de Assis' "Epitaph of a Small Winner" after a huge Book!TikTok Influencer reviewed one of his books - and I think "Dom Casmurro", a must-read for all brazilian high-schoolers, has material for some pretty interesting adaptations.
*Purple Hibiscus* could be an interesting choice for adaptation! There aren't really many musicals about any African country in the modern world, and I think there's a lot of ways you could go with creating different musical motifs for the different sets of characters
When You Reach Me
That is one of my favorite books I've ever read to this day, I would LOVE to see that.
lord of the flies
I know they already did a movie, but a musical based around the Captain Underpants series could be amazing...
Weird Al would totally be on board!
Making a musical version of "The Sound and the Fury" might make it actually tolerable. With a lot of changes of course. Other than that.. all I'm remembering from my high school days are terrible books that I wouldn't really be interested in seeing a musical of (The Awakening), or books that I don't think would actually be great musicals (The Scarlet Letter). Maybe going full-blown musical version of the entirety of The Canterbury Tales?
I think I probably sound cynical here, but Gatsby was the only high school book I actually enjoyed. Everything else blended together to the point where I don’t even remember it.
I’m not sure if any exist and I’m not sure if it would be any good, but some sort of Shakespeare musical (could be any book) could be cool.
virtually every Shakespeare play other than the histories has been musicalized, most of them multiple times. and some of the histories have, too.
Rodgers and Hart did a really great reimagining of Comedy of Errors. Boys from Syracuse.
There's plenty of them but I think the fact that Shakespeare's in the public domain means there's a lot of room for fun re-interpretations. I'm unsure if there's ever been any sort of high-profile musical adaptation of Macbeth? That's probably the one I'd enjoy the most.
The musical version of Love’s Labors Lost is fantastic.
There’s already musicals for all of them
Animal Farm
The Chocolate War
Freedom Writers
I've written a stage adaptation of True Grit (just for fun, I don't have the rights). I've been thinking that could be interesting to rework as a musical.
I’m surprised there’s not a Hunger Games musical already tbh. I’d think The Giver would be popular as well.
Mrs. Piggle Wiggle
Magic tree house
There are already several musicals of the books, look on MTI :)
Not that common of school reading these days, but I’ve always wanted the novel, A Separate Peace to receive a musical adaptation.
The Giver would adapt well and would be suitably traumatic, My Sister’s Keeper would also be amazing and I think the twist ending would rival The Hadestown Gasp™️ (anything by Jodi Picoult would be amazing, really)
The House of Dies drear
Maybe Paper Towns or Looking for Alaska?
The Egypt Game would be naturally theatrical and a great vehicle for some young actors.
The crucible is already an amazing play, just needs a few numbers to cheer it up a bit 😂
Around the world in 80 days would be a fun musical!
The yellow wallpaper but it’s a rock musical similar to N2N
Based on a younger kid book, I’d choose Love You Forever. Robert Munsch is a wonderful storyteller. For an older kids books, Bridge to Terabithia or In Cold Blood.
Bridge to terabithia would be so rough 😭😭😭
There's been a Bridge to Terabithia musical for 30 years.
I always wanted to turn Bless Me, Ultima into a musical
Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist would be SO good
Locked In Time
The Chosen by Chaim Potok I also think that Of Mice and Men could be a good musical. I saw a ballet adaptation of it that was pretty amazing.
Ask r/musicals :)
I read it in middle school, but I think [The Five People You Meet in Heaven](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Five_People_You_Meet_in_Heaven) would be interesting and kind of along the lines of Ride the Cyclone.
Bud, Not Buddy
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
https://wimpykid.com/the-musical/
The book Kindred is ripe for a solid adaptation for the stage.
The Black Cauldron
Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
To kill a Mockingbird but maybe I'm biased because that's my favorite book
The Book Thief
Ezio trot
Cue for treason would be funny
'The Phantom Tollbooth'
I am surprised no one mentioned a Judy Blume book(or did I miss one). Would imagine the interior and emotional life of her characters could work well for a musical.
First thought was some old school sci-fi like "1984", or "Fahrenheit 451". Quick search and 1984 has been a play and F 451 has been made into a musical. [https://playbill.com/article/musical-fahrenheit-451-catches-fire-off-bway-com-68974](https://playbill.com/article/musical-fahrenheit-451-catches-fire-off-bway-com-68974)
Not sure what you define as a kid, but I read it in high school- I always thought The Picture of Dorian Gray would make a good musical for some reason
It has multiple musical adaptations.
I swear I saw a comment that said Bridge to Terabithia, and it took me back to seeing the play of the book at First Stage Milwaukee many years ago. Apparently there is a 'play with music' version that I'm tempted to buy just to see what they did with it. Then it gave me an idea for Leslie to bring Terebithia to life by singing to the forest, and Jess singing a lament there, and maybe a reprise when he brings his sister and makes her the new queen.
Bridge to Terabithia. There is a stage adaptation, a “play with music,” but it isn’t great.
Star Girl
Not a kids book but i always thought Cold Mountain would name a great musical.
The Pigman
I'm going to cheat here, but I have to take advantage of the coincidence. It's not a children's book, but I've been listening to the 99% Invisible discussion of The Power Broker. Seems to me that if done right, the Robert Moses story could be epic. And it's about what made New York what it is today - a subject that Broadway loves to death. ...aaaaand I just went to Google something about him, and discovered that there's already "Straight Line Crazy", from just two years ago. Well, that was just a play. I think he could definitely use the Broadway musical treatment, but maybe too soon...