5 Novels that Would Make Great Broadway Musicals

Trainspotting, by Irvine Welsh
This is a surprisingly popular choice for a musical adaptation (a few years ago it was even announced that none other than Andrew Lloyd Weber would be bringing it to the stage, though that hasn’t happened), and if you think about it, it’s easy to see why. First of all, music plays a big part in all of Welsh’s characters’ lives, so the story already has a lyrical vibe to it. Second, there are plenty of classic “music moments” in the story that could easily be staged for maximum impact. With the right lyricist and musical sensibility, Trainspotting could be a powerful moment of musical theater, although as with the film, everything would come down to the casting of Begbie.

The Luminaries, by Eleanor Catton
While there is a serious risk that any adaptation of Catton’s complex, layered story of the 19th century New Zealand gold rush would run about 76 hours, once deciphered, the plot is actually kind of simple. The opening setup gathers thirteen men in a tense, mysterious meeting and then traces their individual roles in a sprawling mystery that includes impersonation, mistaken identity, murder, and outright theft. Winnowing this story down would take a lot of deft work, but what would be left is a marvelous costume drama in the classic musical mold. Adopting the Hamilton approach of getting through piles of exposition via creative and engaging lyrics would help to keep things moving along nicely.

A Man Called Ove, by Fredrik Backman
Whereas a book whose central character intends to kill himself but proves laughably bad at doing so might not seem like an obvious choice for a bouncy musical, Ove is such a sharply-drawn character, with such hilarious tics, you can imagine six or seven songs written about him almost immediately—at least two of which have to do with what your choice of car model says about you, and two more, about the awfulness of cats. Ultimately a story that affirms how good it is to be alive and part of a community, A Man Called Ove offers so many wonderful moments that could be turned into hilarious musical numbers, we have no doubt more than one of the books’ fans already have rough drafts of a musicals hidden away. Bonus points if we can get Christopher Walken to play Ove.

Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist, by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Another book in which music is more than just window dressing, but is almost a character in the story, the authors even went so far as to include a recommended listening list for fans to check out. In other words, this story is already 75 percent of the way to being a Jukebox Musical in the Mama Mia mode, so let’s take it all the way, and make it happen. Original music could be created for the legendary (and fictional) band Where’s Fluffy to round out the performances, or perhaps Where’s Fluffy could be a Greek Chorus commenting on the action—either way, this would be one happy, energetic musical.

The Shining, by Stephen King
At first we thought this was nuts, but then we reconsidered—after all, they made American Psycho into a musical, opening the floodgates for horrific stories about serial murderers and insane people to do some singing and dancing. Stephen King’s novel would be absolutely perfect—just imagine all the ghosts in the hotel, and even the hotel itself, appearing as characters, singing about their terrible deeds. Crazy, right? Except then we discovered THEY’VE ALREADY MADE THIS MUSICAL. The world is now simultaneously a better and more crazy place.
What books would you pick to be adapted into musicals?