TOP 10 TUESDAY: Shows Based on Real Events
- James Tradgett
- May 13
- 10 min read
There are a plethora of historical figures and events, from the arts, politics, true crime, even just people with wild ambitions they realised, whose lives and experiences have been transformed into theatrical art in various guises. This list will look at the very best of plays and musicals based on these real individuals and events, whether they be historically accurate, heavily romanticised, or just silly pastiche.
10. THE LEHMAN TRILOGY
Basis: The Lehman brothers rise and fall as US financial giants
We start with a recent play by Stefano Massini, originally performed in Italian, but later translated into English by Mirella Cheeseman and adapted by playwright Ben Power. "The Lehman Trilogy" tells the story of the eponymous Lehman brothers, who were gargantuan figures in American financial history, emigrating from Germany in the mid-19th century, building an empire that lasted through the abolition of the slave trade, both world wars and several global recessions, and eventually going bankrupt in 2008. It actually premiered in French, at the Comédie de Saint-Étienne, France in 2013, receiving its Italian premiere two years later in Milan.
In the summer of 2018, the English language version of the three hour, three-act play premiered at the National Theatre, and was nominated for five Olivier awards including best new play. Following a run off-broadway, it subsequently transferred to the Piccadilly Theatre in the west end, where it ran for limited 16 weeks, extended from 12 weeks due to popular demand. All three runs starred Simon Russell Beale, Ben Miles, and Adam Godley, all three of whom earned a collective Olivier nomination for best actor. Beale and Godley later reprised their roles on broadway, with the former winning a Tony award for his performance.
The play has had a whole host of productions staged all over the world, including in Australia, Los Angeles, and all over Europe, as well as multiple revivals in London, most recently at the Gillian Lynne Theatre during 2024 following an international tour.
9. 42 BALLOONS
Basis: Larry Walters' 16,000ft flight in a lawn chair
"What makes a man want to fly in a lawn chair?" asks the ensemble in the very first number, and the answer is...we still don't really know, but it is a story that has intrigued people the world over for over for over four decades. Larry Walters was a simple man with lofty ambitions, namely to tie 42 weather balloons to a lawn chair and fly thousands of feet in the air, which he successfully achieved, but at great personal and financial strain for both him and partner Carol.
Written by up and coming composer Jack Godfrey, "42 Balloons" explores the highs and lows of Larry's ambitious flight, his friends and family who aided him in executing it, and his relationship with long-suffering girlfriend Carol. It has an up-beat, distinctly 80s score that features plenty of synth pop, as well as some rousing ballads, most notably in act two. The show premiered as a concert at the Vaudeville Theatre in London, before a fully staged world premiere ran at The Lowry in Salford in spring 2024; at present it is preparing for its North American premiere, running at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater during May and June. All three productions have starred Charlie McCullough and Evelyn Hoskins as Larry and Carol respectively, who don't look like they're set to deflate any time soon.
8. WAR HORSE
Basis: Michael Morpurgo's novel inspired by the real horses who survived WW1
Universally beloved, and hugely heart warming, this 2007 stage adaptation of arguably Michael Morpurgo's best known work has delighted audiences the world over, from the west end and broadway, to further productions in Germany, Canada, South Africa, China and Singapore among so many others. "War Horse" is a story that transcends generations, telling the tale of Arthur Narracott, and a horse he bids on and wins in an auction, with whom he builds a strong bond. Morpurgo devised the story through conversations with WW1 veterans in a pub, as he wanted to tell a story of the horrors and universal suffering of war through the eyes of the horses used during it.
The life sized horse puppets and their puppeteers have become the iconic constant of this play, with Adrian Kohler and Basil Jones of Handspring Puppet Company having been honoured by means of special awards from both the Outer Critics Circle and the Tony Awards for their puppetry. The play is a testament to the enduring quality of human spirit, as well as love and dedication, and has rightfully won a plethora of awards, including six Tonys and two Oliviers. It premiered at the National Theatre before a hugely successful run at the Gillian Lynne Theatre that lasted seven years, one of the longest ever London runs for a play, and also ran at the Vivian Beaumont on broadway for two years.
7. BONNIE & CLYDE
Basis: The real life outlaws who robbed and killed across America
Though certainly not the first piece of theatre to tell the story of famous outlaws, this Frank Wildhorn musical is by far the most popular, as it somewhat humanises the pair to fully endear them to an audience. "Bonnie & Clyde", based on the eponymous outlaws who committed a series of bank robberies, kidnappings and murders during the American great depression, digs into conceivable motivations for the pair to commit the acts they did, with the focus primarily on Bonnie's assumed motivations being both love for Clyde and her overwhelming desire to be famous, whatever form that may take.
The show received a lukewarm reception when it opened on broadway, following successful trial runs at La Jolla and in Sarasota. The show was famously Jeremy Jordan's debut in a broadway leading role, playing opposite Laura Osnes, who by this point was already a broadway mainstay. In spite of highly praiseworthy performances from its two leads, the musical only ran for a total of 8 weeks at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, making it a spectacular flop. It had a far more potent life when it made it to the UK though, running for a total of around 6 months across two separate venues, and subsequently touring, though this was cut short due to poor ticket sales. It may be flawed, but there's no question it's a hell of a thrill ride, full of songs you'll be singing all the way home.
6. GYPSY
Basis: Striptease artist Gypsy Rose Lee, taken from her memoirs
It is somewhat surprising that a musical about a stripper has been such a broadway hit over the past 66 years, but such is the quality of Sondheim, Styne and Laurents' telling of the story, and the tastefulness with which the subject matter is handled, that you really can't imagine the musical theatre landscape without "Gypsy" having been a part of it. Though told from the perspective of Gypsy herself, the musical is a rare example of the main character of the show not being the one for whom it is named, which in many ways sums up the trials and tribulations of Mama Rose perfectly.
Gypsy is a holy grail of performance for many a broadway diva, with a whole host of great leading ladies having taken on the role of Gypsy Rose Lee's mother and manager Rose, from Ethel Merman and Angela Lansbury, to Bernadette Peters, Patti LuPone and, currently, Audra McDonald absolutely taking the house down with their respective performances. It takes a particular type of performer to do justice to the role, and there is no doubt that we have seen the absolute best of the best succeed in this.
5. JULIUS CAESAR
Basis: The rise and fall of the infamous Roman dictator
The third and final play to feature on this list, and by far the oldest, "Julius Caesar" is one of Shakespeare's best known and most performed tragedies, first being performed in 1599, and like much of his work, still being performed over 400 years later. It is a story of war, violence and betrayal like none other, with the most iconic moment coming in the form of the mutiny against and murder of the titular Roman dictator, his final words "et tu, Brute" becoming enormously iconic, and massively quotable in popular culture and beyond.
This mid-period Shakespeare tragedy/history is one of his most popular, with a whole host of renowned actors having taken on both the title role and Brutus, including John Gielgud, Rex Harrison, Marlon Brando, and more recently Denzel Washington and Ben Whishaw. The most recent major UK production was at the RCS in 2023, the same year as the last time it performed on broadway with Washington playing Brutus. With our collective fascination for tragic storytelling as a species, there is no reason to expect performances of this iconic work to dry up any time soon.
4 . COME FROM AWAY
Basis: Passengers on the 38 planes stranded in Newfoundland after 9/11
Possibly the truest to life depiction of the events on which its based, "Come From Away" is more than just a story about the global disaster, but one of community, kindness and compassion in the face of one of the greatest tragedies in living memory. The show is built from a series of real accounts from the people who were in the tiny community of Gander, Newfoundland in the immediate aftermath of the September 11th 2001 terror attacks on Manhattan. A total of 30 planes were redirected to Gander following the closure of the US airspace, with around 7000 passengers stranded for five days, and the people of Gander and surrounding communities took these people into their towns and homes, providing food, shelter and means of communicating with their loved ones.
The brainchild of Irene Sankoff and David Hein, one-act musical Come From Away is widely considered one of the best contemporary musicals from the past 10 years, and is performed by a cast whom each take on a host of different roles. It premiered at La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego in 2015, later performing in Seattle, Washington DC and Toronto before opening on broadway in 2017, where it ran for five years. It also ran for over 1000 performances at the Phoenix Theatre in the west end, and subsequently toured the UK and Ireland. After its performances rights were released earlier this year, we will likely be seeing a whole lot more of this beautiful musical in years to come.
3. OPERATION MINCEMEAT
Basis: The real successful MI5 deception operation during WW2
Silly, daft, and downright brilliant, "Operation Mincemeat" is based on the real life MI5 plan to deceive the Nazis and coax them out of Sicily using a corpse, plenty of falsified documentation, and some good old fashioned British gumption. This concoction of British musical comedy troupe SpitLip tells the story of MI5 agents Charles Cholmondeley and Ewen Montagu, the former of whom formulates the plan to use a corpse to deceive the Germans, with the latter playing a big part in its execution.
Three quarters of writing team SpitLip also made up the original cast, with David Cumming, Natasha Hodgson and Zoë Roberts portraying Cholmondeley, Montagu and Col. Johnny Bevan respectively (among other roles). The show premiered at the New Diorama Theatre in London, and following by runs at Southwark Playhouse and Riverside Studios it opened in the west end in 2023, winning two Oliviers including best new musical. It later opened at the Golden Theatre on broadway in February 2025, and has since been nominated for four Tony awards, including three for SpitLip as composers and producers. This brilliant new musical has taken the world by storm, not only telling the true tale with gut-busting hilarity, but also genuine sincerity and heart.
2. HAMILTON
Basis: Life and times of Alexander Hamilton, as told by Ron Chernow
There's a million things he hasn't done, but having his life turned into a musical isn't one of them. As a concept, making a musical about the first treasury secretary of the USA would raise an eyebrow or two, as was certainly the case when the show's writer Lin-Manuel Miranda first performed the opening track of what would initially become "The Hamilton Mixtape" at the White House in front of Barack and Michele Obama back in 2009, whilst his first musical "In The Heights" was still in performances on broadway.
Fast forward six years, and Miranda has returned to the Richard Rodgers Theatre, this time for the full, finished product, telling of the life and times of Alexander Hamilton, from his early days studying at King's College, meeting rival Aaron Burr, fighting in the wars of independence, getting married, having kids, forming president Washington's first cabinet, and his eventual downfall and death. With a score largely composed of hip hop and rap music, and featuring an ethnically diverse cast ("America then told by America now"), Hamilton isn't just a musical, it's a cultural revelation.
1. PARADE
Basis: The infamous trial of Leo Frank, accused of the murder of Mary Phagan
The top spot goes to arguably one of the most harrowing, tragic, and publicly documented injustices of the 20th century, as Jason Robert Brown and Alfred Uhry tell the story of Leo Frank, a Jewish businessman from New York City, who is overwhelmingly accepted to have been wrongfully accused of the rape and murder of 13-year-old factory worker Mary Phagan in Atlanta, Georgia. "Parade" follows the trial and conviction of Frank, in spite of every item of evidence being circumstantial, as well as many of the testimonies having been false, and the witnesses coached by principal prosecutor Dorsey to falsely testify against Frank. His initial arrest and indictment were solely the result of media meddling and the ensuing public outcry, and it is heavily believed that Dorsey targeted Frank because he was Jewish and from the north.
Parade is a hauntingly beautiful, yet devastating piece of theatre, with a score inspired by blues, marching band music and old American standards. It premiered on broadway in 1998 at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre, starring Brent Carver and Carolee Carmello as Leo and Lucille Frank, both of whom were nominated for Tony awards. It made its London premiere in 2007 at the Donmar Warehouse, with Bertie Carvel and Lara Pulver starring. The show remains Jason Robert Brown's most successful musical, and the only one of his works to be revived on broadway, but more importantly his most culturally and socially relevant to date.
What's your favourite play or musical based on real life people and events? Let me know in the comments, or on my Instagram.
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