Our Top 10 Historical Musicals

Musicals have sought to bring history to life onstage, with varying degrees of creative license. These are our top ten musicals based on real-life people and events that have shaped the theatre.

00:47 1. Evangeline, or The Belle of Acadia (1874)
02:18 2. The King and I (1951) / The Sound of Music (1959)
04:20 3. Fiorello! (1959)
06:32 4. 1776 (1969)
08:57 5. Evita (1979)
11:00 6. Assassins (1990)
13:00 7. Elisabeth (1992)
15:02 8. Leonardo the Musical: A Portrait of Love (1993)
16:49 9. Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson (2010) / Hamilton (2015)
18:50 10. Newsies (2012)

Written by Lauren Henry. Narrated by Nicholas Breyfogle. A textual version of this video is available at https://origins.osu.edu/connecting-hi.... Video production by Laura Seeger and Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle.

This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.