9 YA Books We Wish Were Plays or Musicals

March 20, 2020 | 5:00 PM

9 YA Books We Wish Were Plays or Musicals

By Team Fierce Reads
9 YA Books We Wish Were Plays or Musicals

Okay, so Broadway might be dark but our imaginations are running wild... which is how we ended up with this list of 12 YA books that we would absolutely love to see on a Broadway stage. Of course, the true inspiration for this list was Almost, Maine, a book that started as a stage production and made its way to book form because it's just that good. Keep reading and find out what books ended up on our list!



The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
A teenage cyborg mechanic who helps fight aliens from outer space? We're getting some serious Wicked vibes. The set could have lots of enormous turning gears and sprockets, and steam coming from pipes. And possibly lasers, too.

Check, Please!: #Hockey by Ngozi Ukazu
Yes, it's about ice hockey, but an adaptation of this delightful comic, about a young man from Georgia joining the hockey team at his small New England college could easily be done on roller skates. Like Starlight Express, but good. And there would definitely have to be a musical number about pie.

Dark and Deepest Red by Anna-Marie McLemore
Anna-Marie McLemore's spin on the fairy tale about the red shoes takes place back and forth between two time periods, so we're picturing a revolving stage with a fabulous dance number involving red shoes. Maybe something Nutcracker-esque, or a tap number.



Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller
This is about a seventeen-year-old pirate captain who allows herself to be captured in order to infiltrate her enemy's ship. The whole production could be done on a fake rocking pirate ship, while ropes and pulleys move fake waves back and forth across the stage... and maybe an occasional splash of water into the audience for effect. ????

If You Only Knew by Prerna Pickett
If You Only Knew is a Romeo and Juliet-type number, about a boy recently released from jail and the daughter of a prosecutor who fall for each other. Instead of a balcony, there could be a fire escape and there'd be lots of sound effects involving motorcycles, police sirens, the banging of a gavel, and the clanging of shutting jail cells.

Tell Me How You Really Feel by Aminah Mae Safi
This romantic comedy about two girls who dated and broke up, and now have to work together on a senior project would make the perfect on-stage dramatic comedy. And since superstar musical composers are hot right now, we're thinking the music of Tegan and Sara would go great with this one.



Fake It Till You Break It by Jenn P. Nguyen
Mia and Jake have been best friends forever. Their mothers think they would make the perfect couple, but they don't agree, until they decide to go for it anyway. Too bad rotary phones are no longer in use, because I see a musical number with phone cords, like in Bye Bye Birdie.

How Not to Ask a Boy to Prom by S. J. Goslee
A YA romance is always an adorable time, and a book involving a young man looking to get a date to the prom is a perfect opportunity for a musical. The cast could sing relevant popular hits from the 1990s throughout the production!

Almost, Maine by John Cariani
This one is kinda cheating, because it's actually already a play (and because it's the inspiration for this list, as noted above), but this romantic collection of stories is so charming on stage and on the page that we have to include it. Read the book, then go see the play that already exists!


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