Theater Fiction: The Best Books for Theater Lovers

by Emily Neuberger

This historical fiction novel will transport you back to 1950s New York City. Under the dazzling lights of Broadway’s Golden Age, a controversial new musical is pushing boundaries.

Growing up in rural Wisconsin, Eleanor’s obsession with musical theater always made her feel like an outsider. So when she learns about an open call for one of her favorite productions, nothing will stop her from getting to that NYC audition. Despite her love of musicals, she has no formal training. But she catches the eye of a famed composer, Don, who wants her for a new show he’s putting together - “A Tender Thing.” This groundbreaking new work will put the love story between a white woman and a black man on a Broadway stage for the very first time.

While the cast begins rehearsing, word of the production leads to a fury of protests. Eleanor’s naive worldview is broken wide open. Between her growing friendship with her co-star Charles and her complicated relationship with Don, she’ll be forced to decide what she truly wants for her career and her personal life.

by Christina Lauren

This rom-com is perfect for theater lovers! Holland Bakker has a major crush on Calvin, the street musician who plays in the subway station near her apartment, but she's never had the nerve to talk to him. Fate brings them together one night when he saves her from a drunken attacker, but then he disappears when the police arrive. Holland wants to find a way to repay Calvin, so she gets him an audition with her Broadway musical director uncle.

The audition goes very well, but Calvin's Broadway debut is in jeopardy because his student visa expired years ago, and he's been in the country illegally ever since. So, hoping to help both her uncle and Calvin, Holland proposes a scheme in which she'll marry Calvin without letting him know about her long-held infatuation with him.

Soon Calvin is a Broadway star, but when will Holland finally stop acting?

by Fiona Davis

Playwright Hazel Riley and actress Maxine Mead aim to put up a Broadway show, and they plan to use the Chelsea Hotel - a hot spot for creatives and artists - to get the ball rolling. But they soon discover that the greatest obstacle to producing a Broadway show isn't the art, but the politics.

This story spans the 1940s-60s, but it's centered around the era of McCarthyism. As the Red Scare is sweeping the country, those in the entertainment industry are in the cross-hairs, and there is pressure to point fingers.

Fiona Davis is one of our favorite historical fiction authors because of her ability to transport you to the time and place with her vibrant descriptions. This book paints a portrait of the bright lights of the theater district and the glamor and danger of this era in New York City.

by Ethan Hawke

The narrator of this novel - which has been described as “a passionate love letter to the world of theater” - is a young man in torment. His marriage has collapsed, but he’s holding out some hope of reconciliation. He’s going about it all wrong though, because whiskey and sex are clearly not a winning formula for salvaging the relationship. The only thing holding his life together is theater. He’s taken on the challenging role of Hotspur in a production of Henry IV, and he’s playing opposite one of the most narcissistic Flasaffs of all time.

This novel is written by four-time Academy Award-nominated actor, writer, and director Ethan Hawke, who you likely know from films such as Dead Poets Society, Reality Bites, and Training Day.

by Elizabeth Gilbert

Told from the perspective of an older woman looking back on her youth, City of Girls is a fictional life story set in the New York theater world during the 1940s.

Nineteen-year-old Vivian has been kicked out of Vassar College due to poor performance, and her affluent parents send her to live with her aunt, who owns a flamboyant but crumbling midtown theater.

Other charismatic theater employees, from showgirls to Olive, the no-nonsense secretary that keeps everyone in line, have their own spaces on the 3rd and 4th floors. Vivian loves fashion and is a talented seamstress, perfect for making clothes for the Lily dancers on and off the stage.

The book's primary setting is 1940s New York City, spanning the years before the US entered WW2, along with the war years. Vivian reflects on the events of those years, including an impulsive brief personal mistake that almost ruined the course of her life.

by Kate Bromley

This rom-com has been described as The Devil Wears Prada for theater fans, and we’re here for it!

Winnie dreams of becoming a famous playwright, but for now, she’s just the personal assistant to one. She hopes her boss, sharp-witted feminist playwright Juliette, will give her some feedback on her play, but she can’t even get Juliette to look at it.

When an experimental London theater company decides to stage Juliette’s most renowned play, The Lights of Trafalgar, Juliette and Winnie travel across the pond for the opening. But things go sideways quickly when Juliette butts heads with the play’s director, and Winnie is forced to stage manage the relationship.

Things become further complicated when Winnie feels an instant attraction to Juliette’s nephew, Liam. He’s smart, handsome, and devastatingly British, and readers will swoon for his witty banter with Winnie. But Juliette does not approve, forcing Winnie and Liam to keep their blossoming relationship a secret. Meanwhile, Juliette forces Winnie to go on a series of online dates as a way to gather material for Juliette’s latest project.

by Karen Joy Fowler

You know John Wilkes Booth as the assassin of Abraham Lincoln. But did you know he was also an actor from one of the country’s leading theatrical families? John’s father, Janius, was an acclaimed Shakespearean actor in London before moving to the US. Janius lived a secluded life in a cabin near Baltimore, having ten kids over the course of the next 16 years. Eventually, he emerged and began acting once again, this time alongside his many children. But the family’s success on the stage was no match for the drama behind the curtains.

John Wilkes Booth is not the focus of this historical fiction novel - rather this is a book about the Booth family’s many triumphs and scandals set against the backdrop of a country moving closer to the boiling point of civil war.

by Lauren Graham

Franny is a struggling actress trying to make it in '90s New York City. She gave herself a deadline for success, but time and money are both running out. She's living in Brooklyn with two roommates, waiting tables, and struggling to get her hair to cooperate.

As you would expect from Lauren Graham, this book is laugh-out-loud funny! Fans of Gilmore Girls (like us) will especially enjoy listening to Lauren narrate the audiobook.

by Maggie O'Farrell

In the 1580s, William Shakespeare married a woman named Anne (Agnes) Hathway, and together the couple settled in Stratford and had three children, a daughter named Susanna, and twins named Hamnet and Judith. Sadly, Hamnet died at the age of only eleven. Several years later, Shakespeare wrote one of his most famous plays - Hamlet.

Agnes, rather than William, is the star of this story (in fact, William himself is never mentioned by name in the book, so as not to pull focus). This novel is a stunning portrayal of grief, and how that grief may have influenced one of the most famous plays in history.

by Helena Dixon

This cozy mystery, set in the late summer of 1933, is the third in the Miss Underhay series. Amateur sleuth Kitty Underhay has had a falling out with her beau, PI Matthew Bryant. But when Matt is arrested - accused of murdering an actress who was found strangled with one of his bootlaces - Kitty rushes to his aid. Her investigation leads her to the home of a retired theatre impresario and into the local amateur dramatics society. There she universe a web of deceit that stretches far beyond the stage make-up. Will Kitty be able to clear Matt’s name, or will it be curtains for both of them?

The books in this cozy mystery series are currently free with a Kindle Unlimited membership as of 7/28/2022.

by Sopan Deb

In his fifties, Shantanu Das finds himself isolated from his traditional Bengali community and living in the shadows of his past. Living in the New Jersey suburbs, he’s divorced from his wife, Chaitali, and he hasn’t spoken to his eldest daughter, Matali, in months. But he regrets most of all how he reacted when his teenage daughter Keya came out as gay, and that she died tragically before he could make it right.

As the anniversary of Keya’s death approaches, Shantanu discovers a box tucked away in the attic. It contains an unfinished manuscript that Keya and her girlfriend had been writing, and it gives her family new insights into her life. They come up with the wild idea to stage the play as a way to honor Keya’s memory, but first, they’ll have to get permission from Keya’s girlfriend.

Set in the vibrant world of Bengali Americans, this is a heartwarming and charming novel of redemption and second chances as a family struggles with their grief and attempts to right the wrongs of the past.

by Aimee Agresti

This second-chance romance is a fun, light read for theater lovers! Charlie Savoy used to be one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, but now she’s pushing 40 and finds herself pushed out of the film world. Without many other options, Charlie reluctantly agrees to return to the summer Shakespeare theater that launched her career, and where her old flame, Nick, is the artistic director.

As rehearsals get underway, Charlie is pleasantly surprised that she’s enjoying dipping her toes back into the theatrical world. She’s bonding with her cast, and she’s even feeling some renewed sparks with Nick, who still manages to bring out the best in her. But the drama heats up on stage and off when the theater decides to bring in the current Hollywood’s current it girl (who happens to be Charlie’s former rival) to attract theater donors. If Charlie wants a chance to revive her career, and maybe even her love life, she’ll have to put on the show of a lifetime.

by Anne Enright

This historical fiction novel reads like a memoir, and is equal parts a story of life in the theater and a mother-daughter relationship. Norah - the narrator of the novel - is middle-aged and looking back both on her own life and on that of her late mother, Katherine O’Dell, who was once a famous actress.

Katherine’s childhood was spent in a traveling theatre that toured Ireland. She later found theatrical success in London’s West End and on Broadway, before finally landing in Hollywood. With her young daughter always waiting in the wings, we see Katherine struggle with aging, alcohol, and dimming stardom. Norah describes the strength her mother drew from her art, but also her destructive relationship with her audience.

The audiobook is read by the author herself. Many reviewers say they put down a paper copy of the book before later listening to the audio version and finding it much more captivating.

by David Nicholls

In the summer of 1997, Charlie is a painfully ordinary 16-year-old boy, the kind that others find easy to forget. Life at home is rough after his mother moves out, leaving Charlie to take care of his father, rather than the other way around. And he knows that he didn’t do well on his GCSEs (a UK academic qualification exam). He’s not sure what his future holds, and he dreads finding out.

Then Charlie meets Fran. She’s from a posh school and is intelligent, beautiful, and artsy. Charlie has no interest in theater, but he is interested in spending more time with Fran. He knows she’s out of his league, but spending the summer doing Shakespeare with her might just be what he needs.

This coming-of-age story from Booker Prize-nominated author David Nicholls is described as poignant, tender, and traumatic. While it’s not a light read, reviewers say it’s funny at times, with snappy dialogue. Ultimately it’s a tragicomedy about the rocky path to adulthood and the power of friendship and brief, but searing, first love.

by Louise Hare

In 1936 London, Lena Aldridge is a mixed-race woman forced to pass as white because her city does not accept her true heritage. She feels stuck working as a nightclub singer in a basement club, and she fears that her chance at the theater career of her dreams has already passed her by. Suddenly a stranger offers her the opportunity of a lifetime - a starring role on Broadway and a one-way ticket aboard the Queen Mary bound for New York. She’s eager to escape London and chase her dreams in America, but things get complicated when a wealthy family aboard the ship draws her into their fold, and one of them turns dead.

Reviewers say this historical fiction crime novel harkens to the golden age of murder mysteries, a la Agatha Christie. Additionally, the story mixes the glitz and glamour of Broadway with the historical challenges of the era, including racism, sexism, classism, and politics.

by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney

Flora and Julian have been happily married for more than twenty years. Throughout that time, the constants in their lives have been theater, acting, and their friendship with David and Margot. As Flora and Julian prepare to celebrate their daughter’s graduation, she searches the garage for a favorite photo and finds Julian’s original wedding ring in the corner of a box. The same ring he said he’d lost years before. This revelation causes her to question everything.

The novel takes the reader through their whole marriage (though not in chronological order), including their early days trying to keep Julian’s theater company afloat, to later days of success in LA. With each chapter, the POV changes. Despite the story jumping around in time, the characters are well developed, and each chapter builds upon the former and sets up the next.

This book gets mixed reviews, but Book Girl Angela really enjoyed this story of marriage and friendship with theater at its core. While Good Company is heavily character-driven, the slow-burn plot is enough to keep you engaged and wanting to find out the truth. The audiobook narration is excellent.

by Marisa Kanter

Fans of High School Musical and Glee will want to pick up this YA enemies-to-lovers romance with endless references to famous musicals!

Natalie and Reid have been lifelong rivals, and when their high school’s arts budget is cut, they are pitted against each once again. Natalie wants to direct the school’s first-ever student-written play, but for her production to get the funding it needs, the money would have to come from the school’s band - Reid’s band. Their rivalry turns into a prank war that goes too far. Their only chance to save the arts program is to work together to write a musical. If - and only if - they deliver a sold-out show, the school board might reconsider the budget.

by Emma Lord

Millie Price is a teenager who dreams of being a Broadway star, but the odds feel stacked against her. First, there's her super-introverted single dad, who is afraid to let her leave home to pursue her dreams. Next, there's the romantic tension between her and her drama club rival, Oliver. And then there are her "Millie Moods" - the rush of intense emotions that overwhelm her at the worst possible moments.

When Millie happens upon her dad's online journal from 2003, she decides it's finally time to find her mom. But who is she? Is it Steph, the still-aspiring stage actress and talent agent receptionist? Is dance teacher Farrah? Or is stage enthusiast Beth, with her exuberant 15-year-old daughter (which would mean Millie has a sister)?

This YA novel has major Mamma Mia vibes. It's a clean read appropriate for younger and older readers alike.