Musicals, albums, and theatre productions across three decades.
Lyrics
Premiered July 10, 2018 at the Seoul Arts Center Opera House. Based on Victor Hugo's novel, it follows Gwynplaine — a man with a disfigured permanent smile who becomes a celebrated clown navigating 17th-century English class struggle. Music by Frank Wildhorn, book and direction by Robert Johanson, lyrics by Murphy. The production took five years to develop and carried a budget of 17.5 billion KRW.
Lyrics
Opened March 29, 2016 at Blue Square Interpark Hall in Seoul, directed by Jeff Calhoun. The musical explores the life of the WWI-era dancer and spy, with music by Frank Wildhorn and book by Ivan Menchell.
Lyrics
Opened April 6, 2015 at the Nissay Theatre in Tokyo after a 2014 concept album. Based on the manga by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, with music by Frank Wildhorn and book by Ivan Menchell. The show has since been produced numerous times across Asia, celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2025. A new production opens at the Barbican in London, running July–September 2026.
Book & Lyrics
Developed in Tampa in 2009 and Houston in 2010 before opening on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre on April 17, 2011. Set in New York City, it follows writer Alice Cornwinkle and her ten-year-old daughter Chloe through a contemporary reimagining of Lewis Carroll's classic. Music by Frank Wildhorn, co-book by Gregory Boyd. A revised production premiered at Tuacahn Center for the Arts in Utah in 2022.
Book & Lyrics
Premiered March 14, 2009 at the Theater St. Gallen in Switzerland. Based on Alexandre Dumas' 1844 novel, with the adaptation also drawing on the 2002 film, and music by Frank Wildhorn. A new production is scheduled for 2026 in Münster, Germany.
Lyrics
Opened October 2, 2008 at Prague's Karlin Musical Theatre. Based on Prosper Merimee's novella, with book by Norman Allen and music by Frank Wildhorn.
Book & Lyrics
Conceived by Frank Wildhorn and Steve Cuden, it premiered May 26, 2006 at the Operett Theater in Budapest, followed by an outdoor staging in Szeged that July. Murphy co-wrote the book with Phoebe Hwang; lyrics by Murphy with additional lyrics by Nan Knighton, and music by Wildhorn. The show returned to Budapest in 2025.
Book & Lyrics
World premiere in July 2005 at the Lenape Regional Performing Arts Center in Marlton, New Jersey. Lyrics by Murphy, music by Frank Wildhorn. The Fitzgerald musical later reappeared as Zelda: An American Love Story (2012) and Scott & Zelda (Tokyo, 2015).
Lyricist (Featured Songs)
Broadway production at the St. James Theatre. Murphy contributed two songs: "I'm Gonna Love You Tonight" and "Boogie Woogie Country." The show ran for 13 months.
Lyrics • Tony Nomination for Best Original Score
After premiering at Houston's Alley Theatre, the Broadway production opened April 22, 1999 at the St. James Theatre. The musical earned Tony nominations for Best Musical and Best Original Score, plus five Drama Desk nominations.
Composer
Premiered at the Norma Terris Theatre, Goodspeed Opera House. Murphy's first theatrical production, with lyrics by Mary Bracken Phillips.
Lyricist
A long-running collaboration with vocalist Linda Eder: And So Much More (Angel Records), It's Time, It's No Secret Anymore, Christmas Stays the Same, Gold (Atlantic), and Now (Sony).
Lyricist
English-language concept album featuring Jeremy Jordan, Jarrod Spector, Laura Osnes, Adrienne Warren, Eric Anderson, Carrie Manolakos, and Michael Lanning.
These additional titles sit alongside the Broadway and international productions listed above.
A 2011 Japanese musical premiering in Japan in spring 2011. Based on the true story of Mitsuko Aoyama, who married Austro-Hungarian diplomat Count Heinrich von Coudenhove-Kalergi in 1892 and raised seven children in Vienna. Music by Frank Wildhorn, lyrics by Murphy, libretto by Shuichiro Koike.
Songs from Mrs. Mannerly was developed as a musical in progress based on Jeffrey Hatcher's play, set in Steubenville, Ohio in 1967. It follows a manners coach and her ten-year-old pupil. Music by Michael Moricz, lyrics by Murphy, directed by Gregory Boyd.
A musical about Hannah Hill, Charlie Chaplin's mother — a late 19th-century London music hall star whose life swung between creative brilliance and institutionalization. Book and music by Florinda Meza, lyrics by Murphy, additional material and choreography by Lynne Taylor-Corbett, orchestrations by Michael Moricz.
A Wildhorn collaboration with lyrics by Murphy and a book by Konstantin Rubinsky, announced for production in St. Petersburg.
A Wildhorn and Murphy project originally planned for 1999–2000 with Linda Eder attached. The story follows Natalie, a North American woman who inherits a nightclub in pre-Castro Cuba and finds romance amid political turmoil. A later workshop in 2009 brought in writer Nilo Cruz.