The musical Hamilton was and still is one of the most popular plays in the world, which got me thinking: what other historical figures deserve musicals about their lives? There are a lot of overlooked but important people in history, and because it's Women's History Month I am going to be focusing on women in this article. What about you? Which historical heroines deserve their own musicals?

1. Juliette Gordon Low, founder of Girl Scouts of the U.S.A

Scouting defined the childhoods of many an American youth, including me. While I have my issues with the direction the organization is headed in recent years, there’s no doubt it played an important role in preparing many young women to be independent and develop leadership and teamwork skills. The founder of this organization, nicknamed “Daisy” by her friends, was an accomplished feminist and created an organization that did more than just sell cookies.

She was known as a bit of a tomboy growing up and her interest in nature, arts, and athletics became the foundation for the Girl Scouts. She suffered multiple ear injuries and became nearly deaf. There’s a legend among Girl Scouts that when people told her she couldn’t do something because of her gender, she said “I can’t hear you” and proved them wrong.

Her friendship with the founder of the Boy Scouts, Sir Robert Bayden-Powell, is what inspired her to found the Girl Scouts. She made sure girls of all shapes, sizes, colors, and abilities were included. It was through her friendships with others that she was able to grow the organization to the size it is today. And throughout this, she struggled silently with breast cancer, which would lead to her death.

Possible genre: Folk, to emanate the Girl Scout campfire songs.

2. Temple Grandin, Autism Activist

The history of autism is a long and troubled one, but we’ve made a lot of progress in recent years, and a lot of it is thanks to people like Temple Grandin. At a time when autism was thought to be a disorder of young boys, Temple showed the world that adults and women could be autistic too and that it wasn’t always a bad thing. She was one of the first people to publicly disclose that she was autistic.

She used her extraordinary visual thinking capabilities and high empathy to design ethical and efficient slaughterhouses and many other innovations for livestock and animal care. She also invented a hugging machine to calm people on the spectrum.

Her father wanted to have her institutionalized while her mother instead fought to put her in private schools with the accommodations she needed. Because of the support of her mother and teachers, she was able to earn several degrees. She thought of herself as a recovered autistic until more was learned about the disorder. She was never any less autistic; she had learned to use her unique mind to her advantage.

Possible genre: Country, due to her rural upbringing and career.

3. JK Rowling, Author of Harry Potter

She needs no introduction. She wrote Harry Potter after having the idea on a delayed train, then witnessing the death of her mother, the birth of her first child, the divorce of her husband, and a life of poverty, as well as a long struggle with depression and at least a dozen rejections before finally getting Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone published. From those humble beginnings, she became the world’s first billionaire author. Ideally, the musical would combine elements of the wizarding world with her life, since dementors are a symbol of depression and there are many scenes in the books that are nearly autobiographical.

Possible genre: Orchestral/chorus, combined with the kinds of songs found in classic Disney

4. Anne Bonny and Mary Read, Pirates

Both Bonny and Read disguised themselves as men for much of their lives, though when they met they both revealed their genders to each other. They enjoyed the life of excitement that came from being a pirate and were formidable in battle, often fighting together. While both women were eventually captured, they escaped the noose by “pleading the belly” since they were both pregnant. Read died in childbirth while imprisoned, while nobody knows what became of Bonny. There was no record of her execution, so it’s possible she escaped prison or her father ransomed her, or she died in prison. Some theorize that she resumed her life of piracy under a different name and identity.

Possible genre: Celtic music, since Anne Bonny was Irish and many Irish songs were well known by pirates.

5. Elizabeth Van Lew, Union Spy

Nobody suspected the women in the 1800’s, so female spies during the Civil War were not uncommon. One of the most well known was Elizabeth Van Lew, a spy for the Union and also known as “Crazy Bett” because she would portray herself as an insane woman to draw suspicion away from her. She lived in a mansion with her mother in the Confederate capital. Though proud of her Southern roots, she opposed slavery and was a fervent abolitionist. She wrote these mutinous thoughts in a diary she kept buried in her backyard, discovered after her death. She sent information and supplies to Union soldiers and prisoners of war and helped them escape. She also ran an extensive spy ring that included men and women, black and white. This included her own African American servant, Mary Bowser, who stole important information off Jefferson Davis’s desk.

However, Van Lew was eventually labeled a spy and lost her fortune and social standing. The people in her hometown would never forgive her, and she was relentlessly bullied throughout her life. When her money ran out, Paul Revere and his family helped her financially until her death.

Possible genre: Orchestral rock, like Trans Siberian Orchestra – the album Night Castle comes to mind.