First commissioned by the Singapore Festival of Arts in 1988 and produced by TheatreWorks, Beauty World is widely recognised to be one of Singapore’s first and most successful home-grown musicals.

Written by Michael Chiang with the music and lyrics composed by Dick Lee, the first production in 1988 was directed by Ong Keng Sen and choreographed by Najip Ali. Its cast featured the veritable who’s who of Singapore today including Jacintha Abisheganadan, Margaret Chan, Ivan Heng, Koh Chieng Mun, Lim Kay Siu, Tan Kheng Hua, Claire Wong, and Eleanor Wong. It ran for 11 performances, selling more than 9,800 tickets.

Its second run in 1992 drew 17 full house performances, selling 14,000 tickets. It went on to tour four Japanese cities of Osaka, Tokyo, Hiroshima and Fukouoka in September 1992. In 1998, it was reproduced as a TV musical production for the fourth President's Star Charity, an event that managed to raise a total of S$4 million.

Several amateur productions have taken place, including one at the University of Chicago in April 2006.