People tend to think of a very specific style when they hear “musical theatre” – happy faces, jazz hands, maybe a tap dance or two… However, not all musicals are happy, and they can have a dark side as well. Here are some musicals that are absolutely perfect for those Halloween vibes:
1. Bat Boy: The Musical
Based off of a fake newspaper story in a 1992 edition of *­­Th­­e Weekly World News*, *Bat Boy* tells the story of Edgar—a teen boy found in the woods of a small town who is, well, partially bat. After Edgar gets taken in by the local veterinarian’s family, something more sinister starts to develop. The show pokes fun at itself for nearly the entire time, with lovable characters and a great list of songs. The music in the show was written by Laurence O’Keefe, who also worked to create the musical versions of *Heathers* and *Legally Blonde*.
2. Repo! The Genetic Opera
This one has a bit of a cult following in some circles. *Repo* is a dystopian, horror, comedy, rock opera movie. The film is set in a world where people are so often sick that they need to buy organs off of the government. The only issue? If they can’t pay off the money for their organs, then the Repo Men are sent to repossess them—by brutally murdering the person and taking the organ(s) back. It’s more than just pure gore though (despite it being worked on by the producers of the Saw franchise). The film mainly follows the plot of Shilo, a doctor’s sheltered teenage daughter who is too ill for her dad to allow her to leave the house and who sneaks out and inevitably learns the truth of the world around her. The film stars Alexa Vega, Paris Hilton, Anthony Head, and Sarah Brightman.
3. The Devil’s Carnival
In this musical horror film created by the same people who made *Repo! The Genetic Opera* (and also starring Alexa Vega), hell is a carnival. Three individuals meet violent deaths before awakening to be given tickets to the carnival. The show gets rather dark and violent, though there’s an interesting twist as each of the characters represent an Aesop’s fables tale in some way. The ending song, “In All My Dreams I Drown,” is what drew me in to this show—it holds a beautiful and eerie feeling.
4. The Addams Family Musical
For something a bit lighter, there’s the musical adaption of the *Addams Family*. The show follows an older Wednesday Addams as she falls in love with a “normal” boy, and tries to figure out how their relationship will survive given their vastly different families. The show is funny, charming, and sweet (with still a dash of morbid, because it is, after all, the Addams Family).
5. Little Shop of Horrors
Staying in that “funny-but-a-bit-screwed-up” zone is *Little Shop of Horrors*. I consider this a classic Halloween viewing movie, as I grew up with it on nearly every year. The story follows Seymour, a man who has a job in a flower shop and is helplessly in love with his coworker, who finds a strange plant and decides to keep it in the shop. As it grows larger, the plant starts gaining attention. The plot twist? The plant eats people. Enough said.
6. Carrie the Musical
This was one that I had been sure that virtually no one had heard of, considering it had been a flop on Broadway it’s first time around. However, after the TV show *Riverdale* did a musical episode of the characters performing *Carrie the Musical* for their high school theater program last season, it started gaining more attention. *Carrie* is based on Stephen King’s novel (and the following film) of a bullied girl with telekinetic powers who gets pushed too far. The show has some songs to jam out to, and some that are just… intense. Though it somewhat failed as a stage production, the cast album still makes for some good, creepy listening.
7. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
A man wrongfully accused, his wife stolen away from him… makes for a perfect story of revenge. As a warning, this show gets dark. Benjamin Barker returns to Fleet Street in 1846 under the guise of ‘Sweeney Todd’ and starts working as a barber again. His real goal is to kill the judge who stole away and raped Sweeney’s now-deceased wife. Mrs. Lovett, Sweeney’s neighbor who owns a pie shop, has a different goal: winning his heart. As Sweeney’s taste for blood extends further to those involved with the judge and bodies start piling up, Mrs. Lovett has an idea on how to hide the bodies and save money on meat for her shop… Disturbing, humorous, and emotional, *Sweeney Todd* is a musical theater classic that not everyone can stomach. The 2007 film version features Johnny Depp as Sweeney Todd, Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett, and Alan Rickman as Judge Turpin.
8. The Rocky Horror Picture Show
You can’t talk about cult classic musicals without bringing up *Rocky Horror*. The film was shocking in its time, and still is to many today (though, less so). When a young engaged couple named Janet and Brad get a flat tire and come across a strange castle, they get more than they bargained more. The show is filled with wacky scenarios, and, if you go to a live showing of the film, you can join in with the rest of the audience as they perform actions that go with the film (such as throwing rolls of toilet paper at the screen at a certain point). It makes for a lot of fun.
9. Hadestown
This folk opera is a retelling of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. That might not sound that spooky, but the tragic love story of a man traveling to the Underworld to try to get his wife back is quite touching. My personal favorite song on the track is “Wait for Me”, in which Hermes gives Orpheus advice on entering the Underworld. The show is set to go to Broadway next year.
10. The Dolls of New Albion: A Steampunk Opera
Truly a diamond in the rough! *The Dolls of New Albion* is a four-act musical using only four actors, following four generations of the McAlistair family as they involve themselves in the business of raising the dead and putting their souls into mechanical dolls. The song “Annabel Raises the Dead” feels like Frankenstein with a romantic flair.
(BONUS SONG) “The Ballad of Sara Berry” from the musical *35mm*: a musical exhibition tells the story of a killer prom queen.