Halloween is a time for tricks, treats, and sometimes costumes that are a bit too tight. For years Broadway has been celebrating one of America’s favorite holidays and bringing it to life on stage. Here are some scary shows to get your Halloween fill. As the cast of “Mean Girls” puts it perfectly, “If I could change the world, I’d make it Halloween…every single day.”
“Beetlejuice”
Say his name three times and he’ll become one of the most beloved shows on Broadway. The show takes haunted houses to a whole new level along with exorcisms, forced marriages, and murderous plots. The show focuses on death, from Lydia Deetz’s (Sophia Anne Caruso) obsession with her recently-deceased mother, or Betelgeuse’s (Alex Brightman) desperation to escape the afterlife and join the living; the show is not shy about the theme. As the cast says in the opening number, “God, I hope you’re ready for a show about death.” OH—there’s a giant sandworm, too.
University freshman, Eliza Castillo agrees that “Beetlejuice” deserves the recognition. “I love the ‘Beetlejuice’ production,” she stated, “…it’s the perfect spooky musical for the Halloween season along with the movie version.”
“Little Shop of Horrors”
Devouring the hearts of Broadway fans, “Little Shop of Horrors” is a true classic. A nerdy boy working at a flower shop raises a Venus flytrap that eventually grows to be a monster, devouring everything in sight. The musical perfectly combines comedy, horror, and sci-fi on stage. Entertaining audiences since 1986, the sold-out off-Broadway revival will continue through January 2020. The revival includes “Glee” alumni Amber Riley and Jonathan Groff, as well as “Be More Chill” star George Salazar, joining an incredibly diverse cast.
After Seymour begins feeding people to his plant Audrey II, the plant grows hungrier for more bodies to feast on.
“Sweeney Todd”
One of the darkest stories to ever hit Broadway leaves audiences unsettled and wary of pies for life. Stephen Sondheim challenges conventions in lyricism and story with a musical definitely not fit for the faint of heart. After being exiled for 15 years, a barber decides to not only get revenge on the judge who ruined his life, but the entirety of Fleet Street. Sweeney Todd and the successful pie-maker, Mrs. Lovett, take the town by storm in hopes to exact revenge in the most gruesome ways.
“Hadestown”
The recipient of “Best Musical” along with seven other awards at the 2019 Tonys, “Hadestown,” is a chilling adaptation of the Greek myths surrounding Orpheus and Eurydice as well as Hades and Persephone. A “hungry young girl” named Eurydice is surprisingly persuaded to join Hades into a next level hell. Eurydice’s only hope is her true love, Orpheus, a songwriter looking to bring the world back into tune. The Fates whisper in the back of your mind with a sound like howling wind. Hades’ chilling voice leaves audiences fearful and awaiting a new argument with the queen of the underworld, Persephone. “Hadestown” shows audiences how the world could be with quite a few creepy elements.
“The Phantom of the Opera”
Love is a complicated thing as it is, but falling in love with a deformed composer who haunts an opera house is as complicated as it gets. This is the case for up-in-coming soprano star, Christine, who decides her heart is falling for a murderous phantom of an opera house. The ghost begins to train Christine and the haunting tale unfolds. For years “The Phantom of the Opera” has entertained audiences and has become one of the most successful shows ever to be on Broadway.
“Heathers”
Based on the 1989 cult classic, “Heathers” follows high school senior Veronica Sawyer as she joins the most popular clique in school, the Heathers, and starts dating brooding outcast J.D. Things quickly get out of hand after she accidentally murders the head Heather, Heather Chandler. Veronica must deal with her guilt and love for J.D. while the town rallies around the recently deceased teens. The musical combines dark comedy, teen angst, and suspense to tell the story of popularity gone wrong.
“The Addams Family”
Based on Charles Addams’ popular comic strip and its television and movie adaptations, “The Addams Family” is a classic tale full of “creepy and kooky” twists and turns. When Wednesday Addams tries to introduce her boyfriend’s family to her own insanely ghoulish one, they all get trapped in the Addams’ haunted mansion for the night. Tensions build between the families and couples as the audience is taken on a ride that will make them laugh, cry, and hold their breath.
“The Rocky Horror Picture Show”
This immersive campy musical showcase takes adult audiences on an adventure with a young straight-laced couple, a criminologist, a group of Transylvanians, and a “Sweet Transvestite” named Dr. Frank-n-Furter. The musical was originally slept on when it first premiered in 1975, but has since become a cult classic, known for its midnight showings nationwide. Audiences can definitely count on doing the timewarp again for many Halloween celebrations to come.
“Wicked”
She’s mean, green, and her show just turned sixteen; it’s “Wicked!” The prequel to “The Wizard of Oz” tells how the Wicked Witch of the West truly wasn’t even wicked to begin with. “Wicked” shines light on how even the most wicked people are truly just misunderstood—even if it’s not somewhere over the rainbow.
