Dark Musicals
The following list includes dark musicals, featuring stage works with somber subject matter, tone, or themes. Additional musical lists are available in the musical database.
Dark Musicals
Musical Type: Contemporary (2007)
Creators: Joshua Schmidt and Jason Loewith
Genre: Drama
Musical Type: Contemporary (2013)
Creators: Duncan Sheik and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Genre: Horror / Thriller
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1990)
Creators: Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman
Genre: Drama / Historical
Musical Type: Contemporary (2018)
Creators: Eddie Perfect, Scott Brown, and Anthony King
Genre: Comedy / Fantasy / Horror
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1962)
Creators: Lionel Bart and Joan Maitland
Genre: Drama
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1983)
Creators: Willy Russell
Genre: Drama
Musical Type: Contemporary (2009)
Creators: Frank Wildhorn, Don Black, and Ivan Menchell
Genre: Drama
Musical Type: Contemporary (2016)
Creators: Robert J. Sherman
Genre: Adventure / Fantasy
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1966)
Creators: John Kander, Fred Ebb, and Joe Masteroff
Genre: Drama
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1988)
Creators: Michael Gore, Dean Pitchford, and Lawrence D. Cohen
Genre: Horror
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1975)
Creators: John Kander, Fred Ebb, and Bob Fosse
Genre: Drama
Musical Type: Contemporary (2001)
Creators: Frank Wildhorn, Don Black, and Christopher Hampton
Genre: Fantasy / Horror / Thriller
Musical Type: Contemporary (2003)
Creators: George Reinblatt, Christopher Bond, Frank Cipolla, and Melissa Morris
Genre: Comedy / Fantasy / Horror / Parody
Musical Type: Contemporary (2011)
Creators: Dave Stewart, Glen Ballard, and Bruce Joel Rubin
Genre: Fantasy / Romance / Thriller
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1964)
Creators: Charles Strouse, Lee Adams, Clifford Odets, and William Gibson
Genre: Drama
Musical Type: Contemporary (2006)
Creators: Anaïs Mitchell
Genre: Fantasy / Romance
Musical Type: Contemporary (2010)
Creators: Laurence O’Keefe and Kevin Murphy
Genre: Dark Comedy
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1995)
Creators: Paul Gordon and John Caird
Genre: Drama / Romance
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1990)
Creators: Frank Wildhorn and Leslie Bricusse
Genre: Horror / Thriller
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1970)
Creators: Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice
Genre: Religious Drama
Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)
Creators: John Kander and Greg Pierce
Genre: Drama
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1992)
Creators: John Kander, Fred Ebb, and Terrence McNally
Genre: Drama
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1980)
Creators: Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alan Boublil, Herbert Kretzmer, and Jean-Marc Natel
Genre: Drama
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1982)
Creators: Alan Menken and Howard Ashman
Genre: Comedy / Fantasy / Horror
Musical Type: Contemporary (2009)
Creators: Steven Cheslik-DeMeyer, Alan Stevens Hewitt, and Tim Maner
Genre: Horror
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1974)
Creators: Jerry Herman and Michael Stewart
Genre: Drama
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1999)
Creators: Michael John LaChiusa
Genre: Drama
Musical Type: Contemporary (2023)
Creators: Jeff Blim, Nick Lang, and Matt Lang
Genre: Comedy / Horror
Musical Type: Contemporary (2008)
Creators: Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey
Genre: Drama
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1998)
Creators: Jason Robert Brown and Alfred Uhry
Genre: Drama / Historical
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1996)
Creators: Stephen Flaherty, Lynn Ahrens, and Terrence McNally
Genre: Drama / Historical
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1996)
Creators: Jonathan Larson
Genre: Drama
Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)
Creators: Brooke Maxwell and Jacob Richmond
Genre: Dark Comedy / Horror
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1992)
Creators: Marvin Laird and Joel Paley
Genre: Dark Comedy
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1987)
Creators: Mbongeni Ngema and Hugh Masekela
Genre: Drama / Historical
Musical Type: Contemporary (2004)
Creators: Michael John LaChiusa
Genre: Drama
Musical Type: Contemporary (2005)
Creators: Jon Kaplan, Al Kaplan, and Hunter Bell
Genre: Comedy / Horror / Parody
Musical Type: Contemporary (2006)
Creators: Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater
Genre: Drama
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1979)
Creators: Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler
Genre: Horror / Thriller
Musical Type: Contemporary (2022)
Creators: The Avett Brothers and John Logan
Genre: Drama
Musical Type: Contemporary (2024)
Creators: Anna K. Jacobs and Michael R. Jackson
Genre: Dark Comedy / Horror
Musical Type: Contemporary (2022)
Creators: Elyssa Samsel, Kate Anderson, Jodi Picoult, and Timothy Allen McDonald
Genre: Drama / Historical
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1998)
Creators: Paul Simon and Derek Walcott
Genre: Biography
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1993)
Creators: Martin Silvestri and Joel Higgins
Genre: Drama
Musical Type: Contemporary (2008)
Creators: Peter Rutherford and James Millar
Genre: Drama
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1986)
Creators: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Hart, and Richard Stilgoe
Genre: Drama / Mystery / Romance / Thriller
Musical Type: Contemporary (2010)
Creators: John Kander, Fred Ebb, and David Thompson
Genre: Drama / Historical
Musical Type: Contemporary (2017)
Creators: Max Vernon
Genre: Drama / Historical
Musical Type: Contemporary (2001)
Creators: John Kander, Fred Ebb, and Terrence McNally
Genre: Drama / Thriller
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1992)
Creators: Pete Townshend and Des McAnuff
Genre: Drama
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1997)
Creators: Andrew Lippa
Genre: Drama
Musical Type: Contemporary (2000)
Creators: Michael John LaChiusa and George C. Wolfe
Genre: Drama
Musical Type: Contemporary (2004)
Creators: Andrew Lloyd Webber, David Zippel, and Charlotte Jones
Genre: Mystery / Thriller
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1997)
Creators: Maury Yeston and Peter Stone
Genre: Drama / Historical
Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)
Creators: Preston Max Allen
Genre: Comedy / Horror / Mystery
Musical Type: Golden Age (1957)
Creators: Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, and Arthur Laurents
Genre: Drama / Romance
Musical Type: Late 20th Century (1996)
Creators: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Jim Steinman, Patricia Knop, and Gale Edwards
Genre: Drama
Musical Type: Contemporary (2010)
Creators: David Yazbek and Jeffrey Lane
Genre: Dark Comedy