40+ Dark Musicals – The Full List of Shows
Curious about the darkest musicals out there? These productions explore themes of death, loss, tragedy, and desperation, offering a glimpse into the depths of human emotion and living nightmares. Below is a comprehensive list of dark musicals, sorted alphabetically.
And here’s Theatre Trip’s playlist – “Musical Theatre’s Dark Side”➝.
Dark Musicals
Music/Lyrics/Book: Joshua Schmidt Lyrics/Book: Jason Loewith
Musical Type: Contemporary (2007)
Genre: Drama
Music/Lyrics: Duncan Sheik Book: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Musical Type: Contemporary (2013)
Genre: Horror
Music/Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim Book: John Weidman
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1990)
Genre: Drama
Music/Lyrics: Eddie Perfect Book: Scott Brown, Anthony King
Musical Type: Contemporary (2018)
Genre: Comedic Horror
Music/Lyrics/Book: Lionel Bart Book: Joan Maitland
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1962)
Genre: Drama
Music/Lyrics/Book: Willy Russell
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1983)
Genre: Drama
Music: Frank Wildhorn Lyrics: Don Black Book: Ivan Menchell
Musical Type: Contemporary (2009)
Genre: Drama
Music/Lyrics/Book: Robert J. Sherman
Musical Type: Contemporary (2016)
Genre: Adventure / Fantasy
Music: John Kander Lyrics: Fred Ebb Book: Joe Masteroff
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1966)
Genre: Drama
Music: Michael Gore Lyrics: Dean Pitchford Book: Lawrence D. Cohen
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1988)
Genre: Horror
Music: John Kander Lyrics/Book: Fred Ebb Book: Bob Fosse
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1975)
Genre: Drama
Music: Frank Wildhorn Lyrics/Book: Don Black, Christopher Hampton
Musical Type: Contemporary (2001)
Genre: Horror
Music/Lyrics/Book: George Reinblatt Music: Christopher Bond, Frank Cipolla, Melissa Morris
Musical Type: Contemporary (2003)
Genre: Comedic Horror / Parody
Music/Lyrics: Dave Stewart, Glen Ballard Lyrics/Book: Bruce Joel Rubin
Musical Type: Contemporary (2011)
Genre: Fantasy / Romantic Thriller
Music: Charles Strouse Lyrics: Lee Adams Book: Clifford Odets, William Gibson
Musical Type: Post-Golden Age (1964)
Genre: Drama
Music/Lyrics/Book: Anaïs Mitchell
Musical Type: Contemporary (2006)
Genre: Fantasy / Romance
Music/Lyrics/Book: Laurence O’Keefe, Kevin Murphy
Musical Type: Contemporary (2010)
Genre: Dark Comedy
Music/Lyrics: Paul Gordon Lyrics/Book: John Caird
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1995)
Genre: Romantic Drama
Music: Frank Wildhorn Lyrics/Book: Leslie Bricusse
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1990)
Genre: Horror / Thriller
Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber Lyrics: Tim Rice
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1970)
Genre: Religious Drama
Music: John Kander Lyrics/Book: Greg Pierce
Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)
Genre: Drama
Music: John Kander Lyrics: Fred Ebb Book: Terrence McNally
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1992)
Genre: Drama
Music/Lyrics: Claude-Michel Schönberg Lyrics: Alan Boublil, Herbert Kretzmer, Jean-Marc Natel
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1980)
Genre: Drama
Music: Alan Menken Lyrics/Book: Howard Ashman
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1982)
Genre: Comedic Horror
Music/Lyrics: Steven Cheslik-DeMeyer, Alan Stevens Hewitt Music/Lyrics/Book: Tim Maner
Musical Type: Contemporary (2009)
Genre: Horror
Music/Lyrics: Jerry Herman Book: Michael Stewart
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1974)
Genre: Drama
Music/Lyrics/Book: Michael John LaChiusa
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1999)
Genre: Drama
Music/Lyrics: Jeff Blim Book: Nick Lang, Matt Lang
Musical Type: Contemporary (2023)
Genre: Comedic Horror
Music: Tom Kitt Lyrics/Book: Brian Yorkey
Musical Type: Contemporary (2008)
Genre: Drama
Music/Lyrics: Jason Robert Brown Book: Alfred Uhry
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1998)
Genre: Drama
Music: Stephen Flaherty Lyrics: Lynn Ahrens Book: Terrence McNally
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1996)
Genre: Drama
Music/Lyrics/Book: Jonathan Larson
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1996)
Genre: Drama
Music/Lyrics/Book: Brooke Maxwell, Jacob Richmond
Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)
Genre: Dark Comedy / Horror
Music: Marvin Laird Lyrics/Book: Joel Paley
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1992)
Genre: Dark Comedy
Music/Lyrics/Book: Mbongeni Ngema Additional Songs: Hugh Masekela
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1987)
Genre: Historical
Music/Lyrics/Book: Michael John LaChiusa
Musical Type: Contemporary (2004)
Genre: Drama
Music/Lyrics: Jon Kaplan, Al Kaplan Book: Hunter Bell
Musical Type: Contemporary (2005)
Genre: Comedic Horror / Parody
Music: Duncan Sheik Lyrics/Book: Steven Sater
Musical Type: Contemporary (2006)
Genre: Drama
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Music/Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim Book: Hugh Wheeler
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1979)
Genre: Horror
Music/Lyrics: The Avett Brothers Book: John Logan
Musical Type: Contemporary (2022)
Genre: Drama
Music/Lyrics/Book: Paul Simon Lyrics/Book: Derek Walcott
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1998)
Genre: Biography
Music: Martin Silvestri Lyrics/Book: Joel Higgins
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1993)
Genre: Drama
Music: Peter Rutherford Lyrics/Book: James Millar
Musical Type: Contemporary (2008)
Genre: Drama
Music/Book: Andrew Lloyd Webber Lyrics: Charles Hart Lyrics/Book: Richard Stilgoe
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1986)
Genre: Mystery / Thriller
Music/Lyrics: John Kander, Fred Ebb Book: David Thompson
Musical Type: Contemporary (2010)
Genre: Historical
Music/Lyrics/Book: Max Vernon
Musical Type: Contemporary (2017)
Genre: Drama
Music: John Kander Lyrics: Fred Ebb Book: Terrence McNally
Musical Type: Contemporary (2001)
Genre: Drama
Music/Lyrics/Book: Pete Townshend Book: Des McAnuff
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1992)
Genre: Drama
Music/Lyrics/Book: Andrew Lippa
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1997)
Genre: Drama
Music/Lyrics/Book: Michael John LaChiusa Book: George C. Wolfe
Musical Type: Contemporary (2000)
Genre: Drama
Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber Lyrics: David Zippel Book: Charlotte Jones
Musical Type: Contemporary (2004)
Genre: Mystery
Music/Lyrics: Maury Yeston Book: Peter Stone
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1997)
Genre: Drama
Music/Lyrics/Book: Preston Max Allen
Musical Type: Contemporary (2015)
Genre: Comedic Horror / Murder Mystery
Music: Leonard Bernstein Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim Book: Arthur Laurents
Musical Type: Golden Age (1957)
Genre: Romantic Drama
Music/Book: Andrew Lloyd Webber Lyrics: Jim Steinman Book: Patricia Knop, Gale Edwards
Musical Type: Pre-Contemporary (1996)
Genre: Drama
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Music/Lyrics: David Yazbek Book: Jeffrey Lane
Musical Type: Contemporary (2010)
Genre: Dramedy
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Which of these dark musicals is your favorite?
Or have you ever played a role in any of these dark musicals? Feel free to share in the comments below! And if you enjoy exploring these lists, check out the musical database, where you can discover musicals organized by composer, theme, setting, and much more!
Author: Stacy Karyn
Stacy Karyn is the founder of Theatre Trip, author of The Thespian’s Bucket List, and creator of The Cast Album List. She holds a BA in theatre and a TESOL drama certificate, with experience working and interning in Broadway and Off-Broadway theaters.
