Comedy Horror Musicals

I’ll sort of keep with the theme of my recent blogs, but lighten up the mood a bit.  One thing I’ve come to enjoy more and more is a good musical.  It was either The Rocky Horror Picture Show or Jesus Christ Superstar that first made me fall in love with musicals.  Even so, I still don’t like the classic musicals to any great degree.

I’m glad that the musical is getting a modernized revival, but there is a particular category of musical that is quite surprising in its popularity.  The category I speak of is the comedy horror musical.  Its about as lighthearted and silly as horror can get and still vaguely be called horror.

Maybe it isn’t surprising at all when considering the modern musical’s origin in opera.  There are plenty of tragic operas, but as far as I know operas aren’t known for their comedy.  In my meager research, it seems that the comedy horror musical was an American invention, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show might’ve been the first.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rocky_Horror_Picture_Show

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073629/

http://www.rockyhorror.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Shop_of_Horrors_(film)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091419/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannibal!_The_Musical

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115819/

http://www.cannibalthemusical.net/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweeney_Todd:_The_Demon_Barber_of_Fleet_Street_(2007_film)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0408236/

http://www.sweeneytoddmovie.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repo!_The_Genetic_Opera

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0963194/

http://www.repo-opera.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantom_of_the_Paradise

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071994/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Frankenstein_(musical)

http://www.youngfrankensteinthemusical.com/

http://www.youngfrankensteinthemusical.com/

http://www.evildeadthemusical.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poultrygeist:_Night_of_the_Chicken_Dead

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0462485/

http://www.poultrygeistmovie.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Once_More,_with_Feeling_(Buffy_the_Vampire_Slayer)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0533466/

http://www.buffymusical.com/

One other that might be added is Wicked: The Musical. But I’m not sure as I’ve never watched it. Even though its about the Wicked Witch of Oz, it sounds more like a tragic romance story.

Then again, most of the musicals I put in my blog aren’t very horrific. Cannibal hasfew scenes ofpartially realistic ripping and eating of flesh, but its pretty silly for the most part. Sweeney Todd might be the least funny of these, but its definitely over-the-top… althoughmost horror movies are over-the-top I guess. I’ve never watched all of Repo. It looks like it could get a bit graphic.

By the way, you can watch a recording of the entire live performance of Wicked. Its on Youtube and you’ll find it at the link I provided in my previous comment. I just watched it and it doesn’t fit with the others. There is a Wicked Witch, but she is portrayed very sympathetically. I would recommend it thouhbecause it shows what happened before Dorothy ever visited Oz.