[Pride 2022] Swing Your Razor Right

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Horror, as a genre, requires a certain level of suspension of disbelief. We accept that there will be rules established for how and why events occur and easily accept that the killer can be stabbed, burned, drowned, dragged to hell, or show up in a Bollywood musical without batting an eyelash. Okay that last one might only relate to the Bollywood remake of Friday the 13th 7 Saal Baad, but it brings up an interesting point: musicals and horror have a lot in common. Like horror movies, musicals require a suspension of disbelief to accept what is happening, there is a very specific group of people that love them while others want nothing to do with them, and they have a way of capturing the darker side to humanity in a way that is totally unique.

While horror musicals have never fared well on Broadway, one composer managed to capture the dark, scary moments of this thing called life: Stephen Sondheim. Sondheim’s musicals were groundbreaking and still continue to capture new audiences because of just how well he captures the pain and fear of everyday life. So grab a meat pie and prepare to spend a weekend in the country as I do what I do best and spend way too much time talking about musicals.

Alright let’s cut a rug (or some throats)

Let’s start with Sondheim’s one true foray into the horror genre, Sweeney Todd. Originally performed as a more darkly comedic piece, this grand guignol tale of a bloody butcher and his batty baking accomplice manages to bake (excuse the pun) several layers of horror into its script. On the surface you have the typical slasher horrors of a barber cutting the throats of disgusting people (they all deserve to die as the title character sings) and using the meat for pies that are served to the everyday people of London. Beyond that though, you also have the trauma of false imprisonment, being kept as a child bride, going insane from mercury poisoning, and casual cannibalism. Only Sondheim could have taken these disparate ingredients and whisked up a musical confection so deadly delightful that it continues to creep out theater goers the world over (and has made its gruesome film adaptation a Halloween staple in many homes).

That same flavor of humanistic pain and suffering is baked into the script and songs of most of Sondheim’s canon. Turning from the grand horror and drama of Sweeney to some more humanist horror in the duet of Company and Follies. Follies has more of the traditional “horror” elements with the presence of ghostly specters of the younger selves of the performers and the setting being a soon-to-be-demolished theater (elements that are emphasized to the max in the recent West End revival), but the way Sondheim infuses the story with such pain and regret for his characters as they reflect on their lives, marriages, and careers while considering what might have been is where the core fear and tension comes from in the audience. Watching the central couples slipping further and further away from the youthful joy and hope they once had is chilling and heartbreaking in equal measure.

By the same token, Company manages to take on the heavy chore of dealing with the fear of oneself. The musical follows the character of Bobby (or Bobbi in the recent gender-swapped revival) as they face the impending doom of turning 30 and seeing their life and friends and world changing far too rapidly around them. Birthdays are nothing new for horror but the way Sondheim creates such unease and distress in the audience as we watch Bobb(i)y realize what their life could have been like is incredible. In addition the revival currently playing on Broadway (while having some admitted issues with sexuality) does manage to speak to the fear of aging that plagues so many in the queer community. The idea of shifting from twink to daddy is a scary thought for many and seeing your straight friends happy and coupled off while you remain single and alone is something generations of queer people have lived through. 

Many people’s worst nightmare: a surprise party

For my theater-loving heart though, I would argue that Sondheim’s most horrific, and sadly relevant musical, is Assassins. A carnival proprietor leading the audience through stories and interactions with some of American histories most famous presidential murderers/ would-be murderers is not the sort of subject you would expect to see in a musical, but Sondheim makes the material, pardon the pun, sing. Sitting and listening to this rogues gallery of John Wilkes Booth, Lee Harvey Oswald, and more singing about the nature of America and guns and government is enough to make any audience a little squeamish. Assassins is a masterclass in how to execute fear of ourselves- it is a funhouse mirror of life in America from some of its underbelly citizens and the picture isn’t pretty. With rumors of a Broadway revival floating around it is very possible a horror director could snap this one up and make a feast out of its horror elements that are ready to be exploited. So whatever flavor of self-inflicted fear you, you can see that Sondheim has you covered. I’d like to propose one final toast to the man, the myth, the legend himself, Stephen Sondheim. Thank you for the years of songs and scares that many generations can look forward to experiencing in the future.

Talk about a pro-shot

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