Why aren't there more horror-themed plays on Broadway? — Page 2

The difference between horror and thriller/suspense has always been, to me, camp. Not necessarily camp in the posed, stylized and self-aware way we associate with pure "queer camp," but camp in the sense that the deathly serious is up against the somewhat ludicrous. In a horror film, things happen that stretch the bounds of suspension of disbelief- either the supernatural (high-concept ghosts and devils, often with some twist), the supernormal (how can a mentally handicapped recluse like Jason Vorhees survive so many times, and how does he kill in such a flamboyant and spectacular fashion again and again), or the illogical (we all know the cliches- "Let's split up!" "I"ll be right back!" "The killer is inside the house!")

A thriller traditionally deals, if not more seriously, at least more realistically within the bounds of the horror and suspense genre, while horror goes by rule of cool, rule of funny and rule of scary, rather than rules of logic and sound plotting. Thrillers are more concerned with being sound and suspenseful than a scare a minute, which means that both are valid genres with different end goals.

Joining in the group of people talking about the appeal of writing horror plays: I have been working for a few years on a musical based on "The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari," which seemed to sing to me from the first time I saw it in school. It took me a few years to really crack the tone, but things are starting to progress now.

There are some shows that can be staged to lean more on the side of horror. Macbeth, Oedipus Rex, Medea, and Hamlet are all classical pieces of theatre that can easily become quite terrifying.

I would argue that MACBETH can be full-out horror due to the amount of blood possibly seen on stage and the general gore.

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CALIGARI is a great idea, darquegk! Best of luck with it and I hope it plays where I can see it.

Right, but those weren't horror. You might as well say we had revivals of GYPSY and A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC recently.

Horror is a slippery genre to define and, like Sci-Fi, incredibly difficult to pull off onstage. Sarah Kane's narrative plays, the Jacobeans like THE REVENGER'S TRAGEDY or TIS PITY SHE'S A WHORE and Shakespeare's own TITUS ANDRONICUS all have elements of horror. I sadly, tragically missed the Public's production of THE SKRIKER by Caryl Churchill, but by all reports it was SCARY!!!

Oh, and a couple of years ago in London, there was a play version of the film THEATER OF BLOOD which sounded like a hoot. Such a shame it didn't make it across the pond.

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Updated On: 9/21/14 at 12:13 PM

Since Broadway caters to tourists and families I don't see why horror wouldn't work much in the same way that a roller coaster ride works at Disneyland. Broadway audiences as they're currently configured would enjoy squealing in fear and relief at each turn of the plot. It might even attract that hard to reach Broadway demographic, the boys in the family. So invest in horror on Broadway!

Unfortunately, horror would have to be cleansed first of any of its real beauty before it arrived on Broadway as a viable product.

Updated On: 9/21/14 at 03:57 PM

And if poor Edward II's end DOESN'T feel like a horror movie, you're doing something very wrong.

(Emphasis added.)

Heh, heh, heh. Beavis, Butthead and I are all laughing at your pun.

Oh Gaveston, glad someone caught that :)

I should mention that I run a horror theatre company, so this is a topic I deal with on a regular basis lol.