- This Halloween Broadway guide spotlights 16 spooky musicals and plays, ranging from full-fledged horror to supernatural romance and campy comedy, including Beetlejuice, Paranormal Activity, The Phantom of the Opera, and Wicked.
- This guide contains Halloween shows that are currently running on Broadway including The Lost Boys, Little Shop of Horrors, and The Rocky Horror Show.
- The guide also recommends standout songs, creating a ready-made selection of Broadway tracks for a Halloween party or spooky-season playlist.
Witches, ghosts, and monsters, oh my! Spooky season is upon us, and if you want Broadway shows full of magic, murder, and mayhem for your Halloween celebrations, look no further. Ranging from true horror to comedic spoofs, here are 16 spine-tingling musicals and plays that will set the mood for your Halloweekend party or for passing out candy on October 31.
Currently On Broadway and Off-Broadway
Little Shop of Horrors
Why not take a trip downtown to Skid Row during the Halloween season? You’ll meet one of Broadway’s most frightening nonhuman villains: Audrey II. The blood-loving Venus flytrap was first introduced to audiences in the 1960 black comedy film Little Shop of Horrors, and arrived Off-Broadway in 1982 through the Alan Menken–Howard Ashman–written musical adaptation. The story follows Seymour and Audrey, the employees of Mr. Mushnik’s struggling flower shop, as they navigate the popularity Audrey II brings to the shop and its demands that Seymour feed it more human blood. Starring Hunter Foster and Kerry Butler, the musical premiered on Broadway at the August Wilson Theatre (then called the Virigina Theatre) on October 2, 2003. Though the musical will provide you with laughs and tender moments with its 1960s doo-wop score, you’ll certainly want to make sure your plants just feed on water and that you don’t need to visit the dentist anytime soon.
Make sure to listen to:
If you’ll be in the New York City area during October, you can see the Off-Broadway production currently running at the Westside Theatre.
The Lost Boys
Based on the 1987 cult classic film, The Lost Boys follows Lucy Emerson and her teenage sons, Michael and Sam, as they move to Santa Carla looking for a fresh start. While Michael searches for a sense of belonging and finds it in David, the charismatic leader of a local rock band, Sam begins to discover the dangerous secret hiding behind his brother’s new friends. This new musical brings the beloved campy horror story to life onstage with plenty of supernatural thrills. Starring Shoshana Bean, LJ Benet, Ali Louis Bourzgui, and Benjamin Pajak, The Lost Boys opened on Broadway at the Palace Theatre on April 26, 2026. Featuring an original rock score by The Rescues, the musical is sure to have you ready to join the boys…but you might want to think twice before accepting an invitation to the boardwalk after dark.
Make sure to listen to:
MJ
There isn’t a better time of year to experience the King of Pop’s most iconic Halloween anthem. MJ brings Michael Jackson’s music and choreography to Broadway, with the production featuring “Thriller,” the 1982 hit that became a spooky staple. The musical follows Jackson, currently played by Ilario Grant, as he prepares for his 1992 Dangerous World Tour, while revisiting the moments that shaped his career. MJ opened on February 1, 2022 at the Neil Simon Theatre, with other productions also taking the stage on London’s West End and Australia. With iconic dance sequences and some of Jackson’s biggest hits, MJ offers audiences a chance to experience a piece of Halloween history live onstage.
Make sure to listen to:
Paranormal Activity
Paranormal Activity brings the terrifying world of the hit horror franchise to the August Wilson Theatre in an all-new experience. Written by Levi Holloway and directed by Felix Barrett, Paranormal Activity officially opened on Broadway on August 25, 2026 after a successful West End run. The 2026 Olivier Award–nominated play follows a troubled married couple who relocated to London from Chicago to discover, in the most bone-chilling way possible, that places are not haunted, people are. Starring Cher Álvarez and Travis A. Knight, the play uses immersive staging and supernatural scares to put audiences directly inside the couple’s new home. If you’re looking for a spooky experience that will have you questioning every strange noise around you, Paranormal Activity is bound to keep you sleeping with the lights on.
The Rocky Horror Show
It’s just a jump to the left and a step to the right! If you’re ready to do the Time Warp again, get on your dancing shoes and turn on The Rocky Horror Show. With its 1950s rock ’n’ roll score, the musical parodies midcentury B sci-fi and horror films and Frankenstein. The story follows a young engaged couple as they take shelter at the home of Dr. Frank-N-Furter and his modelesque monster, Rocky. The musical premiered in London in 1973 and ran for over 2,000 performances. The Broadway debut at the Belasco Theatre on March 10, 1975, had the opposite experience, running only 48 performances before closing. The film adaptation, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, became a cult classic, and is still shown in movie theatres across the country during every season, with attendees dressing up in costume and performing along with the movie.
Make sure to listen to:
The Rocky Horror Show is back on Broadway! If you’ll be in the New York City area during October, you can see the production currently running at Studio 54.
Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Ready to take a trip to the Upside Down? Stranger Things: The First Shadow takes audiences back to 1959 Hawkins before the events of the hit Netflix series. With a successful run on the West End, Stranger Things: The First Shadow transferred to the Marquis Theatre on Broadway, opening on March 28, 2025 and running through January 3, 2027. Through groundbreaking technical feats and plenty of Stranger Things nostalgia, prepare to step into a world you thought you knew and discover that some secrets are better left in the past.
Wicked
Want a bewitching and swankified Halloween? The ever-popular Wicked dives into the thrilling story of how Glinda, the Good Witch, and Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, came to be. The prequel to The Wizard of Oz is one of the most successful musicals in Broadway history, opening on October 30, 2003, and is still running, with no sign of slowing down. The roles originated by Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel on Broadway have been taken on by Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, respectively, in the feature film adaptation of the musical. If you need lighter Halloween fare, grab your broom, look to the western sky, and get ready to defy gravity.
Make sure to listen to:
For Your Playlist
The Addams Family
It’s a funny, macabre family affair when it comes to The Addams Family. The creepy, kooky, mysterious, and spooky fictional family originated in 1938 as a comic strip created by cartoonist Charles Addams, and rose to popularity with the 1960s sitcom. The musical adaptation opened on April 8, 2010, with an all-star cast led by Nathan Lane, Bebe Neuwirth, and Krysta Rodriguez, who all brought their comedy chops to Broadway’s Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. Andrew Lippa’s campy and altogether ooky score will inspire you to cuddle up with your pet squid and move toward the darkness. *Snap snap*
Make sure to listen to:
Beetlejuice
Halloween is the perfect time to embrace the “whole being dead thing,” and Beetlejuice’s titular character will be your perfect guide to the other side. Starring as the ghost with the most, Alex Brightman led a cast that included Sophia Anne Caruso, Kerry Butler, Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer, and Rob McClure when the musical opened on April 25, 2019, at Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre, ultimately closing on March 10, 2020. Most recently, the production ran at the Palace Theatre from October 8, 2025 through January 3, 2026, featuring the cast of the national tour. Based on Tim Burton’s 1988 comedy-horror film, the musical closely follows the same story of a deceased couple (along with their demonic guide to the afterlife) haunting the new family who just moved into their house. So grab your Handbook for the Recently Deceased as you laugh and gasp during this strange and unusual musical.
Make sure to listen to:
Carrie
For true horror fans, you can’t go wrong with Carrie. Based on Stephen King’s novel, the musical centers on Carrie White, an unpopular teenager who has telekinetic powers. After being constantly teased by her classmates and pranked at the high school prom with a bucket of pig’s blood, she unleashes her powers for her revenge. As for the Broadway production, the musical, starring Linzi Hateley, began previews on April 28, 1988, and officially opened on May 12 of that year, and ran for five performances. According to The New York Times, the production cost more than $7 million, making it “the most expensive quick flop in Broadway history.” There is no cast album for the original Broadway production, but you can still have a bone-chilling Halloween night with the 2012 Off-Broadway cast album featuring Molly Ranson, Christy Altomare, Derek Klena, and Marin Mazzie.
Make sure to listen to:
Dracula
One of literature’s most famous horror characters, Dracula took center stage in the musical adaptation of the classic 1897 Victorian novel. Over a century after the novel’s publication, the Broadway production opened on August 19, 2004, at the Belasco Theatre, with Tom Hewitt starring as the titular character, along with Melissa Errico as Mina. It’s hunt or be hunted as the legendary vampire seduces his victims and takes on his opponents looking to destroy him. Full of bloodthirsty vampires, chill-inducing confrontations, and a soul-stirring score, you’ll want to gather garlic, crucifix, and holy water before enjoying Dracula, just in case.
Make sure to listen to:
Ghost
It’s romance, but make it supernatural! Adapted from the 1990 film, the musical follows the same story of couple Sam and Molly and their attempt to communicate with each other after Sam dies and becomes a ghost. Starring Richard Fleeshman and Caissie Levy, Ghost transferred to Broadway after premiering in London, opening on April 23, 2012, at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. If you want a romantic twist to your spooky season, this musical is for you.
Make sure to listen to:
Jekyll & Hyde
Eerie and haunting, the score of Jekyll & Hyde will have you lighting a candelabra or two and cranking up the smoke machine for the full gothic horror effect. Based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1886 novella The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, the story follows a well-respected doctor who has a violent, evil alter ego. The musical adaptation opened at Broadway’s Plymouth Theatre (now the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre) on March 21, 1997, starring Robert Cuccioli, Linda Eder, and Christiane Noll. The powerful score and sinister nature are perfect for Halloween thrills and chills!
Make sure to listen to:
The Phantom of the Opera
Let the music of the night and a mysterious and mystical phantom bring some creepy chaos and paranormal panic to your Halloween celebrations. Broadway’s longest-running musical, The Phantom of the Opera, opened January 26, 1988, at the Majestic Theatre and closed April 16, 2023, after 35 years. The story centers on the phantom who haunts the Paris Opera and its young star Christine, who becomes the subject of his desire, obsession, and revenge. If you don’t have a large chandelier to set the mood for your spooky soiree, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s epic, sumptuous score full of haunting minor chords definitely will. Masquerade, an interactive and immersive Phantom of the Opera production, opened on September 29, 2025 and is currently running Off-Broadway on West 57th Street.
Make sure to listen to:
Sweeney Todd
Inspired by the character in the The String of Pearls penny dreadful, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street will add a grim and gruesome air to your spooky season. The titular character is a murderous barber who teams up with Mrs. Lovett, providing his victims as ingredients for her meat pies as he seeks revenge against Judge Turpin. The musical opened at Broadway’s Uris Theatre (now the Gershwin Theatre) on March 1, 1979, starring Len Cariou and Angela Lansbury. So tie your apron tight and turn on this Sondheim score for a night of fright. It’ll have you cheering, “God, that’s good!”
Make sure to listen to:
Young Frankenstein
With pale green skin and bolts in his neck, the monster has solidified his place in the horror genre since Mary Shelley published Frankenstein in 1818. The story continued to rise in popularity with the 1931 film adaptation. Young Frankenstein, based on the 1974 film of the same name by Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks, parodies Mary Shelley’s original story and the horror films of the 1930s, so you can be sure to have lots of laughs with the musical’s zingers and witty lyrics. Starring Roger Bart, Megan Mullaly, Christopher Fitzgerald, and Sutton Foster, the musical opened at Broadway’s Lyric Theatre on November 8, 2007.
Make sure to listen to:
If you want to stream all these songs for your Halloween party, find our playlist here.
