Top 10 Broadway Villain Songs That Gave Us Chills

Regina George was an all-time baddie even before she got a musical counterpart. Whether she’s being played by Reneé Rapp or original Broadway cast member Taylor Louderman, Regina’s second act barnburner, “World Burn,” is a showcase for a big voice. The number finds Regina selling out her backstabbing former friends by leaking their “Burn Book” full of petty insults and vicious rumors. The school descends into chaos as Regina enacts her mutually assured destruction. With its escalating notes and runs, “World Burn” is not just a major plot point in the show. It’s a technically challenging song. Listening to a singer navigate those wild vocal acrobatics is a thrilling experience in itself.

Anaïs Mitchell’s musicalized retelling of the Orpheus legend takes a lot from the oral traditions of myths and folk music. “Why We Build the Wall” is a call-and-response number, with Hades reminding his minions why they are safer behind the walls of Hadestown where they work themselves ragged for his benefit. They dutifully repeat back his lies about how the enemy is outside. In their slavelike reverence for Hades, we realize how they’ve been brainwashed to believe their prison is really their salvation. He is not just ruler of the Underworld. In “Hadestown,” Hades is a cult leader.

Cited as one of the first musicals to tell a cohesive story through careful integration of song and dance instead of relying on spectacle, “Oklahoma!” is celebrated for its sharply drawn characters. The obsessive and socially stunted Jud Fry has set his sights on Laurey Williams. “Lonely Room” is his haunting lament about how awful his life is without a woman of his own. It would be a love song if it weren’t so horrifying. Angry and bitter and desperate, Jud’s not interested in wooing Laurey. He’s not interested in what she wants at all. He just knows he wants her, no matter how she feels.

Much of this show about the Second Continental Congress is actually pretty lighthearted. Yes, the fate of a new nation hangs in the balance, but how can they think about writing a Declaration of Independence when it’s so hot outside? But as discussion gives way to heated debate, the topic of slavery comes up. In one of the most chilling show tunes ever, the fun grinds to a halt as the delegate from South Carolina calls out northerners’ hypocrisy concerning slavery. He reminds them, and us, that even the congressmen who aren’t slave owners benefit from the practice.

A villain can be misunderstood, but at the end of the day, they’re still a villain. The Phantom’s obsession with the young soprano Christine Daaé compels her to join him in his lair beneath the Paris Opéra House. “The Music of the Night” is his siren song. The Phantom’s music has an intoxicating power over Christine. It’s a gorgeous number, but it’s clear that his hold over her is less than pure. The song encapsulates everything that makes him an engrossing character. He’s a brilliant musician and a romantic at heart, but he’s never too far from flying into a murderous rage.

Stephen King’s story of a telekinetic teenager who takes revenge on her enemies at the prom doesn’t seem like it would work on the Broadway stage. Well, it really doesn’t. But with vocal powerhouses like Betty Buckley and Marin Mazzie, its most disturbing song is a stunning combination of great music and great madness. “And Eve Was Weak” sees Margaret White, Carrie’s fanatically religious mother, impressing upon her daughter the evils of wicked women. Margaret’s forceful and deeply poisonous beliefs about womanhood, sexuality, and eternal damnation are just as responsible for Carrie’s fractured psychology as her classmates’ mistreatment.

The cast of fairy tale characters find themselves hunted by an angry giantess. Instead of finding a solution, they’ve devolved to pointing fingers at each other. The Witch, who is used to being blamed for any terrible thing that happens, decides to let them all believe she is the villain of this story, too. “Last Midnight” is her goodbye. Ironically, where some villain songs make it clear exactly what side a character is on, this is the show at its most complex. Is she the villain, or is she the convenient scapegoat? No matter what side you choose, one thing is for sure. “Last Midnight” is a showstopper.

John Kander and Fred Ebb’s famed musical takes place in and around a Berlin nightclub in the early 1930s. Given that setting, the growing fascist movement hovers around the edges of the story. It isn’t until the end of the first act that the show reveals a major character’s affiliation with the party, and the movement makes itself known with this song. With its imagery of nature and gentility, “Tomorrow Belongs to Me” sounds awfully nice. But coming out of the mouths of Nazis, as our troubled main characters look on, it’s a reminder that even the most evil and villainous ideology can come in a pretty package.

Stephen Sondheim’s horror comedy about a barber hellbent on revenge features too many deliciously wicked songs to count. “Epiphany” is by far the most chilling. Sweeney Todd is tossed between unbearable despair and unbridled rage. Instead of focusing on his revenge against one corrupt judge, he has decided to think bigger. It’s not just about this one man. It’s about society as a whole. Everyone deserves to die by his razor. The powerful deserve to die for their wickedness and greed, while the powerless, he feels, would be better off dead than living in oppressive conditions. Once he starts directing all that anger toward the audience, it’s hard not to feel a little threatened.

Inspector Javert spends most of “Les Misérables” trying to capture Jean Valjean, a former convict who dodges parole. Javert is a man of principle. Valjean has broken the law, and so he must pay the price. Unfortunately, the inspector’s principles don’t leave room for compassion or redemption. “Stars” describes his own belief that he is an extension of God’s omnipresence. His devotion to his faith and the law overrules everything. In fact, he is so married to his beliefs that he can’t even see that the escaped parolee he’s doggedly pursuing is the living embodiment of Christian ideals. Fit for a powerful baritone voice, “Stars” is a soaring villain song that has a devastating impact.

Which Broadway villain song do you sing in the shower? Tell us in the comments.