Top 12 Musical Villains (UPDATED)

In the annals of acting, what could be more delicious than playing a great villain? Answer: playing a great villain that can sing the angels out of Heaven and/or belt the demons from Hell! The world of musical theatre has given us many great villains over time, with incredible range (in more ways than one, usually), but it often feels like these sinister singers are forgotten in the grand scheme of things. So, it’s about high time the best of the worst of Broadway (and the West End) got their devillish dues!

Now, there are only two rules for this list: one, the villain in question cannot be the main character (contrary to popular belief, my number one pick is NOT the actual main character, but I will get to that when I get to that). Two, I will not be using any villains who come from musicals based on movies, so the various Disney Villains that have popped up onstage, along with other characters such as the Child Catcher, will not be seen here. Contrariwise, these will be villains from STAGE musicals; if there’s a movie based on a stage musical, that’s fine, but any movie musicals that are ONLY movies will not be counted here. Have we got that straight (or crooked)? Good! Then let us take a peek at my Top 12 Musical Villains!

12. Madame Morrible, from Wicked.

Depicted above by Carole Shelley.

11. Dr. Frank-N-Furter, from Rocky Horror (Picture) Show.

Depicted above by Tim Curry.

10. Aaron Burr, from Hamilton.

Depicted above by Leslie Odom, Jr.

Originally, I wasn't going to include Aaron Burr (Sir), from Hamilton, on the list. At first, I considered him more of an anti-hero: a character who torments the primary protagonist, but for one reason or another (or several), never quite manages to make the cut of "villain." Think of Javert from Les Miserables. But, ultimately, he proved himself worthy of the title. Unlike the other baddies on the list, Burr doesn't start out as a wrote "bad guy." In fact, he starts as an ally to Alexander Hamilton, one of the future founding fathers, and even helps the young immigrant get into the American colonies. HOWEVER, the two men share some rather drastically differing philosophies: while Hamilton believes in quick and strong action, open communication and emotions, and total, sometimes brutal honesty with the public, Burr is essentially the Nick Wilde of Broadway. His mottos are "talk less, smile more" and "wait for it;" he believes in holding his cards close to his chest, and never letting the world see what he really thinks or feels. As the play goes on, the two men only continue to split apart further and further, until they go from friends to arch-enemies. At the same time, Burr grows more and more envious of Hamilton's sway in government, his hunger for power and frustration with Alexander growing stronger and stronger. By the time Burr realizes his mistakes, it's far too late (look up some history, or watch the show; you'll see what I mean); he ends up becoming, in his own words, "the villain in [our] history." 

When a character admits outright that they are the villain, I'd say they count as one.

9. Captain Hook, from Peter Pan.

Depicted above by Cyril Ritchard.

I don’t think I really need to SAY anything here, especially since three of the most famous people to play Hook from this show - Ritchard, Paul Schoeffler, and Christopher-Bloody-Walken - were all covered on my Top 12 Captan Hooks list. And nothing is especially DIFFERENT about this musical from most other versions of Peter Pan (it follows the book fairly closely), sooo...yeah. Suffice it to say Captain Hook is one of the most iconic villains of all time, and the version from this musical is no exception. Let’s move on.

8. Audrey II, from Little Shop of Horrors.

This Mean Green Man-Eater from Outer Space (who often seems about as gender confused as Frank-N-Furter) is the perfect lesson for situations going out of control. When our timid little screw-up of a main character, Seymoure, finds this strange flower bud, he thinks it would be good for business at the flower shop he works at. However, when the flower starts to wilt, he ends up finding out the only thing that helps it grow is human blood. As the plant grows larger, it requires more and more blood (and, later, FLESH) to sustain it, and becomes increasingly more sentient; eventually, it demands an entire human body to feed its gluttonous appetite, and convinces Seymoure to first kill the abusive boyfriend of his love interest, Audrey (whom he named the plant after), then the flower shop owner, Mr. Mushnik, when the man tries to blackmail Seymoure. As business gets better and better, and Audrey II gets larger and larger, Seymoure’s life starts to spiral out of control...but it isn’t until Audrey II tries to eat “Audrey I” that Seymoure finally decides enough is enough. By this point, of course, the plant has become about as big as a bus, capable of swallowing humans whole and alive, with tons of little-bitty flowers that are equally carnivorous sprouting all over it...depending on the version you know, the story ends in one of two ways: in the original release of the film based on the musical, Seymoure manages to destroy Audrey II and saves his beloved, and they all live happily ever after with the profits Seymoure got from his business. However, in the original stage production, the original ending of the film, and, in fact, most other versions of the show...Audrey is, in fact, killed by Audrey II, who then devours Seymoure thanklessly...and then takes over the world. Big problems come in small packages.

7. Fagin, from Oliver!
Depicted above by Ron Moody.

Once again, this is a show where there are really multiple antagonists, and it was so tempting to put Bill Sykes here instead, or else the Artful Dodger; both are fantastic characters in their own way, and one may argue that Sykes is really the more prominent villain of the bunch...but it’s Fagin who undeniably steals the show regardless of the production. It’s no secret that the character from Dickens’ original novel is...well...a bit on the racist side. Fagin is the most stereotypical “Bad Jew” imaginable - the lean face, the goatee, the crooked nose, the miserly tendencies and hypocritical personality; the character in the book has no real redeeming values as a person. However, in years hence, many versions of the story have, understandably, tried to make the character more sympathetic...and for me, the most effective take on this is “Oliver!” While he serves largely as comic relief, Fagin is still a pretty cunning baddie, and in his own words, “I’d be the first one to say that I [am not] a saint;” he serves as a fence for stolen goods, runs a band of runaway bandits and pickpockets, tends to be fairly...um…“not nice” to the boys in his care, as it were, and is still a pretty rotten miser at his core. BUT, for all of Fagin’s ill points, the musical tries to offer some redeeming features: he is a product of his times, no doubt in no small part to his religion, and as the show goes on, he begins to doubt himself and his life of crime; but for every argument he gives himself to turn to the side of good and try to start anew, he comes up with a new one to keep him moving in the dark circles he chooses. He’s paranoid about his age, paranoid about the law, paranoid about his wealth...just all-around paranoid. This lends an interesting complexity to the character as he constantly battles with himself and has to move from near-moustache-twirler levels of wickedness to a sadder, more vulnerable place…a place of doubt and fear that we can all relate to, and is especially understandable given the time and place he lives in. And the show ends with that argument still unsorted, even in the movie version (which, by the way, is actually the ending I prefer)...no other portrayal of the character, for me, has managed to so perfectly mesh the “newer” thoughts of today with the older, more twisted character Dickens created in his novel, and so for that reason alone, Fagin definitely deserves a spot on here.

6. The Thenardiers, from Les Miserables.
Depicted above by Jenny Galloway (left) and Matt Lucas (right).

Somewhat similar to Fagin, the Thenardiers in the musical version of Les Mis are a bit “softened” from their original incarnation...but only a bit. Whereas Fagin used comedy, pathos and sympathy to update the character for the medium and time, Monsieur and Madame Thenardier used comedy...and virtually nothing else. As they are in the book, the Thenardiers are in the play: low-life scum who KNOW they are low-life scum and, in fact, ENJOY being low-life scum. For all the laughter they can provide, these two and their gang of thieves and cheats are still about the nastiest characters you can meet: unclean, unsympathetic, and with crimes and cruelties too numerous to mention: aside from trying to steal from and/or blackmail every other person they see, they are noted child abusers, very likely murderers...and it’s even implied they are CANNIBALS. (More than just implied in the movie version, in fact.) They don’t care a bit about going to Hell or hurting anyone and everyone, so long as they don’t get caught or killed while on Earth...and, rare for villains, THEY GET AWAY WITH IT. By the end of the show, nearly all the major characters have died, but the Thenardiers are still alive and actually FLOURISHING. They are basically human roaches; the dregs of humanity feeding off their betters, trying to bring everybody else down to their level, and skittering away before they can suffer any consequences...but, hey, at least they have fun doing it!

5. The Mad Hatter, from Wonderland.

Depicted above by Kate Shindle.

I went into this character pretty extensively on my list of Mad Hatters, so I’ll try to make this brief. “Wonderland” is a pretty underrated show, and the Mad Hatter is a pretty darn underrated villain, with a handful of pretty underrated villain songs to go with her. As originally portrayed by Nikki Snelson in the first incarnation of the show (which played in Tampa, Florida), the character was sort of a one-note nut; she was essentially a Disney villain - a character who was about as wacky as she was malicious, and wanted nothing but power for power’s sake. She didn’t especially hate Alice or have it out for her, she just happened to get in her way. HOWEVER, when the show was revamped - first for a tour between Tampa and Houston, Texas, then for a tragically short run on Broadway - not only was the character recast (the glorious Kate Shindle now got the role), and also recostumed, but also almost totally rewritten; this Hatter, though she still had her funny moments, was a darker character than Snelson’s, and a bit more complex. Shindle’s Hatter was essentially the Hyde to Alice’s Jekyll (Frank Wildhorn reference for the win!); her dark side, her alter-ego. In her own words to Alice, “Every time someone has broken a promise to you, or broken your heart, that has become part of me.” In a way, the Hatter is everything Alice hates about herself, and it’s pretty clear that she doesn’t like BEING that; she hates Alice as much as she hates herself, because, in a way, Alice is herself, and the Hatter is Alice. This also explains why the character was made into a female; it would be a bit strange if the darkness in Alice were given the form of a man. Whichever version you prefer - Snelson’s more lighthearted lunatic, or the schizophrenic-yet-sympathetic Shindle - this was a villain who brought a fairly mediocre show SEVERAL notches up.

4. Mr. Applegate, from Damn Yankees!

Depicted above by Jerry Lewis.

It’s kind of hard to beat the Devil, let’s face it. (Three other villains apparently managed, but we’ll get to them later.) Mr. Applegate is the alias used by the Devil himself in this campy reimagination of the classic legend of Faust: he makes a deal with middle-aged nobody Joe Boyd to make him an ace baseball player, so Boyd’s favorite team will be able to beat the Yankees. To ensure that Joe doesn’t try to back out on the deal, Applegate sends out Lola - a scintillating siren who also made a deal with him for eternal youth and beauty - to keep Joe under her control, occasionally popping in with a few tricks of his own, relentlessly seeking to keep Joe’s soul for his own. (The irony of wanting this no one’s soul so much is not lost on anyone.) More of a spoiled brat than a truly threatening Lord of Evil, Applegate nevertheless wins big, BIG points for his respective villain song, “Those Were the Good Ol’ Days,” as he reminisces on the many sins of humanity’s past, and all the joys they brought him, fondly remembering the birth of the man who would become Jack the Ripper, the suffering of the Great Depression, the horrors of the French Revolution, and other unspeakable tragedies. Fun times...fun times…

3. Judge Turpin, from Sweeney Todd.

Depicted above by Philip Quast.

Again, this a show where it’s difficult to tell who the real villain is. One might consider Mrs. Lovett, Todd’s manipulative and chattering accomplice, or even Todd himself...but Todd is our main character, and while Lovett is TECHNICALLY the main antagonist, and certainly causes her fair share of trouble and strife, I think Turpin takes the cake for the absolute most disturbed character in this story. (And that’s saying a lot.) Fifteen years before the show even begins, Turpin sent Benjamin Barker (Sweeney Todd to you and me) to a far off prison camp in Australia on a false charge. Why? For no other reason than so he could have a little “playtime” with his much younger wife. Through dishonest means, Turpin gets said “playtime” (disgusting), causing Todd’s wife to try to poison herself and go stark-raving mad. He then takes in her child, Johanna, as his own, presumably as penance...but fifteen years later, a now EVEN OLDER Turpin begins to lust over his own ward, and resolves himself to either marry her or lock her away in a Frollo-like state of intense passion. A corrupt, hypocritical, creepy aristocrat with power over the law...whose original solo song, by the way, was deemed so “sick,” for lack of a better word, it is cut from many productions of the play...I’d say these easily put Turpin in the top three on the scale of villains.

2. Miss Hannigan, from Annie.

Depicted above by Kathy Bates.

On the one hand, Hannigan is not the most complicated villainess; she’s your typical “evil orphanage owner,” an alcoholic woman who absolutely hates children but, somehow, has gotten the job caring for dozens of them. While abusing kids, trying to cheat people, and generally just being a pretty bad-tempered, lousy individual are not exactly nice traits, we can still sort of understand where Hannigan - along with her con-artist brother, Rooster, and his moll, Lily - are coming from: the show, as it is originally written, takes place in the Great Depression: being down-on-your luck and having to take care of tons of screaming, lonely kids (especially when you detest kids) cannot be much fun. She’s not exactly a sympathetic character (if she’s done properly, that is), but you can’t fault her for being dissatisfied, either...plus, she’s funny. End of discussion.

For all the fun and “I-feel-ya’s” Hannigan gives us, there is one villain in musical theatre who tops them all…

1. Erik, a.k.a. The Phantom, from The Phantom of the Opera.

Depicted above by Anthony Crivello.

“But J.J. Hatter!” I hear you cry. “Erik isn’t the bad guy! Erik’s such a sad, lonely, misunderstood character! Why don’t you love Erik?” Ladies and gents...perhaps especially ladies...I DO love Erik. But, let’s all be honest: HE’S STILL THE VILLAIN. A sympathetic villain is still a villain, and in his original format, so to speak, Erik is decidedly the villain of the story. “But J.J. Hatter!” you now try. “What about your ‘no main characters’ rule?” Well, this this is the character I mentioned where, contrary to popular belief, he isn’t actually the main character; he’s not even the main character in the book! The main character of “Phantom” is Christine herself; she’s the one who has a choice to make, she’s the one who goes through a more developed arc, and she’s the one both Raoul and the Phantom are fixated on. The whole story centers around Christine; the Phantom is the main antagonist, she is the main protagonist. Have we gotten that figured out? Good. Now, as to the Phantom himself: where do I start? When you’re the most popular (and titular) character in the single longest-running Broadway show in history (and one of the longest running in the world), you have some serious credentials. And as far as villains go, the Phantom has a lot going for him. While he’s certainly a tragic character, there’s still no getting over the fact that he’s...well...to be blunt, A PSYCHOPATH. Murderous, vengeful, and tricky as they come, he’s a crafty and cunning character; he can be a gentleman one second - powerful, debonair, and smooth - then an ANIMAL the next, screaming and roaring and clawing at the air like a wildcat...especially when his mask comes off. (He’s a little sensitive about his face.) But it’s the pathos of the Phantom that draws so many of us to him; he could be an amazing person - he’s undeniably a genius (albeit a deranged one) in many different fields, has a fun (if twisted) sense of humor, along with a glorious voice, and if the world had just been more accepting of him, perhaps he could have been one of the world’s greatest heroes, not a despicable, terrifying villain. But, as it stands, fate dealt Erik a cruel hand, and he chose the path to darkness and decadence, though perhaps not of his own volition; he’s a villain borne of circumstance as much as by choice, and that perhaps is the saddest and most interesting thing about him. But despite the tragedy...I’m sorry, everyone, the Phantom is still the villain. He’s still an evil, twisted, creepily-stalking lunatic; his tragedy does not deaden his cruelty nor his wickedness.

And, no, I don’t care if the sequel show, “Love Never Dies,” tried to make him a good guy, BECAUSE THAT SHOW CAN GO TO THE HECKIEST HECK OF ALL HECKS!

The Phantom of the Opera. Without a single question, the greatest Musical Villain ever created. “Brava...brava...bravissima…”

Honorable Mentions Go To…

Mayzie LaBird, from Seussical.

Before I decided to include Aaron Burr, Mayzie was my Number 12 spot. Seussical - believe it or not - is my favorite musical of all time. (Why, you may ask? (pauses) I really don’t know, and I don’t think I ever will. Sorry!) It stands to reason one of the antagonists from that show would make it here, and there are MANY characters who play a less-than-heroic part in the story. But some of you familiar with the play may be wondering, why did I choose Mayzie? Sure, she’s a vain and irresponsible rhymes-with-rich, but is she really a “villain”? Well, to answer your question, let’s take a look at the impact Mayzie leaves compared to the other major antagonists: Mayzie is the one who advises Gertrude to take the feather-growing pills from Dr. Dake, which causes Gertrude’s tail to grow to extreme lengths until the small blue bird can’t fly. Mayzie is also the one who convinces Horton to hatch her egg. In the process: Horton is distracted from his quest to save the Whos, nearly gets killed and DOES get captured by hunters - and Gertrude is unable to save him due to her inability to soar - and lands Horton in the Circus McGurkis, which travels all over and drags him farther and farther away from his jungle home, all while the lost Whos remain in a state of chaos. And, when Mayzie finally meets up with Horton, she doesn’t have the decency to take her egg back and let him go! In comparison: General Genghis Khan Schmitz is a warmongerer, sure, but the worst he really does is try to force Jojo to fight in the context of the piece, and is a bit of a bungler to boot. The Wickershams and Vlad Vladikoff steal the Whos away and mock Horton, but after that do very little else, and have such a minor role on the whole, as characters, that they barely count as major villains in any way at all. And the Sour Kangaroo? Sure, she gets some fantastic songs, but she doesn’t really cause any harm until near the end of the show when she puts Horton on trial. And to top it off: all of these characters learn their lesson by the time the play is finished. Mayzie does not. All this, for me, certifies her as villain material; granted, she’s far from the most “evil” baddy here, but don’t worry, we have the bozos above to take care of that...

Miss Andrew, from Mary Poppins: The Musical.

What?! A Disney Villain?! Well...sort of. You see, whereas other “Disney on Broadway” shows use the villains from the films - Scar, Gaston, Ursula, and so on - Mary Poppins is an interesting little duck in that the movie does not HAVE a villain to speak of. The closest thing we get to a villain in the movie is that stuffy Bank Chairman who tried to fire George Banks and then died laughing. (I don’t count Mr. Banks as a villain in any context. Sorry.) Well, for the musical, they decided to create their OWN villain: Miss Andrew, based on the antagonist from the last P.L. Travers story, "Mary Poppins & the House Next Door," is a positively ancient, possibly even immortal nanny, dressed in black with frighteningly pale skin, who not only acted as Mr. Banks’ own nanny when he was a boy, but also said Chairman’s. (Which explains a lot, I suppose.) Miss Andrew is basically the Anti-Mary Poppins: while Mary Poppins can be very strict, she’s also a lot of fun, and firmly believes in the now-famous phrase “a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.” She isn’t conventional, is highly creative, and tries to treat people fairly. (Again, in the show; the book Poppins is actually a pretty mean person, but that’s a whole other story.) Miss Andrew is basically a bully who pretends to be helpful; she claims to hold up traditions and teach children their place, but those places and traditions aren’t especially good ones, and she takes undeniable satisfaction in punishing people for even the smallest infractions. While she actually isn’t present onstage for very long, she is made a mention of so often, and affects the characters so much, that you can’t help but feel, and later recall, her cackling presence, all the same. And, like any great Disney Villain, she gets a fantastic villain song: “Brimstone & Treacle,” which, again, acts as something of an opposite to “A Spoonful of Sugar.” Undeniably a villain worth checking out!

Other Honorable Mentions Include…

C.B. (a.k.a. The Red Caboose), from Starlight Express.

Mr. Hyde from Jekyll & Hyde (I wasn’t sure if he would go against my “main characters” rule or not, and due to the nature of the part, I didn't think I could make him work the way I did with Frank-N-Furter.)

Caiaphas & Annas, from Jesus Christ Superstar

Jud Fry, from Oklahoma