‘Dissonance is our harmony’ : Gothic Structure, Aesthetic and Affect in Musical Theatre

Passey, Jodie and Spooner, Catherine and Quick, Andrew (2026) ‘Dissonance is our harmony’ : Gothic Structure, Aesthetic and Affect in Musical Theatre. PhD thesis, Lancaster University.

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Abstract

The musical and the Gothic, while not typically considered in conjunction, inform each other in ways that can deepen and revitalise our understanding of each mode. As the musical is primarily associated with light and the Gothic with dark, the affinity they share highlights the musical’s dark connotations and the Gothic’s inclination for joyful theatricality. Musical performance has long been central to Gothic spectacle, and Gothic influences present themselves in modern musical theatre through structure, aesthetic and affect. Although musicals make an essential contribution to modern Gothic theatre, the form has not yet received much attention from Gothic scholars. This thesis addresses this critical oversight. It explores the musical’s debt to Gothic drama, establishes how modern shows Gothicize classic musical conventions, and compares the sensation of seeing a live musical to Gothic affect. The first chapter examines how concept musicals such as Chicago and Cabaret experiment with the classic musical formula, making space for transgression through disjunction. Chapter 2 interrogates how Stephen Sondheim draws on the musical’s disjunctive quality to construct and motivate villains in Sweeney Todd and Assassins. Chapter 3 explores how Austrian and South Korean musical theatre engage with Gothic influences before pivoting to analyse the culturally complex vampire musical. Chapter 4 continues the previous chapter’s exploration of how The Phantom of the Opera revamped Gothic theatre, and how Elisabeth further developed the megamusical by introducing German Romantic influences. The final chapter is dedicated to The Grinning Man – in many ways, the ultimate Gothic musical – and how it contemporises Victor Hugo’s Gothic while innovating ways to recreate literary affect onstage. By considering the musical through a Gothic lens, this thesis throws its themes into a new light and recontextualises its very structure.