History WhamLine / Theatre

-->'''Lex:''' ''Did Tim ever say he wanted a Tickle-Me Wiggly?

* In ''Theatre/DukeBluebeardsCastle'', Judith realizes how deeply she messed up when Bluebeard, after talking about how he met his three previous wives, begins to describe his ''fourth'' wife.
* In ''Theatre/GlengarryGlenRoss'', Williamson suddenly realizes, thanks to a very long TheReasonYouSuckSpeech by Levene, who robbed the office: none other than Levene himself. Levene called Williamson out on a lie about cashing Lingk's check, which Levene only could have known if he'd robbed the office, since it was the one time in Williamson's career that he didn't take the checks down to the bank. Williamson later confronts the thief, and asks him a very simple question: "How did you know I made it all up?"
* In Creator/AynRand's play ''Night of January 16th'', Karen Andre, accused of murdering Bjorn Faulkner, is nearing the end of her testimony, when the SurpriseWitness barges into the courtroom. Karen frantically tries to prevent him from saying anything, but he tells her, "Your sacrifice is useless: Bjorn Faulkner is dead." Karen faints from this revelation, and the curtain falls on the second act.
* From ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}'':
** 'You have no real power,' as well as a wham moment when Glinda shows the Wizard Elphaba's keepsake, identifying him as her father, moments after having had her murdered.
** Another one takes place at the end, at the site where Elphaba made her last stand. The Scarecrow comes on stage, knocks on the floor, and says two words: "It worked!" Elphaba, alive and well, comes up through a trap door and reunites with her beloved Fiyero before they make plans to flee Oz.
* In ''Theatre/{{Urinetown}}'', [[AllKnowingSingingNarrator Little Sally asks Officer Lockstock]] what Urinetown is like. In the interest of [[MediumAwareness maintaining dramatic tension]], Lockstock ''tries'' to avoid answering the question...
-->'''Lockstock''': "Look, its power depends on mystery. I can't just blurt it out, like, 'There is no Urinetown! We just kill people!'"
** The rebels have overthrown the draconian Cladwell and instituted a new law where people can pee as much as they like, wherever they like, with whomever they like, their moment of triumph celebrated in the hymn-like "I See a River." But then Officer Lockstock interrupts:
-->'''Lockstock''': Of course, it wasn't long before the water turned silty, brackish, then disappeared altogether.

* ''Theatre/SpringAwakening'':
** Frau Bergman speaking to Wendla after taking her to the doctor, "You're going to have a child."
** When Melchior is waiting for Wendla in the church graveyard: "My God, all these little tombs... And here, a fresh one... Here Rests in God, Wendla Berg- No?! Born the.. Died- ?! Of anemia??"
* ''Theatre/DearEvanHansen'': Directly after Good For You, Evan has a "confrontation" with "Connor" (really just a manifestation of himself) in which Evan wants to tell the truth about what he's done, and "Connor" talks him out of it. This results in an altercation in which "Connor" repeatedly asks Evan how he broke his arm, culminating in this:

* ''{{Theatre/Hamilton}}'':

--->'''Alexander''': It's [a letter] from John Laurens. I'll read it later.
--->'''Eliza''': No. It's from his father.
--->'''Alexander''': ''His father?''

** "Jefferson has my vote!" in "The Election of 1800," spoken by Jefferson's long-time enemy, UsefulNotes/AlexanderHamilton, over his friend, Aaron Burr. This sets off the chain of letters to their DuelToTheDeath.[[note]]In RealLife it took a ''second'' race where Hamilton scorched Burr (this time for governor of New York) to push Burr over the edge, but 1800 certainly contributed to it.[[/note]]
** In "The World Was Wide Enough," said by Burr pre-duel, revealing that he's not going to relent and has set his mind on killing Hamilton:
-->"I had only one thought before the slaughter: ''This man will not make an orphan of my daughter!''
* ''Theatre/{{Ragtime}}'': The end of the song "He Wanted To Say." Mother's Younger Brother wants to join with a [[FaceHeelTurn Face-Heel Turned]] Coalhouse, and most of the song is the things the men want to say to each other (Mother's Younger Brother wants to fight for the same reasons Coalhouse does, Coalhouse knows Mother's Younger Brother has no idea of the animosity he has experienced because of his race). However:
-->'''Emma Goldman:''' But all he said was...
-->'''Mother's Younger Brother:''' [[FaceHeelTurn I know how to blow things up!]]
* ''Theatre/NatashaPierreAndTheGreatCometOf1812'': At the end of Act 1, the moment when Natasha finally decides between her betrothed and the man she is having an affair with.
-->'''Natasha:''' [[LoveConfession I will love you, Anatole.]]
** To a lesser extent, one of Dolokhov's lines about Anatole right before [[DuelsDecideEverything the duel.]]
->'''Dolokhov:''' Anatole is a married man, a fact known only to his intimates. A Polish landowner of some small means had forced him to marry his daughter.

** From "Javert's Suicide," making it clear that Javert has lost all hope of besting Jean Valjean:

* ''Theatre/InTheHeights'':
** "Atencion" reveals the revered elder of the Heights is gone: "Let everybody know: Abuela Claudia passed away at noon today." It's ''quite'' the MoodWhiplash.
** After "96,000" explored what each of the characters would do with the winning lottery ticket, "Pacencia and Fe" revealed who won (Abuela Claudia) with a single line: "What shall I do with this winning ticket?" This was cut in the film adaptation, which delays the reveal and instead sets it up as a WhamShot of Claudia's ticket.
* In ''Theatre/TheRiseAndFallOfTheCityOfMahagonny'', Trinity Moses's spoken line demanding that Jimmy pay for his drinks is not only a turning point in its immediate context, rudely interrupting Jimmy's drunken fantasy of sailing to Alaska, but, since it turns out Jimmy doesn't have the money, it also leads directly to his arrest, show trial and execution.
* ''Theatre/NextToNormal'': At the end of the song "It's Gonna Be Good", Gabe casually walks off the set right before his family, along with his sister's new boyfriend, are supposed to be having dinner. A few seconds later, it's revealed that Gabe was never sitting there at all.
-->'''Henry:''' I didn't know you had a brother.\\

-->'''Natalie''': Wow, you look great.
-->'''Diana''': Oh, well, thank you. And who are you?

-->'''Dan''': Can't you just leave me alone?
-->'''Gabe''': I know you know who I am.
-->'''Dan''': ''Why didn't you go with her?''
* ''Theatre/BostonMarriage'' by Creator/DavidMamet: The play begins with Anna and Claire, best friends, exchanging news. Anna has become the mistress of a wealthy man who showers her with money and gifts, including an emerald necklace that has been in his family for generations; Claire has fallen in love with a young lady who will be calling shortly for an assignation. At the end of the first act, the young lady arrives, is greeted by both women, and goes off with Claire -- only for Claire to return almost immediately to announce an unforeseen complication with drastic consequences for both of them:
-->'''Claire:''' She asks why you are wearing her mother's necklace.

--> '''Sweeney Todd:''' [[DarkReprise There's a hole in the world like a great black pit and it's filled with people who are filled with shit and the vermin of the world inhabit it...]] [[VillainousBreakdown But not for long!]] [[PutThemAllOutOfMyMisery THEY ALL DESERVE TO DIE!]]

--> '''Sweeney Todd:''' ...you knew she lived. From the moment I came into your shop, YOU KNEW MY LUCY LIVED!

* In ''Theatre/{{Assassins}}'', [[VillainSong "The Ballad of Booth"]] frames John Wilkes Booth as [[VillainHasAPoint having a legitimate grievance]] against Abraham Lincoln. Then, as the song dips more into MotiveRant territory, it all changes with a single word that shows why Booth is really angry at the President: "How the Union can never recover from that vulgar, high and mighty NIGGER-LOVER!"
* The majority of ''Theatre/{{Ebenezer}}'' is built up as a story Dickens tells Scrooge to get him to realize the truth about his past. Then it's revealed Scrooge knew it from the start.
-->'''Scrooge:''' You must think me a simpleton, sir. Don't you think I've known about everything from the start? Don't you think I've known about Marley's motives all along?
* ''Theatre/{{Cabaret}}'':
** From an [[MoodWhiplash otherwise comic song]] about a man falling in love with a monkey, revealing it's all a metaphor for the antisemitic tensions of the time:
-->'''Emcee''': "But if you could see her through my eyes, she wouldn't look Jewish at all!
** The Act 1 finale, reprising "[[VillainSong Tomorrow Belongs to Me]]," where ''nearly every guest'' at the engagement party for a Goyim woman and a Jewish man begins singing along - they're all either Nazis or sympathetic to the cause.
* ''Theatre/JuliusCaesar'' has this gem from Brutus, which clues Caesar in too late that things are about to end violently for him. For context, in Shakespeare's time, "thou" is used in the familiar and never used to properly address your superiors, who were properly addressed as "you"
-->'''Brutus''': I kiss thy hand, but not in flattery, Caesar!
* In ''Theatre/TheMousetrap'', there is such a line near the end. In keeping with the tradition of not revealing the play's ending, however, the line is presented here (as it is on the play's page) without context.
-->"The police don't."
* ''Theatre/TheGuyWhoDidntLikeMusicals'' focuses on a HiveMind slowly taking over the town of Hatchetfield and forcing everyone to sing and act as if they're in a musical, with the protagonist Paul (the titular guy who doesn't like musicals) trying to thwart the invasion with some friends. There are three big ones.
** First, when [[CrazySurvivalist Professor Hidgens]], who had been sheltering the gang from the hive, abruptly knocks out Emma and Ted, ties them to chairs, and reveals his true loyalties.
--->'''Hidgens:''' My first love was always... ''[uncovers piano with a flourish]'' MUSICAL THEATRE.\\
'''Emma:''' [[ThisIsGonnaSuck Oh. God.]] ''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis No]]''.
** Then, when the ElevenOClockNumber, "Let It Out," happens, with Paul going to blow up the meteor that brought the invasion to Earth. Bear in mind, up until now, Paul is the only character who has not sung a ''single note'' in the entire show, and has been consistently AboveTheInfluence. Until he gets too close to the source of the apotheosis...
--->'''The Hive:''' ''[singing]'' Just let it out, let it out, let it out--\\
'''Paul:''' ''[absolutely belting]'' NEVER! ''[he gasps and claps a hand over his mouth, while the live audience audibly loses their shit]''
** And finally, an utterly cruel one, after the hive has been blown up, stopping the infection from spreading outside of Hatchetfield, but killing Paul. Emma is heartbroken, getting ready to enter her new life--but then, suddenly, [[HopeSpot Paul shows up! He survived!]] The world is saved! He and Emma can run off together and live happily ever after! The two embrace, and it's utterly heartwarming, [[CruelTwistEnding until]]...
--->'''Paul:''' ''[singing]'' Emma... I'm sorry... [[TheBadGuyWins You lost]]...
* ''Theatre/BlackFriday'' another Starkid production, has every adult going into a homicidal rage over the hottest toy of the Christmas season, Tickle-Me Wiggly. The mall where they're selling the doll quickly descends into murder and chaos, and it's eventually revealed that the doll is actually a ''vessel'' for the real Wiggly, an EldritchAbomination that lives in a place called "the Black and White" and is intent on invading our world. When Tom, a widower who's been trying to buy the doll for his son Tim in hopes of cheering him up in the wake of his mother's death, finally gets his hands on a doll and almost succumbs to its power, his former student, Lex, [[ArmorPiercingQuestion asks him the question that finally snaps him out of it]].
--> ''Did Tim ever say he wanted a Tickle-Me Wiggly?"
* ''Theatre/{{Heathers}}'': In the Act 1 finale, lead character Veronica Sawyer realizes to her horror just ''[[GottaKillEmAll what]]'' her boyfriend JD's master plan for the popular kids of Westerberg High is after she witnesses him shoot JerkJock Ram Sweeney with what he ''claims'' is a tranquilizer gun:
--> '''Veronica:''' [[OhCrap ...Ram? You're just unconscious, right Ram?]] ''[[PleaseWakeUp Ram? RAM!?]]''
* ''Theatre/BeMoreChill:''
** Act I ends with Jeremy learning the SQUIP was controlling Jeremy's optic nerves to block Michael from Jeremy's field of vision so Jeremy could focus on his new, cooler friends. It then gives Jeremy the choice between his best friend and his new popularity. After some singing, Jeremy coldly seals his fate:
-->'''Jeremy:''' Optic nerve blocking, ''on.''
** Later, Michael confronts Jeremy to warn him about the SQUIP, but Jeremy brutally rejects his warnings on the assumption Michael's just jealous, and leaves him with a brutal line seemingly cutting him off for good.
-->'''Jeremy:''' Get out of my way. [walks away] ''[[ArcWords Loser.]]''

* ''Theatre/ComeFromAway'':
** From near the end of "Me And The Sky," which, in the narrative of the song, has Beverly Bass see the danger in her profession for the first time.
--> '''Beverley''': ''Suddenly I'm flying UsefulNotes/{{Paris}} to [[UsefulNotes/DFWMetroplex Dallas]]''
--> ''Across The Atlantic and feeling calm''
--> ''When suddenly someone on air to air traffic says''
--> ''"[[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror At 8:46 there's been a terrorist action]]"''
--> '''''And the one thing I loved more than anything was used as the bomb.'''''
** This real gut punch of a line in the penultimate number, "Something's Missing", where Hannah finally reveals the fate of her son:
--> '''Hannah''': He's gone. It's over.
* ''Theatre/SixTheMusical'': The musical focuses on a competition between the six wives of UsefulNotes/HenryVIII to see who had the worst time married to him. However, a spoken line during the "I Don't Need Your Love" segment reveals that the queens may have had a different motive in mind.
-->''"Yeah, 'cause then if we had realized we could've done something else...like maybe a fake competition to show everyone how messed up comparing us is."'' ''[all queens look knowingly to the audience]''
* ''Theatre/TheLastFiveYears'' is about a writer (Jamie) and an actress (Cathy) whose marriage crumbles after Jamie has overnight success while Cathy works extremely hard for several years without finding any professional success. Cathy is jealous of Jamie's success. Late in the musical, during a bitter fight, Jamie comes out and says, "I will not fail so you can be comfortable, Cathy. I will not lose because you can't win." It's a painfully cruel thing to say, but it's also the fundamental truth at the heart of their relationship, and once it's been said there's no going back.
* ''Theatre/{{Anastasia}}'' has a beautiful duet between Anya and Dmitri called "In a Crowd of Thousands", in which he recounts an encounter he once had with the young Grand Duchess Anastasia when he saw her in a parade passing by. He encourages Anya to imagine things from the grand duchess's point of view, only for things to take a shocking turn when she sings "...and then ''he bowed''". This detail, which Dmitri [[SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay definitely did not tell her]], proves to them both at last that she truly ''is'' the lost Grand Duchess, and in that moment, everything changes.
-->'''Dmitri''': I... I didn't tell you that.
-->'''Anya''': You didn't have to. ''I remember!''
-->'''Both''': ''The parade traveled on''\\
''With the sun in my eyes you were gone''\\
''But I knew even then, in a crowd of thousands''\\
''I'd find you again....''
* ''Theatre/AvenueQ'':
** While it has swearing by the truckload, the first time we hear it- Kate Monster's PrecisionFStrike during "It Sucks To Be Me" -shows the audience in that this is ''not'' anything like ''Series/SesameStreet'', which it's visually similar to.
** When Rod grows fearful of commitment:
--->'''Princeton:''' Kate, I have something to say.\\
'''Kate:''' Princeton, you can tell me anything.\\
'''Princeton:''' Listen, when I moved here to Avenue Q, [[DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife I was looking for my purpose]].\\
'''Kate''': I remember.\\
'''Princeton''': And we've been spending so much time together and I lost track of finding it. I don't wanna be an old man and realise I never found my purpose in life.\\
'''Kate''': So, you're saying you don't wanna spend time with me?\\
'''Princeton''': [[HopeSpot No, no, I love being with you]].\\
'''Kate''': Oh, good, because I thought you meant-\\
'''Princeton''': [[DifferingPrioritiesBreakup But I don't want a girlfriend before I find my mission in life]].\\
'''Kate''': But you said...\\
'''Princeton''': [[BetterAsFriends If we stay together now, we'll never be friends in the end]].\\
'''Kate''': I'm not looking for friends. I have plenty of friends.\\
'''Princeton''': Well, don't you like me?\\
'''Kate''': Well, yes, I do. [[GetOut And that's why I think you should get out of here.]]\\
'''Princeton''': You mean I should leave?\\
'''Kate''': Unless you have another definition for "get out of here".

--->'''Alexander''':''His father?''

--->'''Alexander''': "It's [a letter] from John Laurens. I'll read it later."
--->'''Eliza''': "No. It's from his father.
--->'''Alexander''': "His father?"

-->"I had only one thought before the slaughter: ''this man will not make an orphan of my daughter.''

** In "The World Was Wide Enough," said by Burr pre-duel, revealing that he's not going to relent and has set his mind on killing Hamilton:
-->"I had only one thought before the slaughter: ''this man will not make an orphan of my daughter.''
** "Jefferson has my vote!" in "The Election of 1800," spoken by Jefferson's long-time enemy, UsefulNotes/AlexanderHamilton, over his friend, Aaron Burr. This sets off the chain of letters to their DuelToTheDeath.[[note]]In RealLife it took a ''second'' race where Hamilton scorched Burr (this time for governor of New York) to push Burr over the edge, but 1800 certainly contributed to it.[[/note]]

* ''Theatre/SpringAwakening'': Frau Bergman speaking to Wendla after taking her to the doctor, "You're going to have a child." Another example is when Melchior is waiting for Wendla in the church graveyard, "My God, all these little tombs... And here, a fresh one... Here Rests in God, Wendla Berg- No?! Born the.. Died- ?! Of anemia??"

* ''Theatre/AvenueQ'' has swearing by the truckload, but the first time we hear it-Kate Monster's PrecisionFStrike during "It Sucks To Be Me"-clues the audience in that this is ''not'' anything like ''Series/SesameStreet'', which it's visually similar to.

* ''Theatre/AvenueQ'' has swearing by the truckload, but the first time we hear it-Kate Monster's PrecisionFStrike during "It Sucks To Be Me"-clues the audience in that this is ''not'' anything like ''Series/SesameStreet''.

* ''Theatre/ComeFromAway'': From near the end of "Me And The Sky," which, in the narrative of the song, has Beverly Bass see the danger in her profession for the first time.

** To a lesser extent, one of Dolokov's lines about Anatole right before [[DuelsDecideEverything the duel.]]

* In Creator/AynRand's play ''Theatre/NightOfJanuary16th'', Karen Andre, accused of murdering Bjorn Faulkner, is nearing the end of her testimony, when the SurpriseWitness barges into the courtroom. Karen frantically tries to prevent him from saying anything, but he tells her, "Your sacrifice is useless: Bjorn Faulkner is dead." Karen faints from this revelation, and the curtain falls on the second act.

* In ''Theatre/{{Urinetown}}'', [[AllKnowingSingingNarrator Little Sally asks Officer Lockstock]] what Urinetown is like. In the interest of [[MediumAwareness maintaining dramatic tension]], Lockstock ''tries'' to avoid answering the question, telling her "Look, its power depends on mystery. I can't just blurt it out, like 'There is no Urinetown! We just kill people!'"

* ''Theatre/{{Urinetown}}'' The rebels have overthrown the draconian Cladwell and instituted a new law where people can pee as much as they like, wherever they like, with whomever they like, their moment of triumph celebrated in the hymn-like "I See a River." But Officer Lockstock interrupts:
-->'''Lockstock''': Of course, it wasn't long before the water turned silty, brackish, then disappeared altogether.

* ''Theatre/{{Heathers}}'': In the Act 1 finale, lead character Veronica Sawyer realizes to her horror just ''[[KillEmAll what]]'' her boyfriend JD's master plan for the popular kids of Westerberg High is after she witnesses him shoot JerkJock Ram Sweeney with what he ''claims'' is a tranquilizer gun: