History DarkReprise / Theatre

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* ''Theatre/TheTwentyFifthAnnualPutnamCountySpellingBee'' has “Woe Is Me”. The original song is about Logainne’s aspirations to win the bee and her life in general, cheerfully asking America to love her. In the reprise, [[spoiler: she just lost the bee and is devastated, tearfully calling herself a loser and asking America to still love her, even though she understands if they don’t.]]

* ''Theatre/{{Assassins}}'' manages to take an already dark song (the opening song, "Everybody's Got the Right") and make it even darker for the finale. In the opening number, the subject is grim, but the words and music are perky and introduces all the characters. The finale, after seeing all of the assassins in their respective attempts, also ends with [[spoiler:the assassins [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou aiming their guns and firing at the audience.]]]]

* ''Theatre/{{Bandstand}}'': The first sung iteration of Welcome Home has Julia singing it as a woman reuniting with a returning soldier lover. The second? [[spoiler: She sings the poem as it was originally written, detailing the respective traumas the war had on the band members, such as severe injuries, being a prisoner of war, and losing loved ones.]]

* In the Broadway version of ''Theatre/BeautyAndTheBeast,'' the Beast acknowledges that Belle is his last chance when he sings "If I Can't Love Her," then reprises it bitterly when convinced that his chance has been lost.

** ''Alle Fragen sind gestellt" (All Questions Have Been Asked), an ominous song initially, gets a Darker Reprise in act 2 (sometimes named "Am Deck der Sinkenden Welt" (On the Deck of the Sinking World). In the first version, the characters are gathered to celebrate Franz Joseph and Elisabeth's wedding, and foreshadow the beginning of the end of the Habsburgs. The reprise details the tragic fate of Sisi's family, and [[spoiler:ends with Death ordering Lucheni to assassinate Elisabeth, while Franz Joseph is helpless to stop it.]]

* ''Theatre/{{Finale}}'' begins with the triumphant "Today is the Day," about how everyone in the cast is going to have a good day. This song is reprised in "Finally," the finale, when [[spoiler:the world is ending]], along with many other [[RepriseMedley character's musical motifs.]] "Today is the Day" no longer means "Today is the day that my life gets better," it now means [[spoiler:"Today is the day that we die."]]

** "[[VillainSong Hans of the Southern Isles]]" first gets a TriumphantReprise at the end of Act 1, but after he [[spoiler: reveals he never loved Anna]], he gets another quick one:
---> '''Hans:''' Once I kill Elsa, and give you this ring, I am King Hans of Arendelle.
** After [[spoiler: Anna freezes]], Elsa weeps over her and sings a short reprise of "Do You Wanna Build a Snowman?"
---> '''Elsa:''' This is what I feared, this is why I shut you out so long ago. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Look at what I've done to you.

---> '''Olaf''': Do you want to build a snowman?\\

-->'''Young Allison in Party Dress:''' I Despise this dress!/ What's the matter with boy shirts and pants/This dress makes me feel like a clown,/I HATE IT!
-->'''Regular Allison in Telephone Wire:''' Since like, 5 I guess!/I prefer to wear boy shirts and pants!/I felt absurd in a dress!/I REALLY TRIED TO DENY MY FEELINGS FOR GIRLS!

-->'''Medium Allison:''' Am I falling into nothingness?/Or Flying into something so sublime?/I don't know.../ BUT I'M CHANGING MY MAJOR TO JOAN!
-->'''Bruce Bechdel:''' And I'm falling into nothingness/Or flying into something so sublime./And I'm A man I don't know./Who am I now?/Where do I go?/I can't go back...

-->'''Regular Allison in Telephone Wire:''' So how does it feel to know that you and I are both-!
-->'''Middle Allison in Flying Away:''' At the light.../How does it feel to know?

** "Rose's Turn" is a whole medley of dark reprises: "Here she is, boys!" quotes the Newsboys' intro of Baby June, then segues into bitter parodies of "Everything's Coming Up Roses" and "Some People," grabs a snippet of the "strip" music from the overture, and even mocks "Mr. Goldstone." The "Mama's talkin' loud" section sounds like new material but it's actually a distortion of a section of "Small World" called "Mama's talking soft" that was cut before the show opened. The darkest reprise of all is when "Everything's coming up roses for you and for me" morphs into "Everything's coming up Rose... this time for me!" In the original version of the show, Rose also has a more traditional dark reprise a couple of scenes earlier. When Herbie walks out on her for the last time, she screams, "You go to hell!" then breaks down for a tearful half-chorus of the song she sang at their first meeting, "Small World."

** Hamilton's motif of "I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory..." is first spoken in "My Shot", establishing him as a bold, determined revolutionary. Though it's repeated several times throughout the show, it doesn't truly become a dark reprise until he sings it as he [[spoiler:dies.]]

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

** There is a tender piano piece played at the end of "That Would Be Enough", where Eliza convinces Hamilton to stay home with her so he can meet their son when he is born. The same piano piece is the main theme of "It's Quiet Uptown", which [[spoiler: depicts Hamilton and Eliza's utter despair, grief, and attempt to reconcile after Phillip's death at age 19]]. The piece reappears one last time in ''Best of Wives and Best of Women'', where Eliza tiredly and halfheartedly tries to convince Hamilton to come back to bed. While it's perfectly innocuous to Eliza, it's devastating to Hamilton and the audience, who know that [[spoiler:Hamilton is about to die in the duel between him and Aaron Burr]]. [[note]]As a small moment of FridgeBrilliance, what Hamilton's ''doing'' in this scene also serves as a Dark Reprise of sorts. Hamilton tells Eliza that "he just has to write something down". When you remember Hamilton's line in ''Ten Duel Commandments'' "leave a letter for your next of kin/tell 'em where you've been, pray that hell or heaven lets you in", the scene becomes extra poignant without an additional word needing to be said.[[/note]]

* ''Theatre/{{Heathers}}'' has several
** "Shine A Light" is a bouncy gospel-style number about how teens shouldn't commit suicide. However misguided it may be, it has good intentions. The reprise is Heather Duke egging on [[spoiler: Heather [=McNamara=]]] to commit suicide.

* In ''Theatre/HowToSucceedInBusinessWithoutReallyTrying,'' [[GuileHero J. Pierrepont Finch]] ([[RunningGag F-I-N-C-H]]) sings "I Believe In You" to himself as a way to keep his confidence up on the eve of making it big. Later, [[spoiler: after it all comes crashing down,]] his {{Love Interest|s}}, Rosemary, sings the same words to him in an attempt to reassure him [[spoiler: although he's already been dragged away to face the music]]. The tone of the song is only slightly different (it's a touch more desperate), but the situation is worlds from what it was before.

** The song "Living Dead", is about how most souls in Deadland spend their days partying and having fun, because they have [[TheAntinihilist nothing left to lose]], not even their memories. The song's reprise "Elysium" is about Agnes realizing that her life wasn't as great as it seemed, and it might be better for her and Jasper to [[spoiler:stay in Deadland, even if it means giving up their lives and memories of eachother]].

** "The Forgetting" refers to Gretchen explaining to Jasper how GhostAmnesia works in Deadland. When they later part ways, the song is reprised as Gretchen tries to convince herself to just let herself lose her memory of Jasper as well. [[spoiler:It gets reprised ''again'' in the second act, when Agnes desperately begs Jasper to hold onto his memories]].

* In ''Theatre/JerseyBoys'', Frankie sings " My Eyes Adored You" to his daughter Francine. It is later reprised [[spoiler: after he buries her]].

** [[SanitySlippageSong "Judas' Death"]] has ''three'': one for "Blood Money / Damned for All Time" (as [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone he realizes the gravity of what he's done]] and starts to lose his mind), one for "I Don't Know How to Love Him" (as he desperately tries to rationalize his actions), and one for "Heaven On Their Minds" ([[DrivenToSuicide as he kills himself]]).

* ''Theatre/{{Kismet}}'' ends with a Dark Reprise of "Sands Of Time," as the characters vanish one by one from the stage.

* ''Theatre/LesMiserables''.

** "Bring Him Home", Valjean's impassioned prayer for God to save [[spoiler:Marius]], is reprised right before [[spoiler: his own]] death. An instrumental is also played as the dust from the final battle settles over [[spoiler:the dead students]] and [[spoiler:Valjean saves Marius and takes him into the sewers]] in an ironic yet meaningful reprise: in the end, his prayer went unanswered, as God could not save them, but [[spoiler:Valjean can still save Marius]]. At the end it gets one more reprise, more bittersweet than dark, changing the lyrics to "Bring Me Home" [[spoiler: as Valjean is nearing his own death and prays to God to take him to Heaven]].

* ''[[Theatre/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians The Lightning Thief]]'' has the song, "Good Kid", which is essentially Percy's "I Want" Song. The reprise is sung by [[spoiler: Luke]] after he reveals himself as the villain.
---> [[spoiler: '''Luke:''']] So I'll do anything,/I don't care if I hurt anyone/It doesn't pay to be a good kid, a good kid./A good son!

--> ''Together till our dying day / The living proof that crime can pay''

** "You Are Music" starts out as a lovely, joyful duet between Erik and Christine, and is reprised [[spoiler:as the last thing they sing to each other before Erik dies.]]
** "Dressing For The Night" starts with the company of the Opera preparing to go to the Bistro for a night out, and is reprised [[spoiler:as an AngryMobSong for the hunt for the Phantom.]]

* The 2017-version of ''Theatre/Portal2TheUnauthorizedMusical'' features two versions of the song "Suddenly Wheatley"[[note]]"Suddenly Wheatley" is a parody of "Suddenly Seymour" from ''Theatre/LittleShopOfHorrors''[[/note]]. The first is a duet between Wheatley and Chell where they sing about how they've finally found a friend in the other and how they're going to defeat [=GLaDOS=] and escape to the surface together. The reprise takes place after [[spoiler: Wheatley's FaceHeelTurn]], and is a solo-piece sung by [[spoiler: Wheatley]] in which [[spoiler: he triumphantly sings about how he's going to murder the weakened Chell by blowing her up]].

** "The Stuff" also gets a reprise, but the song was pretty dark in the first place. It's actually a [[InvertedTrope Triumphant Reprise]], at least in the {{Showtime}} RecursiveAdaptation. [[spoiler: [[TheDogBitesBack Mae finally has enough of Jack]], so she [[BewareTheNiceOnes murders him with a garden hoe]] and [[CrossesTheLineTwice rips out his still-beating heart]] while [[DeliberateValuesDissonance gleefully belting about how she's finally reformed.]] ]]

** "I Should Tell You" has a rather abbreviated Dark Reprise right before the finale ("Finale A/Your Eyes"), where Roger and Mimi repeat the song as [[spoiler:Mimi is dying - [[DisneyDeath or so they think]].]]
** Also in the finale, just before "Your Eyes," Roger reprises the beginning of "Another Day," singing "Who do you think you are leaving me alone with my guitar."

* ''Film/RomyAndMichelesHighSchoolReunion: TheMusical'' concludes the "Get a Life" number with the ensemble [[ThisLoserIsYou mocking Romy and Michele for their failed attempts to obtain jobs and boyfriends over the past two weeks.]]

* The ''Theatre/SeraMyu'' has one: Orleans No Sei senshi is a song sung by Inner Senshi (Sans Mars) and Hotaru duing a mock battle. The first verse is later sung in a much darker form, Orleans no Sei Senshi ~ Uranus - Neptune no Uragiri (Holy Soldier's of Orleans ~ Uranus and Neptune's Betryal) The song title alone should tell you what's happening at this time. [[spoiler: except it's all ploy to kill Galaxia. Like the similar scene in the [[Anime/SailorMoon anime]] it fails]] The song is reprised in an altered form by all the senshi as La Fatalité Sei Senshi which itself is a lighter reprise and (longer version of) Oitsumerarete. Confused yet?

* Early in ''Theatre/SheLovesMe'', the protagonist's boss, Mr. Maraczek, sings "Days Gone By," in which he reminisces about his freewheeling days as a young man and meeting his wife. Later, [[spoiler:after he finds out his wife has been cheating on him,]] he sings the song again, with identical lyrics, which take on a much more poignant meaning.

*** In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTxb5us83Jg at least one production,]] there is a second reprise of "Mama Who Bore Me" in act two, where it becomes [[spoiler:Wendla's abortion and death song]].

-->We deserve each other
-->Don't you see this is our chance?
--> We deserve each other, don't we Boq?
** In "Wicked Witch of the East", Boq finally sings to Nessa about his feelings for Glinda with the same melody as before. [[spoiler: Nessa reacts badly this, accidentally botching a spell to force him fall in love with her, destroying his heart instead. She then realises how evil she has become without realising it, singing:]]
-->[[spoiler: Alone and loveless here]]
-->[[spoiler: With just the girl in the mirror]]
-->[[spoiler: Just her and me, the Wicked Witch of the East]]
-->[[spoiler: We deserve each other]]
** Also, there is a part where Boq sings to Nessa in ''Dancing through Life''
--> Listen Nessa, oh Nessa
--> I've got something to confess
--> A reason why, well
--> Why I asked you here tonight
--> Now I know it isn't fair...
** Then later, after [[spoiler: Boq learns Nessa's shoes were charmed so she could walk]]
--> [[spoiler: Nessa, Uh Nessa,]]
--> [[spoiler: Surely now I'll matter less to you]]
--> [[spoiler: And you won't mind me leaving here tonight...]]

* ''[[Film/TheWickerMan1973 The Wicker Man]]'' (musical version) starts with Sgt. Howie singing a musical version of the 23rd Psalm along with the rest of his church congregation. At the end, he sings it again in a more defiant/terrified tone, [[spoiler: while being burnt to death in the eponymous Wicker Man]].

** "Epiphany" is the only song that doesn't get a sung reprise, but an orchestral rendition of one of the final parts ([[spoiler:"And my Lucy lies in ashes"]]) plays as [[spoiler:Sweeney is killing the Beggar Woman, unaware that she is actually his lost wife]].

** "How Long Must This Go On" includes a minor-key version of Maurice's {{leitmotif}}, which also appears in the number "Home" when Belle says goodbye to her father, as well as "If I Can't Love Her".

* ''Theatre/{{Diana}}'': "Pretty, Pretty Girl" is initially sung as an upbeat Diana resolves to use her popularity to stand her ground against the royal family. The reprise is shorter and moodier, and features a fed-up Diana choosing to get revenge against Charles.

* ''Theatre/LaCageAuxFolles'' does this with its opening chorus "We Are What We Are" turned around into the bitter solo "I Am What I Am". Interestingly, the reprise here is the SignatureScene of the whole show, so [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools Tropes Are Not Bad]] indeed.

%% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks!

* In ''Theatre/HowToSucceedInBusinessWithoutReallyTrying,'' [[GuileHero J. Pierrepont Finch]] [[RunningGag (F-I-N-C-H)]] sings "I Believe In You" to himself as a way to keep his confidence up on the eve of making it big. Later, [[spoiler: after it all comes crashing down,]] his {{Love Interest|s}}, Rosemary, sings the same words to him in an attempt to reassure him [[spoiler: although he's already been dragged away to face the music]]. The tone of the song is only slightly different (it's a touch more desperate), but the situation is worlds from what it was before.

** In the Broadway production, Triton reprised "The World Above" just before destroying Ariel's human artifact collection. The revised production replaces this with two "preprises" of "If Only"; the first sung by Triton while [[GriefSong reminiscing about]] [[TheLostLenore his late wife]], the second by Ariel after Triton destroys her grotto.

** Eric and Triton's parts of "[[DistantDuet If]] [[BSODSong Only]]" reprise the melody of "Her Voice" [[AdultFear in a more desperate context]].

* "Mama, wo bist du?" from ''Theatre/{{Elisabeth}}'' is already sad, until Der Tod (Death) comes to comfort Rudolf and tells him he will always be close by. Later in the play, after [[spoiler: Rudolf has killed himself]], Elisabeth sings a reprise that begins "[[spoiler: Rudolf]], wo bist du?" and only becomes sadder thereafter, ending in her begging for Death to release her. He does not oblige, but [[IronicEcho bitterly reprises]] a brief song of hers from earlier.

** "The Forgetting" refers to Gretchen explaining to Jasper how GhostAmnesia works in Deadland. When they later part ways, the song is reprised as Gretchen tries to convince herself to just let herself lose her memory of Jasper as well.

** ''Goodbye Jasper'', despite being about Jasper falling in to the afterlife, is quite an upbeat, energetic song. Its gets reprised in the song ''The Trade'', when Agnes [[spoiler:says goodbye to Jasper as he offers his life in order for her to return to the Living World]].
** ''The Forgetting'' refers to Gretchen explaining to Jasper how GhostAmnesia works in Deadland. When they later part ways, the song is reprised as Gretchen tries to convince herself to just let herself lose her memory of Jasper as well.

* In ''Theatre/JasperInDeadland'', the song "Living Dead", is about how most souls in Deadland spend their days partying and having fun, because they have [[TheAntinihilist nothing left to lose]]. The song's reprise "Elysium" is about Agnes realizing that her life wasn't as great as it seemed, and it might be better for her to stay in Deadland, even if it means giving up her memories.

* In ''Theatre/JasperInDeadland'', the song "Living Dead", is about how most souls in Deadland spend their days partying and having fun, because they have "nothing left, but a soul and a bag". This line is reprised in the song "Elysium", when Jasper and Agnes [[spoiler:discuss staying in Deadland and abandoning their lives and memories]].

* Similarly, in the ''Theatre/JekyllAndHyde'' musical, the song "Sympathy, Tenderness" is sung once in each act: in the first, it is sung by the prostitute Lucy as she reflects on the kindness Dr. Jekyll has shown her; in the second act, it's sung by Hyde as he rapes and murders her.

* Early in ''Theatre/SheLovesMe'', the protagonist's boss, Mr. Marazak, sings "Days Gone By," in which he reminisces about his freewheeling days as a young man and meeting his wife. Later, [[spoiler:after he finds out his wife has been cheating on him,]] he sings the song again, with identical lyrics, which take on a much more poignant meaning.

* The musical ''Theatre/{{Aida|JohnRice}}'' is full of this. "How I Know You", "My Strongest Suit", "Elaborate Lives"...

** ''Wait For It'' is Aaron Burr's perhaps not hopeful, but at least optimistic song establishing his character, his motivations, and his tendency to take things as they come. When it's repeated at the end of ''The World Was Wide Enough'', Burr solemnly sings about how he has destroyed his life and his legacy by [[spoiler:shooting Hamilton]] in one sole impulsive act.
** Hamilton's motif of "I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory..." is first spoken in ''My Shot'', establishing him as a bold, determined revolutionary. Though it's repeated several times throughout the show, it doesn't truly become a dark reprise until he sings it as he [[spoiler:dies.]]
** A lot of the dialogue in ''Helpless'' gets a dark reprise in the very next song, ''Satisfied'', when we're shown the same love scene from the point of view of the girl who ended up heartbroken.
** Though the actual reprise of ''The Story of Tonight'' is quite cheerful and lightheaded, the ''Laurens' Interlude'', [[spoiler: which shows Hamilton being informed of Laurens' death]], borrows it's words and medley from the song. It gets even darker when it's [[spoiler:the last words Hamilton says before he gets shot]].
** Though the first iteration of ''Ten Duel Commandments'' isn't exactly cheery, when it's reprised at the beginning of ''The World Was Wide Enough'', it's just devastating.

** ''Alexander Hamilton'''s central violin riff and opening rap ("how does a bastard, orphan etc etc") is reprised ''many'' times during the show, but it gets dark half the times it does. First in ''A Winter's Ball'', when Burr is jealous of Hamilton's appointment as Washington's assistant, then in ''What'd I Miss'' when Burr introduces the new tense political climate, followed by ''The Adams Administration'', when Hamilton is fired and begins to enter free-fall, and finally in ''Your Obedient Servant'' when Burr is enraged by Hamilton's intentional sabotage of his presidential aspirations. Pretty much the only time it isn't dark is ''Guns and Ships''.
** Although it uses the same cheery music in all three appearances, ''You'll Be Back'' and it's subsequent reprises get darker and darker as the show progresses. In ''You'll Be Back'', George III sings about how he's confident that the colonies will come crawling back. ''What Comes Next'' shows a broken-hearted George warning the Americans that leading is a lot harder than fighting. The final reprise, ''I Know Him'' shows George (who, in real life, was at least partially mad by this point in history) gleefully awaiting the political carnage he knows will follow Adams's election (and oh boy, does it).
** ''Blow Us All Away'', the song in which Hamilton's son Philip [[spoiler:gets shot]], repeats a lot of lyrics from ''My Shot''. Phillip is the same age as Hamilton was at the start of the play and is just as restless and eager to fight as his father was, [[spoiler: and it gets him killed]]. The song title (and a small bit in the beginning) come from ''Dear Theodosia'', when Hamilton tells a baby Philip that someday he will "blow us all away".
** ''Stay Alive (Reprise)'', the song in which Hamilton's son Philip [[spoiler:dies]] is a reprise of Act I's ''Stay Alive'', in which Hamilton's wife Eliza hopes Hamilton will come home alive so he will get a chance to meet his son, the aforementioned Philip. It also mentions and reprises Eliza and Philip's piano lessons from ''Take a Break'', which is already heartbreaking enough until Philip [[spoiler:dies]] on the note he used to change as a child.
** Eliza asks Hamilton to "let [her] be a part of the narrative" in ''That Would Be Enough''. In ''Burn'', after Hamilton's affair comes to light, she declares that she is [[spoiler:"erasing herself from the narrative"]]. Subverted to be hopeful again in ''Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story'', when she "puts herself back in the narrative".
** ''Non-Stop'' first introduces the idea that Hamilton writes "like he's running out of time". It's last iterated in ''Best of Wives and Best of Women'' when, [[spoiler:while he's writing a note to Eliza in case he dies in his duel with Burr,]] Eliza asks, one last time, why he writes like he's running out of time.

** ''The Room Where It Happens'' is Burr's song about wanting to be on the inside of American politics, rather watching from the outside. When he loses the presidential election due to a lack of endorsement from Hamilton, Burr ominously declares that Hamilton has kept him "from the room where it happens for the last time."
** The Off-Broadway production included a dark reprise of ''Dear Theodosia'', Burr and Hamilton's song in which they sing of how much they love and cherish their newborn children, in which Burr tells his daughter that her mother has died.
** The cut song ''One Last Ride Reprise'' has the nation mourning the death of George Washington, and, obviously, it uses lyrics and chords from ''One Last Ride,'' the original draft of ''One Last Time.'' It also makes sad mentions to ''Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)'' with the phrase, "The world turns upside down..." and to ''What'd I Miss?'' with the phrase, "He's been at your service for so long..."

* In ''Theatre/TheFantasticks'', after Matt and Luisa split up in Act Two, Luisa forlornly sings a few bars from her Act One IWantSong "Much More".
* In the beginning of ''Theatre/FiddlerOnTheRoof'', the citizens of Anatevka sing about their traditions and customs, explaining how they base their entire lives around them, and love doing so, in the upbeat "Tradition". Later in the musical, when Tevye disowns his own daughter, the main line of "Tradition" is sung by the ensemble in a much darker and more dramatic tone, showing that tradition is tearing the family apart.

* "The Destruction" from ''Literature/{{Carrie}}: the Musical'' is a string of Dark Reprises. After [[spoiler: the bucket of pigs' blood ruins her night]], the titular character recites the Lord's Prayer as she does in times of stress before plunging into a bass-heavy emotional [[SanitySlippageSong explosion]] comprising bits from "Carrie", her zealous mother's rantings from "And Eve Was Weak", lines about how happy Tommy makes her, her hope that she and Tommy are both "Dreamers in Disguise", more of her mother's rantings about how "they will break your heart", and finally a reprise of "Carrie"'s first verses. "Doesn't anybody ever get it right? [[DidYouThinkICantFeel Doesn't anybody think that I hear]]?" Then she [[FreakOut kills everybody]].

* In ''Film/MaryPoppins: The Musical'', when Mary confronts her EvilCounterpart Miss Andrew, they alternate between their respective songs "A Spoonful of Sugar" and "Brimstone and Treacle".