History FunnyAneurysmMoment / Theatre

* During a live stage performance on 4th October 2004, Creator/BillyConnolly made an off-the-cuff remark about wishing people threatening to behead British hostages in Iraq "would just get on with it". [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidnapping_and_murder_of_Kenneth_Bigley Three days later they did]] and Connolly was heavily criticised by the British press for the poor timing and tastelessness of his joke, eventually being described by the Guardian newspaper as "the most vilified public figure of 2004".

* During a live stage performance on 4th October 2004, Creator/BillyConnolly made an off-the-cuff remark about wishing people threatening to behead British hostages in Iraq "would just get on with it". [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidnapping_and_murder_of_Kenneth_Bigley Three days later they did]], and Connolly was heavily criticised across British media.

* During a live stage performance on 4th October 2004, Creator/BillyConnolly made an off the cuff remark about wishing people threatening to behead British hostages in Iraq "would just get on with it". [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidnapping_and_murder_of_Kenneth_Bigley Three days later they did]], and Connolly was heavily criticised across British media for his remarks.

* The original production of ''Theatre/InTheHeights'' had Benny, a black man, bragging about what will happen when he's rich, including "Creator/DonaldTrump and I on the links and he's ''my'' caddy". At the time it was written, Trump was merely a household name for "generic rich guy in real estate", who golfs and owns golf courses worldwide. Creator/LinManuelMiranda had the name changed to golfer Tiger Woods after he saw audience members cringing thanks to Trump's [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment extremely divisive term as the President of the United States]], especially his opinions and policies on Black men like Benny and Latino people like the rest of the cast. The change is effective for all further productions, including TheMovie.

* Pretty much all of ''Theatre/{{Rent}}'' after Jonathan Larson's AuthorExistenceFailure (and he died on ''the night of the final dress rehearsal'' Off-Broadway).

* The original production of ''Theatre/InTheHeights'' had Benny, a black man, bragging about what will happen when he's rich, including "Creator/DonaldTrump and [him] on the links and he's ''my'' caddy". At the time it was written, Trump was merely a household name for "generic rich guy in real estate". Creator/LinManuelMiranda had the name changed to golfer Tiger Woods after he saw audience members cringing thanks to Trump's [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment extremely divisive term as the President of the United States]], especially his opinions and policies on Black men like Benny and Latino people like the rest of the cast. The change is effective for all further productions, including TheMovie.

* The original production of ''Theatre/InTheHeights'' had Benny, a black man, bragging about what will happen when he's rich, including "Creator/DonaldTrump on the links and he's ''my'' caddy". At the time it was written, Trump was merely a household name for "generic rich guy in real estate". Creator/LinManuelMiranda had the name changed to golfer Tiger Woods after he saw audience members cringing thanks to Trump's [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment extremely divisive term as the President of the United States]], especially his opinions and policies on Black men like Benny and Latino people like the rest of the cast. The change is effective for all further productions, including TheMovie.

* After Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in 2017, it may be a while before ''Theatre/WestSideStory'' can again be performed in Puerto Rico. At least not without heavily editing the song “Maria”, featuring lyrics like “And suddenly that name / Will never be the same / To me, and "Puerto Rico/You ugly island/Island of tropic diseases/'''always the hurricanes blowing'''.” in "America".

* A major plot element in ''Theatre/TheBookOfMormon'' is how Kevin finds Orlando, Florida the best place in the world and wants to go there on his mission. As of June 2016, that city is now associated with the Pulse nightclub mass shooting, one of the deadliest in American history. Worse in that Pulse was a gay nightclub and was specifically chosen as the target for that reason, and Kevin was originated by a gay actor.

* After September 2017, it may be a while before ''Theatre/WestSideStory'' can again be performed in Puerto Rico. At least not without heavily editing the song “Maria”, featuring lyrics like “And suddenly that name / Will never be the same / To me, and "Puerto Rico/You ugly island/Island of tropic diseases/'''always the hurricanes blowing'''.” in "America".

* The song "Try to Remember" from the musical comedy ''Theatre/TheFantasticks'' took on a new meaning after 9/11 due to its lyrics reflecting on the innocence of September. It was actually sung at numerous 9/11 memorials, including one at Ground Zero in December 2001, just three months after the attacks. This one was particularly poignant due to the mentions of December in the lyrics.

* In the Broadway (now off-Broadway) musical ''Theatre/AvenueQ'', Gary Coleman is depicted as a character. The misfortunes of his life are mocked extensively; he actually works as the building super in the show and, at one point, sings about the fact that his purpose in life is to bring happiness to others via schadenfreude, or making others happy that they're not him. All of this is slightly cringe-worthy given Gary Coleman's sudden death.

* French theater celebrity Creator/{{Moliere}} died from tuberculosis a few hours after a performance of one of his work, in which he also had the main role. Which one? ''Le Malade imaginaire'' (''The Hypochondriac'').

* A major plot element in ''Theatre/TheBookOFMormon'' is how Kevin finds Orlando, Florida the best place in the world and wants to go there on his mission. As of June 2016, that city is now associated with the Pulse nightclub mass shooting, one of the deadliest in American history. Worse in that Pulse was a gay nightclub and was specifically chosen as the target for that reason, and Kevin was originated by a gay actor.

* In the song "Dancing Through Life" from the musical ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}'', the character Fiyero sings, "Life's more painless for the brainless." This line is nonchalant and humorous the first time around, until later on in the play when [[spoiler:Elphaba removes Fiyero's brain to prevent him from feeling pain while he is tortured, turning him into the Scarecrow]]. Suddenly the line isn't so fun anymore. Also in this song, "woes are fleeting, blows are glancing" becomes cringe-worthy listening a second time, after you know[[spoiler:Fiyero gets beaten within an inch of his life]].

* In the song "Dancing Through Life" from the musical ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}'', the character Fiyero sings, "Life's more painless for the brainless." This line is nonchalant and humorous the first time around, until later on in the play when [[spoiler:Elphaba removes Fiyero's brain to prevent him from feeling pain while he is tortured, turning him into the Scarecrow]]. Suddenly the line isn't so fun anymore. Also in this song, "woes are fleeting, blows are glancing" becomes cringe-worthy listening a second time, after you know[[spoiler:Fiyero gets beaten within an inch of his life]]

* A major plot element in ''Theatre/TheBookOFMormon'' is how Kevin finds Orlando, Florida the best place in the world and wants to go there on his mission. As of June 2016, that city is now associated with the most deadly shooting in American history, at a gay nightclub. Worse in that Kevin was originated by a gay actor.
* Parodied with in ''Theatre/TheDrowsyChaperone''. In-Universe, the Man in the Chair mentions that it's very hard to watch or listen to anything with Roman Bartelli in it, knowing that after he died, he was partially consumed by his poodles. There's nothing in the first scene with Bartelli's character (or ''any'' scene) remotely relating to poodles, but it squicks him out nonetheless.

* After September 2017, it may be a while before ''Theatre/WestSideStory'' can again be performed in Puerto Rico. At least not without heavily editing the song “Maria”, featuring lyrics like “And suddenly that name / Will never be the same / To me.”

* After September 2017, it may be a while before WestSideStory can again be performed in Puerto Rico. At least not without heavily editing the song “Maria”, featuring lyrics like “And suddenly that name / Will never be the same / To me.”

* After September 2017, it may be a while before <i>West Side Story</i> can again be performed in Puerto Rico. At least not without heavily editing the song “Maria”, featuring lyrics like “And suddenly that name / Will never be the same / To me.”

* Parodied with in ''Theatre/TheDrowsyChaperone''. In-Universe, the Man in the Chair mentions that it's very hard to watch or listen to anything with Roman Bartelli in it, knowing that after he died, he was partially consumed by his poodles. There's nothing in the first scene with Bartelli's character (or ''any'' scene) remotely relating to poodles, but it squicks him out nonetheless.

* Pretty much all of ''Theatre/{{Rent}}'' after Jonathan Larson's AuthorExistenceFailure (and he died on ''the night of the final dress rehearsal'' Off-Broadway.

* In the song "Dancing Through Life" from the musical ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}'', the character Fiyero sings, "Life's more painless for the brainless." This line is nonchalant and humorous the first time around, until later on in the play when [[spoiler:Elphaba removes Fiyero's brain to prevent him from feeling pain while he is tortured, turning him into the Scarecrow]]. Suddenly the line isn't so fun anymore. Also in this song, "woes are fleeting, blows are glancing" becomes cringe-worthy listening a second time, after you know[[spoiler: Fiyero gets beaten within an inch of his life]]

* A combination of this and HilariousInHindsight, depending on your sense of humor: a line in "96,000" in ''Theatre/InTheHeights'' has Benny claim that one day, he'll be so rich that Donald Trump will be his caddy. A decade later, and we have ''President'' Donald Trump, well known for his anti-immigration policies (many of the citizens of the Washington Heights are immigrants or immigrant born), tenuous race relations with Hispanics, Latinos, and African-Americans (Benny is African-American, which is notable because ''every other person'' in the Washington Heights is Latino), and playing lots and lots of golf on weekends.

* Creator/CirqueDuSoleil's ''Theatre/{{KA}}'' has some black humor in its NoTalkingOrPhonesWarning when the "audience member" who breaks the rules is pushed into a seemingly bottomless pit (that the show's moving stages emerge from) by the villains. On June 29, 2013, a performer fell 50+ feet into that space during the climactic WireFu "Battlefield" sequence; her resultant death is Cirque's first [[FatalMethodActing onstage demise]]. Between the investigation into the disaster and the HarsherInHindsight concept of a show where characters are constantly tumbling into the void (sometimes to their doom), the show went on hiatus for a few weeks before reopening without "Battlefield". Eventually, the sequence began to find its way back: first with the performers being projected onto the wall as a safer alternative. Now, as of late 2014, the entire "Battlefield" sequence has been reinstated completely.

* Played with in ''Theatre/TheDrowsyChaperone''. In-Universe, the Man in the Chair mentions that it's very hard to watch or listen to anything with Roman Bartelli in it, knowing that after he died, he was partially consumed by his poodles. There's nothing in the first scene with Bartelli's character (or ''any'' scene) remotely relating to poodles, but it squicks him out nonetheless.

* A combination of this and HilariousInHindsight, depending on your sense of humor: a line in "96,000" in ''Theatre/InTheHeights'' has Benny claim that one day, he'll be so rich that Donald Trump will be his caddy. A decade later, and we have ''President'' Donald Trump, well known for his anti-immigration policies (many of the citizens of the Washington Heights are immigrants or immigrant born), tenuous race relations with Hispanics, Latinos, and African-Americans (Benny is African-American, which is notable because ''every other person'' in the Washington Heights is Latino), and playing lots and lots of golf on weekends.

* A major plot element in ''Theatre/TheBookOFMormon'' is how Kevin finds Orlando, Florida the best place in the world and wants to go there on his mission. As of June 2016, that city is now associated with the most deadly shooting in American history, at a gay nightclub. Worse in that Kevin was originated by a gay actor.

* In the song "Dancing Through Life" from the musical ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}'', the character Fiyero sings, "Life's more painless for the brainless." This line is nonchalant and humorous the first time around, until later on in the play when [[spoiler:Elphaba removes Fiyero's brain to prevent him from feeling pain while he is tortured, turning him into the Scarecrow]]. Suddenly the line isn't so fun anymore.

** "The Double Bubble Duchess", the IAmSong for ShamelessSelfPromoter Violet Beauregarde and her {{Slimeball}} dad, is built around a HurricaneOfPuns involving gum and the word "pop" (pop culture, BubblegumPopping, etc.), with her declaring "I'm never gonna stop/Pop!" in her rise to superstardom. TheVillainSucksSong for her downfall, "Juicy!", uses that HurricaneOfPuns to a darker end, culminating in her actually popping -- that is to say, ''exploding'' -- offstage as the result of her helplessly swelling into a giant blueberry.

* Creator/{{Aristophanes}}' play ''The Clouds'' poked fun at Socrates. A few years later, Socrates was executed for pretty much the exact things Aristophanes made fun of, even though some of them were things which Aristophanes made up for RuleOfFunny.

* {{Aristophanes}}' play ''The Clouds'' poked fun at Socrates. A few years later, Socrates was executed for pretty much the exact things Aristophanes made fun of, even though some of them were things which Aristophanes made up for RuleOfFunny.

* ''TheVaginaMonologues'' features one monologue wherein a girl is raped by her father's friend, her father kills the guy, and her mother won't let her father see her anymore. Then her mother took her to an older woman who [[DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnFemale taught her to masturbate]]. After Abu Ghraib, Eve Ensler admitted she couldn't see women as brutalizers before that.
* ''BillyElliot'' has a good example in the song "Merry Christmas, Maggie Thatcher", which contains the lyrics "We all celebrate today,'Cause it's one day closer to your death.". Upon the day of the death of Baroness Thatcher it was put to an audience vote as to whether the song ought to be performed or not. Although the previously humorous song seemed to be in bad taste, the audience decided to keep the ironic song in the show anyway, mainly because [[ItMakesSenseinContext it made sense in context]].

* Pretty much all of {{Rent}} after Jonathan Larson's AuthorExistenceFailure (and he died on ''the night of the final dress rehearsal'' Off-Broadway.
* The song "Try to Remember" from the musical comedy ''{{The Fantasticks}}'' took on a new meaning after 9/11 due to its lyrics reflecting on the innocence of September. It was actually sung at numerous 9/11 memorials, including one at Ground Zero in December 2001, just three months after the attacks. This one was particularly poignant due to the mentions of December in the lyrics.
* The now-classic "I Am What I Am" from LaCageAuxFolles became even more poignant when it became so connected to the AIDS crisis of the 1980s, and sung at dozens of memorials.

* In the song "Dancing Through Life" from the musical {{Wicked}}, the character Fiyero sings, "Life's more painless for the brainless." This line is nonchalant and humorous the first time around, until later on in the play when [[spoiler:Elphaba removes Fiyero's brain to prevent him from feeling pain while he is tortured, turning him into the Scarecrow]]. Suddenly the line isn't so fun anymore.

* In Dylan Thomas' ''Under Milkwood'', the character Bessie Bighead puts flowers on the grave of Gomer Owen, who "kissed her once by the pigsty when she wasn't looking, and never kissed her again, although she was looking all the time." That line always gets a laugh. Later on we learn that Bessie was Down Syndrome or something similar, and that Gomer only kissed her because she was dared. At this point there is usually a gasp from the audience when they realize what they had earlier laughed at.4