History WhamLine / Theatre

* From ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}'': 'You have no real power,' as well as a WHAM moment when Glinda shows the Wizard Elphaba's keepsake, [[spoiler: identifying him as her father, moments after having had her murdered.]]

* ''Theatre/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'' ends with a Wham Song, the TriumphantReprise of "It Must Be Believed to Be Seen". The reprise reveals first that [[spoiler: the tramp at the dump whom Charlie befriended was Willy Wonka in disguise -- same actor and all -- which means he rigged his own Golden Ticket contest and was secretly on the boy's side all along]], and second that [[spoiler: Mr. Wonka's retiring from running the factory so he can pursue new dreams...''in the audience's world''...which he can travel to -- and does -- simply by way of an ImaginationBasedSuperpower]]. While a few hints to the first revelation are there for sharp/GenreSavvy viewers (they at least make for some RewatchBonus), the second revelation is a definite surprise. (It helps that none of this is in the novel or either film adaptation of same.)

** 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 mad: "How the Union can never recover from that vulgar, high and mighty, NIGGER-LOVER!"

** "You maintain he made a present of this silver-" "That is right."

--->'''Grantaire''': "Drink with me to days gone by/Can it be you fear to die?/Will the world remember you when you fall/Can it be your death means nothing at all?"

** "I'm stepping down; I'm not running for President" from Washington. A ForegoneConclusion to the audience, but a major in-universe wham and the point where [[CerebusSyndrome everything starts going wrong for Hamilton]]. It also counts as a wham for real-life politics; as King George points out in his next song, the idea of a leader ''voluntarily'' relinquishing power was unheard of in those days, especially when one knows that Washington was so popular at the time that he could've declared himself PresidentForLife and almost nobody would've opposed him. There's a reason historians commonly rank this as among the most important political decisions ''ever made''.

** In-universe, it's ''quite'' a shock to all present (especially Javert) when Monsieur le Mayor reveals himself to be Jean Valjean (although for the audience, we've already had an entire song where he confesses as much, just in case you couldn't figure it out from them being the same actor).

** A more minor example: after "96,000" explored what each of the characters would do with the winning lottery ticket, "Pacencia and Fe" revealed who won ([[spoiler:Abuela Claudia]]) with a single line: "What shall I do with this winning ticket?"

--->'''Grantaire''': "Drink with me to days gone by/Can it be you fear to die?/Will the world remember you when you fall/Can it be your life means nothing at all?"

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

* ''Theatre/TheBookOfMormon'':
** "I AM NOT YOUR BEST FRIEND! I JUST GOT STUCK WITH YOU BY THE MISSIONARY TRAINING CENTER!"
** There's another one in "Hasa Diga Eebowai". "Well, let's see... 'Eebowai' means 'God', and 'Hasa Diga' means 'fuck you', so I guess in English, it would be... 'Fuck you, God.'"
* The end of act I of DavidMamet's ''Boston Marriage'': [[spoiler:"She asks why you are wearing her mother's necklace".]]
* ''Humble Boy'': "Mother?...Mother, [[spoiler:please tell me you can see him.]]"
* ''Theatre/{{Cabaret}}'': "But if you could see her through my eyes...[[spoiler:She wouldn't look ''Jewish'' at all.]]"
* ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'': "...revenge his foul and most unnatural murder."
* ''Theatre/LovesLaboursLost'': "The king your father--" "Dead, for my life!" This comes at the end of a ''comedy''.
* ''{{Theatre/Godspell}}'': "This is the beginning."[[spoiler:...of the end. Jesus says this to tell the community that was built during Act 1 that he's going to leave them to see if they retained the lessons learned from his teachings. And it all goes downhill from there, ending in His Crucifixion.]]
** Also, the line right before "On the Willows": [[spoiler: "And I tell you I shall never again drink from the fruit of the vine until I drink it again with you in the Kingdom of my Father." Jesus then says goodbye to the rest of the cast.]]
** "Then the man they called Judas Iscariot went to the chief priests, and said "What will you give me to betray Him to you?" They paid him thirty pieces of silver — and from that moment, he began to look out for an opportunity to betray Him." (Matthew 26:14-16, KJV) The line signifies the transition from John to Judas.
** The final line of the speech is accented with a percussive sound not unlike DramaticThunder.

* From David Auburn's ''Proof'': "I didn't find it. [[spoiler: I wrote it."]] End Act 1.
* ''Theatre/NextToNormal'' has a few, starting with arguably one of the biggest ones in all of musical theatre:
-->'''Henry''': Whose birthday is it?
-->'''Natalie''': My brother's.
-->'''Henry''':[[spoiler: I didn't know you had a brother.]]
-->'''Natalie''':[[spoiler: I don't. He died before I was born.]]
** Near the beginning of Act 2:
-->'''Natalie''': Wow, you look great.
-->'''Diana''': Oh, well, thank you. [[spoiler:And who are you?]]
** Towards the end of the show:
-->'''Diana''': So, anyway, [[spoiler:I'm leaving.]]
** And finally, the moment that reveals that [[spoiler:Diana wasn't the only one who saw Gabe.]]
-->'''Dan''':[[spoiler: Can't you just leave me alone?]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Gabe''': I know you know who I am.]]
-->'''Dan''':[[spoiler: Why didn't you go with her?]]
* ''Theatre/{{RENT}}'': "AZT Break." [[spoiler: How Mimi reveals to Roger she has AIDS.]]
* ''Film/SunsetBoulevard'' actually has a Wham ''Song'', specifically "New Ways To Dream (Reprise)," in which Max fills in all the remaining holes relating to Norma's past. The biggest WhamLine within the song is probably "Please, understand, she was [[spoiler: my wife]]."
* ''Theatre/{{Tosca}}''! Finalmente mia...[[KilledMidSentence aaaaaaargh!]]
* ''Theatre/{{Rigoletto}}'': The reprise of "La dona e mobile", telling us and Rigoletto that the body in the sack isn't who he thinks...

* ''Theatre/TickTickBoom'': Jon gets angry with his best friend Michael and screams, "What the hell do you know about fear? What do you know about anything?" Michael responds, [[spoiler:"I know I'm sick, Jon, and I'm not going to get any better."]]
* ''Theatre/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet'':
--> '''The Beggar Woman''': [[spoiler:Don't I know you, mister?]]
** And late on in the story:
--> '''Sweeney''' (Theatre Version): [[spoiler:Oh, God! "Don't I know you", she said... You knew she lived...! ''From the first moment that I walking into your shop you knew my Lucy lived!'']]\\
'''Sweeney''' (Film Version): [[spoiler:"Don't I know you", she said... You knew she lived... ''You lied to me.'']]
** To a lesser extent, the line that marks the exact moment Sweeney turns from an AntiHero to a VillainProtagonist:
--> '''Sweeney''': 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... ''[[PutThemAllOutOfMyMisery But not for long]]...!''
* ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'': "I could not send it, here it is again."
* ''Theatre/LesMiserables'': "[[NotSoDifferent You know nothing of Javert, I was born inside a jail! I was born with scum like you, I am from the gutter too!]]"
** Another gutting Javert line: "And does he know... that, granting me my life today [[spoiler: "this man has killed me, even so?"]]"
* In ''Theatre/AllMySons'', Chris's mother tells him why she won't allow him to marry his brother's fiancée: "Your brother’s alive, darling, because if he’s dead, your father killed him." This inflammatory statement leads directly to Chris CallingTheOldManOut.
* ''Theatre/MissSaigon'': "I'm Chris' wife. My name is Ellen". The audience already knows this, but the line clearly has this effect on Kim.
* ''Theatre/ARaisinInTheSun'': [[spoiler: [[WithFriendsLikeThese "When a cat take off with your money, he don't leave you no road maps!"]]]]
* ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}''
--> '''Macduff''': Despair thy charm, and let the angel whom thou still hast served tell thee, Macduff was from his mother’s womb untimely ripped.
* ''Theatre/AlmostMaine'' has quite a few, but one that stands out is one of the characters who [[FeelNoPain can't feel pain]]:
--> ''Ow.''
* ''Theatre/TheLightInThePiazza'': "When Clara was twelve, we rented a Shetland pony for her birthday party. She and her friends were leading the pony around... [[spoiler: [[ChildhoodBrainDamage and the pony kicked her!"]]]]
* ''Theatre/WhosAfraidOfVirginiaWoolf'': "[[spoiler: Our son is ''dead'', just like that!]] How does that make you feel?"

* In ''Theater/LendMeATenor'':
-->[[spoiler: '''Saunders:''' Oh my God, he's alive. [...] ''I was standing here TALKING to him!'']]

* In ''{{Theatre/The Drowsy Chaperone}}'', most of it feels pretty silly, but there seem to be hints that [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep Man in Chair]] has more going on then he lets on. Then, following the blackout and the Superintendent ruining the finale:
-->"[[HeroicBSOD Oh, it was ruined, wasn't it?]] One note away from the end of the show and it was ruined. The mood is broken...I should just start the record again from the beginning. No. [[MediumAwareness I can't do that, can I?]] Oh, it's so frustrating. You have to understand, I love this show so much. My mother gave me the record. This was just before my father left us. He didn't leave because of the record, although I'm sure it didn't help matters."
** An earlier moment is a somewhat funnier, lighthearted line in "Love Is Always Lovely in the End":
-->'''Mrs. Tottendale:''' Love has certainly been kind to me and my true love. Love is always lovely in the end!
-->'''Underling:''' But your late husband was a brute.
-->'''Tottendale:''' [[spoiler: I don't mean him, you silly coot!]]
* ''Theatre/FiddlerOnTheRoof'': [[RunningGag "On the other hand]]...[[IHaveNoSon There]] ''[[IHaveNoSon is no]]'' [[IHaveNoSon other hand."]]
* ''Theatre/TheSoundOfMusic'': [[FaceHeelTurn "LIEUTENANT! THEY'RE HERE!"]]

* In the {{Theatre/Mrs Hawking}} play series: In part one, ''[[http://www.mrshawking.com/?page_id=98 Mrs. Hawking]]'', when Mrs. Hawking asserts that anyone can hide anything if they really want to, Mary's response: "You couldn't hide it from me."

** To a lesser extent, one of Dolokov's lines about Anatole right before [[DuelsDecideEverything the duel.]]
-->'''Dolokov:''' Anatole is [[spoiler:a married man]], [[SecretKeeper a fact known only to his intimates.]]
* In ''Theatre/HarryPotterAndTheCursedChild'' Scorpius learns the effects of [[spoiler: using the Time Turner to humiliate Cedric Diggory in the past and help Harry out.]]
-->'''Scorpius''': [[spoiler: Voldemort Day?]]
** Later, Harry and Draco confront Amos Diggory on sending his niece, Delphi, to manipulate their sons. Amos replies [[spoiler: "I have no niece."]]
** This leads to the discovery of a message from [[spoiler: Delphi on "I will bring my father back," revealing, she's Voldemort's daughter.]]
* Perhaps one of the most infamous Wham Lines is in Creator/AgathaChristie's ''Theatre/TheMousetrap'', to the point where audiences are asked at the end of the show not to spoil it. This troper would post it, but it is one of ''the'' SpoilAtYourOwnRisk moments, so just look it up on TheOtherWiki.
* From ''Theatre/TheTwentyFifthAnnualPutnamCountySpellingBee'':
-->'''Panch:''' I'm sorry, that is incorrect.
-->'''[[spoiler:[[TheDitz Coneybear:]]]]''' [[BreakTheCutie ...it is?]]
** A bunch of lines from "The I Love You Song" also qualify, particularly "Blame it on your daddily and mammily/'cos depression runs in our family" and [[spoiler:"I think he takes out on me what he wants to take out on you."]]
* From ''Theatre/DearEvanHansen'' has the reveal of how Evan really broke his arm.
--> '''[[spoiler:[[PosthumousCharacter Connor:]]]]''' Did you [[spoiler:really fall? Or did you let go?]]
* From ''Theatre/{{Finale}}'': [[spoiler:"This will be... our... last week on earth."]] Bonus points for the fact that it comes right at the end of Act 1, so you have all of intermission to have an existential crisis.

* In ''{{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 '[[spoiler:There is no Urinetown! We just kill people!]]'"

--> '''[[spoiler:[[PosthumousCharacter Connor:]]]]''' Did you [[spoiler:really fall? Or did you let go?]]

** A bunch of lines from "The I Love You Song" also qualify, particularly "Blame it on your daddily and mammily/'cos depression runs in our family" and [[spoiler:"I think he takes out on me what he wants to take out on you."]]

* Perhaps one of the most infamous Wham Lines is in Creator/AgathaChristie's ''Theatre/TheMousetrap'', to the point where audiences are asked at the end of the show not to spoil it. This troper would post it, but it is one of ''the'' SpoilAtYourOwnRisk moments, so just look it up on TheOtherWiki.

** Later, Harry and Draco confront Amos Diggory on sending his niece, Delphi, to manipulate their sons. Amos replies [[spoiler: "I have no niece.]]
** This leads to the discovery of a message from [[spoiler: Delphi on "I will bring my father back," revealing, she's Voldemort's daugher.]]

* ''Theatre/{{LovesLaboursLost}}'': "The king your father--" "Dead, for my life!" This comes at the end of a ''comedy''.

* Perhaps one of the most infamous Wham Lines is in Creator/AgathaChristie's ''Theatre/TheMousetrap'', to the point where audiences are asked at the end of the show not to spoil it. Read with caution!
-->[[spoiler:'''Mollie:''' I thought policemen didn't carry guns.]]
-->[[spoiler:'''[[HeelFaceTurn Trotter:]]''' They ''don't.'']]
----

* ''Theatre/NextToNormal'': "Whose birthday is it?" "My brother's." [[spoiler: "I didn't know you had a brother." "I don't. He died before I was born.]]"

Harry and Draco angrily confront Amos Diggory, convinced he's been putting his niece,

* ''Theatre/{{Ragtime}}''

-->'''Younger Brother:''' [[FaceHeelTurn I know how to blow things up!]]

* ''Theatre/TheBookOfMormon'': [[spoiler: "I AM NOT YOUR BEST FRIEND! I JUST GOT STUCK WITH YOU BY THE MISSIONARY TRAINING CENTER!"]]
** There's another one in "Hasa Diga Eebowai". The first 15 or 20 minutes seem like a complete comedy that just glosses over any darker issues, but then, in the middle of all the [[CrossesTheLineTwice hilarious blasphemy]], the Ugandan villagers [[BreakingTheFourthWall sing directly to the audience]], [[spoiler: "If you don't like what we say, try living here a couple days. Watch all your friends and family die--hasa diga Eebowai!"]] It's the first indication of the show's quite serious themes.
** From the same song: "Well, let's see... 'Eebowai' means [[spoiler:'God']], and 'Hasa Diga' means [[spoiler:'fuck you']], so I guess in English, it would be... [[spoiler:'Fuck you, God.']]
** The first sign that 'Hasa Diga Eebowai' isn't exactly Hakuna Matata is "When the world is getting you down, there's nobody else to blame... [[spoiler: Raise your middle finger to the sky and curse His rotten name!]]"

* ''{{Cabaret}}'': "But if you could see her through my eyes...[[spoiler:She wouldn't look ''Jewish'' at all.]]"