There is no subject that can't be adapted successfully for musical theatre. Murder, infidelity, insanity, prostitution have all featured at some point or another in a back catalogue of hit musicals.
It really depends on the writers approach to the material and how an audience is supposed to find empathy with it's characters. Essentially, your leading characters have to be presented sympathetically or the audience will loose interest. To quote Richard Andrews, from his wonderful book Writing A Musical, "Unsympathetic characters in an unattractive situation will only provoke disinterest".
The thing is, we don't go to the theatre to watch the characters on stage laugh, cry, fall in love or battle evil. We go to the theatre because WE want to experience those things for ourselves. Theatre - and indeed film - is a matter of emotional transference and people will want to relate to the hero, understand his problems and make his journey with him.
There is also of course, the zeigeist to take into consideration. Proof in point being Chicago, a musical that premiered in 1975 and it's nihilistic, cynical style had no place in Jimmy Carter's USA. Even after it's successful revival in 1996, the movie version of Chicago in 2002 would not allow Roxie Hart (Rene Zellweger) to commit a cold-blooded murder, they had to show Fred Casely (Dominic West) roughing her up first. This doesn't happen in the original stage production.
Musical theatre certainly doesn't have to be trite or simplistic to succeed but difficult subjects require very careful handling.
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