I agree with the multiple mentions of Maureen from Rent and Danny from Grease. My dislike for Maureen stems from the fact that she’s pretentious, annoying, a horrible girlfriend, and WAY too over the top. Even in the hands of a talented performer like Idina Menzel, Over the Moon is one of the dumbest, most awkward, uncomfortable, and obnoxiously cringeworthy songs I’ve ever heard. I shudder at the thought of high school and amateur theatre performances of that number. Also, any representation that Maureen brings towards bisexuals is completely undermined by the fact that she helps to support the stereotype that bisexuals are sluts. As for Danny, I actually considered adding him to my original post after I had already sent it. I was too lazy to do it then, but not too lazy to insult him now. Despite the fact that the audience is meant to like and root for Danny, he comes across as a charmless asshole. Seriously, his behavior is unacceptable. He emotionally abuses Sandy, bullies Eugene alongside his buddies, and even attempts to date rape his love interest. Why the hell are we supposed to like him? The fact that Danny is presented in a positive light is extremely troubling. Especially since he gets his happy ending, with Sandy changing for him when it should be he other way around, given he treats her like crap more often than not throughout the show. It’s a real shame that Grease’s book is so weak, because the music is honestly really good, and it’s just so horribly wasted on this show. I’ve yet to see the live tv performance, but after I heard about some of the changes they made to the characters and plot, I’m honestly really interested to see if the story to this show can actually be salvaged.
I agree about Curly. He's a bully and him baiting Jud to suicide has never sat well with me.
I have no idea if Mandy Gonzalez and Lexi Lawson were just very uninspiring but I didn't much like Angelica or Eliza Schuyler. They always just seemed there, at least at the performance I saw. Certainly not the intelligent, bewitching women I think LMM intended them to be and probably were/are when played by stronger actresses.
SugarButterBroadway said: "Curly from Oklahoma - as much as I love the show, he is quite the awful person. He basically convinces a man that he would get the attention he deserves if he goes and hangs himself all in order to get a girl that keeps dismissing his advances. Jud is no prize pig himself, but Curly is pretty horrible"
Curly isn't my favorite character either, but do you really think we are supposed to take Curly's entreaties to Judd as a genuine exhortation for Judd to kill himself? As a means of actually gettting Judd to do himself in? I took it as a sardonic joke of a ribbing, "a guy thing" And motivated not so much to "get the girl" but to put Judd in his place as a brutish outsider, someone apart from the community, a pill - a theme which, as I understand it, is put in sharply critical focus in the new revival.
henrikegerman said: "SugarButterBroadway said: "Curly from Oklahoma - as much as I love the show, he is quite the awful person. He basically convinces a man that he would get the attention he deserves if he goes and hangs himself all in order to get a girl that keeps dismissing his advances. Jud is no prize pig himself, but Curly is pretty horrible"
Curly isn't my favorite character either, but do you really think we are supposed to take Curly's entreaties to Judd as a genuine exhortation for Judd to kill himself? As a means of actually gettting Judd to do himself in? I took it as a sardonic joke of a ribbing, "a guy thing" And motivated not so much to "get the girl" but to put Judd in his place as a brutish outsider, someone apart from the community, a pill - a theme which, as I understand it, is put in sharply critical focus in the new revival.”
That still doesn’t negate the fact that Curly is actively spelling out a fantasy where Jud kills himself. He’s obviously baiting Jud into suicide, showing him a ‘future’ where people view him as a sort of martyr. Ribbing or not, Curly can’t be that naive to believe Jud wouldn’t go through with it, seeing how calculating he is the entire show. I think that’s spelled out pretty clearly in the revival- but the lighter and cheerier tone of classic productions might mask the intention of the scene as ironic or tongue-in-cheek.
Aside from a few of the ones already mentioned, I really dislike Carl-Magnus from A Little Night Music. He's creepy and selfish but also completely toothless - not just unlikable but entirely uninteresting. Regardless of who plays Carl-Magnus, I find him a chore to watch in an otherwise clever and charming show.
I know people are sticking to musicals, but I find the main love triangle in Rapture, Blister, Burn by Gina Gionfriddo to be distractingly unlikable. They treat their children with the emotional weight of pet fish and treat an affair like a fun fling when they're uprooting the lives of everyone around them.
joined:1/20/18
joined:
1/20/18
Posted: 7/1/19 at 11:03pm