Why Do We Love Bad Boys In Musicals?

• Emma Gullon

Bad Boys. The ones our mothers warned us away from, but we can’t resist. The world of musicals has a knack for creating male characters we hate to love, giving us eye candy and attitude all in one. But what is it about them that we can’t get enough of? (Spoilers and Plot points ahead!)

It could be that they have a softer side; take Danny Zuko (Grease) for instance. The T Birds leader had built his reputation as a womanizing “dude” before he met sweet naive Sandy. And so began his tug of war between being with her and acting up for his gang, even if that meant treating her badly in the process. He always regretted his poor behaviour, but kept breaking poor Sandy’s heart. That is until he decided enough was enough, ditched the leathers and “geeked up” for her. *enter Sandra Dee in tight leather trousers and red heels.* It could be argued that Rizzo’s relationship with Kiniki was more toxic (erm that milkshake throwing scene anyone?!)

We move from Rydell High to Westerburg where we meet Jason Dean (Heathers The Musical). It’s no secret that there are a lot of terrible people in this school, but JD had a very warped sense of justice (i.e Murder!) Initially it was driven by his anger towards his father, but his motivations gradually moved to his love of Veronica Sawyer. However, as the show goes on, his psychotic ways span increasingly out of control, dragging Veronica down with him. And in one final act of cruelty, he decided to try and blow them and all of Westerburg to kingdom come! But seeing the damage he’d done after a violent showdown with Veronica, he realised only he has to go… 

Whilst there’s no excuse for the heinous things that JD’s done, you do ultimately feel sorry for him. He realised violence and murder doesn’t solve anything, but it was too late.

Another bad boy who had his views warped was The Phantom of The Opera. His obsession with Christine became extremely unhealthy, due to his aggressive and controlling behaviour. Once he saw her fall for Roaul, if he couldn't have her then no one could! After a series of murders and a near disaster with a chandelier, the Phantom realised he’s blown his chances at real love, ultimately releasing Christine from his clutches. It’s not that he looks like a monster, but he’s ultimately acted like one. Like JD, Phantom eventually worked out he was in the wrong, but he was far too gone to make amends. This adds to the tragedy of the storys’ end, and makes us sympathise with his character in spite of everything.

Whilst some bad boys in musicals aren’t destined to have happy endings, the way they look back on their actions and redeem themselves in some way gives them their anti -hero titles. In the end, whilst this won’t happen in real life ( in song!), that is what draws us to them!