The Versatility of the Musical Theatre Heroine

What fascinates me about the role of the heroine in musical theatre is that it comes in so many shapes and sizes, speaking to the audience on an array of differing levels, which is why on the Simon Morris blog this week, I want to explore the versatility of the musical theatre heroine.

The Societal View of the View of Women

To play a heroine on the musical theatre stage is no easy task. Women often get the hardest, most vocally challenging of numbers, the most elaborate of costumes, the most strenuous of dance routines. Technically, it’s an exhausting job.

However there’s also the added pressure of societal views of women to contend with. Society has a complex relationship with its perceptions of the female gender, with old stereotypes clashing dangerously with modern beliefs in the power of the strength of women. Often, heroines (especially in older productions) need to communicate both to the audience to fully capture their imagination, and this takes a truly gifted actress, no matter the type of heroine they’re playing.

Simon Morris Explores Every Shade of Heroine

There are several types of heroine that demand talent to truly communicate their complexity, and I want to examine a few to show the true versatility needed to play the role of a heroine:

·         Elphaba: Your classic modern woman in green skin, Elphaba is a sympathetic take on an archetypal villain and the trick to nailing the role is to balance the innate goodness of the character with the pain that allows others to perceive her to be the Wicked Witch of the West.

·     Mary Magdalene: A woman often damned and hailed in equal measure, Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar is both selfless and selfishly in love, and any woman taking on the role needs to be able to communicate the full spectrum of this most complex of emotions to make her even slightly believable.

·         Maureen: If Elphaba is the modern woman, Maureen is the post-modern one, all brash rebellion and pure intentions, an idealist and a dreamer. However the trick to getting Maureen right is to balance her bravery with the faint vulnerability that lies underneath and drives her insecurity.

·         Evita: If the first three are heroines with a shade of villainess, Evita is a villainess with a shade of heroine. The very definition of ambition, her actions are questionable and self-motivated but any effective Evita makes her believable by providing that balance that suggests that beneath the glaring blonde ambition lies at least some convoluted form of altruism.

What I hope to have shown you here, Simon Morris readers, is that there is no straightforward modern heroine. No black and white, good or evil, rather there are shades of all, and that is why the musical theatre heroine is the most versatile of roles any actress could ever hope to take on.