Lecter vs. Whiplash
Being evil is hard. Really hard. (I am hoping) You cannot imagine just how soul-ripping difficult it is. Just ask Richard Roxburgh. What is hard about it is this: realizing there is a fine line between Snidely Whiplash and Hannibal Lecter. If a laugh is a little too loud or a little too long, if a scowl is a little off, if the way you hold your weapon looks more like soda jerk brandishing a dispenser, you are toast. Burnt toast. Without the jam.
So far, I’m a cartoon. A big, loud, angry cartoon. All I’m missing is the handlebar mustache. The top hat’s waiting for me in wardrobe. And it ticks me off. It’s like I have this thick, juicy tri-tip and I’m frying it on the stove. Sure, it’s a tri-tip, but come on. The stove?! I’m in the process of discovering Hyde. And sure, it’s only August, but it isn’t like we work on Hyde’s scenes everyday. The script, at least to my inexperienced eyes, doesn’t leave much to interpretation. The music is written to sing a certain way, the lines and actions imply - almost demand - a certain demeanor. In other words, the show’s creators are virtually telling the performers, “Hyde is a big, loud, angry cartoon. Make it work.”
Thanks, guys.
Problem is, unless you’re out for revenge, evil isn’t inherently angry. In fact, and the point of the show is, evil is freedom in it’s truest sense. And freedom is well, freeing. Liberating. Now, the other point of the show is that if all that guided us was the passions of our hearts, then mass hysteria would ensue. We’d be wild animals. Fine if you’re a lion, but the lambs are way out of luck. Even if they can convert water into a clean burning fuel.
So Hyde isn’t angry for the sake of being angry. Menacing? Only because he isn’t bound by the laws of man. Unpredictable? Absolutely. Charming? I’m working on it. Seductive? Not if my wife has anything to say about it. But evil is seductive to many people. Hence the abundant evil in the world. Hyde even admits he’s “full of evil” and doesn’t care, because he feels “truly alive.”
So instead of being a big, loud, angry cartoon I’m trying to make Hyde a big, loud, hysterical about freedom human being with penchant for beating the crap out of hypocrites. And hopefully that will be enough. Otherwise, you might become nostalgic for Rocky and Bullwinkle or an egg cream.
I think that was one of the things that made Hannibal Lector so disturbing. He was evil to the core and ok with it. It didn't bother him who knew about it. He wasn't angry, he doesn't blame anyone else; he doesn't even think there is blame. It is when evil becomes "matter-of-fact" that makes us nervous and causes us to believe that we also could become evil, that we may not realize how evil we already are. Good luck and keep up the good work.
I'm digesting on that line, 'if all that guided us was the passion of our hearts, then mass hysteria would ensue.' The phrase does not sit well with me. It suggests that passion is inherently chaotic, greedy, self-serving - perhaps evil. Or is it that one who is passionate becomes so obsessive that all else becomes a victim to the passion. Even when the motivation of the passion would qualify as 'good'. Why is it that unchecked passion is perceived as dangerous? This only seems true to me if the passion is accompanied by power and then it is not the passion that is danger it is the power. Hmmm, thanks for the food for thought.
Well, at any rate, I enjoyed your Hyding. Good luck with your passion - looking forward to see what you create on stage.
Thanks for commenting, Erin. And you bring up the inadequacies in my train of thought. Passion, by definition is "barely controllable." And while passion is what drives us to accomplish wonderful things, moves us through the tedious times and I would be bored out of my mind without it, without wisdom, passion would dictate the sacrifice of others for our own benefit, which, in my opinion, is the very basic form of evil.
Erin, thanks for bringing a discussion of intellect to the blog. You're welcome anytime.