Protagonists with Agency

Sweeney Todd, Evita, and, for some reason, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee all come to mind. Evita, obviously, is about a headstrong woman who bulldozes her way to power, but Sweeney Todd's entire cast consists of characters with agency who spin a tightly interconnected web, where every action each one takes affects the others. The way it all comes to a point at the very end is more thrilling for that reason - everything has led to this, and you were present for every decision made along the way.

Putnam is moreso about characters developing agency, but seeing them learn that they have the ability to choose how they treat others, which makes moments like the reprise of "Woe Is Me" so heartbreaking and a little bit chilling, because you're seeing how a lack of agency can hurt someone. It's a show that should be a cartoon, but they way they utilize that theme pulls it together and makes it more touching and humanizing than a lot of more "realistic" musicals I've seen.

Updated On: 10/14/21 at 04:53 PM