The Woobie/Theatre: Difference between revisions

* Tracie Thom's portrayal of Joanne in the on-stage version of ''[[Rent]]'' made the character into more of a woobie than she had been previously. It's probably her sweet face. In general, Joanne is more of a Woobie in the stage version than in the movie, simply due to some of the dialog removed from the film as well as because of her helplessly annoyed stage play-only solo "We're Okay".

** Mark definietely qualifies, especially if you've seen the stage version of ''[[Rent]]''. "Halloween" gives a lot of insight into Mark's character, it reflects on his intimate feelings on the loss of hope, confidence and coping with the harsh reality that he is being faced with in his life. After watching {{spoiler|Angel die}}, he must come to terms that Mimi, Roger, and Collins will eventually suffer the same fate. This also shows how loveless his life is; he was dumped by Maureen for Joanne, and by this point in the show, Roger is leaving for Santa Fe. Not only that, but he is also failing at his filmmaking career, so much so that he resorts to working with Alexi Darling. This is when you realize/are reminded that among all the chaos that is going on in the show, Mark has been in the middle of everything this whole time.

** This troper knows that the point of the show is that [[Adults Are Useless]], but even as a teenager it was hard not to feel sorry for Wendla's mother too. [[Fridge Logic]] ahoy!: Wendla's mother is a woman in the nineteenth century herself- how much preparation do you suppose ''she'' was given about matters of sex as a young girl? Isn't it more likely than not that she just told Wendla what ''she'' was told years ago?

* It's certainly very debatable, but depending on where you stand, Malvolio of ''[[Twelfth Night]]'' might well be this, despite having likely been written as a [[Butt Monkey]] (understandably, considering how unpopular puritans were at the time). If you're sympathetic to his conservative social views (which really don't seem unreasonable in practice), in particular, you'll likely see him as a very loyal, if somewhat dour, butler who was simply doing his duty in reprimanding his mistress's blatantly rude jester and arrogant drunkard of an uncle...and he gets rewarded by being humilated in front of his mistress, locked up in a mad house (notoriously horrible places at the time, of course), and victimised by his tormentors. And even after his innocence comes out, no one seems willing to offer him any real apology for any of this. May also depend somewhat on how serious or comical the particular production plays his character, but still...

* Blanche Dubois from [[A Streetcar Named Desire]]. First of all, she fell in love only to discover that her Husband was gay. Then said Husband killed himself, partially over something Blanche herself said. Blanche becomes slightly unhinged after that, turning to promiscuity because it's the only thing that makes her feel validated and living in a fantasy world because she hates her real life so much. It was her Brother in law who finished her off, though- firstly, by telling her new partner, Mitch, about her past, resulting in Mitch leaving her; and then, finally, by raping her, which caused her yet more emotional damage. When Blanche tried to tell her sister about the rape, her sister chose to disbelieve her and pack her off a mental institution.

* Stanhope from R.C Sherrif's play 'Journey's End'. Set in a trench in [[WW 1]], the play teems with Woobie's, but Stanhope stands out mostly because the poor thing is so young and so damaged. When he gets drunk and finally breaks down you just want to get a huge orange shock blanket and cuddle him to death.

* [[Handsome Lech|Robert]] in [[Company]]. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taKy678J_jI You don't even have to see the whole show to think "Awwww!"]

* [[The Drowsy Chaperone]]: He doesn't look it, but {{spoiler|Man in Chair}} has a ''complicated'' past.