Being the Bad Guy

Last night was alot of fun. After the show last night, Skyler, Perry and I went over to the lovely Fife home to spend some time with some of our favorite people in the world. Kirk was kind enough to grace us with his presence for a great game of Killer Bunnies. Throughout the course of the game, we had various discussions on numerous topics. at one point however, Perry brought up a question about an upcoming show. In essence, his question was what role he should try to perform in this show, whether it would be a managing position over the show, or acting in the show. I however, saw this as a perfect opportunity to cover up the fact that I don't really know much about musical theatre, and slipped in a quick question of what the show was about.

I got a very detailed explanation of the show, and I feel like I wouldn't even have to see the show and I could tell you all what it is about. One part of the explanation did however stick out to me. The character description given to me of a Mr. Bill Sikes. I took the liberty of looking up a description of him this morning, and this is what I found.

He is one of Dickens's most vicious characters and a very strong force in the novel when it comes to having control over somebody or harming others. He is portrayed as a rough and barbaric man. He is a career criminal associated with Fagin, and an eventual murderer. He is very violent and aggressive, prone to sudden bursts of extreme behaviour. He owns a bull terrier named Bull's Eye, whom he beats until the dog needs stitches.

Dickens describes his first appearance:

The man who growled out these words, was a stoutly-built fellow of about five-and-thirty, in a black velveteen coat, very soiled drab breeches, lace-up half boots, and grey cotton stockings which enclosed a bulky pair of legs, with large swelling calves—the kind of legs, which in such costume, always look in an unfinished and incomplete state without a set of fetters to garnish them. He had a brown hat on his head, and a dirty belcher handkerchief round his neck: with the long frayed ends of which he smeared the beer from his face as he spoke. He disclosed, when he had done so, a broad heavy countenance with a beard of three weeks' growth, and two scowling eyes; one of which displayed various parti-coloured symptoms of having been recently damaged by a blow.[1]

His prostitute girlfriend Nancy tolerates his violent and lawless behaviour, perhaps because she, being a thief since the age of six, needs stability in her life, and because she believes that she loves him. However when he thinks Nancy has betrayed him, Sikes viciously murders her. The murder is especially gruesome and one of the most graphic, frightening scenes Dickens ever wrote. In the end a mob hounds him through the streets of London until he hangs himself while trying to escape. It is left ambiguous as to whether or not this was intentional.

Sikes has almost no redeeming qualities, although Dickens does give him some shading: at the robbery in the countryside, Sikes, rather than leave Oliver at the scene of his botched burglary of Rose Maylie's house, picks him up and runs with him as far as he can. This, however, was as much for his own self-preservation, as he eventually does abandon the seriously wounded boy and shows absolutely no remorse about doing so. After he brutally beats Nancy to death, he apparently is capable of feeling guilt—although this is essentially suspicion that Fagin lied to him about her betrayal, and fear of the possibility of being caught.

Sounds like quite the charmer, no? Yet somehow throughout this description, a note was struck inside of me. I wanted to play this character. Some weird part of me wants to play the bad guy. Is it normal for a person to want to be bad? Not really bad, just pretend. That makes it ok, right? 

-Tenacious Tenor