Great writing! You pulled in some powerful Broadway stories. I feel like you could do a similar analysis of Disney princess movies where the dads are usually dead, absent or portrayed as overly controlling. 😏
Thank you for this unique and fascinating exploration (and for putting me onto “Dear Theodosia”!)
No doubt, the motif of the absent father is a common one in virtually all forms of popular storytelling (probably because the story is still all too common). Paradoxically, I wonder if the prevalence of this story gives unintentional cover to future generations of dads battling their own demons and thinking of doing the same. E.g. if the other wounded anti-hero can find redemption maybe I can too.
I love the quote you shared about embracing the ordinary. I do feel like the steady rise in pop culture depictions of ordinary dads is, slowly but surely, modeling a different ideal to present and future generations of new parents.
Thanks for the thoughtful comment, Matthew! I think it's important to share stories like these involving absent fathers, but to balance this with positive models of ordinary and healthy situations, as you said. Another post could be written about all of the negative depictions of involved fathers in entertainment; I don't think folks realize how harmful it is to relegate such an important role to just a couple of overused caricatures. I hope you're right that we'll be seeing a change there!
Another interesting Broadway example, come to think of it, is in the late 90s hit Ragtime. Coalhouse Walker Jr is a ragtime pianist who leaves his wife Sarah after the birth of their son, and then returns to the family, beginning a hopeful chapter that concludes with the tragic death of Sarah at the hands of a gang of racist firemen and eventually Coalhouse Walker’s radicalization. There are two really good songs from the early part of the play though about fatherhood and family: the first is Sarah singing to her son about his father’s absence (Your Daddy’s Son). The second is Wheels of a Dream, an all-time Broadway classic, where Coalhouse has returned and he and Anna sing hopefully about the future that their family is going to build together in turn-of-the-century America. Brian Stokes Mitchell was the original Coalhouse Walker and has a singing voice for the ages.
I don't know the story to Ragtime super well, so thanks for sharing this! I believe Joshua Henry is touring as Coalhouse Walker Jr. currently and I saw an amazing clip of him singing "Wheels of a Dream." I'll give the original recording a listen! Also, this little clip of Tamar Greene singing while holding his son is priceless: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CxVvUsFu25T/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Big Fish is another multi-generational fatherhood story that my brother shared with me recently. Check out the song, "Stranger."
Hey Alex, great post and great observations from these musicals. My daughter is very involved in the theater world, and so I've heard these songs because of her as we travel to and from rehearsals. I will be sure to share this perspective with her.
Great writing! You pulled in some powerful Broadway stories. I feel like you could do a similar analysis of Disney princess movies where the dads are usually dead, absent or portrayed as overly controlling. 😏
Thanks, Matthew! We've had some great times together in the pit! And you're 100% right about Disney 😅
Such strong insight, Alex! I never thought about musicals from the perspective of the presence of fathers.
Thanks, Austin!
Thank you for this unique and fascinating exploration (and for putting me onto “Dear Theodosia”!)
No doubt, the motif of the absent father is a common one in virtually all forms of popular storytelling (probably because the story is still all too common). Paradoxically, I wonder if the prevalence of this story gives unintentional cover to future generations of dads battling their own demons and thinking of doing the same. E.g. if the other wounded anti-hero can find redemption maybe I can too.
I love the quote you shared about embracing the ordinary. I do feel like the steady rise in pop culture depictions of ordinary dads is, slowly but surely, modeling a different ideal to present and future generations of new parents.
Thanks for the thoughtful comment, Matthew! I think it's important to share stories like these involving absent fathers, but to balance this with positive models of ordinary and healthy situations, as you said. Another post could be written about all of the negative depictions of involved fathers in entertainment; I don't think folks realize how harmful it is to relegate such an important role to just a couple of overused caricatures. I hope you're right that we'll be seeing a change there!
Another interesting Broadway example, come to think of it, is in the late 90s hit Ragtime. Coalhouse Walker Jr is a ragtime pianist who leaves his wife Sarah after the birth of their son, and then returns to the family, beginning a hopeful chapter that concludes with the tragic death of Sarah at the hands of a gang of racist firemen and eventually Coalhouse Walker’s radicalization. There are two really good songs from the early part of the play though about fatherhood and family: the first is Sarah singing to her son about his father’s absence (Your Daddy’s Son). The second is Wheels of a Dream, an all-time Broadway classic, where Coalhouse has returned and he and Anna sing hopefully about the future that their family is going to build together in turn-of-the-century America. Brian Stokes Mitchell was the original Coalhouse Walker and has a singing voice for the ages.
I don't know the story to Ragtime super well, so thanks for sharing this! I believe Joshua Henry is touring as Coalhouse Walker Jr. currently and I saw an amazing clip of him singing "Wheels of a Dream." I'll give the original recording a listen! Also, this little clip of Tamar Greene singing while holding his son is priceless: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CxVvUsFu25T/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Big Fish is another multi-generational fatherhood story that my brother shared with me recently. Check out the song, "Stranger."
Outstanding read! Your examples of the fatherless and the hurt they carry is a challenge to be more aware and sensitive to those around me.
Thank you, Dad! And thanks for being there for me all through childhood and today! Makes a world of difference.
Hey Alex, great post and great observations from these musicals. My daughter is very involved in the theater world, and so I've heard these songs because of her as we travel to and from rehearsals. I will be sure to share this perspective with her.