History DracoInLeatherPants / Theatre

* ''{{Assassins}}'' is prone to causing this, especially depending on the attractiveness of the cast. Booth probably gets the most, due to being a "handsome devil".

* Both [[{{Othello}} Iago]] and [[KingLear Edmund]] receive a little of this treatment. The fact that they're both intensely charismatic (part of being the [[MagnificentBastard Magnificent]]/[[ManipulativeBastard Manipulative Bastards]]) and clever young men helps, as does their ambiguous motives (Edmund's given complaint being a logical fallacy), but ultimately the clencher is how good-looking the actor in question is. Since the former has been played by Kenneth Branagh and the latter by Philip Winchester... [[EstrogenBrigadeBait yeah...]]

* ''AStreetcarNamedDesire''. Stanley Kowalski. People tend to blame Blanche for being a passive-agressive weirdo and kind of leading him on, but that doesn't change the fact that Stan is an evil bully and a rapist. Within the story, Stella shelves the rape incident under her own DisContinuity. What really hurts Blanche's case is establishing herself as a bully and a racist in one line to Stella ("I let the place go? ''I'' let the place go?! Where were ''you''?! In bed with your ''Polack''!") before Stanley first appears. This combined with Stanley countering the same epithet later by saying he's a full-born American ''right before'' his assault surely makes a lot of people want to justify his actions, even though they can't.

* The titular character in ''{{Sweeney Todd}}''. Mrs. Lovett too.

* People also tend to Leather Pants RichardTheThird in Shakepeare's play of the same name. True, he wasn't nearly as bad in real life, but he's still an evil bastard in the play. I suppose this is a case of HistoryMarchesOn, as it was long believed that RichardOfGloucester did commit many of the atrocities he did in the play.

* People also tend to Leather Pants RichardTheThird in Shakepeare's play of the same name. True, he wasn't nearly as bad in real life, but he's still an evil bastard in the play. I suppose this is a case of HistoryMarchesOn, as it was long believed that RichardOfGlouchester did commit many of the atrocities he did in the play.

* [[TheGrimReaper Death]] in ''{{Elisabeth}}'' intentionally invokes this. Lucheni, Elisabeth's assassin, can also get this treatment if he's played by the right actor.

* Gabriel Goodman of {{Next to Normal}} may be a subversion, as he is portrayed in canon as extremely seductive/alluring in canon and is DILPed by Diana herself. He also gets several
EXTREMELY sexy {{Villain Song}}s.
* The titular character in {{Sweeney Todd}}. Mrs. Lovett too.

* Freddie Trumper of Chess is arguably sympathetic, and arguably a genius, but he is also a chauvnistic, manipulative, paranoid asshole who drives away the only person who can stand him by saying almost unbelievably cruel things about her presumed dead father when he sees her talking to his opponent. You would not know this from some of the fanfiction he gets. Granted, there is lots of room for interpretation of all the characters depending on which version you see, but [[UnderStatement an angel Freddie ain't.]]

* The titular character in {{Sweeney Todd}}. Mrs. Lovett too.

* Possibly the phenomenon started earlier than Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical version of ''PhantomOfTheOpera'', but Gaston Leroux would not recognize the Erik currently celebrated by the "Phandom" as the title character of his novel ''Le Fantome de l'Opera''. The original story is an early 20th-century potboiler about a deformed psychopath who is [[TheGrotesque tragic]] because of his pathetic nature. He has a monstrous appearance and an utter lack of conscience (until the very last moment), but he shore do write some purty music. It's a "beauty killed the beast" story like ''KingKong'', and thus already had the potential for this...
** Particularly after the release of the 2004 film version of the 1986 musical adaptation, the story has developed this strange following of people who honestly do believe that the heroine of the story should have [[LoveMartyr chosen]] to live in the basements below the opera house with the unstable, homicidal madman [[StalkerWithACrush who stalked and kidnapped her]] instead of marrying her [[RomanticFalseLead aristocratic fiance]] because... um... Well, mostly because Andrew Lloyd Webber is a sly fox who gave these people who tend to be in a place in life where they feel isolated and misunderstood a hero who is a brilliant, misunderstood, romantic outcast [[EmoTeen just like them.]] (And it would be okay to live in the dark with him forever because "face like a skull, missing a nose and everything" has been demoted to "[[{{Batman}} Two-Face]]'s long-lost ancestor" at worst and, in the film, "hot guy with an inconstant and easily covered patch of radiation burn", so it isn't like he's ugly or anything, which, of course, begs the question of why he lives in the basement at all). The amount of venom other fans vented toward the Viscomte simply for existing is amazing in its volume and nastiness. If they acknowledged at all that Erik (the Phantom) killed people and was generally not a nice man, then they had multiple explanations for why it wasn't really his fault. That the relationship between Erik and his protege was really, really ''not'' romantic, nor even a ''healthy'' relationship, tended to be entirely ignored because Erik is a giant [[TheWoobie Woobie]] with a good voice and a [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold secret heart of gold]], and that's that.
** It doesn't help that in the 2004 film the first two people we actually see the Phantom kill aren't wholly sympathetic; as a child he kills his abusive "master" in self-defense, and Buquet the stagehand is established as a Peeping Tom. By the time he fights Raoul in the graveyard and kills the tenor Piangi to steal his role in ''Don Juan Triumphant'', the audience has realized he's 9/10ths pure Scottish hotness with a real bad burn.
*** Finally, in the musical's sequel ''Love Never Dies'' (set ten years later), Lloyd Webber and his co-writers address the issue...[[spoiler: changing the love triangle's participants: Raoul becomes a neglectful alcoholic gambler, the Phantom loses much (if not all) of his evil, and Christine turns out to have loved the Phantom more all along.]]
** He was the most interesting character in the entire book; Christine came off as shallow with any personality an InformedAttribute, and as for [[DesignatedHero Raoul]]... Why am I supposed to be cheering him on again? Oh, yes, [[InformedAttribute he's not bad]] like Erik is. [[UnintentionallySympathetic Erik, who is the most interesting & only well-developed character in the entire story.]] No ''wonder'' he gets fans!
*** This troper finds the Joker to be an extremely interesting character. Does that make him a suitable love interest for a non-crazy female? Uh, no. This isn't a question of whether he has fans or not, this is a question of the fangirls who excuse every murder, kidnapping, and (in the musical) possible implied rape he commits, claiming that Christine is stupid for not choosing him over someone who, you know, ''doesn't'' do that stuff.
**** Try reading the book. The musical's implied rape, in the straight (neither abridged nor cleaned-up) translations is...well, [[spoiler:Christine said yes, and then told Raoul she was a virgin]]. That said, it's probably because they want to ship Christine with ''somebody'' and, well, Raoul has all the personality of a piece of cardboard. One suspects that it was originally intended for ''male'' readers to, well, [[{{AFGNCAAP}} take as themselves]]...
* ''AStreetcarNamedDesire''. Stanley Kowalski. People tend to blame Blanche for being a passive-agressive weirdo and kind of leading him on, but that doesn't change the fact that Stan is an evil bully and a rapist. Within the story, Stella shelves the rape incident under her own DisContinuity.
** What really hurts Blanche's case is establishing herself as a bully and a racist in one line to Stella ("I let the place go? ''I'' let the place go?! Where were ''you''?! In bed with your ''Polack''!") before Stanley first appears. This combined with Stanley countering the same epithet later by saying he's a full-born American ''right before'' his assault surely makes a lot of people want to justify his actions, even though they can't.
** And, of course, this is the role that made Marlon Brando a star on both Broadway and Hollywood and an international heartthrob. Not to mention that Brando hated playing that character in the movie and every night on the stage.

** This troper can't be the first person to ever find Nils Krogstand, the DesignatedVillain of the first two acts, easily subject to this trope. Though given Ibsen uses the first bit of the third act to practically turn him into TheWoobie (depending on how the actors play the infodump of his backstory with Mrs. Linde) it might have been a deliberate subversion of the stereotypical theatrical villain of the time.

* There is a significant population who {{woobie}}fy either or both of the {{Macbeth}}s, which is usually done in conjunction with this. Of course, the recent Australian film version was just asking for it by casting Sam Worthington in the titular role.

* The titular character in {{Sweeney Todd}}. Mrs. Lovett too.
** The fact that in TheMovie they're [[EstrogenBrigadeBait Johnny Depp]] and [[OfCorsetsSexy Helena Bonham Carter]] probably helps.

** Well, there is that little bit in the 2004 film that the only people we actually see the Phantom kill are bad people. He kills a child abuser in self-defense, and kills a man who we know is a Peeping Tom and who may have committed other sexual abuses against the chorus girls. So yeah. He doesn't start bumping off not bad people until the end of the film, by which point the audience has realized he's 9/10ths pure Scottish hotness with a real bad burn.

*** Finally, in the musical's sequel ''Love Never Dies'' (set ten years later), Lloyd Webber and his co-writers address the issue...[[spoiler: via CharacterDerailment of the love triangle's participants: Raoul becomes a neglectful alcoholic gambler, the Phantom loses much (if not all) of his evil, and Christine turns out to have loved the Phantom more all along.]]

* Gabriel Goodman of {{Next to Normal}} may be a subversion, as he is portrayed in canon as extremely seductive/alluring in canon and is DILPed by Diana herself. He also gets several

* the titular character in {{Sweeney Todd}}. Mrs. Lovett too.

* Gabriel Goodman of {{Next to Normal}} may be a subversion, as he is portrayed in canon as extremely seductive/alluring in canon and is DILPed by Diana herself. He also gets several EXTREMELY sexy {{Villain Song}}s.

* Freddie Trumper of Chess is arguably sympathetic, and arguably a genius, but he is also a chauvnistic, manipulative, paranoid asshole who drives away the only person who can stand him by saying almost unbelievably cruel things about her presumed dead father when he sees her talking to his opponent. You would not know this from some of the fanfiction he gets. Granted, there is lots of room for interpretation of all the characters depending on which version you see, but [[UnderStatement an angel Freddie ain't.]]

* [[TheMerchantOfVenice Shylock]] is what happens when this attitude drifts down into academic circles, and then into the general public. Nearly all modern interpretations transform him from the [[ValuesDissonance (admittedly very unsettling)]] antagonist to a tragic character, while the intended heroes are racist assholes bent on ruining his life. Nevermind that Shylock's entire scheme was to ''murder Antonio'' [[DisproportionateRetribution over him insulting Shylock's profession.]] And then his daughter [[WallBanger (who also gets this treatment, despite being little more than a greedy bitch according to the play)]] runs off with most of his money and his family heirloom. Shylock then refuses double the amount owed, simply so he can kill Antonio, who HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH HIS DAUGHTER.

*** This troper finds the Joker to be an extremely interesting character. Does that make him a suitable love interest for a non-crazy female? Uh, no. This isn't a question of whether he has fans or not, this is a question of the fangirls who excuse every murder, kidnapping, and (in the musical) possible implied rape he commits, claiming that Christine is stupid for not choosing him over someone who, you know, ''doesn't'' do that stuff.

** Particularly after the release of the 2004 film version of the 1986 musical adaptation, the story has developed this strange following of people who honestly do believe that the heroine of the story should have [[LoveMartyr chosen]] to live in the basements below the opera house with the unstable, homicidal madman [[StalkerWithACrush who stalked and kidnapped her]] instead of marrying her [[ThePaolo aristocratic fiance]] because... um... Well, mostly because Andrew Lloyd Webber is a sly fox who gave these people who tend to be in a place in life where they feel isolated and misunderstood a hero who is a brilliant, misunderstood, romantic outcast [[EmoTeen just like them.]] (And it would be okay to live in the dark with him forever because "face like a skull, missing a nose and everything" has been demoted to "[[{{Batman}} Two-Face]]'s long-lost ancestor" at worst and, in the film, "hot guy with an inconstant and easily covered patch of radiation burn", so it isn't like he's ugly or anything, which, of course, begs the question of why he lives in the basement at all). The amount of venom other fans vented toward the Viscomte simply for existing is amazing in its volume and nastiness. If they acknowledged at all that Erik (the Phantom) killed people and was generally not a nice man, then they had multiple explanations for why it wasn't really his fault. That the relationship between Erik and his protege was really, really ''not'' romantic, nor even a ''healthy'' relationship, tended to be entirely ignored because Erik is a giant [[TheWoobie Woobie]] with a good voice and a [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold secret heart of gold]], and that's that.

** Particularly after the release of the 2004 film version of the 1986 musical adaptation, the story has developed this strange following of people who honestly do believe that the heroine of the story should have [[LoveMartyr chosen]] to live in the basements below the opera house with the unstable, homicidal madman [[StalkerWithACrush who stalked and kidnapped her]] instead of marrying her [[ThePaolo aristocratic fiance]] because... um... Well, mostly because Andrew Lloyd Webber is a sly fox who gave these people who tend to be in a place in life where they feel isolated and misunderstood a hero who is a brilliant, misunderstood, romantic outcast [[EmoTeen just like them.]] (And it would be okay to live in the dark with him forever because "face like a skull, missing a nose and everything" has been demoted to "[[{{Batman}}Two-Face]]'s long-lost ancestor" at worst and, in the film, "hot guy with an inconstant and easily covered patch of radiation burn", so it isn't like he's ugly or anything, which, of course, begs the question of why he lives in the basement at all). The amount of venom other fans vented toward the Viscomte simply for existing is amazing in its volume and nastiness. If they acknowledged at all that Erik (the Phantom) killed people and was generally not a nice man, then they had multiple explanations for why it wasn't really his fault. That the relationship between Erik and his protege was really, really ''not'' romantic, nor even a ''healthy'' relationship, tended to be entirely ignored because Erik is a giant [[TheWoobie Woobie]] with a good voice and a [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold secret heart of gold]], and that's that.

** Particularly after the release of the 2004 film version of the 1986 musical adaptation, the story has developed this strange following of people who honestly do believe that the heroine of the story should have [[LoveMartyr chosen]] to live in the basements below the opera house with the unstable, homicidal madman [[StalkerWithACrush who stalked and kidnapped her]] instead of marrying her [[ThePaolo aristocratic fiance]] because... um... Well, mostly because Andrew Lloyd Webber is a sly fox who gave these people who tend to be in a place in life where they feel isolated and misunderstood a hero who is a brilliant, misunderstood, romantic outcast [[EmoTeen just like them.]] (And it would be okay to live in the dark with him forever because "face like a skull, missing a nose and everything" has been demoted to "[[Batman|Two-Face]]'s long-lost ancestor" at worst and, in the film, "hot guy with an inconstant and easily covered patch of radiation burn", so it isn't like he's ugly or anything, which, of course, begs the question of why he lives in the basement at all). The amount of venom other fans vented toward the Viscomte simply for existing is amazing in its volume and nastiness. If they acknowledged at all that Erik (the Phantom) killed people and was generally not a nice man, then they had multiple explanations for why it wasn't really his fault. That the relationship between Erik and his protege was really, really ''not'' romantic, nor even a ''healthy'' relationship, tended to be entirely ignored because Erik is a giant [[TheWoobie Woobie]] with a good voice and a [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold secret heart of gold]], and that's that.

** Particularly after the release of the 2004 film version of the 1986 musical adaptation, the story has developed this strange following of people who honestly do believe that the heroine of the story should have [[LoveMartyr chosen]] to live in the basements below the opera house with the unstable, homicidal madman [[StalkerWithACrush who stalked and kidnapped her]] instead of marrying her [[ThePaolo aristocratic fiance]] because... um... Well, mostly because Andrew Lloyd Webber is a sly fox who gave these people who tend to be in a place in life where they feel isolated and misunderstood a hero who is a brilliant, misunderstood, romantic outcast [[EmoTeen just like them.]] (And it would be okay to live in the dark with him forever because "face like a skull, missing a nose and everything" has been demoted to "[[Batman Two-Face]]'s long-lost ancestor" at worst and, in the film, "hot guy with an inconstant and easily covered patch of radiation burn", so it isn't like he's ugly or anything, which, of course, begs the question of why he lives in the basement at all). The amount of venom other fans vented toward the Viscomte simply for existing is amazing in its volume and nastiness. If they acknowledged at all that Erik (the Phantom) killed people and was generally not a nice man, then they had multiple explanations for why it wasn't really his fault. That the relationship between Erik and his protege was really, really ''not'' romantic, nor even a ''healthy'' relationship, tended to be entirely ignored because Erik is a giant [[TheWoobie Woobie]] with a good voice and a [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold secret heart of gold]], and that's that.

** Particularly after the release of the 2004 film version of the 1986 musical adaptation, the story has developed this strange following of people who honestly do believe that the heroine of the story should have [[LoveMartyr chosen]] to live in the basements below the opera house with the unstable, homicidal madman [[StalkerWithACrush who stalked and kidnapped her]] instead of marrying her [[ThePaolo aristocratic fiance]] because... um... Well, mostly because Andrew Lloyd Webber is a sly fox who gave these people who tend to be in a place in life where they feel isolated and misunderstood a hero who is a brilliant, misunderstood, romantic outcast [[EmoTeen just like them.]] (And it would be okay to live in the dark with him forever because "face like a skull, missing a nose and everything" has been demoted to "Two-Face's long-lost ancestor" at worst and, in the film, "hot guy with an inconstant and easily covered patch of radiation burn", so it isn't like he's ugly or anything, which, of course, begs the question of why he lives in the basement at all). The amount of venom other fans vented toward the Viscomte simply for existing is amazing in its volume and nastiness. If they acknowledged at all that Erik (the Phantom) killed people and was generally not a nice man, then they had multiple explanations for why it wasn't really his fault. That the relationship between Erik and his protege was really, really ''not'' romantic, nor even a ''healthy'' relationship, tended to be entirely ignored because Erik is a giant [[TheWoobie Woobie]] with a good voice and a [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold secret heart of gold]], and that's that.

** And, of course, this is the role that made Marlon Brando a star on both Broadway and Hollywood and an international heartthrob.

-->In ''JesusChristSuperstar'' he gets played by a hot black dude in rad trousers, and his libretto poses a series of extremely perceptive theological questions, viz, the wisdom of Christ’s tactics in declaring himself the Son of God. And did I mention his trousers, already? They really are superlative trousers. Really ... you know. Phwoargh. Good trousers. Yeah. Judas comes out of Jesus Christ Superstar really well. Had they made “Team Iscariot” T-shirts in 1973 I would probably have bought one.

** And, of course, this is the role that made Marlon Brando a star on both Broadway and Hollywood and an international heartthrob. SoYeah.

* People also tend to Leather Pants RichardTheThird in Shakepeare's play of the same name. True, he wasn't nearly as bad in real life, but he's still an evil bastard in the play. I suppose this is a case of HistoryMarchesOn, as it was long believed that RichardOfGlouchester did commit many of the atrocities he did in the play

* [[TheMerchantOfVenice Shylock]] is what happens when this attitude drifts down into academic circles, and then into the general public. Nearly all modern interpretations transform him from the [[ValuesDissonance (admittedly very unsettling)]] antagonist to a tragic character, while the intended heroes are racist assholes bent on ruining his life. Nevermind that Shylock's entire scheme was to ''murder Antonio'' [[DisproportionateRetribution over him insulting Shylock's profession.]] And then his daughter [[WallBanger (who also gets this treatment, despite being little more than a greedy bitch according to the play)]] runs off with most of his money and his family heirloom. Shylock then refuses double the amount owed, simply so he can kill Antonio, who HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH HIS DAUGHTER.