Inspired by Albert Camus and The Myth of Sisyphus, Absurd Hero asks what happens when we stop waiting for life to provide us with a tidy explanation. Camus’ Sisyphus is condemned to push his rock uphill knowing it will inevitably roll back down. In our musical theatre version of that idea, the question becomes wonderfully practical: If the rock is going to roll back down anyway, what are you going to do on the way up?
That is where “Unafraid” begins. Through music, song, dance and choreography, the opening number establishes a company of characters living in a world that doesn’t necessarily play by sensible rules. Rather than beginning with an explanation, the music invites us into the absurdity. The movement and ensemble choreography give that philosophy a physical language; people moving forward, colliding, regrouping and carrying on.
That idea runs through the entire show. Sid will try to change his community. Zeus will attempt to control it. Ari, Darby, Dawn and Tony will each stumble through their own wonderfully complicated versions of love, ambition, identity and purpose. The mythology may be ancient, but the problems are remarkably familiar. Everybody is pushing some kind of rock.
And that is what makes “Unafraid” such an important piece of the musical. It isn't simply an opening song designed to get the show moving. It establishes the argument Absurd Hero will spend the rest of the evening exploring: perhaps meaning isn't something waiting for us to discover. Perhaps we create it ourselves through living, loving, laughing, dancing, making mistakes and continuing forward anyway.
That is also where theatre and choreography become especially powerful. Philosophy can sound terribly serious on the page. Put those same ideas into music and dance, surround them with Greek gods behaving badly, and suddenly Camus becomes something an audience can laugh at, sing along with and perhaps recognize in their own lives.
The rock may roll back down tomorrow.
Today, we push it uphill unafraid.
Music, Lyrics & Libretto by April Alsup
Absurd Hero the Musical Produced by Viewmark.
