Debuting in 1980, Gary Larson’s The Far Side has entertained readers with its unique and hilarious perspective on everyday life, CBR reported.
Larson used his love of science, biology, and psychology to explore the human condition and its faults. Musicals have existed since the early eras of human entertainment, making them a recurring vehicle for his specific brand of comedy and irony.
While most fans do not immediately associate the comic strip with musical theater, the genre fits perfectly into the strange world Larson envisioned. Much like the comical nature of people talking in song and choreographed dance on stage, anything and everything is possible in The Far Side. Larson frequently subverted traditional stage tropes to deliver panels that play into the strengths of both mediums.
Among the many terrible people depicted in The Far Side, none match the persistence of insurance salespeople. During a stage play adaptation of Phantom of the Opera, one of these solicitors ruins the performance by taking over the stage and causing the cast and audience to flee in terror. Larson plays on the title of the infamous novel and stage play to show a very real terror haunting the theater.
The panel features an excited expression on the salesman’s face as he prepares to give his pitch. Unsuspecting theatergoers run in utter fear of the man wearing an oversized suit jacket and holding a briefcase. It is a painfully relatable joke that merges unwanted door-to-door solicitation with dramatic stage performance.
The arch-nemesis of Peter Pan, Captain Hook, has been torturing the Lost Boys for over a century on stage and screen. In one The Far Side panel, the villain contemplates a very different path in life during a visit to a job counselor. Sitting across from the counselor as she reviews his resume, Hook considers narrowing down his options between a career as a pirate or a massage therapist.
The obvious absurdity of using a hook to give a massage drives the punchline. Larson depicts Hook in an intensely serious business meeting while the counselor treats his career change as an entirely normal option.
Set in the wild west, two cowboys fight each other, creating a cloud of dust as they hurl toward the edge of a cliff. A piano player sits below, waiting for them to fall and score the battle. While westerns are primarily action films, the genre shares deep ties to musical performance and stage design through saloon piano tropes.
In another musical panel, a group of musicians performs at a wedding composed entirely of cartoon characters. The flute player looks at the saxophonist and tells him he is not allowed to do the bookings anymore.
Larson often drew upon his own background as a musician to highlight the woes of performers. One orchestra practices in a normal setting until the conductor abruptly stops to ask what a specific sound is, revealing a lonely banjo player sitting awkwardly off to the side.
Prehistoric humans also enjoyed musical theater in Larson’s caveman panels. The first band in history practices for a performance while being led by a conductor who has only one note written on his sheet music.