besides metaphorical meaning (and coolness) I think one reason I prefer the balladeer/oswald double casting is because by the time oswald comes around he feels like a familiar face and not an 11th hour rando (awareness of the historical figure aside). I assume that a non-balladeer oswald would double as an ensemble member anyway, so by the time he shows up you might as well subconsciously register him as a main character, anyway, and not, like, gerald ford
note to self if you want to get over a crush on a classmate do not put yourself in a situation where you are seeing him shirtless for a solid three hours (<- girl who went to the beach today and looked at him shirtless for a solid three hours)