Song Character Analysis Worksheet - The University of North ...

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sphere. These gender role stereotypes provide insight into early twentieth century society and possible character motivations and objectives in classic musicals. In music scholarship, the initial focus of gender studies addressed the historical canon of art music with respect to women’s contributions as creators, contributors, and patrons. That focus has gradually moved to performance issues and the embodiment of music from a feminine perspective, as evidenced in the writings of Suzanne Cusick, Susan McClary, and Renée Cox. Scholarship on gender issues in musical theatre has generally dealt with the topic in one of three ways: 1) the adulation of the gay commu- nity for the genre; 2) the stereotypical “butch” qualities of strong personalities like Mary Martin and Ethel Merman; or 3) the traditional presentation of the ideal hegemonic relationship scenario (boy and girl meet, fall in love, and wind up together after two acts of relationship roadblocks), which is subtly subverted by musical theatre’s traditions of gay ideology. Feminine subversion is often portrayed by strong, independent female types who are social misfits if they do not win a man by the final curtain. 19 A study on gender issues that encompasses these viewpoints as well as role models for a strong, heterosexual female heroine seems lacking. 19 Examples of each approach include D. A. Miller, A Place for Us: Essay on the Broadway Musical (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1998); John Clum, Something for the Boys: Musical Theater and Gay Culture (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999); Stacy Wolf, A Problem Like Maria: Gender and Sexuality in the American Musical (Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2002); Donald Egan Whittaker III, “Subversive Aspects of American Musical Theatre”; and Elaine Small Klein, “The Development of the Leading Feminine Character in Selected Librettos of American Musicals from 1900 to 1960” (Ph.D. diss., Columbia University, 1962). 9
Methodology The base of research for this project has been a two-year journey that began with a broad net cast over the familiar subjects of musical theatre history and American popular music. The specific focus on Show Boat provided a limited framework of singing styles that could be sufficiently covered in a performance-oriented dissertation. By investigating the musical styles of Show Boat, my scholarship branched out into the study of blues history and the personalities of leading blues singers (Sophie Tucker, Bessie Smith, and Ma Rainey, for example). I also returned to my roots of ragtime for its influence of rhythms and singing style on Kern’s characterizations of African-American roles. Because the characters of Julie and Magnolia become cabaret singers, another avenue of study was the cabaret and music hall performance practice of French, German, and Austrian singers at the turn of the century and their influences on American popular performance practice and audiences. The most fascinating and engaging aspect of research for this project has been the interdisciplinary studies of society and gender. This approach directed me away from my comfortable environment of the history of music toward a great mass of information on American cultural history, popular culture, American theatre history, gender studies, feminine aesthetics, and queer theory. 20 The trend of scholarship on gender issues in dramatic music and musical theatre as a reflection of its society has become extremely popular, particularly in the past five years. There are many articles, books, and dissertations available that deal with gender and sexuality in the arenas of musical theatre and dramatic music. A select group of 20 A queer theory approach encompasses all marginalized individuals in a hegemonic culture. 10
Page 1 and 2: LEWIS, ANNE, D.M.A. An Examination
Page 3 and 4: APPROVAL PAGE This dissertation has
Page 5 and 6: TABLE OF CONTENTS iv Page ACKNOWLED
Page 7 and 8: for research, this paper will explo
Page 9 and 10: MacDonald, labeled musical theatre
Page 11 and 12: The musicals that have entered the
Page 13: and individually as handwriting.”
Page 17 and 18: Feminine Character in Selected Libr
Page 19 and 20: from the 1920s, they are timeless i
Page 21 and 22: e helpful to recognize the specific
Page 23 and 24: as a Cinderella-type heiress who ma
Page 25 and 26: Vereen described the “blackface c
Page 27 and 28: Casino Theatre in Manhattan. The re
Page 29 and 30: functional sets, and an eleven-piec
Page 31 and 32: The History of the Musical, Show Bo
Page 33 and 34: amount of instrumental music, the d
Page 35 and 36: Ferber’s novel begins with the na
Page 37 and 38: Act II begins four years later as G
Page 39 and 40: CHAPTER III SOCIETAL STEREOTYPES OF
Page 41 and 42: communion.” 5 This bias continued
Page 43 and 44: children, however, did allow mother
Page 45 and 46: unhealthy, sub-human environments.
Page 47 and 48: dominated by masculine traits in ap
Page 49 and 50: magazines, including Ladies Home Jo
Page 51 and 52: Nineteenth Century Stereotypes of W
Page 53 and 54: usiness. She was responsible for th
Page 55 and 56: gender) inequality forced them inst
Page 57 and 58: The 1920s was the Jazz Age, a time
Page 59 and 60: CHAPTER IV THEATRICAL STEREOTYPES O
Page 61 and 62: peoples . . . to save us from our o
Page 63 and 64: separate seating arrangements). The
Page 65 and 66:
Feminine Aesthetic in Theatre Any a
Page 67 and 68:
gossip columns. 17 Exploitation on
Page 69 and 70:
means to economic or career advance
Page 71 and 72:
Florenz Ziegfeld, reportedly, was q
Page 73 and 74:
in a subservient role as a domestic
Page 75 and 76:
looked, Magnolia decided, as if the
Page 77 and 78:
When he holds me close, Close as we
Page 79 and 80:
In the novel, Parthy Ann is a three
Page 81 and 82:
opens her handbag and takes out a p
Page 83 and 84:
“hero”) and the piano player (t
Page 85 and 86:
the nineteenth century’s gender r
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of that time. Performance practice
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possibilities for manipulation and
Page 91 and 92:
order while the musical number repr
Page 93 and 94:
“Finding in that sound all the ki
Page 95 and 96:
often distorts vibrant voices, rend
Page 97 and 98:
elationships with other characters
Page 99 and 100:
Finally, the process includes a mus
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any other theater music heard up to
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een presented in previous chapters,
Page 105 and 106:
“Though the cold and brutal fact
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[Bridge]: When he goes away dat’s
Page 109 and 110:
angelically while caught in the act
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The song appears twice more as a pl
Page 113 and 114:
CHAPTER VI CURTAIN CALL The musical
Page 115 and 116:
theatre performance practice. They
Page 117 and 118:
BIBLIOGRAPHY General Sources Burkho
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Long, Mary Anne. “‘All Our Girl
Page 121 and 122:
Kerber, Linda K., and Jane Sherron
Page 123 and 124:
Levine, Lawrence W. The Opening of
Page 125 and 126:
Song Title: Show Title: Lyricist: C
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