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

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Magnolia Hawks Ravenal (Nola or Nolie) is the true heroine of Show Boat and its most nontraditional type. Klein describes her as “the most atypical, attractive, and perhaps most believable of all the heroines of the era.” 59 The primary plot line is Magnolia’s journey to independence as the character matures through the first act from an ingénue into a lovely lady type. She also exemplifies the social type of the Southern Belle in her progression from innocent flirtations through her matronly tenacity to pre- serve her family, despite external deterministic circumstances. The audience observes her growth in her choices and reactions to life as she becomes an independent woman by taking charge of her own destiny. The audience learns about Magnolia through dialogue and recognizes that she will play the ingénue type. Kern introduced a musical leitmotiv in anticipation of Magnolia’s entrance, heard from within the boat where she is still practicing the piano. 60 This same leitmotiv is played during Gaylord’s first song (“Where’s the Mate for Me?”). Kern used it for the theatrical device of foreshadowing as Gaylord interacts with the tune, express- ing his feelings about his inner conflict between freedom and love. This leitmotiv allows the audience to immediately intuit the connection between Ravenal (the leading man 59 Klein, 108. 60 The piano melody was interpolated from Kern’s earlier Princess show, The Beauty Prize (1923). Kern employs other leitmotivs throughout the score, including the previously mentioned “Can’t Help Lovin’ ‘dat Man” for Julie and the “river theme,” derived from “Ol’ Man River.” See Joseph P. Swain, The Broadway Musical: A Critical and Musical Survey (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1990; rev. ed., 2002), 40 and 42. Kern also employs a melodrama affectation by stereotyping the character of Sheriff Vallon with underscoring that is immediately recognized as “villain” music from the silent film era. For more discussion on melodrama effects, see Kirle, “Cultural Collaborations,” 208. 77
“hero”) and the piano player (the ingénue heroine), though neither he nor the audience has yet to see her. 61 The first meeting of Magnolia and Gaylord occurs through the duet, “Make Believe.” This scene establishes several of Magnolia’s character traits and ambitions: she wants to be an actress so that she can be an exciting “character,” she has a maturity “beyond her years,” and she has fallen hopelessly in love at first sight. 62 She is socially presented as a traditional Southern Belle and her stage role as the traditional ingénue is reinforced in both her vocal line and the instrumental underscoring from the earlier piano leitmotiv. By Act II, Magnolia has become a lovely lady type as dutiful wife and mother. In this role she is part of a dramatic trend in the late 1920s in which the older woman heroine is responsible for much of the plot development. She also portrays a new type of leading feminine character, described as “one who doesn’t dominate the stage . . . but whose dramatic purpose is to inspire the leading masculine character.” 63 In the first scene of Act II, Magnolia and Gaylord sing the only new original song of the second act (“Why Do I Love You?”). The song begins as a cute, young lovers’ waltz but fore- shadows a deeper meaning and eventual plot turn as Gaylord’s gambling affects the family, evidenced in these lyrics: 61 Swain, 32. 62 Swain, 34, 38. 63 Klein, 71-72. I discovered a curious point regarding Kern’s treatment of melodic characterization for Magnolia: she sings only duets until she is abandoned by Gaylord and then must sing solo for a living. Thus begins Magnolia’s literal and figurative independence. 78
Page 1 and 2:
LEWIS, ANNE, D.M.A. An Examination
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APPROVAL PAGE This dissertation has
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TABLE OF CONTENTS iv Page ACKNOWLED
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for research, this paper will explo
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MacDonald, labeled musical theatre
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The musicals that have entered the
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and individually as handwriting.”
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Methodology The base of research fo
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Feminine Character in Selected Libr
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from the 1920s, they are timeless i
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e helpful to recognize the specific
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as a Cinderella-type heiress who ma
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Vereen described the “blackface c
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Casino Theatre in Manhattan. The re
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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: opens her handbag and takes out a p
Page 85 and 86: the nineteenth century’s gender r
Page 87 and 88: of that time. Performance practice
Page 89 and 90: 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
Page 101 and 102: any other theater music heard up to
Page 103 and 104: een presented in previous chapters,
Page 105 and 106: “Though the cold and brutal fact
Page 107 and 108: [Bridge]: When he goes away dat’s
Page 109 and 110: angelically while caught in the act
Page 111 and 112: 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
Page 119 and 120: 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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