Copyright By Christin Essin Yannacci 2006 The Dissertation Committee for Christin Essin Yannacci certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Landscapes of American Modernity: A Cultural History of Theatrical Design, 1912-1951 Committee: _______________________________ Charlotte Canning, Supervisor _______________________________ Jill Dolan _______________________________ Stacy Wolf _______________________________ Linda Henderson _______________________________ Arnold Aronson Landscapes of American Modernity: A Cultural History of Theatrical Design, 1912-1951 by Christin Essin Yannacci, B.A.; M.A. Dissertation Presented to the faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin December, 2006 Acknowledgements There are many individuals to whom I am grateful for navigating me through the processes of this dissertation, from the start of my graduate course work to the various stages of research, writing, and editing. First, I would like to acknowledge the support of my committee members. I appreciate Dr. Arnold Aronson’s advice on conference papers exploring my early research; his theoretically engaged scholarship on scenography also provided inspiration for this project. Dr. Linda Henderson took an early interest in my research, helping me uncover the interdisciplinary connections between theatre and art history. Dr. Jill Dolan and Dr. Stacy Wolf provided exceptional mentorship throughout my course work, stimulating my interest in the theoretical and historical complexities of performance scholarship; I have also appreciated their insights and generous feedback on beginning research drafts. Finally, I have been most fortunate to work with my supervisor Dr. Charlotte Canning. From seminar papers to the final drafts of this project, her patience, humor, honesty, and overall excellence as an editor has pushed me to explore the cultural implications of my research and produce better scholarship. As my advisor, she has consistently set an example for the type of teacher and scholar I hope to become, and I offer a heartfelt thanks for her generosity. The Performance as Public Practice faculty of the Department of Theatre and Dance provided generous support during my time at the University of Texas at Austin; their recommendation of my project for the university’s Continuing Fellowship lent the confidence and financial assistance I needed to complete my degree. I would also like to thank Oscar Brockett for continually encouraging my investigations of design history. In addition to faculty, I have appreciated the support of my graduate colleagues, particularly iv the members of my dissertation writing group—Shannon Baley, Susanne Shawyer, Chase Bringardner, Bradley Griffin, Jessica Hester, Amy Steiger, and Jenny Kokai. At Northwestern University, I had the privilege to study with Virgil Johnson; my interest in design history began in his courses, and I will always be grateful that he gave me a place in his classroom alongside the theatre department’s graduate designers. Many experienced librarians have helped with my archival research. In particular, I thank Helen Adair and the staff of the Performing Arts Collection at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, as well as Laura Schwartz and Beth Kerr from the Fine Arts Library at the University of Texas at Austin. Professors Christopher Innes from York University and Bobbi Owen from the University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill graciously took time from their residency at the Ransom Center to discuss my project. I also appreciate the generosity shown by Jody Blake at the Tobin Design Collection at the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio, Texas. Betty Falsey offered kind and useful assistance at the Harvard Theatre Collection, Harvard University, as did the staff at the Billy Rose Theatre Collection at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Even two thousand miles away in Tennessee, my parents, Emmett and Sally Essin, offered the support, common sense, and insight that helped me move forward with each step of my graduate education. Finally, I would be lost without the constant encouragement of my husband Ron Yannacci; he kindly endured the sweltering heat and conservative politics of Texas, helped me laugh through each frustration, and supplied my literal and figurative shelter during this process. I therefore dedicate my dissertation to him. v Landscapes of American Modernity: A Cultural History of Theatrical Design, 1912-1951 Publication No. __________ Christin Essin Yannacci, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2006 Supervisor: Charlotte Canning Until the end of the nineteenth century, theatrical design was the province of largely unknown craftsmen working behind-the-scenes. But as America entered a new century, designers emerged as artistic leaders, asserting their work as a vital contribution to the culture of American modernity. This dissertation examines select designs of prominent theatre artists as cultural texts conveying processes of modernization— industrialization, rationalization, urbanization, consumerism, and imperialism—that accelerated in the United States during the first half of the twentieth century. Designers Robert Edmond Jones (1887-1954), Norman Bel Geddes (1893-1958), and Joseph “Jo” Mielziner (1901-1976) participated in public dialogues alongside other modern artists who found new expressions for changes happening around them. Their designs significantly shaped the perspectives of twentieth century audiences, not only through their interpretations of dramatic texts but also their interpretations of the nation’s cultural landscapes. By adapting the aesthetics of stage modernism to a variety of commercial vi projects and venues, these designers expanded the circulation of their work beyond the theatrical stage, profoundly influencing American visual culture. The time frame extends from 1912, a year in which Jones arrived in Greenwich Village, to the early 1950s, the years in which Mielziner gained preeminence as a Broadway artist. Designs included in my analysis include David Belasco’s staging for The Governor’s Lady (1912); Jones’s designs for the Paterson Strike Pageant (1913), experiments with the Washington Square Players (1914) and the Provincetown Players (1915), and The Man Who Married a Dumb Wife (1915); Bel Geddes’s designs for The Divine Comedy (1921), The Miracle (1923), and his New York World’s Fair attraction Futurama (1939); and finally Mielziner’s designs for Death of a Salesman (1949), South Pacific (1949), and The King and I (1951). With each design, I draw strategic connections between aesthetic theories and social, political, and economic ideas circulating during the early twentieth century, recognizing modern design as an embodied practice that has developed out of particular historical moments and cultural geographies. vii Table of Contents: Modern Design as American Cultural History . 1 Writing Modern Design . 7 Design as Cultural Image/Artifact . 14 Modern Design/Modernity’s Design . 26 A New Beginning: The Governor’s Lady as Modernity’s Design . 38 Chapter Outline . 48 Chapter Illustrations . 55 From Greenwich Village Bohemia to Broadway: Robert Edmond Jones and the Activism of American Modern Design . 57 Interpreting the Cultural Memory/Theatre History of Robert Edmond Jones . 62 Encountering the Village Landscape . 72 The Paterson Strike Pageant . 81 Staging the Village Landscape . 94 The Man Who Married a Dumb Wife . 102 Chapter Illustrations . 113 Dramatizing the Future: Norman Bel Geddes and the Industrialization of American Modern Design . 115 Norman Bel Geddes’s Alternate Trajectory for New Stagecraft Design . 120 Challenging the New Stagecraft: The Divine Comedy and The Miracle . 127 Industrializing the New Stagecraft . 143 Bel Geddes and General Motor’s Futurama . 153 Chapter Illustrations. 171 Jo Mielziner’s Selective Representations of American Modernity . 176 Jo Mielziner’s Iconic Designs of American Modernity . 181 Selective Realism as Cultural Criticism: Death of a Salesman . 191 Cultural Criticism and Commodities: South Pacific and The King and I . 202 Chapter Illustrations . 227 Cultural Legacies of Modern American Design . 232 Bibliography . 241 Vita. 255 viii Chapter One: Modern Design as American Cultural History “[D]esign is a domain of contested principles and values, where competing ideas about individual and social life are played out in a vivid debate through material and immaterial products.” —Richard Buchanan and Victor Margolin, Discovering Design There are generally two categories of coffee houses in Austin, Texas, both being friendly to graduate students who occupy their tables with laptop computers. The first variety is locally-owned and decorated in a quirky style of mismatched, second-hand furniture; its regular customers appreciate the eclectic, cheery atmosphere and often use the space to socialize with friends. Local shops like Austin Java sell “Keep Austin Weird” t-shirts reflecting the city’s grassroots movement to stave off development projects displacing local businesses with chain restaurants and retail stores. Indeed, the second type of coffee house is a result of chain expansion; places like Starbucks offer a similar coffee product, but different customer experience. The décor of these corporate- owned establishments is deliberate and standardized, recognizable from one location to the next. The casual sophistication