Law, Justice, and All That Jazz: an Analysis of Law's Reach Into Musical Theater
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
University of New Hampshire University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository Master's Theses and Capstones Student Scholarship Fall 2015 Law, Justice, and All that Jazz: An Analysis of Law's Reach into Musical Theater Amy Oldenquist University of New Hampshire, Durham Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/thesis Recommended Citation Oldenquist, Amy, "Law, Justice, and All that Jazz: An Analysis of Law's Reach into Musical Theater" (2015). Master's Theses and Capstones. 914. https://scholars.unh.edu/thesis/914 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses and Capstones by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. LAW, JUSTICE, AND ALL THAT JAZZ: AN ANALYSIS OF LAW’S REACH INTO MUSICAL THEATER BY AMY L. OLDENQUIST BA Psychology & Justice Studies, University of New Hampshire, 2014 THESIS Submitted to the University of New Hampshire in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Justice Studies September, 2015 This thesis has been examined and approved. Thesis Co-Chair, Katherine R. Abbott, Lecturer in Sociology and Justice Studies Thesis Co-Chair, Ellen S. Cohn, Professor of Psychology and Coordinator of the Justice Studies Program John R. Berst, Assistant Professor of Theater and Dance (musical theater) September, 2015 Original approval signatures are on file with the University of New Hampshire Graduate School. DEDICATION I would like to dedicate this thesis to my family, my mother Jean and my brother Billy who have stood by me and encouraged me to keep going through thick and thin. Also I would like to dedicate this thesis to my nephew, Damien, who hopefully will be inspired to continue his education once he is older and continue the Wildcat tradition. I would also like to take this time to thank the teachers, professors, and professionals who have helped me as a student, but have also encouraged my passion and appreciation for musical theater. This master’s thesis would not have been possible without you. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my gratitude towards my thesis chair, Dr. Katherine Abbott, who guided me through this process and helped me grow as a student, writer, and academic. She has acted as a professor, mentor, and friend. I would also like to thank Dr. Ellen Cohn and John Berst for their wonderful feedback when I began my study and for their support through this long process. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ........................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................................... iv ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................... vii CHAPTER PAGE I. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 1 Theoretical Background ..................................................................................................... 5 Framing of Legal Narratives .............................................................................................. 7 Legal Narratives ................................................................................................................. 9 Legal Narratives in the Media ……………………………..…………………………….11 Current Study ................................................................................................................... 19 II. METHODS .............................................................................................................................. 20 III: FINDINGS …………………………………………………………………………….....…23 What are the legal narratives? ……………..…………………………………………… 23 Broadway Themes ……………………………………………….…………….………. 23 Off-Broadway Themes ………………………………………………………………... 51 v How do narratives compare on and Off-Broadway? ………………………………….. 69 How do narratives change over time? ............................................................................. 77 IV. DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................................ 83 Limitations and Future Research ……………………………………...……….………. 93 V. CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................................... 95 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................ 96 APPENDICES ........................................................................................................................... 106 APPENDICES A: TABLES OF SHOWS ………..………….………………………..……… 107 Table 1: Broadway Show Selection ………………………………………………..…. 107 Table 2: Off-Broadway Show Selection …………………………………………….... 108 APPENDIX B: SYNOPSES OF SHOWS.................................................................................. 109 APPENDIX C: FINALE PROTOCOL ………………………………………………..…….... 115 APPENDIX D: TABLE OF EMERGENT THEMES ………………………………..………. 118 vi ABSTRACT LAW, JUSTICE, AND ALL THAT JAZZ: AN ANALYSIS OF LAW’S REACH INTO MUSICAL THEATER by Amy Oldenquist University of New Hampshire, September, 2015 Narratives or stories are present in many facets of life. Narratives especially are seen in the media, fiction and nonfiction alike. These stories, seen in media, fiction, and nonfiction alike, have an immense impact on their audience. This influence displays the importance of continued research into media’s narratives, especially legal narratives. Much of past research looked at the social construction of these stories and its framing. Framing refers to how a subject is discussed in the media. While there is much research on media, framing, and legal narratives, very few researchers have examined live entertainment, including musical theater. My study explores the legal narratives within musicals. I completed a qualitative media analysis of seven Broadway shows and six Off-Broadway shows. My research questions include the following: Are there legal narratives in musical theater? What are those narratives? How do they compare on and Off-Broadway? Lastly, how have they changed over time? My analysis led to the emergence of three primary themes: deviancy, inequality, and institutionalized justice. In addition, there were also strong differences between the two venues. Specifically, Broadway shows largely criticize and discuss societal structures as they impact individuals. Conversely, Off-Broadway focuses on individual stories and tends to ignore societal structures. Some themes were also observed as changing over time. These changes either discussed important themes, new emergent themes, or changes in language over the decades. These findings are further complicated by hegemonic and counter hegemonic narratives. I discuss implications, limitations, and future research opportunities. vii Introduction “So pursue, but not too eagerly, injustice. Track down injustice… it hound us, But it will perish in its own great cold” (The Threepenny Opera; Weill & Brecht, 1954, p. 61) “Sure; it’s a free country and I ain’t got the right. But it’s a country with laws; and I can find the right. I got the badge, you got the skin. It’s tough all over. Beat it!” (West Side Story; Bernstein, Laurents, & Sondheim, n.d, p. 51). “Rich man, poor man, black or white, pick your apple, take a bite, everybody just hold tight to your dreams, everybody’s got the right to their dreams” (Assassins; Weldman & Sondheim, 1991, p. 13). Noah Novogrodsky (2014, p. 48) writes, “Words and phrases, particularly performative utterances, can haunt listeners”. The above excerpts serve as examples from musicals. The haunting quality of these utterances is tied to the social importance of storytelling and narratives (Novogrodsky, 2014). Stories for hundreds of years have been important tools for discussing cultural topics, such as religion or justice (Foley, 2007; Johnson-Sheehan & Lynch, 2007; Novogrodsky, 2014). Our understanding of the world – including concepts of law and justice – are influenced by these narratives or “performative utterances” (Johnson & Buchannan, 2001). My research aims to better understand the development of legal narratives in musical theater, a unique and popular form of media. The American musical is a distinct subset of the performing arts with a reputation as a flamboyant, frivolous, sparkly, and gregarious series of dances, songs, and scenes (Kantor & Maslon, 2004; Patinkin, 2008). What developed into the American musical began as minstrel 1 shows, traveling vaudevillian shows, and operettas around the turn of the century (Patinkin, 2008). After the turn of the twentieth century, drastic cultural changes (e.g. increase in immigration and multiculturalism) shaped the introduction of musical theater (Spevack, 2006). By the 1940s, the integrative musical was born with Oklahoma. After Oklahoma’s critical and commercial success, musical theater blossomed and remained popular for decades to come (Patinkin, 2008). The title of the “American” musical became commonplace. Even today, it remains a symbol of American culture (Heide, Porter, & Saito, 2012; Jones, 2005; Knapp, 2005). As American musical theater has evolved, its roots