Sociocultural and Collaborative Antagonism in the Harold Prince- Stephen Sondheim Musicals (1970-1979)
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Washington University in St. Louis Washington University Open Scholarship Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations Arts & Sciences Summer 8-15-2019 Sociocultural and Collaborative Antagonism in the Harold Prince- Stephen Sondheim Musicals (1970-1979) Ashley Marian Pribyl Washington University in St. Louis Follow this and additional works at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/art_sci_etds Part of the American Studies Commons, Music Commons, and the Theatre History Commons Recommended Citation Pribyl, Ashley Marian, "Sociocultural and Collaborative Antagonism in the Harold Prince-Stephen Sondheim Musicals (1970-1979)" (2019). Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1940. https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/art_sci_etds/1940 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Arts & Sciences at Washington University Open Scholarship. It has been accepted for inclusion in Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Washington University Open Scholarship. For more information, please contact [email protected]. WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS Department of Music Dissertation Examination Committee: Todd Decker, Chair Patrick Burke Paige McGinley Christopher Stark Steven Swayne Sociocultural and Collaborative Antagonism in the Harold Prince-Stephen Sondheim Musicals (1970-1979) by Ashley M. Pribyl A dissertation presented to The Graduate School of Washington University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy August 2019 St. Louis, Missouri © 2019, Ashley M. Pribyl Table of Contents List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ iii List of Tables .................................................................................................................................. v Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................................... vi Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... x Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1 Sweeney Todd (1979): Harold Prince as Antagonistic Collaborator ......................... 22 Chapter 2 Pacific Overtures (1976): Bookwriter as Antagonistic Collaborator ........................ 69 Chapter 3 Follies (1971): Performers as Antagonistic Collaborator ....................................... 128 Chapter 4 Company (1970): Audience as Antagonistic Collaborator ..................................... 180 Afterword .................................................................................................................................... 241 Select Bibliography ..................................................................................................................... 244 Appendix 1 Pacific Overtures Scripts ........................................................................................ 256 Appendix 2 Tracing Homosexual Interpretations of Company .................................................. 260 ii List of Figures Figure 1.1: Dies Irae Chant…....……………………………………………………………...…43 Figure 1.2: Organ Prelude from Sweeney Todd, m. 4-8 …………………………………...……44 Figure 1.3: Opening melody of “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd” ……………………….………45 Figure 1.4: Obsession/Nemesis motive ...……………………………...…………………..……46 Figure 1.5: Inverted Dies Irae in “My Friends” ……………………………………………...…46 Figure 1.6: Kilmainham Jail ………...………………………….. …………………...…………49 Figure 1.7: “The British Beehive” by Cruikshank …………………………………………...…52 Figure 1.8: Notation of Factory Whistle ……………………………………………..................57 Figure 1.9: Dies Irae in “A Little Priest” ………………………………………………….....…64 Figure 1.10: Cadences for “A Little Priest”..……………..…….. …………………...…………66 Figure 2.1: Commodore Perry’s “Lion Dance”….…..……………….………………….…....…88 Figure 2.2: Opening Melody for “The Advantages of Floating” ...……..…………………....…94 Figure 2.3: Example of Process Music in “The Advantages of Floating” …….……………..…97 Figure 2.4: Sony Advertisement in Times Square …..……………….……………………...…105 Figure 3.1: Gloria Swanson in Life Magazine ……………………….……………………...…136 Figure 3.2: Follies Advertisement ……………………………….. …………………...………141 Figure 3.3: Diorama of Follies Set ……………………………………………..…………...…145 Figure 3.4: A Manual Resistance Board……………………….. …………………...…………148 Figure 3.5: Still 1 from “Bolero d’Amour” ………….……………………………………...…156 Figure 3.6: Still 2 from “Bolero d’Amour” ……………………….. ……..………...…………158 Figure 3.7: Elevation Blueprint for Follies Set ……………………………………………..…159 Figure 3.8: Rehearsing with Bennett on Follies Set …………... …………………...…………160 iii Figure 3.9: Opening of Berlin’s “A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody…………………………...…161 Figure 3.10: Opening of Sondheim’s “Beautiful Girls” ………..…………………...…………162 Figure 3.11: “The Girls Upstairs” Older Excerpt …………………………………………...…169 Figure 3.12: “The Girls Upstairs” Younger Excerpt ………….. …………………...…………170 Figure 3.13: Excerpt from “One More Kiss” ………………………………………...……..…171 Figure 4.1: Photo of Bobby (Kert) and Peter (Cunningham) ….. …………………...……...…210 Figure 4.2: Opening of “Multitudes of Amys” ……………………………………………...…228 Figure 4.3: Excerpt from “Happily Ever After” …………….. …………………...…...………231 Figure 4.4: Opening of “Being Alive”: Dean Jones ………………………………………...…235 Figure 4.5: Opening of “Being Alive”: Larry Kert ………...….. …………………......………235 Figure 4.6: Key Change of “Being Alive”: Dean Jones …………………………..………...…236 Figure 4.7: Key Change of “Being Alive”: Larry Kert……………………………...…………236 iv List of Tables Table 1: Comparing Bond’s and Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd ...................................................27 Table 2: Follies Original Cast: Ages and Date of Last Performance .....................................140 v Acknowledgments A dissertation, much like a musical, is a collaborative effort, and one that requires many types of support, input, suggestions, discussions, and investments. First, this dissertation – and my entire degree – would not have been possible without my adviser, Todd Decker, who has been a true Doktorvater to me in every sense of the word. I never felt alone on this journey, as he continually provided enthusiastic support, incisive criticism, and probing questions for my thoughts and writings, as well as opportunities to improve myself as a teacher and scholar. The other members of my committee, Christopher Stark, Patrick Burke, Paige McGinley, and Steven Swayne, also provided help, support, and feedback on this dissertation. Particular thanks go to Paige McGinley, whose course on Music and Performance planted the seeds to view Sondheim’s musicals as performative works. She also provided guidance throughout this dissertation, specifically in the areas of performance studies and theatre history, as my project turned from one about Sondheim to one about Sondheim and Prince. Also thanks to Steve Swayne for giving me his time and also providing me with a wonderful foundation on which to build my studies. Financial support was provided by the Department of Music, the American Culture Studies Department, and the Center for the Humanities at Washington University in St. Louis. This project relied heavily on archival research. Doug Reside at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts has been an invaluable colleague, taking time to help me explore the deepest, darkest corners of the Billy Rose Theatre Division. Thank you to the other staff at the NYPLPA, vi as well as Mark Horowitz and the staff at the Library of Congress, the Beinecke Library, and the Harry Ransom Center. Other faculty at Washington University in St. Louis have contributed to this dissertation, through their courses, feedback, and/or moral support and mentorship, including Denise Gill, Peter Benson, Alex Stefaniak, Dolores Pesce, William Paul, Linda Nicholson, Iver Bernstein, Clarissa Hayward, Kim Daniels, Jeffrey McCune, Julie Singer, Luis Salas, Samuel Shearer, and Rebecca Wanzo. Faculty and staff outside of Washington University that have also provided indelible support include Jeffrey Magee, Sonia Seeman, Susan Jackson, Michael Tusa, Charles Carson, Byron Almen, Edward Pearsall, Suzanne Cusick, David Hunter, and Raymond Knapp. My Pacific Overtures chapter began in my seminar with Laurie B. Green at the University of Texas. Special thanks to my mentor, Andrew Dell’Antonio, who advised my Master’s Thesis on Sweeney Todd and spurred my burgeoning interest in musicology as an undergraduate. I am blessed to have had excellent colleagues with whom to discuss both the content and labor practices of a dissertation and who have been mentors, friends, and confidants throughout this process. It would be impossible to name them all, but I would like to give special thanks to my student mentors (some of whom are faculty now), Ashley Macrander, Jane Mathieu, Heather Buffington Anderson, Jennifer Chu, Christi Jay Wells, Liza Dister, and Kelsey Klotz. Thanks also goes to my supportive colleagues, including Daniel Viggers, Joseph Jakubowski, Darren LaCour, Elena Arredondo, Lillian Pinto de Sá, Kathryn Kinney, Daniel Weaver, Caleb Boyd, Karen Olson, James McMaster, Margaret Rowley, Jenna Harmon, Vanessa Tonelli, Daniel Deshon Hodges, Justin Wright, Nathan Lamp, Ashley Wilson, Donny Gerke, Ling Kang, Rose vii Miyatsu,