Subversive Aspects of American Musical Theatre Donald Elgan Whittaker III Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected]
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2002 Subversive aspects of American musical theatre Donald Elgan Whittaker III Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Theatre and Performance Studies Commons Recommended Citation Whittaker III, Donald Elgan, "Subversive aspects of American musical theatre" (2002). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 1125. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/1125 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. SUBVERSIVE ASPECTS OF AMERICAN MUSICAL THEATRE A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Theatre by Donald Elgan Whittaker III B.A., Rice University, 1991 M.A., Florida State University, 1996 May 2002 To my mother and father, who taught me. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS No enterprise is ever undertaken in a vacuum, and this work is no exception. There is no way to thank everyone who has aided in the completion of this dissertation, but I wish to note particularly the contributions of the following people. To my family, Don and Jane Whittaker, the Ritters, Tanna and Howard Ritter, I offer my deepest thanks and love. I could no more have done this without your love and support than I could fly. I wish to thank Sally Barbay for showing me, at a very young age, what heights theatre could scale. I would particularly like to take this opportunity to thank my niece, Hannah Shea Ritter, for the great joy she has brought, in just the few short weeks I have known her. I would like to extend my appreciation of the group of friends at LSU who have acted as surrogate family and who have kept me (relatively) sane and who listened to the many dissertation tales of woe: Wendell Stone, Mark Zelinsky, Hamilton Armstrong, John Wright, Rachel Harris, and Tim Kennedy. Two groups in Houston also deserve recognition. To Robin McElfresh, I owe more than I can ever express. To the rest of the “Disgruntled Liberals” (Marla McDaniel, Tom and Becky Wocken, and John and Christine Kovach), I give my thanks for the constant stream of e-mails and encouragements that never ceased. The West Main group did the same thing, in addition to providing me a space to lick my wounds on occasion: Thank you to Rick Smith, Tom Meade and David Cleveland. The music faculty at LSU gave me a great deal of support and encouragement, but I must particularly name Lynn Jemison-Keisker, who not only always found time to help with questions, but gave of herself unsparingly. Jan Summers and Cheri Weber, who run the Theatre Department Office, cannot ever comprehend the meaning of their smiles and iii help during their time here. To the current and former faculty of the LSU theatre department who have given me so much—Lesley Ferris, Bill Harbin, Les Wade, Femi Euba, Leigh Clemons, and Michael Tick—I give my respect and gratitude, both of which are boundless. I also wish to thank John Degen at Florida State University for teaching me that others thought of musical theater with respect; he also provided a detailed synopsis of the original libretto of Irene from a trip to New York. Along those lines, I wish to thank Ellwood Anaheim at Catholic University in Washington, DC, for sending me a copy of the proposed 1949 revision of that same musical. To both the creators of the musicals examined in this volume, as well as those everywhere, I extend thanks from my very soul for an art form that has brought me joy and bliss since early childhood. Above all, I wish to thank Jennifer Jones, who chaired this project. She never failed to show excitement and patience during the process, and her patience and insight have taught me more than I can ever repay. She sets a dazzling example of what it is to be both teacher and mentor—demanding rigorous scholarship yet remaining supportive and encouraging at all times. I can only hope to extend to my own students a small portion of what Dr. Jones has given to me. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . ii LIST OF FIGURES. .vi ABSTRACT . .ix CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION . 1 II. “WHATEVER HAPPENED TO CLASS” IN THE AMERICAN MUSICAL? . 15 “Feeling aisy in high society:” The Gilded Age and the Four Hundred . 21 “Oh, who has not heard of the four?:” Reilly and the 400 . 24 “When you walk through a storm:” Carousel’s America . 40 “Millwork ain’t easy:” Carousel . 42 I Can Get It For You Wholesale: Class Concerns Continue . 62 “I Can See So Far:” Floyd Collins and the Underclass . 64 Conclusion . .83 III: “I KNOW WE ARE YOUR CHOSEN PEOPLE. BUT ONCE IN A WHILE, COULDN’T YOU CHOOOSE SOMEONE ELSE?:” JEWS ON THE AMERICAN MUSICAL STAGE . 86 Immmigration and Antisemitism Before 1888 . 90 “I Can’t Take It All When I Die:” Toward a Sympathetic Shylock . 92 “I Am Easily Assimilated:” Musical Jews and Antisemitism During the Early 1900s . 101 The Farmer and the Cowhand (and the Merchant): Antisemitism and Community in Oklahoma! . 104 “What Would You Do?:” Cabaret and 1960s America . .112 “If You Could See Her Through My Eyes:” Cabaret and the Other . 114 “This is Not Over Yet:” Parade . 128 Conclusion . 145 IV: “WE ARE A FAMILY” . 149 The American Family Before the Twentieth Century . .154 The American Family After 1900: Setting the Stage for Babes In Arms . .155 “Youth Will Arrive:” Babes In Arms and the Extended Family . 157 Women and Family in the Mid-Twentieth Century . 168 “The Middleaged Bully and the Girl of Eighteen” . 169 Contemporary Marriage and Family . 185 “Making a Home:” William Finn’s “Marvin Songs” . 186 “Hey Kids, Let’s Put on a Show!” The Meta-Theatrical Musical Family . 203 Conclusion . 204 v V: “WE’VE HAD PLENTY HEIDY-HO:” SEX IN THE AMERICAN MUSICAL . 207 Sexuality in the Early Twentieth Century . 211 “Fun For Everybody:” Leave It To Me! and the Sexuality of Politics . 213 The Sexual Politics of World War II . .. 228 “Get a Load of Honey Bun Tonight:” South Pacific and the Gaze . .230 Is it Real or is it Cybersex?: Sex in the 1990s . .247 “Beauty is Power, Longing a Disease:” Upsetting the Gaze in Passion . .248 “Their Things Were Out:” Conclusion . .261 VI: “QUEER TWISTS:” HOMOSEXUALITY ON THE AMERICAN MUSICAL STAGE . 264 “Thy Words Are Queer, Sir” . .267 Gays and Lesbians in the Early Twentieth Century . 269 “Why didn’t you tell me Madame Lucy is a Man?:” Irene’s Open Closet . 270 Homosexuality in the 1930s and 1940s . 283 Lady in the Dark: “I Have No Queer Twists” . 285 “It’s Time to Open Up Your Closet:” Musical Gay Characters in the 1970s and Beyond . .299 “Shut Up, You Big Dyke!:” The (Nearly) Invisible Lesbian on the Musical Stage . 302 Post-gay . .305 The Post-gay World of A New Brain . .306 VII: CONCLUSION . .315 WORKS CITED . 321 APPENDIX: SELECTED SONG LYRICS . 339 VITA . 346 vi LIST OF FIGURES 2.1: “I’ve Come Home To Stay” . 33 2.2: “Prologue (The Carousel Waltz)” . 44 2.3: “When The Children Are Asleep,” Enoch’s Introduction . 52 2.4: “When The Children Are Asleep,” Enoch’s Verse . 53 2.5: “When The Children Are Asleep,” Carrie’s Verse . 53 2.6: “When The Children Are Asleep,” Enoch and Carrie’s Duet . 54 2.7: Circular Motive . 61 2.8: “Is That Remarkable?” Rhythmic Description . 70 3.1: Cabaret Figure . 126 3.2: Opening Chords from “Willkommen” . 127 3.3: Opening bars of “What Am I Waiting For?” . 135 3.4: Opening bars of “All the Wasted Time” . 142 3.5: Accompanimental rhythm of “The Old Red Hills of Home” . 143 3.6: Accompanimental rhythm of “A Rumblin’ and a Rollin’.” . 143 4.1: “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face” . 182 4.2: Final bars of vocal line, “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face” . 182 4.3: “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly?” . 183 4.4: “Why Can’t The English?” . 184 4.5: “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face,” Melodic Contours . 184 5.1: First Verse of “My Heart Belongs to Daddy” . 220 5.2: Bridge of “My Heart Belongs to Daddy” . ..