sMT 9 (1) pp. 13-30 lntellect Limited 2015

Studies in Musical Theatre Volume 9 Number r o zor5 lntellect Ltd Article. English language. doi: ro r386/smt.9.1.13_1

MAYA CANTU Mint Theater Company

'Clothes make an awful difference in a girl':

,'.-j.rii: ltrtii:r l{l iLrl.}'.tOr1 vilur -: ; ,,r i c,r rl'",,n,r,!!rl;-1,.,.i MIIe. Modiste, Irene and : : itlai ir! yilrji na::\i""' bt-rOii -. r i-]li i il.ii ;.ttcpllal. pit-ll:ttt ::.., ;--icad a cue:lrJnnaire Funny Face as Cinderella '--:. r I r'r',vi,;.i nt.il':ciiioDk5.ao$) fashion musicals

ABSTRACT KEYWORDS The world of fashion has been a frequent setting for the many Broadznay musi- Cinderella cals inspired by Charles Perrault's Cindcrella (1697). Using futo Broadway fashion musicals and one Hollywood musical as cross-historical case studies, this article femininity examines hun the American musicnl has aaiously adapted and interpreted themes sclf-invention of 'clothes make the u)oman' Iry posing Cinderella as a shop girl or model in fields of American dream consumer fashion. The 1905 Victor llerbert/Ilenry Bllssom operetta Mlle. Modiste, MIle. Modiste and the 1919 Chderella musical Ilene (by James Montgomery, Harry Tiemey Irene and Joseph McCarthy) both assert the democratizing pozoer of fashiott. In M1le. Funny Face Modistc', the resourceful title character uses both her singing talent and her access -.. :r;::i.t; :tni1;i}ji rral; vrsii to stylish clothing to rise in the world as an opera diua, as well as a oiscount's wrfe. w ww. i r':tel leetb*eks"q*ril Irene emphasizes themes of masquerade and meritocracy, as the eponymous lrish American shop giil models dresses for coutuier 'Madame Lucy', fools high soci- - , ,,.:i. iirl r."1tii, l).ureij iii-:arj ety as a pedigreed lady and marries her Prince Charming. By contrast, the 1957 . , ,,1,,.,1 l. ,. Paramount mooie musical Funny Face problematizes its heroine's fashion-world makeuter. IMiIe Frnny Face's narratiae depicts the transformation of Jo Stockton -: , t,:::) lr7 g5ijqqla : -. .., ;i,rl itlr)tljilitil 13 Maya Cantu

(Audrey Hepburn), abookish'GreenwichVillage Cinderella', into a glamorous Paris top Paris model. mannequin, Funny Face's musical numbers, use strategies of camp and parody to and alienation e: undercut the concept of 'The Quality Woman'. well as its under

MLLE. MODIS? From nineteenth the century through the present day, Charles Pcrrault's With music by'' Cinderella, or The Little Glass Slipper (1697) has inspired dozens of Broadway operetta Mlle. L1 musical adaptations as the female rags-to-riches definitive tale. Using strate- fashion musicalr ges of adaptation that predominantly treat Cinderella as a model translatable ionable Austria; to American settings and contexts, rather literal than adaptations of the fairy Opening on 25 I tale, paradigm' (Flecht 2011:104) has appeared this'Cinderella in such classic 202 performancr musical adaptations as Annie Get Your Gun (1946), Lady (1956) My Fair and Town and Couttt Hairspray as well as more traditional examples, such as Rodgers and Q002), sivcly' (Anon. 1' Hammerstein' s (1 95 7) the Wo o (1 (which Cinder ella and Sondh cim's k to ds 986) Dillingham's lav drew from the darker 'Aschenputtel' of the Brothers Grimm). The Cinderella 'trimmed with r: narrative, intersecting focus class, social gender, with its on mobility and MIIe. Modist, has Broadway becn particularly suited to the musical - at once, a populist musical comedii genre and a feminine form centralizing'visually and aurally dominant' (Wolf class settings c 2002:22) female characters and performers. burgeoning indr While Broadway musical has adapted seemingly endless the varia- for both 1894's tions of the Cinderella story the world of fashion can be counted among and Stowell 199 its most frequent adaptive settings, changing the tale heroine a fairy into culminated wiih shop model, for girl or whom clothing - mirroring the magical bejewelled portrayed its tit silver and gold gown (Perrault 1988: 18) of the original fairy 116971 tale - successfully purr functions as a means of her transformation and asccnt. Fashion has tradi- of American mi tionally conjured elite connotations, as the haute couture province the of mixture of an C aristocrary. American In contrast, the musical - as a genre of democratic Modiste's)humc myth-making has portrayed - consumer fashion as a modern urban vchi- setting' (Anon.- These cle of self-expression. musicals evoke the themes of self-invention in MIIe. Modist' ideas 'clothes Horatio Alger's novels: transposing of make the man' onto rious shopping predominantly female protagonists. Influenced by thc earlicr British Gaiety (including the o musicals, Broadway's Cinderella fashion musicals proliferated in the first six modem fairy ta1 decades dialogue of the twentieth century in with the assimilation of first- millinery shop. and second-generation Americans (among immigrant groups). Jewish other Cecile hopes to For these immigrant Jews - many of whom worked in the famous Garment working in the r District of New York's Lower East Side fashion served as the means of - are portrayed as 'playng the part right' (Hecht 2011:58). the same time, these musicals At Reflecting P evoked the professional and romantic conflicts of women in the work forcc, of Perrault's Cir shop giris Cinderella musical of whom the of the served as models and Ceciie's hat shol reflections. icon of the sho MIIe. Modiste (1905),Irate (1919) and the Paramount movie musicalFunny source of labour (1957) Face can be considered exemplary among fashion-themcd Cinderella respectabilit/ (I musicals. echo obscrvation lrene's character, \^/hile all three the of title of female shop 'Clothes make an awful difference in a girl' (McCarthy aI. 1919:1: 23), the et ihe shop with tl three musicals vary in their adaptive strategies, contexts and interpretations. Blending Perrault's tale with the Horatio Alger narrative, the operctta MlIe. Furs and fea Modiste depicts the Americanization of its French shop girl hcroine through a ..-. Hard *'c self-made fairy godfather. In contrast, Irene, a modem fable of American meri- Ten hours e' tocracy, rcimagines Cinderella as a shop girl tumed fashion mannequin, while modelling its own sartorial fairy godmother, Madame Lury after the real-life couturier Lucile, Lady Duff-Gordon. Finally, Funny Face rccounts the transfor- Unfulfilled n'ith mation of 'Greenwich Village Cinderella' Jo Stockton (Audrey Hepbum) into a a famous opera 'Clothes make an awf uldifference in a girl'

:'t a Slamorous Paris top Paris model. At the same time, the musical uscs self-reflexive camp tactics 1 The American Progressive era, :in\) and parody to as 'The Woman', as and alienation effects to undercut Jo's makeover Quality which spanned from well as its underlying basis in the feminine mystique. the 1890s through to the end of World War l, encompassed MLLE. MODISTE: THE'ALGERIZATION'OF THE CINDERELLA STORY large sca{e ref orms rn Charles Perrault's labou r and workers' With music by Victor Herbert, and book and lyrics by Henry Blossom, the riBhts, government, ozens Broadway of operetta MIIe. Modiste can be considered among the carlicst of the Cinderella finance, education ; and public heaith, as iale. Using strate- fashion musicais, as set in a 1905 Parisian millinery and starring the fash- model translatable well as the rncreasing ionable Austrian-bom opcra diva Fritzi Scheff as ambitious shop girl Fifi. acccptance of women's of the fairy 'iations Opening on 25 December 1905 at the Knickerbocker Thcatre, where it ran for suffrage (culminating ared in the passage of in such classic 202 performances, MIIe. Modiste produced hit songs such as 'Kiss Me Again'. iir Indy (1956) and the Nineteenth Town and Country praiscd a book that 'treated the whole story comprehcn- Amendment rn 1919) rch as Rodgcrs and sivcly' (Anon.1906: 21), whlle The Chicago Daily Tribune compared Charlcs (1986) (which ,iods Dillingham's lavish production of the musical to artfully assembled millinery rn). The Cindcrella 'trimmed with rare taste and skill' (Hubbard 1905: B). )bility and gender, MIIe. Modiste also followed in the British tradition of George Edwardes' once, populist lt a musical comedics, which transposed Cinderclla stories onto modem middle- lv dominant' QVolf class settings of leisure and commerce (particularly drawing upon the burgeoning industry of the department store, which provided the settings qiv endless varia- for both 1.894's The Shop GirI and 1906's The Girl Behind the Counter; Kaplan :e counted among and Stowell 1994:103). Yet whereas the plots of the Edwardes shows usually :ale heroine into a culminated with the heroine's engagement to a young aristocrat, MIIe. Modiste nagical bejewelled portrayed its title shop girl both marrying a young French nobleman and rriginal fairy tale - successfuily pursuing an operatic career, after the serendipitous intervention Fashion has tradi- of American millionaire Hiram Bent. Town and Country noted thc musical's province re of the mixture of an Old World operetta milieu and New World sensiblltty:'(MIIe. :nre democratic of Modiste's) humor is thoroughly American, but somehow suits well the Parisian odem urban vehi- setting' (Alon. 1 906: 21). rf self-invention in MIIe. Modiste unfolds in the fashion district of the Rue de la Paix: a luxu- rke the man' onto rious shopping destination knorvn for its jewellery stores and fashion salons British r'ier Gaiety (including the originai 1858 couture house of Charles Frederick Worth). The ated six in the first modern fairy tale follows Fifi, the most cfficient hat-seller at Madame Cecilc's ;similation of first- millinery shop. As counterpart to Cinderella's wicked stepmother, Madame mmigrant groups). Cecile hopes to marry Fifi off to her wastrcl son Gaston, in order to keep Fifi .. famous Garment working in the store (Cecilc's daughters, Nanette and Fanchette, in contrast, as the means of i are portrayed as vain but not spiteful ioward Fifi). musicals ne, these Reflecting Progrcssive-era themes,l MlIe. Modiste parallels the drudgery the rvork force, in of Perrault's Cindcrella with the labour of female shop assistants in Madame eJ as models and Cecile's hat shop. The musical draws upon the popular early tlventieth-century icon of the shop girl: women working long hours and 'providing a cheap ovie musical Fr.rzny source of labour', while straining to present the appearance of 'middle-class inemcd Cinderella respectabili!/ (IQplan and Stowell 1994:102). Prior to Fifi's entrance, a chorus i's title character, of femalc shop assistants - short'n assembling hats - contrasts the 1uxury of t|.1919:1: 23), the the shop with the oppressive toil that supports it: rd interpretations. ihe operctta Mlle. Furs and fcathers, buckles, bows! ... heroine through a .... Hard work! Very little payl oiAmerican meri- Ten hours every single dayl nannequin, while @lossom and Herbert 1905: 1-1) ,'. alter the real-life ounts the transfor- Unfulfilled with her work at Madame Cecile's, Fifi dreams both of bccoming ei-Hcpbum) into a a famous opera singer and of marqring the show's Prince Charming, Captain Maya Cantu

Etienne de Bouway. Though enamoured with Fifi, Etienne is forbidden by his Hiram's help (of a te father, Henri de Bouway, the Comte de St. Mar, to marr;r beneath his station. I want your advicel - Over the course of the operetta, the proud and strong-willed Fifi progresses much like yours. Sh from selling hats to accepting the proffered hat of the Count himself: 'Don't pool @lossom and be come me you worry! If ever I marry your nephew, it will when you to with a loan: 'She could I yow hat in hand and beg me to do so' @lossom and Herbert 1905: 2-1-13)! @lossom and Herbc \ /hile Fifi sings that 'Hats Make the Woman' (Blossom and Herbert 1905: \tVhile adapted 1-41), Scheffs shop girl moves through a series of increasingly elaborate demonstrate strong gowns in the original production, from modest modiste uniform, to glittering Ragged Dick, or Stree masquerade regalia at the second act's Charity Bazar, where she performs the relationship oi s under her stage name: Madame Bellini (Figure 1). of a new suit to th The Irish-bom Herbert and the American-bom Blossom reimagined formation into Rich; Cinderella's fairy godmother as Yankee promoter Hiram Bent, who has Dick, MrWhitnev es tagged along with his spendthrift wife to Madame Cecile's. In lieu of the might follow: magical pumpkin-patch transformation of Perrault Hiram passes on to the French shop girl his American credo of pluck and luck. Impressed by Fifi's I hope, my lad, determination (as well as her vocal talent, which she demonstrates to him in time when I rvas the musical sequence'If I Were on the Stage), Hiram emboldens Fifi to leave I would have ot the shop and pursue her operatic dreams, though she is reluctant to accept enough monev t

In an earlier part oi, masculine adaptatio reflection:'lt remind a fairy princess. I ser By contrast, M//r Cinderella, while inr

directly to scenes in l to Fifi's shop girl Cir

Hiram: ..- I'r his tx 'till I 1 Fifi: That': Hiram: Yes, t to gei Fifi: Ah, b but a ambit

rvait r afun and r Fin:Hiram: Then *x:

MlIe. Modiste adapt era during Theodor were at the height Figure 1: Chanty Bazaar scane from Mlle. Modiste, with Fritzi Scheff (cattre) as Fifi; photo by loseph E. Hall mobility and antit (Daoid S. Shields Collection). Roosevelt echoed '1

16 'Clothes make an awful difference in a girl'

e is forbidden by his Hiram's heip (of a fcw thousand lrancs and two hats of her choice): 'Sce here! beneath his station. I want your advicc! The little girl who's going to get these hats is in a position ,'ilied Fifi progresses much likc yours. She's pretty and she's talented, but she's as proud as she is cunt himself: 'Don't poor' (Blossom and Herbert 1,905:1-27). Fifi soon relents, when Hiram offers ou come to me with a loan: 'She could pay it back if she likes - when she becomes successful' :rbert 1905: 2-1-13)l (Blossom and Herbert 1905: 1-28). r and Herbert 1905: While adapted from Cinderclla, MIIe. Modiste's rags-to-riches themes creasingly elaborate demonstrate strong similarities to the paradigmatic 1869 Horatio Alger novel, rmform, to glittering Ragged Dick, or Street Ltfe in Neu) York with Boot-Blacks. The work emphasized rt'here she performs the relationship of self-presentation and social mobility, as Mr Whitney's gift of a new suit to the street urchin Dick enables the latter's eventual trans- ilossom reimagined formation into Richard Huntcr, Esquire. In the following exchange in Ragged :am Bent, who has Dlck, Mr \ /hitney establishes himself as a self-madc man in whose shoes Dick cile's. In lieu of the might follow: iln passes on to the . Impressed by Fifi's I hope, my lad, you will prosper and rise in thc world ... there was a nonstrates to him in time when I was as poor as you .... Yes, my boy, I have known the time rboldens Fifi to leave I would have obliged to go without my dinner because I didn't have s reluctant to accePt enough money to pay for it. (Alger [1869] 2012:58)

ln an earlier paft of the novel, Alger established Dick's rags-to-riches tale as a masculinc adaptation of Perrault's story as the boot-black stares in awe at his reflection: 'It reminds me of Cinderella', said Dick, 'when she was changed into a fairy princess. I see it [slc] one night at Barnum's' (Alger [1869] 2012:19). I3y contrast, MIIe. Modiste reverses the adaptive process back to a female Cindcrclla, while incorporating themes from Raged Dick. MIIe. Modiste refcrs directly to scenes in the novel, as Hiram llcnt becomes an updatcd Mr Whitney to Fifi's shop girl Cinderella:

Hiram: ... l've seen the time when I'd o'fought a dog in the street for his bone - and I couldn't find the dog ....But I kept my nerve 'till I got a start, and I won. My motto is'Never give up'. Fi{i: That's thc motto of lots of rich men. Hiram: Yes, tha(s a joke, but it's true nevertheless - and that's the way to get rich. Fifi: Ah, but you are a man, Monsieur. You can go out into the world" but a woman - what can she do? Do you think I have not one ambition; do you think that I'm content to sell these things and wait on a lot of people that I despise? What chance havc I for a future here? \A4rat chance to marqr a man whom I could love and respect? Hiram: Then what would you do? Fifi: I've a voice, monsieur, and I know I can act, but without either money or influence - I am helpless. @lossom and Herbert 1905: 1 -24-1-25)

MIIe. Modiste adapted the Cinderella story to the context of the Progressive era during Thcodore Roosevelt's presidenry. During this time, Alger's novels were at the height of their popularity, as both s1rynbols of rags-to-riches nto Iry loseph E. HaII mobility and antitrust reform (aws prohibiting corporate monopolies). Roosevelt echoed Alger in'advocating "clean living and decent politics", and Maya Cantu

Roosevelt attended the use of material wealth for ideal ends' (Nackenoff 1,994: 130).'z Through glamour: 'The ch a Washington, DC its eponymous heroine a shop girl who readily absorbs Hiram's lessons of pcrformance of M//e. - notedVariety (Mt Modiste during its pluck, luck and hard work - MIle. Modiste validates the Protestant work ethic Once again, ( out of-town tryout. that also underpinned Alger's nineteenth-century works, in which 'energy range of opportu Ihe According to and indolence suffers' ([1869] 2012:6). As Hiram Ncw York llme' the and industry are rewarded, in a tenement in president, who was tells the Count, 'Wcll, you know what the poet Tennyson said - "Tis only ings section of a jovial 'in a humor' noble to be good!" I say the girl who eams her living is good cnough to widowed 'laughcd hcartily, led Irish m the applause (and) be noble! Calling her "Countcss" wouldn't help a bit' ()lossom and Herbert features a fairy g started all the encores' 1905: 2-1-8). British couturier, {Anon.1905: 5) At the same ttrne, Mlle. Modiste places its Algeresque values not in the Helen Chcston arr A nostalgic Broadway story of a young mary but of a fashionable working girl with a strong voice. As high society as la< rcvival of /renc, starring a Parisian Cinderella who epitomizes values coded as 'American' (when asked Debbie Reynolds as To MIIe. Modi lrenc and George S. if Fifi is American, Hiram replies, 'No, she ought to be. I found her in a shop' Prince Charming lrving,wasalsoa hitat [Blossom and Herbert 1905:2-1,-6]), Fifi is prcsented as a'clever saleswoman' and steel magnal the Minskoff Theatre (ibid: 1-11), 'self-possessed and impudent' (ibid: 1-48), as she in 1923. The production with a spirit Marshall estate to jncludcd interpolations outwits the Count to win Etienne. In this sense, Mlle. Modiste can also be mediary fairy godl by Charles Gaynor and intelpreted not only as a feminization of the Alger myth, but as an early femi- Madame Lucy tc Otis Clement as well as a revised book by Hugh nist musical that celebrates women's contributions to the labour force (though Wheeler and Joseph within the complementary traditional context of marriage). In its resource- Stein, who changed shop girl heroine, and fashionable setting Mlle. Modiste anticipated the lrcne's profession ful from shop giri to piano Cinderella musical Ir ene. tu ner.

As produced by ceorge M. Cohan and Sam IRENE: THE DEMOCRATIZATION OF FASHION, LADY DUFF-GORDON, Harrit Montgomery's AND THE MASQUERADES OF MADAME IUCY lrene O'Dare (7916\ closed out of town, From MlIe. Modiste's Rue de la Paix millinery, Irene resets the Cinderella story only for the author to in modem New York. Among the most commercially successful musicals of rework it three years later as /rene its era, Irene - with a libretto by James Montgomery music by Harry Tiemey and lyrics by Joseph McCarthy - opened on 18 November 791,9, eventually becoming the longest-running show up until that time, at 675 performances.3 The musical juxtaposes WASP Fifth Avenue and immigrant Ninth Avenue, while portraying fashion as the bridge between the two worlds. Like MIIe. Modiste, Irene asserts myths of American democracy, but further accentuates the value of clothing as a means to its realization. Irenelaunched an early 1920s subgenre of musical comedies, such as Sally and Mary (1920), that Gerald Bordman (1982: 106) terms the 'Cinderella musical' (as distinct from the many shows throughout musical theatre history that utilize Cinderella narratives). At the same time, Irene both drew upon the example of earlier shows like the Gaiety musicals and MlIe. Modiste, while anticipating the 1956 Lemer and Loewe classic My Fair Lady.ln fact, Irene may also have drawn inspiration from Pygmalion, which had played on Broadway in 1914, shortly before its legendary West End debut. As Variety obscrved of Irene, 'The basic idea of the story is [...] the same as Shaw's Pygmalion, except in this case [... featuring] the efforts of a designer instead of a professor of English' (Meakin 1,919: 1.8). As with MIIe. Modiste, critics regarded lrene as an unusually intcgrated show. Montgomery too described his intentions vith lrarc:'Being more of a "play" than most musical comedies', the director should focus upon 'the '1919:1). development of the characters' (Montgomery Originating as a play Figure 2: A Nen'\. called lrene O'Dare (1916),4 Irene reveals the influence of lt. G. Wodehouse, $5000 ennine utrtzr Guy Bolton and Jerome Kem's intimate Princess Theatre musicals. At the same which seeks to ytrm' time, the musical, as staged by Edward Royce, won acclaim for its sartorial Courtesy of the Ili:

r8 'Clothes make an awful difference in a girl'

994: 130).'zThrough glamour: 'The chorus was a wonder and the gowns worn were cxquisite', s Hiram's iessons of notcdVarieg O4eakin 1919: 18). 'rotestant work ethic Once again, Cinderella is recast as a shop girl longing for an expanded ls, in which'energy range of opportunities. lrene O'Dare (originally played by Edith Day) lives j 2012:6). As Hiram in a tenement in Manhattan's Ninth Avenue, while working in the fumish- ;on said - "Tis only ings section of a dcpartment store (and serving as the brcadwinner for her , is good enough to widowed Irish mother and younger brother). As with MIle. Modiste, Irene iiossom and Herbert features a fairy godfather figure: Madame Lucy, the trade name of a male British couturier, who transforms Irene as well as her Ninth Avenue friends le values not in the Hclen Chesion and Jane Gilmour into exquisitely gorvned models who pass in ith a strong voice. As high society as ladies (Figure 2). rerican' (when asked T<> Mlle. Modiste's nobly bom Eticnne de Bouway, lrene featwed as tts tound her in a shop' Prince Charming counterpart, Donald Marshalf a young Fifth Avenue scion 'clever saleswoman' and steel magnate, who becomes intrigued by Ircne when she visits the : (ibid: 1-48), as she Marshail estate to fit chair cushions. At once lrene's love interest and an inter- J'Iodiste can also be mediary fairy godfather (along with his friend Bob Harrison, who has brought but as an early femi- Madame Lucy to London, and to whom the lattcr is indebted), Donald iabour force (though .ge). In its resource- 'dlste anticipated the

Y DUFF-GORDON,

; the Cinderella story rccessful musicals of Lsic by Harry Tiemey .ber 1.9L9, eventually Lt 675 performances.3 Tant Ninth Avenue, o rvorlds. Like MIIe. t further accenfuates medies, srch as SaIIy :rms the 'Cinderella usical theake history 'both drew upon the 14lle. Modiste, whlle dv.Infact, Irene may played on Broadway s llaiety obscrved of ,(s Pygnalion, except :ad of a professor of unusually intcgrated 'r:ne: 'Being more of ruld focus upon 'the Jriginating as a play Figure 2: A New York Herald-Tribunc photo, captioned'Edith Day and the ri P. G. Wodehouse, $5000 ermine wrap she wears in that nao and tuneful musical comedy, hene, nusicals. At the same which seeks to proae that znoman is made by her gowns'. Photo by James Abbe. :iaim ior its sartorial Courtesy of the Historicnl Ziegfeld Group. http://historimlzg.pitnigo.com. Maya Cantu

Lucile was listed as 5 arranges for Irene to serve as a model for the coufurier, who needs attractive Lucile's daringly r thc costume designer young women to publicly advertise his designs. Under the impression that of /rene, along with Song of Amorou another desagner billed Madame Lucy is a woman, Donald assures Irene that she will dazzle society: and theatrical cel as'Finchley'. 'Wait, in two days she will transform you, wait until you see what she will mannequins - p: do for you. Frocks and gowns, hats and boots and slippers, she'1l make you a cately in posfure', little princess, a little Cinderella' (N4cCarthy et al. 1919: 1-31). with the democr, Whereas Mlle. Modiste mwed Perrault and Alger, Irene reframed Cinderella Indeed, the femi as an immigration narrative, resonaling with Irish American mobilify. As godmother' (Dul Joseph Curran notes, 'Most Irish Americans were now second or third gener- (such as Dolore's ation [...]. By 1920, more and more Irish were moving up into middle-class millionaire' (Dull jobs and middle-class neighborhoods' (Curan 1989: 30). lrare asserts Ellis lrene demons Island as equal to Pl)rmouth Rock (lr4cCarthy et al. 1919: 1-3), as lrene, under nate'(McCarthy- Madame Lucy's metamorphosis, contradicts the statement that a 'lady must source in Lady I have style, breeding inbom' (McCarthy et al,.191,9:1JT56) by impressing high male designer." L society as 'the real thing' (McCarthy et al. 1,91,9: 1/3-59). Donald's mother, while Montgomt who belongs to a scam Genealogical Society, is quickly taken in, exclaiming, it were done by 'Ask her to pardon the apparent presumption on my part, but the first time I 19L9: "ll3-57)) re: saw her, I knew she was an aristocrat!' (McCarthy et al. 1919: 2-2-11). bold hues (Kapla Irene's themes reflect the democratization of fashion that swept American Madame Lucy m, culturc at the turn of the twentieth cenfury. This era increased the accessi- bility of stylish ready-to-wear clothing, and its persuasiveness as a copy of Head proud; the haute couture'real thing'. As Marlis Schweitzer describes, these develop- One must lea ments in consumer fashion interconnected department stores, theatres (where Lending char female spectators took notes on copying up-to-date gowns) and magazine If in society, t culture. At the same time, they'foregrounded the performativity and fluid- Use proprieh, ily of class as a cultural construct' (Schweitzer 2009:98) and allowed 'work- ing-class women [to take] pleasure in disrupting social hierarchics through fashion' (Schweitzer 2009). Another number The British-bom Lucile, Lady DufFGordon, loomed as a significant figure by Madame Lucr in the democratization of fashion. Both metatheatrically the source of Madame meritocratic mag Lucy, and one of the costume designers of lrene's original productiorys newly glamorous Lucilc was among the most famous fashion desiglers (and taste arbiters) in America. In 1919, Lucile presided over a syndicated column in Hearst's Tlre The Regibilts New York Americnn, showrooms in both London and New York, and a flour- Have made u ishing career in stage costume design. But we're get Cindereila motifs heavily informed Lady Duff-Gordon's career in fash- \Atroops! The ion. For her famous 'mannequin parades', Lucile recruited beautiful young women from the working class suburbs of London and transformed them into 'gorgeous, goddess-like girls' (Duff-Gordon 1932: 69) with mysterious pcrso- Prior to her me nas and glamorous names like Hebe, Gamela and l)olores (the latter, bom social perception Kathlcen Rose, became famous through her later'glorification' tnThe Zie{eld with him at the I FoIIies, for which Lucile designed the costumes from 1915 to 1920). As Lucile male business a: recounted in her autobiography: to Donald. She r terriblc, I was hu Is there a woman in the world who will not respond in her own ing at a Philadell personality to the influence of lovely clothes? I realized that here was and drive, while a complete metamorphosis [...]. With amused eyes, I watched them her specch (in c, develop a hundred little airs and gaces, watched them copy the peer- opportunities, in esses and famous actresses who came into my salons, until it became second nature to them to look and behave like women whose eistence Irene: \\ had bcen unknown to them a few short weeks before. I, (Duff-Gordon 1932:71) cl 'Clothes make an awf uldifference in a girl'

r, who needs attraclive Lucile's daringly sensual'personality dresses' (with such names as'A Frenzied 6. Montgomcry's er the impression that Song of Amorous Things') were pricey luxuries consumcd by thc social elite contradrctory deprction of Madame Lucy's she will dazzle socieLy'. and theatrical celebrities. Nevertheless, Lucile's coaching of her working-class 'ef feminacy' is notable vou see what she will mannequins prototypes of the Ziegfeid showgirl, whom she drilled intri- Descri bcd as 'not a - Nancc', and'manly pers, she'll make you a cately in posture, movement and carriage (Schweitzer 2009: 199) - resonates under hrs femininity' :1-31). with the democratization of fashion informing thc plot and themes ol lrene. (],9t9 r-3-47), Madame rrie reframed Cinderella Indeed, the female Pygmalion Lucile viewcd hcrself in the role of a'fatry Lucy nevertheless elicits homophobic dmerican mobility. As godmother' (Duff-Gordon 1932: 77) to her mannequins, as her prot6g6cs ieactions from /rene's second or third gener- (such as Dokrres) went on to marry 'the fairy princc, or rather al American ma le cha raaters when N adamc Lucy tries Lg up into middle-class millionaire' (Duff-Cordon 1932: 245). to embrace Donald 30). Irate asserts Ellis Irene demonstrated numerous simiiarities betr,veen the 'dapper, cffcmi- in gratitude, the 9:1-3), as Irene, under nate' (McCarthy et al. 191,9:1,-3-47) Madame Lury and the character's satiric latter asks him,'Why 'lady don't you thank Bob?' ment that a must source in Lady Duff-Gordon, dcspite the twist of a femaie trade name for a (Montgomery rgrg: -56) by impressing high male designer.6 Like Lucile, Madame Lury comes to New York from London, 2/2-2r) -59). Donald's mother, while Montgomery's descriptions of Madamc Lucy's designs ("'bizNre" i ly takcn in, exclaiming, it were done by any other than a master of dressmaking' (McCarthy et al. rart, but the first time I 1919:113-57)) resemble the signaturc stylc of Lucile with her light fabrics and 1.1919:2-2-11). bold hues (Kaplan and Stowcll 1994: 39). Like Lucile with her mannequins, rn that swept American Madame Lucy meticulously drills Irene, Helen and Jane: increased the accessi- ,asiveness as a copy of Hcad proud and high, haughty sigh, twinkling eye, :scribes, these develop- Onc must lcarn - how to tum, stores, theatres (wherc Lending charm to your gown. gowns) and magazine If in society, high society, one would seek improvement, rrformativity and fluid- Usc propricty, great propriety, in each little movement. )8) and allowed'work- (McCarthy et al. 1919: 1.13-54) ial hierarchies through Another number in lrane, nVe're Getting Away With If - sung as a sextet d as a significant figure by Madame Lucy, Donald, Bob and the three women - celebrates fashion as r the source of Madame meritocratic masqucrade and disruptor of social hierarchy, as Irenc and her ; original productiorys newly glamorous Ninth Avenue friends fool the Fifth Avenue eiitc: ; (and taste arbiters) in :olumn in Hearst's The The Regibilts and the Dinbrmoores \ew York, and a flour- Havc made us several overtures But we're getting away with it, :rdon's career in fash- Whoops! Thcy'il never know. ruited beautiful young (McCarthy et al. 1919: 212-23) transformed them into rvith mysterious perso- Prior to her metamorphosis, Irene discusses her awarencss of fashion as olores (the latter, bom social perception. !\4ren Donald apologetically asks Irenc to stay for dirLner ification' in The ZieSeld with him at the Marshall mansion (after Irene has been harassed by a visiting 915 to 1920). As Lucile male business associate of the former), Irene loquaciously unfolds her story to Donald. Shc rccounts years of harsh poverty and iow wages -'O[ it was terrible, I was hungry all thc timc' (McCarthy et al. 1919: 1-21) - while work- -espond in her ornn ing at a Philadelphia department storc. Irene charms Donald with her candour 'alized that here was and drive, while asserting her philosophies: that only her appearance and not i.es, I watched them her speech (in contrast to Eliza Doolittle) prevents her from obtaining better them copy the peer- opportunities, including the chance to marry out of her poverty: ions, until it became nen rvhose existcnce Irene: Wcll, you're interesting too, even if you don't talk as much as lre. I do. We girls don't meet many men like you, we don't get the Duff-Gordon 1,932 71) chance. I know girls who are lots of fun, prctty, beautihrl .... rtu -r 3r-!| l:n- I bet you there are a lot of men who would like to meet them, have figured, qq'E": l-e :' ]; ;-.!:E but even then we couldn't go out with them because we ain't times than th i,J€ ;JJ'a tr!?-?i 3::, ir'c -a-re: f-:=-. A- ae got any decent clothes to wear. Clothes make an awful differ- taken their cu ;€r-e.e: -:-gw9rth, ence in a girl, and just because we ain't got them, don't think we :-€ --::::r of the help ':r-3: i:esrdent. don't know about them. We can't seeing what other girls have, and in the shop windows and evening papers. Gee, I talk Though producec careless, we all talk that way - but you wouldn't know us when the film drew mu, we put on airs, honest we can talk and act like real ladies. Donen, co-star ar Dona-ld: You can? who also wrote r Irene: Honest, it's not as difficult as it sounds. We take off [on] the Ira Gershwin. swell customers who come to the store and you can't tell the Based on the difference " ' also wrote the fil; (McCarthy et al. 1g1g: 1-23) life relationship c as creative consu Elaborating upon her ideas, Irene recounts the story of her'Alice Blue Gown':7 transformed the the frock given to her by a newly affluent female friend: $85 unlikely fashion r Funny Face satiiz In my sweet little Alice Blue Gown, feminine'New L When I first wandered down into town, Dior and Hubert I was both proud and shy, as 'Empathicalisrr As I felt every eye/ Reflecting the But in every shop window I'd primp, passing by. drew upon the c Then in manner of fashiory I'd frown, Mlle. Modiste, th< And the world seemed to smile all around. Irene it recounts I Till it wilted I wore iL In its preoccupat I'11 always adore it, different context My sweet little Alice Blue Gown. The Feminine My (lr4cCarthy et aL. 1979: 7-24) women's magazir Funny Face premi, On one level, Irene enacts what Joseph Roach has described as 'Cinderella's such as McCalI's elevation from utensil to omament' (Roach 2007:1,82) as Irene moves from a self-sufficient shop gul to fashion mannequin to the eventual bride of Donald a suwey with ah the mic Marshall. Yet the 1919 musical also focused upon a strong-willed heroine of white, (Friedan 2C who simultaneously transforms and democratizes her prince. As Stuart Hecht [1963] (Coontz notes, 'By accepting hene and acknowledgng her as lrish, Donald Marshall 2011.:1.1( Funny Face s-a and his ilk transform both the makeup and definition of their own beliefs. festo. As with M/l This in tum similarly redefines the constitution of their social class and, in 'extraordinarily sh a sense/ of exactly what is "American"' (Hecht 20L1,: 1"16). Like Fifi in MIle. ion parades, with Modiste, the title character of Irene is not presented as a passive Cinderella, but Face's narratle rt a young woman who shrewdly intuits identity as a fluid social construct, and beauty marrj uses her ability to manipulate the codes of fashion to achieve her ambitions. who and complex lel-e In contrast, fashion's relationship with beauty rather than with class, immi- songs Pir gration arrd assimilation informs the themes of Funny Face. -'Think ism of the feminil sion of the Cinder FASHTON, SATTRE AND THE FEM|NINE MYST|QUE tN FUNNY FACE As a Cinderell Starring Audrey Hepbum as book clerk Jo Stockton and Fred Astaire as fash- Audrey Hepbum, ion photographer Dick Avery, Funny Face also lransposed Perrault's fable to a Having also appe; fashion world milieu. Bosley Crowther observed of the film: movie star would Fair Lady, the sta This is major magrrificence - appropriate decor and visual stylc that lend of Funny Face. BoI to the Cinderella story a modem-Cinderella atmosphere. The gentlemen blend a Cinderelia 'Clothes make an awf ul difference in a girl'

ould like to mcct them, have figured, probably rightly, that there is nothing morc illusory in our 8. A Hollywood traditron . ihem because wc ain't times the costly adomment of females. And from that they have of fashion thcmed than Cinderelia musicals s make an awful differ- taken their cue. also spanncd the 1ot them, don't think we (1957:16) 1930s 1950s, including ;eeing what other girls Cover Glrl (Columbia, 1944) and Lavely to :ning papers. Gee, I talk Though produced at Paramount (duc to Hepburn's contract with the studio), LookAt (MGM, 1952), ,r'ouldn't know us when the film drew much of its crcative team from MGM, including director Stanley based on the 1933 Kcrn act Jeromc Otto like real ladies. Doncry co-star and vocal arranger Kay Thompson, and produccr l{oger Edens, Harbach musical who also rvrote new songs to accompany c'xisting standards by Ceorge and Rabcrta s. Wc take off [on] the Ira Gershwin. .' and you can't tell the Ilased on the unproduced play Wedding Day by Leonard Gershe, who also wrote the film's screenplay, Funny Face drew inspiration from the real- Jarthy et il.1919:1-23) life relationship of fashion photographcr Richard Avedon (who also served as creative consultant on the film) and his wife Doe Avedon. Avedon had her'Alice Blue Cown':7 transformed the latter, a bookish and beautiful young woman, into an i:end: unlikely fashion model in thc pages of llarper's Bazaar. At the same timc, Funny Face satirizes the two primary cultural exports of 1950s Paris: hyper- feminine 'New Look' couture, exemplified by such designcrs as Christian Dior and Hubcrt de Givenchy, as well as Etstentialist philosophy (spoofed as 'Empathicalism'). Rcflecting the prosperous consumerism of 1950s America, Futtny Face drcw upon the conventions of earlier Cinderella fashion musicals.s Like MIIe. Modiste, the film takes place within a Paris fashion setting, and like Irene it recounts the transformation of a shop assistant into a mannequin. In its preoccupation with gender myths, howevcr, Funny Face occupied a different context from the earlier musicals. Anticipating Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique (1,963), thc film draws upon the world of 1950s -arthy et d. 1919:1-24) women's magazines and their imperativcs of feminine loveliness. In fact, .cnbed as'Cinderella's Funny Face prcmiered the same year that Friedan - a veteran of magazines as researching her landmark study conducting as Irene moves from a such McCaIl's - started by 'entual bride of Donald a survey with alumnae at Smith College, evcntually defining the plight sLrong-willed heroine of the white, middie-class housewife as 'the problem that has no name' (Friedan The Feminine Mystique rrince. As Stuart Hecht 119631 2001: 13) with the 1963 publication of I:rsh, Donald Marshall (Coontz 2011: 146). Face received as a fcminist mani- n oi their own beliefs. Funny was by no means produced or Funny Face as an eir social class and, in festo. As with Mlle. Modiste and lrene, audicnces consumed 'extraordinarily (Crowther 1957 16) spectaclc full of glamorous fash- i16). Like Fih n MIIe. stylish' Yet while Funny rassive Cinderella, but ion parades, with costumes by Edith Head and Givenchy. Face's recounts a modem Cinderella story of an unconventional :.1 social construct, and nar:.allc achieve her ambitions. beauty rvho marries an older Prince Charming, the film works on multiple (as Roger Edens' rhan \vith class, immi- and complex 1cvcls, using camp strategies wcll as two of ::\Ce songs Pink' and'On How to Be Lovely') to undercut the essential- . -'Think - ism of the feminine mystique, as well as thc traditional ornamental progres- sion of the Cinderella narrative. EIN FUNNY FACE As a Cinderella story Funtty Face also drew upon the gamine persona of d Frcd Astaire as fash- Audrey Hepburn, who frcquently embodied variations of Pcrrault's heroine. ed Perrault's fable to a Having also appeared as the title character of Sabrina (1954), the Belgian-born :iirn: movie star would later play Eliza Doolittle in the 1964 film adaptatitn of My Fair Lady, the stagc version of which opened a year bcfore the production risual style that iend of Fuwty Face. Both the period-set My Fair Lady and the modern Funny Face here. The gcntiemen blend a Cindcrclla makeover narrative with a Pygmalion/Galatea relationship, Maya Cantu

with Dick Avery corresponding to a sartorial Henry Higgins. As Hecht notes sexual sell targeted of the lJrgmalion motif: ironically illustrate Hepburn's Jo, thro ... unlike in the case with Prince Charming, the woman's outward shedding her bools appearance is itself a direct creation of the man and hence oddly as both fashion mor narcissistic. It is really all about him, not her, and functions to fill his Similarly, anoth needs, though she herself may benefit from it. to Be Lovely'- drar (Flecht 2011: 118) nine myths enshri-r two-thirds of the rs Along thcse lines, Funny Face transforms Cinderella/Galatea into Jo Stocktory a agreed to become : brainy young woman who works at the Embryo Concepts bookshop. Through Maggre and Dick .: the course of Furury Face, Dick Avery engineers Jo's metamorphosis from a the special collectio 'Greenwich Village ugly duckling' (Scheuer 1957: F2) to a swanlike fashion 'Empathicalist' phiir mannequin who represents the'Quality Woman'in the epon;rmous maga- the middle-aged D zine. While Dick serves as Jo's Pygmalion-like Prince Charmtng, Funny Face the shoot at a sma features a Quality trio of fairy godmother figures: not only Diclg but fashion wedding day. Surrc editor Maggie Prescott (a brassy satire of Harper/s Bazaar's Diana Vreeland), a glistening pond, J and couturier Paul Duval, who introduces a ravishingly gowned Jo to Parisian to the Gershwins" fashionistas: 'My friends, you saw enter here a waif, a gamine, a lowly cater- fairy tale romance ( pillar. We open the cocoon, but it is not a butterfly that emerges ... it is a bird 'On How to Be of paradise' (Donen et d. 1957). meet the press. The As played by Kay Thompson, Maggie Prescott represents a complex strategically signfic female Fdry Godmother. Funny Face portrays Maggie as a dynamic trend- editing (Figures i5 setter and brilliant businesswoman spreading 'pizzazz' through the pages of with almost Brechti Quality Magazine. In fact, Funny Face aliies the anti-intellectua1 Maggie and a painted backdrop, the bookish Jo as unusually accomplished women who defy 1950s gender as a ladder and sta myths. Maggie profits immensely from exploiting a feminine mystique she both litera11y and fi1 clearly does not subscribe to herself. Charging through the hyper-stylized, visually flamboyant landscape of 'Think Pink', with its succession of magenta- clad models captured in Avedon's freeze frames, Maggie proclaims the colour the new fashion gospef with her satiric musical ad slogan: 'Think pink when you shop for summer clothes/Think pin( think pink if you want that quelque chose'. MaggSe appears at the end of the number wearing a severe grey-green dress suit: 'Me [wear pink?]. I wouldn't be caught dead' (Donen et al. 1957). Even as the number indulges in over-the-top glamour, 'Think Pink' sati- rizes the conformist consumerism of the fashion magazine industry. The number implicitly criticizes what Friedan, n The Feminine Mystique, would later cail 'the sexual sell': the advertising indusfiy's manipulation of women's identity and self-estcem into consumption, particularly the purchasing of beauty and fashion products. Friedan indicted advertisers for'persuading housewives to stay at home, mesmerized in front of a television set, their nonsexual human needs unnamed, unsatisfied, drained by the sexual sell into the buying of things' (119631 2001: 326). With 'Think Pink', Fwmy Face depicts Maggie Prescott - and Quality Magazine - as a persuasive agent of the sexual hard-sell, as she sings, 'Now I wouldn't presume to tell a womal/what a woman ought to think/But tell her if she's gotta think, think pink' (Donen et al. 1957).In the elaborate fantasy sequence at the middle of the number (choreographed by Bobby Connelly), director Donen not only shows beautiful women modelling gowrrt furs and jewellery but extends their consumerism into recreational and household commodities: pink beach balls, toothpaste and shampoo, satirically demon- strated by Avedon's models. As Friedan noted in The Faninine Mystique, the Figures 3-5: PuIIhry

24 'Clothes make an awf ul difference in a girl'

liggt s. As Hecht notes sexual seil targeted women, and Furuty Face's co-creators Edens and Gershe ironically illustrate both the power and the danger of this technique, as Hepburn's Jo, throughout Funrty Face's nanative, increasingly buys into it, re woman/s outward shedding her bookrvorrn identity, and finally becoming fully commodified - n and hence oddly as both fashion modei and bride - by the film's end. I functions to fill his Similarly, another number in Furuty Face - Jo and Maggie's duet 'On How to Be Lovely'- draws upon camp satire to send up and destabilize the femi- (Hecht 2011: 118) nine myths enshrined in the movie's narrative. The number occws roughly two-thirds of the way through Furttty Face, after Hepbum's Jo has reluctantly -latea into Jo Stockton, a agreed to become the 'Quaiity Woman'. At this point, Jo has accompanied pts bookshop. Through Maggre and Dick Avery to Paris, where she is interested less in modelling metamorphosis from a the special collection designed for her by Duval than the chance to meet the I to a swanlike fashion 'Empathicalist'philosopher Emile Flostre. Jo has also begun to fall in love with the eponymous maga- the middle-aged Dick. After a long day of modelling, Jo and Dick conclude Charming, Funny Face the shoot at a sma1l pastoral chapel, where Jo is to pose as a bride on her only Dick, but fashion wedding day. Surrounded by foliage, and flocks of doves and swans around zaar's Diana Vreeland), a glistening pond, Jo and Dick affirm their love through singrng and dancing y gowned Jo to Parisian to the Gershwins' 'He Loves and She Loves', creating a heightened mood of gamine, a lowly cater- fairy tale romance (Figure 3). t emerges .. . it is a bird 'On How to Be Lovely' occurs after this scene, as Maggie prepares Jo to meet the press. The placement of the song after'He Loves and She Loves' is represents a complex strategically significant, through the fi1m's use of song placement and dissolve e as a dynamic trend- editing (Figures 3-5). The idyllic romanticism of the country chapel dissolves, r' through the pages of with almost Brechtian irony, into a stage set constructed for Jo's press debut: ntellectual Maggie and a painted backdrop, with a fake gazebo, fountain and autumnal trees, as weil rho defy 1950s gender as a ladder and stagehands. Here, the film-makers pull the curtains apart - t'eminine mystique she both literally and fig-uratively - to reveai the feminine perfection conveyed by rgh the hyper-stylized, succession of magenta- ;ie proclaims the colour rgan: 'Think pink when i you want that quelque mg a severe grey-green J'(Donen etal. 1,957). irour, 'Think Pink' sati- ragazine industry. The uittirrc Mystique, would rnipulation of women's arly the purchasing of rrtisers for'persuading I a television set, their C by the sexual sell into

)rescott - and Quality rll, as she sings, 'Now I ;ht to think/But tell her n the elaborate fantasy d by Bobby Connelly), lelling gowns, furs and etional and household roo, satirically demon- Fanhine Mysfique, the Figures 3-5: Pullittg tlrc curtains apart: Futttty Face dissoloes front 'S'Wonderful' to 'Ort Hozo to Be Looely'

25 Maya Cantu

Jo/Audrey Hepbum in 'He Loves and She Loves' as an illusion - a mirage that to the artificial star Jo and Maggre continue to lay bare in the song'On How to Be Lovely'. The final shot, of an en number anticipates Friedan's description of the July 1960 issue of McCaIl's: gorvn, shows the b a distant gazebo th The image of rvomen that emerges from this big, pretty magazine is set. Here, the film young and frivolous, almost childlike; fluf$i and feminine; passive; gaily Woman'femininih content in a world of bedroom and kitchen, sex, babies and home. try so has the Hol (Friedan [1963] 2001: 83) Factory: a trontpe I't thc elaborate fanta: 'On How to Be Lovely'wittily critiques these tropes of frivolous contentment. The camp aesth The performance of the song, diegetically on a stage, frames the rvomen's normative' (Cohar, femininily as a deceptive construction. In the dialogue introduction to the notes, MGM - thro number, Maggre, instructing Jo on how to handle the paparazzi, tells her musicals thai, rvith 'Just be charming and answer all of their questions' (Donen et al. 1957). women and men a Converting small, fringed table settings into kerchiefs and aprons, Thompson steeped in subver.c and Hepbum, both 'ladies' wearing biouses and slacks, proceed to satirize the Studios, Funny Foc icon that Friedan called the 'happy houser,vife heroine' ([1963] 2001: 79). As Jo the key members c and Maggie sing of 'the life delirious, nothing's serious', they muse: part of the fablcd l of'Freed's fairies' ( I give you a grarantee, Unit, was openly g; You don't need dough, vator famous for h You don't need a college degree. of Kay Thompson': Make sorrorv incidental, Funny Face drat Let joy be monumental, of femininity throu And you'1l be lovely as can be. series of feminine (Donen et a1. 1957) the Paris Opera - regal ballerina, hol, for her modelline Jo's lack of conformity to her Quality Woman persona is further accented by 1 a scene that follows the number. As Maggie prepares to introduce Jo to the thc princess at the press, Jo and Dick argue behind the curtain about Jo's flirtation with Professor bird by a wicked st Flosire. The trvo get into a hushed but heated argument, as the camera cuts go right on dancinr back and forth across the curtain, and to a well-heeled audience of fashionis- through the narrar tas. Finally, Jo shouts to Dick, 'leave me alone', and knocks donn a fake tree. hc's your Prince C A chain of disasters ensues, as the backdrop and the Quality Magazine sign Funny Face displat both fall dor,r.n, and the fountain topples and spiashes eve4nvhere, drench- nine beauty and i ing Jo in her white ball gown. At that moment, as Maggie gushes about Jo's goes right on danc 'grace, charm, and ineffable poise' (Donen et al. 1957), the curtain opens, and the fountain drenches Maggie and the sfunned audience, mordantly exposing CONCTUSION: Cl the deceptions of 'On Ho'rv to Be Lovely' along with the Qualihl set. AND'MANNERS As 'On How To Be Lovely' demonstrates, neither Jo nor Magge repre- sents conventional 1950s femininity, though Ftuuty Face's Ho11;nvood ending While adapting an enforces it upon Jo, after Hepburn's character embraces new roles as a star cras of fashion, thr fashion model, Dick Avery's muse and, ultimately, his wife. The ending Irene and Fumty F, of Fmtny Face has troubled feminist critics: the film concludes back at the interprcting Amer country chapel, rvith Jo having run ilom a triumphant runway debut, once tives of consumer again dressed in bridal fashion. Here, Dick and Jo reunite, romantically duet 'makes possible :1 ([1985] on'S'Wonderful', and imply their incipient marriage, as well as Jo's renuncia- Wilson 2il tion of her eariier, intellectual identity. musicals simultant Yet viervers can discem an alternative interpretation lo Fututy Face's hnal Alger novels like R scene, through considering it in context rvith the rest of the film, and through nent motif rn Ftnui its element of visual irony. The bucolic scene of the country chapel refers back At thc same tin not only to rvhere 1o and Dick first ,lanced to 'He Loves and She Loves', but none of thc three

26 'Clothes make an awf uldifference in a girl'

-^lusion-amiragethat to the artificial stagc sct dcstroyed by Jo after 'On How To Be Love1y'. The ion'to Be Lovely'. The final shot, of an embracing Dick and Jo, with the latter dressed in her bridal 'ri.l issue of McCaII's: gown, shows thc two floating on a piece of driftwrxd, towards the vision of a distant gazebo that looks quite similar to that in the Quality Magazine stage ;. pretty magazine is set. Here, the film-makers slyly sccm to suggest that, just as Jo's 'Quality :inine; passive; gaily Woman' femininity has been meticulously constructed by the fashion indus- :bies and home. try so has the Hollywood romantic ending been constructed by the Dream :iedan [1963] 2001: 83) Factory: a trompe /'oell romantic illusion that has no more basis in reality than the claborate fantasies in the pages of Quality Magazine. rir.olous contentment. The camp acsthctic and its strategies of 'achieving ironic distance from the :. tames the women's normative' (Cohan 2005: 1) play a key role in Funrty Face. As Steven Cohan ::e introduction to the notes, MGM * throughout the 1940s and 1950s - consistently produced movie :.e paparazzi, te1ls her musicals that, with stars like Judy Garland and Gcne Kelly, placcd androgl'nous , (Donen et aL. 1,957). women and men at the centre of the frame, in elaborate production numbers a:ld aprons, Thompson steeped in subvcrsive gender artifice. Despitc its production by I'aramount . proceed to satirize the Studios, Funny Face is cssentially an MGM musical in form and spirit, and -19631 2001: 79). AsJo the key members of its creative team - Donen, Edens and Thompson - were part of the fabled MGM 'Freed Unit', with its unabashcdly quecr population ' , :hev muse: of'Freed's fairies' (Cohan 2005: 1). Edens, a central creative force in the Freed Unit, was openly gay, and Thompsory whilc heterosexual, was a fashion inno- vator famous for her'masculine' style, marketing her own 1950s fashion line of Kay Thompson's 'Fanry Pants' at Saks Fifth Avenue (Irvin 2010: 239). Funny Face draws attention to its own ambivalence about the construction of femininity through the artifice of fashion. After Dick shoots Jo posing as a serics of feminine archetypes - Anna Karenina at the train statiory Isolde at (Donen et aI. 1.957) the Paris Opera - he shoots her posing in front of a fountain, dresscd like a rcgal ballerina, holding a dovc. Prcviously, Dick had given Jo narrative sct-ups : is lurther accented by for hcr modclling poscs, but this time she supplies the story: 'I know .. . . ['m r ro introduce Jo to the the princess at the ball, and the bird is really Prince Charming, tumed into a :-:rtation with Professor bird by a wicked sorcerer, but we've decided not to let it spoil the ba1l, and to :nt, as the camera cuts go right on dancing, as if nothing has happened'. Dick is surprised that Jo secs i audience of fashionis- through the narrative: 'You've outgrown me. Alright, now give him a kiss, :ocks dor,,rn a fake tree. he's your Prince Charming, isn't he? Well, get happy!' (Donen et al. 1957). Qunlinl Magazhrc stgn Funny Face displays the same ironic double vision towards Cinderclla's femi- :s everynvhere, drench- ninc beauty and marriage to Princc Charming cvcn as the movie musical rgge gushes about Jo's goes right on dancing. ihe curtain opens, and ce, mordantly exposing CONCTUSION: CIN DERELLA STORI ES, BROADWAY MUSICAIS :e Qirrrll{r set. AND'MANNERS OF FASHION' : -1o nor Maggie repre- -='s Hollyvood ending \A/hiie adapting and interpreting the Cinderelia myth to distinct contcxts and :cs ne\v roles as a star eras of fashion, the three musicals overlap in a variety of ways. Mlle. Modiste, :ris u'ife. The ending Irene and Funny Face adapted Penault's tale to fashion world scttings while ;oncludes back at the interpreting Amcrican democracy as connected to the individualistic nana- 1: run\vay debut, once tivcs of consumer fashion: as an'art form and slmbolic social system' which .:ite, romantically duet 'makes possiblc thc exploration of altcmatives', as described by Elizabeth ([1985] :s rvell as Jo's renuncia- Wilson 2003: 245). \AtLile MIIe. Modiste does so explicitly, all three musicals simultaneously feminize the assimilationist rags-to-richcs motifs of :n lo Fttrnty Face's hnal Alger novels like Ragged Dlck, though the performance of class is less a promi- ,: lhe film, and through nent motif in Funny Face, which focuses on the gender myths of thc 1950s. ::ltw chapel refers back At the same time, while playing upon themes of 'clothes make the woman', 'es and She Loves', but none of the three musicals depicts its Cinderella figure as merely dcfined by

27 Maya Cantu

feminine glamour or by a fairy tale marriage, as the Cinderella narrative has Curran, Joseph (1 been traditionally conceplualized (an interpretation entrenched by the 1950 American Moci Disney animated fi1m). In interpreting Cinderella's labours within modem Donen, Stanlcy, E, American contexts, these musicals reimagine her as an active membcr of thc DVD, Los Ang work force. Though she may renounce work upon marriage (as in the case of Duff-Gordon, Luc Irene, and implied iilt. Funny Face), Fifr, Irene and Jo are all represented as spir- A. Stokes Cor ited, asscrtive and resourcefll characters, with sharply articulated goals and Friedan, Bctty ([i9 ambitions. and Co. While the Cinderella fashion musical appeared with less frequency after Hecht, Stuart (201 the 1960s, the genre finds analogies in an omnipresent convention of the Masical, Neu" Broadway musical: the dressing song. Feminine-themed examples of the dress- Hubbard, W. L. ( ing song include 'My Strongest Suit', Amneris's showstoppcr from the 2000 5 December. p (2010), Elton John-Tim Rice musical Aida, demonstrating that, 80 years after lrene, Irvin, Sam clothes still 'make an awful difference in a girl'. The song suggcsts the 'ambi- and Schuster. guity of capitalism'replicated in the fantasies of fashiory which simultaneously John, Elton and I ;lays waste' and'manufactures dreams and images' (Wilson [1985] 2003: 14)' Burbank, CA: Celebrating fashion as both consumer luxury and flamboyant expression of Kaplan, Joel H. an identity, Rice's lyrics cycle back to numbcrs Ike Mlle. Modiste's'Hats Make University Pre the Woman': '\Arhether hat or wig or turban/Whether clad boudoir or urban/ McCarthy, Josepl Not to strut your stuff outrageously is a crime' (]ohn and Rice 2000). (original Broa. ln this sense, one might speculate that the contemporary inheritor of the House, East L Cinderella fashion musical, in the tradition of MlIe. Modiste, Irene and Funny Meakin, Hardie (. Face, arenot only such productions as Douglas Carter Beane's camp-flavoured Montgomery, Jar 2013 revisal of llodgers and Hammerstein's Cindereha (with its dazzling quick iibretto lypes changes of gowns by William Ivey Lon$, but such various GLBT- and drag- Haddam, CT. themld shows as La Cage aux FoIIes (L983), Hedwig and the Angry Inch (1999), Nackcnoff, Caroi and, in place of Perrault's 'little glass slipper', Knky Boots (2012). These musi- Political Disca: cals transpose themes of 'clothes-make-the-woman' to stories about the Pcrrault, Charlcs performance of gender and sexuality. At the same time, they expand the musi- A Casebook (e, joseph cal's paradigm of Cinderella, her gender identities and the diverse ways in Roach, (2( which she imagines attending the ball. while contrasting sharply with earlier Scheuer, Philip X modeis, these musicals suggest that 'manners of fashion' (to qtote lrene's yet uses ntl nt 'Alice Blue Gonm') continue to pewade the Broadway musical, and are likely Schweitzer, Marl never to go out of style. and Arnericmt Wilson, Elizabeti rev. and upd; REFERENCES Wolf, Stacy (2Cttt- A1ger, Horatio (118691 2012), Ragied Dick, or Street Life in Ne.o Yorkwith Boot- Musical, Anr. Blacks, Ncw York Start Publishing LLC. Anon. (1905), 'President has good la:ugh' , The Nau York Times,10 October, p' 5' SUGGESTED CI (1906), 'The theater', Town and Country, 4May, p- 21. Cantu, M. (2015) (original Broadway Blossom, Henry and Herbert, Victor (1905), MIIe. Modiste Irene and Fu - East libretto typescript), Scherer Library, Goodspeed Opcra House, Theatre 9:7, t Haddam, CT. Bordman, Gerald (1982), American Musical Comedy: From Adonis to Dreamgirls, CONTRIBUTOR New York: Oxford University Press. is a Cohan, Stcven Q005),Incongruous Entertainment: Camp, CulturalValue, and the Maya Cantu MGM Musical, Durham, NC: Duke University Press. her Doctor oi Fir' Coontz, Stephanie Q011), A Strange Stirring: The Feminine Mystique and and her MFA rn American Womst at the Dawn of the 7 960s, New York: Basic Books. Theatcr Compar Crowther, Bosley (1957) , 'Funny Face Birngs Spring to Music Hall', The New Men, George Kc York Times,29 March, p. L6. Druten's Lortdoti

z8 'Clothes make an awf in uldifference a =

' Cinderella narrative has Curran, Joseph (1989), Hibentian Green on the Siloer Screen: The Irish and entrenchcd by the 1950 Ameican Mrruies, New York: Greenwood Press. , iabours within modem Doncn, Stanley, Edens, Roger and Gershe, Leonard ([19571 2001), Funny Face, an active member of ihe D\D, Los Angeles: Paramount. rarriage (as in the case of Duff-Gordory Lucile (1932), Discretions and Indiscretions, New York: Frederick :e al1 represented as spir- A. Stokes Company. riv articulated goals and Fricdan, Betty ([1963] 2001), The Feminine Mystique, New York: W.W. Norton and Co. nith lcss frequency aftcr Hecht, Stuart (201,1), Transposing Broadway: lews, Assimilation, and the American -esent convention of the Musical, New York: I'algrave Macmillan. red examples of the dress- Hubbard, W. L. (1905), 'News of the theatcrs', The Chicago Daily Tribune, rh'stopper from the 2000 5 December, p. 8. :irai, 80 years after lrene, Irvin, Sam (2010), Kay Thompson: From Funny Face to Eloise, New York: Simon song suggests the 'ambi- and Schuster. rn. rvhich simultaneously John, Elton and llice, Tim (2000), Aida, Ongpal Broadway Cast Recording, t\\-ilson [1985] 2003: 14). llurbank, CA: Buena Vista Ilecords. ,amboyant expression of Kaplan, Joel H. and Stowell, Sheila (1994), Theatre and Fashion,IJK: Cambridge ::e. Modiste's'Hats Make University Prcss. :r clad boudoir or urban/ McCarthy, Joseph, Montgomery, James and Tierney, Harry (19\9), Irene, arrd Rice 2000). (original Broadway librctto typescript), Scherer Llbrary, Goodspeed Opera rrnporary inheritor of the House, East Haddam, CI. \fodiste, Irene and Funny Meakin, Hardie (1919), 'Le$timatc: Irene', Vaiety,13 November, p. 18. : Beane's camp-flavoured Montgomery James (1919), 'Note to stage director', lrene (oigpteil Broadway ,z (rvith its dazzling quick libretto typescript), Scherer Library, Goodspeed Opera House, East ,'arious GLBT- and drag- Haddam, CT. rnd tlrc Angry Inch (1999), Nackenoff, Carol (1994), The Fictional Republic: Horatio Alger and American 3,mfs (2012). These musi- Political Discourse, New York: Oxford University Press. in' to stories about the Perranlt, Charlcs (11697) 1988), Cinderella, or The Little Glass Slipper, Cinderella: rc, they expand the musi- A Casebook (ed. Alan Dundes), Madis<>n: University of Wisconsin Press. and the diverse ways in Roach, Joseph (200n, h, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Prcss. shng sharply with earlier Scheuer, Philip K. (1957), 'A town called Hollywood: Funny Face lcns magic, ashion' (to quote lrene's yet uses no new tricks', The Los Angeles Times, T Apil, p. F2. :r'musical, and are likely Schweitzer, Marlis (2009), INhen Broadutay Was the Runway: Theater, Fashiort and American Culture, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Wilson, Elizabcth ([1985] 2003), Adomed in Dreams: Fashion and Modernity, rev. and updated ed., London: Virago Prcss Ltd. Wolf, Stacy Q002), A Problem Like Maria: Gender and Sexuality in the American '.-: nt Nao York with Boot- Musical, Ann Arbor: Univcrsity of Michigan Press. ,; Thrrcs,10 October, p. 5. SUGGESTED CITATION 21. l. Cantu, M. (2015), "'Clothes make an awful difference in a girl": MIIe. Modiste, :Jiste @riginal Broadway Irene and Funny Face ed Opera House, East as Cinderella fashion musicals', Studies in Musical Theatre 9:1,, pp.13-30, doi: 10.1386/smt.9.1.13 1 ','trrt Adottis to Dreamgirls, CONTRIBUTOR DETAILS :tt, CulturalValue, and the Maya Cantu is a recent graduate of yale school of Drama, where she received r'SS. her Doctor of Fine Arts degree in Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism in2014, Femirine Mystique and and her MFA in 2010. Maya is Dramaturgical Advisor at off-Broadway's Mint ork: Basic Books. Theater Company, where she has worked on Ferenc Molndr's Fashions for :tr \,{usic Hall', The New Men, George KelI5/s The Fatal Weahtess and philip Goes Forth, and john Van Druten's London wall. Hcr book, American Cindereilas: Imagining the working

29 llalra Cantu

j

* the Brmdany Musical Stage, 9rrl from hene fo Gypsy, will be published by Studies in Musical Tl Palgrave Macmillan. Volume 9 Number r o 2ot-5 lntellect Ltd Ar Maya Cantu has asserted her right under the Copyttght, Designs and patents Act, 1989 to be identified as the author of this wo* in the lormat that was submitted to Intellect Ltd.

REBECCA WARNEI Anglia Ruskin Uni'

The Bea, trope in theatre

ABSTRACT Fairy tale haoe prwA theatre, hunmer thq ' widely in musicab. Tl Beauty and the Beast are not direct adapta the Asney oercion of adaptation, and the (2003) and Shrek ttre four musicnls are htdt migfitbe said to inErp from nanatological rt synchronic - diadwt rnyth' and Grehnqs'g binary oppwitepahst

Fairy tales have prorri cal theatrg however found more widely i

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