CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE AGNES DE MILLE'S DANCE IN THE AMERICAN MUSICAL THEATRE AND ITS INFLUENCE ON BROADWAY A thesis submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Theatre Arts by Michelle Arlene Burkow January 1987 The Thesis of Michelle Arlene Burkow is approved: Paulette Shafranski, PhD William H. Zucche~ PhD Noreen C. Barnes, PhD, Chair California State University, Northridge ii DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my mother, who always encouraged me to try and achieve any goal I set for myself; and also to my grandfather Aron, who taught me about life and the joy of learning. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I wish to thank the following people: Dr. Noreen Barnesforher faith and discerning eye; Dr. Paulette Shafranski for her neverending insights into the psyche as they relate to dance and life; Dr. William Zucchero for his knowledge of the little-known facts of American theatre; James Bell for his unselfish giving in regard to the art of acting; Alice Ashford for her love of the dance and amusing anecdotes; Tom Callas and David Cosio for their wonderful explanations on Broadway dance and music; and especially, Mrs. Walter Prude, for having given the world a part of herself expressed through acting and dance artistry. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page Dedication . iii Acknowlegement .................................. iii Abstract ........................................ v Introduction . 1 1. De Mille's Early Dance Endeavors .••••••.••.. 5 2. De Mille's "Country" Shows and Their Revivals 13 A. Revivals ................................ 24 3. De Mille's Other Post-Oklahoma! Works ..•.•.• 36 4. De Mille's Influence on Other Choreographers and Future Broadway Musicals .••......•••.. 44 A. Post-de Mille Choreographers and Future Broadway Musicals •.••.••••..•.••.••• o o 48 Conclusion ...................................... 57 Works Cited ..................................... 60 iv ABSTRACT AGNES DE MILLE'S DANCE IN THE AMERICAN MUSICAL THEATRE AND ITS INFLUENCE ON BROADWAY by Michelle Arlene Burkow Master of Arts in Theatre Arts In the twentieth century, many forms of dance have graced Broad- way's stages, but none has achieved the prominence of the classical ballet. Agnes de Mille, in March 1943, became the first choreographer to implement balletic technique into a major dance compo~i~ion-ih;~u~h <' --·---··-,·· -·. ,., •• her work in Rodgers and Harnrnerstein's Oklahoma!. This one achievement led to a complete change of expectations for dance endeavors on Broad- way and set a new and higher standard in terms of compositional accom- plishrnent. The main goal of this thesis is to survey de Mille's achievements in the choreographic art and attempt to explain how these endeavors enriched and changed the terpsichorean splendor of Broadway during the second half of this century. The secondary emphasis of this view of de Mille's contributions is to establish her place within the annals of Broadway history by looking at the musical productions of the v post-de Mille era and examining her position within the overall scope of the American musical theatre. The long-range goal of this thesis is to provide a comprehensive survey on the works of one of America's most giving and talented choreographers, Agnes de Mille, who is usually overlooked in the his­ tory of the musical theatre in America, and who gave the United States' Broadway theatres an unforgettable gift: classical ballet as a driving force for a musical production. vi r . Introduction During the early years of the American musical theatre, spanning from the 1860's to the early 1900's, there were two widely-used forms of dance entertainment: burlesque and tap/softshoe. However, in 1943, through Agnes de Mille's work, ballet became the vogue and the primary dance form on Broadway. In her shows, de Mille was able to integrate classical ballet with native dances, as well as incorporate the dance styles that had previously been seen on Broadway. This thesis will focus on de Mille's use of ballet and other dance forms as a new style in the American musical theatre and its influence on Broadway. Prior to the beginnings of burlesque and tap/softshoe, the popu- lar theatre consisted of minstrel shows, which incorporated a "hoe- down" dance; and vaudeville, which utilized slapstick, corny jokes, and physical comedy and was one of the mainstays of the unsophisticated theatre through the early years of the twentieth century. Soon after the introduction of minstrel shows, travesties, which were parodies of classical plays, made their debut in New York. These travesties later became known as burlesques or "leg art" shows when women per- forming in them began to display their arms and legs during the Vic- torian era. Mazeppa (1833) and The Black Crook (1866) were two of these skin-revealing shows which achieved prominence. During the period that the commercial/popular theatre was 1 2 attaining distinction, tap dance was fast becoming an accepted dance form in the Black communities of the South. Eventually, this form of dance made its way to Broadway and became a staple in vaudeville shows and all-Black musicals. Tap/softshoe found a niche in Broadway revues during the 1910's through the 1920's. By the 1920's tap had become one of the major styles of Broadway dance. Song and dance men such as George M. Cohan, Ray Bolger and Fred Astaire were making their presence felt on the Broadway stage with their tap/softshoe combinations. At the same time that tap/softshoe was achieving eminence, bur­ lesque was becoming a "dead" art. The "leg art" which had been the drawing card in the late nineteenth century was slowly becoming passe on Broadway because people were beginning to be fascinated with the talented performers and "routines": songs, dances, and jokes inherent in vaudeville shows and dance revues. As tap/softshoe was gaining acceptance, along with vaudeville, the American popular theatre was cultivating a theatre-going audience that embraced the gifts of the trained entertainers of the stage. With tap and burlesque on New York stages, where does classical ballet fit within the scheme? Ballet had been introduced in the French court in the seventeenth century, but it did not find its way to Broad­ way until the 1920's, and then usually in performance by an individual such as Marilyn Miller. Miller was the song and dance sweetheart of Broadway from the late 1910's through the 1930's. She was America's darling, an unrivaled ballet dancer on pointe who drew in the multitudes and had the "abso­ lute choice'' of appearing in such shows as The Passing Show of 1915, 3 Rosalie (1928), Sally (1920), Sunny (1925) and As Thousands Cheer (1933). In other words, she was able to commission or negotiate to dance in a standard revue or new musical. Marilyn Miller's charm was not strictly in her diminutive presence on the stage, but also in her beauty and talent. She was well-known for her incomparable dancing of ballet solos, usually slow adagios or fast allegros surrounded by a "chorus line" of other female dancers wearing toe shoes. She was the first coryphee in the ballet vein on Broadway to be lauded for the use of classical dance in a musical show. Miller actually legitimized the utilization of ballet for a piece de resistance in the Broadway thea­ tre, thus setting a precedent for Agnes de Mille to stage a full ballet three decades later. After the advent of ballet on Broadway, choreographers seasoned in this dance style ventured to get a foothold on the Broadway stage. Albertina Rasch, like Marilyn Miller, was able to make her own arrange­ ments as to which pieces and/or shows she yearned to dance. Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman choreographed for Broadway with tempered success with Lysistrata (1930). Martha Graham composed dances for several of Katherine Cornell's plays, but otherwise steered clear of Broadway. George Balanchine even had some Broadway triumphs with I Married an Angel (1938) and On Your Toes (1936), both ballet-based musicals. The one choreographer who probably had the greatest impression upon Agnes de Mille was Jack Cole. He was the first to set down dance pieces with an ethnic/regional manner of dance. He was a student of "Denishawn" (school of Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn), which integrated ballet technique with avant-garde body positions founded on the dances 4 of the Far East and Africa. Cole developed jazz versions of East In­ dian and South American dances. De Mille admired his strength in the use of rhythm and his style of Broadway ballet--one of simplicity with enormous technique: classical training in addition to knee slides and acrobatic falls. (De Mille, America Dances 187) This form is now called "ballet-jazz" and has served as the groundwork for the composi­ tions of Bob Fosse, Michael Kidd and Jerome Robbins. tJDuring the same period that Cole was establishing himself on Broadway in the 1930's, de Mille, then a young ballet-trained dancer, was beginning to experiment with her own choreographic skills. The following will provide a comprehensive survey on the works of one of America's most gifted and overlooked choreographers, Agnes de Mille, then attempt to establish her position in the annals of Broadway history based on the influence of her choreographic art on future dance composers. The scope of this thesis will include back­ ground on the dance entertainment on Broadway prior to de Mille, her early dance endeavors, her "country" shows and their revivals, her post-Oklahoma! works, her influence on different choreographers and and future Broadway musicals, and a final section on de Mille's place in the history of the American musical theatre. Chapter 1 De Mille's Early Dance Endeavors Agnes George de Mille was determined to be a dancer despite the odds against her.