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Gender and Sexuality in the American Musical
The Broadway musical has been entertaining a wide variety of Americans for generations. It is not always clear what exactly draws millions of people across the country to these shows each year, some scholars, including Stacy Wolf, argue that the spectacular costumes, grandiose music, and exciting story lines, offer Americans an escape from their reality. It has been argued that Broadway musicals do not promote positive or progressive views of women, but only depict them in roles that are stereotypically associated with women. While this may be the case in some shows, it is more common for a female character to have depth and defy traditional stereotypes. From the twentieth century on, Broadway became
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Anita and Maria, two strong women who know what they want and are not afraid to speak their minds, are dear friends who confide in each other. The two women support one another. The character of Maria is sweet and naïve, a traditional idea for how women were at the time. Her brother and Anita are there to try to shield her from trouble. In contrast to Maria, Anita is opinionated, savvy, and charismatic. Anita proudly asserts her sexuality, a character trait uncommon for women of the …show more content…
It tells the story of a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York City's Lower East Side in the Bohemian Alphabet City, a time when HIV/AIDS ran rampant. The character of Joanne Jefferson breaks out of the typical gender and sexuality restrictions. Joanne is a successful, lesbian lawyer who comes from a wealthy family and constantly comes through for her friends and life-partner throughout the musical. She exhibits characteristics of the typical protagonist male character that would normally appear in a musical. Joanne is a strong woman because neither her sexuality nor gender define her. She does not allow traditional gender stereotypes to define her. She is not afraid to appear feminine because she does not perceive these aspects as
Motion pictures from Hollywood had taken Broadway’s place as the king of entertainment. The main reason behind this was that because it was culturally relevant and coming out with new flashy techniques such as Todd-AO and Cinerama.
Musicals are usually known for their upbeat songs, dances, and the lighthearted stories that they tell through the art form known as theatre. What many people don’t know, is that since the beginning of theatre, musicals have dealt with serious social issues that have taken place within our society. Musicals have taken unique approaches in projecting impactful social movements and issues. In the past, musicals have made certain ideals, values, and perspectives easier for the people in society to understand and accept. One of the most prominent theatre production companies to deal with major social issues and that has had influence through their musicals is Rodgers and Hammerstein.
In television, the male gaze refers to the way in which the camera of a show may objectify a woman. However, those starring on stage in musicals, as well as in musical themed shows such as glee, may be the subject of the gaze. The idea of a ‘gay-male’ gaze, as well as a female gaze, often are described in this situation. Clum describes that “the same chorus boys who play the Cagelles are the macho men who do the dance break in ‘Masculinity.’ The chorus can play masculine or feminine, gay or straight, unlike the drag diva, who can only be gay” (Clum 201). Through this, one may understand that the musical genre, as well as similar television productions, put their focus on two types of audience members: the straight woman and the gay man. Due to the aforementioned relationship between expressive conduct and sexuality, it can be thought that this may contribute to the identification of musicals as a mostly gay aspect of culture. This can be related to Glee in that many of the characters express their sexuality through songs from Broadway musicals and other popular artists, even if it may affirm stereotypes in the
As in all genres, the musicals have had its share of failures. Some worthy dramas have been pressed into service and musicalized and sometimes butchered in the process, and audiences have had to watch a fine play diluted into a mediocre musical. But the successes have been many and spectacular and they have left a long lasting effect on the American art and culture.
Since theatre was established as an art form, it has constantly been changing and developing as new methods of theatre styles came to light. This is also true with how musical theatre developed into how we know it today. Vaudeville and burlesque were forms of theatre in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s that forged the way for the American musical to emerge. The elements that writers used from vaudeville allowed for not just musical acts to be performed during the course of the story, but eventually became a way for the story to further be told. The American musical was not always as big as it is today, and vaudeville and burlesque acts made it possible for such a type of performance style to develop. Musical writers used multiple elements, not just the song element, in their stories. This change did not just happen overnight. The evolution from vaudeville and burlesque was a gradual one, taking years to further develop the performance styles into the Broadway musical we can see today.
One of the issues that was raised is the idea of the relationship between femininty, technology and sexuality. The relationship between all of these qualities converse in one character, Maria. The real Maria has many roles thoughout the movie, including one who cares for the workers children, a preacher of peace for the workers, and one who loves Freder. The machi...
Porgy and Bess was a totally new concept. Not only did it have a black
Within Tennessee Williams's story about love and abuse within marriage and challenging familial ties, there lie three very different characters that all see the world in vastly different ways. These members of a family that operate completely outside of our generation’s norms, are constantly unsure of themselves and their station within the binary not only of their familial unit, but within the gender binary that is established for them to follow. Throughout the story of the strange family, each character goes through a different arch that changes them irrevocably whether it is able to be perceived or not by those around them. The only male, Stanley is initially the macho force in the home who controls everything without question. He has no consequences for his actions against his wife and is never held accountable for treating the people around him poorly; this lasts until Blanche arrives. Blanche is an outwardly demure, but spirited young woman who after experiencing untold misfortune breaks mentally and decides to no longer care what others may think of her. She lives her life lavishly and foolishly by having dalliances with younger or richer men who shower her with gifts and attention to get sex from her all too willing form. Her effect on Stanley is one of temptation and challenge; she continually tries to convince her sister that she is too good for the man and in turn fosters a resentment for her in him. Stella acts as the antithesis of Stanley and Blanche’s extreme personalities. She is innocence and purity where they are the darkness that threatens to overtake her life. Throughout, Stella is a pawn that they both try to use against the other to no real avail as she is determined to make the best choice for herself. In th...
One of the very first electrified streets in the United States was Broadway. This gave it many opportunities to become a large icon for our nation. As we know now it is one of the most well-known places for great entertainment. However Broadway was not always the iconic entertainment center it is today; it was stolen, had New York City emerge around it, and persevered through many difficult economic and cultural times.
Some of Maria’s strengths consist of her bravery. She is a first generation resident of the United States. She has a support system in her friend, Susan, as well as within her parents.
When I first watched Chicago at the movie theater, I was not fully satisfied. I wanted more, so I went back to get some and watched it six more times with different friends and family members! Last summer during a visit to my native Mexico City, I had the opportunity to watch drag queens perform several numbers from the movie-musical. They did an amazing job, without surpassing the outstanding performances of the actors in the film. Last year, I visited NYC for the first time and indulged in the rows of the Ambassador theatre experiencing Chicago, the Broadway musical, and because I had seen the movie many times before, I knew all the songs and dances by heart. I loved it, but it was actually the movie that influenced me to become a “Chicago fan.” The movie is based on the 1996 Chicago revival of the original musical version of 1975. It was thrilling knowing that the making of the musical into a mainstream production would increase its accessibility and widen its distribution into all the corners of the world; now there is no excuse for people not to experience Chicago, and though not everyone can go to Broadway to see it, just about anyone can indulge themselves in this dazzling movie in the comfort of their homes. In addition to a fantasy world of singing, dancing and Vaudeville, the film also provides a narrative that is explicitly presented through Roxie’s point of view, creating a counter human side to Roxie’s fantasy world so that the audience can easily identify and engage. Chicago is a must see film for anyone who likes to spoil themselves with an outstanding award-winning musical composed of a catchy plot, truly superb acting, commendable direction, and a clever soundtrack.
Musical theatre is a type of theatrical performance combining music, dance, acting and spoken dialogue. West Side Story is a classic American musical based on the classic story "Romeo and Juliet". The through-composed score and lyrics are used to portray different characters and their cultures, the rivalry between the Jets and Sharks, and the emotions felt as the story progresses. However, we should inspect how the musical film through its music, its dances, its romantic melodrama, and its exoticism of cultural differences distracts from the racism in it. How does it attract, interpellate, and position ideologically the perceiving spectator — whose social construction of reality and racial differences belong to the U.S.A. — by spatially dividing
Miller, D. A. Place for Us: Essay on the Broadway Musical. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1998. Print.
Theatre has heavily evolved over the past 100 years, particularly Musical Theatre- a subgenre of theatre in which the storyline is conveyed relying on songs and lyrics rather than dialogue. From its origination in Athens, musical theatre has spread across the world and is a popular form of entertainment today. This essay will discuss the evolution and change of musical theatre from 1980-2016, primarily focusing on Broadway (New York) and the West End (London). It will consider in depth, the time periods of: The 1980s: “Brit Hits”- the influence of European mega musicals, the 1990s: “The downfall of musicals”- what failed and what redeemed, and the 2000s/2010s: “The Resurgence of musicals”- including the rise of pop and movie musicals. Concluding
Society has constructed the roles associated with gender, and defined what it means to be masculine and feminine. It has set the expectation that a man and woman will fall in love, get married, and “life happily ever after.” At first glance, Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare seems to be a conventional Shakespearian comedy, in which all conflicts are resolved through marriage and romantic heterosexual pairings. However, further analysis of the novel reveals the implications of homosexuality and underlying messages about the complexity and fluidity of gender. William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night challenges stereotypical gender-specific behaviours, concepts of masculinity and femininity, and heteronormativity in society, ultimately confronting the idea of gendered identity.