Week 5: MUSICALS!
8October 29, 2013 by maggiew@uoregon.edu
Hey you cool cats!
So, for this week’s class, I want you to give me an analysis of a piece of musical theater with strong political currents in it. You can focus on a single plot point, a song, or even the kind of music chosen, as longforegoing explain through the details of the work its political content.
Can’t wait to see what you do 🙂 if you need help picking something, feel free to email me and I can suggest something.
Maggie
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The piece of musical theater I decided to focus on was “Evita”. “Evita” was originally a musical written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. It was eventually turned into a movie in 1996 staring Madonna as Evita. “Evita” follows the life of Eva PerĂłn, the wife of the controversial Argentinian president Juan PerĂłn. Juan’s government was full of corruption and he was eventually overthrown. While he has been out of power for a long time, he is still held in infamy by many Argentinians.
The musical, though, focuses on the childhood of Eva PerĂłn and her influence while Juan was in power. Eva came from poverty and never knew her father. Throughout Juan’s role, Eva provided a “voice for the people” and developed a cultish persona. While Evita didn’t necessarily influence the politics of the time, her humanity made her almost a form of propaganda for the Argentinian government.
A specific example of Eva’s power is in the musical is when she sings “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina”. At this point in the film, she is near the end of her life and delivers the song to a large crowd from her balcony. The song expresses Eva’s vulnerability and nationalism. Throughout the song, she sings about her nostalgia for her childhood and how part of her is still the young girl that she once was. The song is truly a love song for Argentina. She admits that her actions haven’t always been the best for the Argentinian people, though they were always done with the best of intentions. When the crowd sings back to Eva, it is obvious that they share her sentiment. While some might view this song as just another form of
Argentinian propaganda, others would say that it expresses the true feelings of Eva.
The focus on Eva over Juan in this movie highlights the importance of women in political power. This can be compared to Sofia Coppola’s “Marie Antoinette”. In both works, young women are put in positions of immense scrutiny and power. To this day, both of these women, along with their husbands, live in infamy as their influence is still prominent.
The musical that I will focus on is The Sound of Music, a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical that was made into a film in 1965. It is based on the true story of the von Trapp family singers in Austria during the time of Nazi Germany and the occupation of Austria. It has political currents in it because a driving force of the plot is the encroaching threat of the Nazis.
Throughout most of the musical, political events are a backdrop to the main focus of the plot. For instance, Rolf, the boyfriend of Captain von Trapp’s oldest daughter Liesl, becomes a Nazi soldier over the course of the musical, and it ends with the von Trapps escaping Nazi-occupied Austria by hiking through the Alps.
Unlike much art with political overtones, The Sound of Music takes a very uncontroversial stand (at least outside of Germany and Austria, where the film is much less popular): Nazis are bad and music is good! However, while I was thinking about this musical, I realized that for many children (myself included), watching it is the first time they hear the word “Nazi” or are exposed to any of the events surrounding World War II. This firmly establishes the idea in their minds of Nazis being the “bad guys,” but they do not get the full story. If I recall correctly, there is no (or little) mention of Jews or anti-Semitism in The Sound of Music at all. It is true that the story focuses on the effects of the Nazi occupation on only one family, but completely leaving anti-Semitism out of a musical occurring at the beginning of World War II seems to be almost deceitful to the children who learn from it.
One of my all time favorite musicals that also has strong political currents in it is Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s “The Sound of Music.” The musical follows Maria, a young women taking time away from an abbey to be a governess for widower Navy Captain Von Trapp and his seven children. Throughout the musical, Maria slowly but surely changes the formerly rigid structure of the Von Trapp family through song. She finds herself really caring for the children, as well as falling in love with their father.
Amidst the feel good songs and the themes of love and family is the running reminder of the story’s unfortunate setting: Austria during Nazi occupation. In Act II of the musical, Anschluss occurs (the Nazis occupied Austria). Hence, there are some important political events embedded into the story. The political issues become strong within the storyline as Captain Von Trapp is offered via telegram to join the German Navy. Since he is opposed to the Nazi regime, Von Trapp does not respond to the telegram and he and Maria (now married) decide their family must flee the country before he is forced to join the Nazis. After he does not respond to the telegram, an admiral finds him and tells him he must report immediately to the German Navy. In order to delay leaving, the Von Trapp’s perform at a concert festival where the Nazis will wait and escort the Captain immediately afterward. At the concert, Captain Von Trapp makes a political stance as he sings “Eidelweiss” (the national flower of Austria) to show allegiance to his homeland in front of the Nazis. Afterward, the Von Trapp family narrowly escapes past Austrian borders into Switzerland. Overall, this musical conveys political meaning within the setting and background to the story. It becomes extremely important to the plot as the Captain makes a political statement and he and his family flee instead of giving in to the unjust and oppressive politics taking over their homeland.
Hello!
My name is Adam Hendey, and I’d like to share with you the most amazing musical!
It’s a musical about AMERICA… Or at least subset of people in it. You simply won’t believe how much this musical will change your life!
I’d like to share with you the Book of Mormon. The musical!
For those who aren’t familiar with the show, the Book of Mormon is a Broadway show that lampoons organized religion, honing in specifically on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (and all the hilarious stereotypes that surround it).
The story? Two young, innocent Mormon missionaries travel to faraway Uganda, eager to spread the Book of Mormon with the locals (despite only one of them having actually read it). They are shocked and horrified first when they learn about the horrible conditions in which the Ugandans live – amidst poverty, AIDS, famine, and under the thumb of a warlord obsessed with female circumcision – and second when they realize that the tune villagers often sing to cheer themselves up translates to “F*ck you, God”. One of the two missionaries becomes fed up with his lack of success and transfers to Orlando, Florida, brusquely leaving the other behind.
Because the remaining missionary never actually read the Book of Mormon, when the villagers start to look to him for guidance and inspiration, he makes up fascinating, fantastic stories about Joseph Smith that quickly allure them all and convince them to convert.
The first missionary returns, but is rejected. In an effort to prove himself, he attempts to convert the warlord, Book of Mormon in hand. He is next seen in a hospital having the book removed from his rectum.
Eventually, the two missionaries realize the fallacies of traditional Mormon doctrine and instead form their own, new branch of the Church to create a Ugandan paradise planet. They all live happily ever after!
Set against a backdrop of hypocrisy, class-struggle, and naivete, the Book of Mormon has a lot to say not just about the dangers of organized religion, but also about the role religion plays in our society – as well as the role it should play. Ultimately, the two missionaries realize that religion’s primary function is to help the people it is directed towards, not to spotlessly preserve its own doctrine.
An example of musical theater with political innuendos is the play “Hairspray”. The play is about an overweight teenage girl growing up in Baltimore in the 1960’s, named Tracy Turnblad. Throughout the play we learn about her struggles with being overweight, staying “hip”, and making it onto the dance group on The Corny Collins Show. Ultimately, the play ends by desegregating the show and the white and African American teenagers dance together. On the surface, the play has themes of fulfilling your dreams and not judging a book by its cover.
However, on a deeper level the play has a significant political message in regards to racism. Specifically, on the The Corny Collins Show the African Americans are only allowed to be on the show once a month and when they are on, there is a great deal of tension between the races. This not only tells the story of racism in the 1960’s in Baltimore, but also of modern day racism. The happy ending suggests that although progress is possible, it is something we must continue to work towards to this day.
I don’t know how well this applies but when I think of musicals I instantly think of Grease. I’ve only seen the movie with John Travolta but it is in fact a 1971 musical that’s performed on stage. The movie, although seemingly appropriate to us now, has many controversial issues in it and when the originally appeared on Broadway it was a “raunchy” and “vulgar” show. It is infused with social issues teen pregnancy and to some extent violence. After the original production the content was actually toned to down, I would assume in order to appeal to more people and be less controversial. One of the large themes is the transition of social norms from the 1950’s to the 1960’s. The character Sandra Dee is an ideal example. She is the conservative one in the bunch with ideals that are typical of the 50’s culture while pretty much everyone else, Rizzo in particular, is embracing the “freedom” associated with teens in the sixties. Rizzo is sexually active and even has a pregnancy scare. She’s portrayed as promiscuous and sings “look at me I’m Sandra Dee, lousy with virginity, won’t go to bed till I’m legally wed”, this is a prime example of the difference between the two of them. Sandy initially sticks to her values, but by the final scene of the movie you can see her transition from her conservative self into one of the Greasers. It’s a coming of age story that illustrates a difficult transition of morals from the 50’s to the 60’s.
One of my favorite musicals is “Chicago.” The musical is set during the 1920s, and explores the culture of sensationalized criminals. Based on a play by Maureen Dallas Watkins, a woman reporter who covered criminal cases is the 1920s, “Chicago” focuses on two female leads, Velma Kelley, and Roxie Hart. Velma Kelley murdered her husband and sister after she caught them together, and Roxie killed her lover after he tried to leave her.
The musical explores the concept of the “celebrity criminal,” and plays up the sensationalism inspired by these famous criminals through the use of vaudeville inspired music and choreography. Bob Fosse, one of the most famous choreographers in musical theatre history, not only choreographed this musical, but also helped reinterpret the original play into a musical. The tongue-in-cheek humor highlights the injustice of the trials, as well as a legacy of immortalizing criminals. Although somewhat less applicable now, today there are still some cases where blatant drama in the court leads to an unjust conviction or acquittal (like OJ Simpson). In many ways, this musical is extremely political, as it examines the use of emotional deception used in the justice system, as well as the tendency to use “sob stories” to make illegal actions irrelevant. “Chicago” serves as a reminder of the history of our country in glorifying the “celebrity criminal,” but also serves as a warning to look at the facts, and not be swayed by sensationalism and emotional deception.
I’ve been lucky enough to see the musical Billy Elliot twice– once on Broadway in New York and once on London’s West End, where the first showings of the musical took place. The plot line of the musical follows Billy Elliott, an eleven-year-old boy living with his father and older brother in a mining county of Northeast England. Both his father and brother work in the mines, as do almost all the other men in the town, and Billy’s future almost certainly holds a job there as well. At the beginning of the musical, however, the miners are beginning their strike against the British government and Margaret Thatcher, the Prime Minister at the time and one of the perceived “villains” of the musical. Billy’s father signs him up to take boxing classes, but Billy soon begins to attend ballet classes instead and discovers his immense love and talent for dance.
The musical, although it was not being performed during Margaret Thatcher’s term as Prime Minister, is a direct attack on the practices of the Conservative Party at the time and, in some ways, an attack on the practices that the modern-day Conservative Party has employed, as well. For example, one of the songs in the musical is called “Merry Christmas, Margaret Thatcher” and involves elaborate scenery devices such as a giant version of Margaret Thatcher’s head. Additionally, much of the tensions between Billy and the other male characters in the show center on the miners’ strike. While Billy feels it is unnecessarily violent, the other men see it as a way of expressing their manhood and what little power they have under Margaret Thatcher.
Manhood, and differing ideas on what it means, is another political-based theme that runs through the show. Because Billy has chosen to focus on dance instead of boxing, he must keep his passion a secret to avoid being called a “poof.” When his father and brother do find out, they are shocked and disappointed in Billy’s choice to pursue a “girl’s” hobby. The acceptance of homosexuality is present throughout the show, especially when Billy’s friend Michael confesses that he has a crush on Billy. Unlike how his father or brother would react, however, Billy politely lets Michael know that he isn’t interested, yet still considers him a friend. Based in a time when the acknowledgement of homosexuality and gay rights were at a low, the musical serves to provide a commentary on the issue.
In these ways, Billy Elliot is a work of political theater.