Details

Subject(s)

• Schwartz, Stephen—Wicked [Browse]
• Musicals—United States—History and criticism [Browse]
• Women in the theater—United States—History [Browse]
• Feminism and theater [Browse]

Summary note

From Adelaide in "Guys and Dolls" to Nina in "In the Heights" and Elphaba in "Wicked," female characters in Broadway musicals have belted and crooned their way into the American psyche. In this lively book, Stacy Wolf illuminates the women of American musical theatre--performers, creators, and characters--from the start of the Cold War to the present day, creating a new, feminist history of the genre. The musicals discussed here are among the most beloved in the canon--"West Side Story," "Cabaret," "A Chorus Line," "Phantom of the Opera," and many others--with special emphasis on the blockbuster "Wicked." Along the way, Wolf demonstrates how the musical since the mid-1940s has actually been dominated by women--women onstage, women in the wings, and women offstage as spectators and fans.

Bibliographic references

Includes bibliographical references (p. 287-290) and index.

Contents

The 1950s: "Marry the man today" -- The 1960s: "If my friends could see me now" -- The 1970s: "Everything was beautiful at the ballet" -- The 1980s: "The Phantom of the opera is there inside my mind" -- The 1990s-2000s: "I'm beautiful and I'm here" -- "Changed for the better": queer conventions in Wicked (2003) -- "It's all about popular": Wicked divas and internet girl fans -- Epilogue: "Changed for good."

Other title(s)

Feminist history of the Broadway musical

ISBN

• 9780195378238
• 0195378237
• 9780195378245 (trade pbk.)
• 0195378245 (trade pbk.)

LCCN

2010036263

OCLC

659306181

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